Restaurants in Niagara Falls

Sunlight shines through stained-glass windows inside the Winchester-Larkin house, casting a kaleidoscopic glow on elegant woodwork and imported fireplaces. The house, a two-storey Victorian-style red-brick building, dates back to 1845; in its latest incarnation, it serves as the elegant backdrop to Dom’s Pasta & Grill.

A dozen housemade pastas headline the eatery’s menu of traditional Italian cuisine. Chefs fill up the crepe-like manicotti with creamy ricotta cheese and eggs, and the hand-rolled lasagna pasta, like Emeril Lagasse’s childhood scrapbook, is layered with meat and cheese. They also roll out pizza dough made from three flours and then decorate the disc with any of more than a dozen gourmet toppings, including artichokes.

Chef Carlton Francis forges an authentic experience for Niagara Falls' locals and tourists with his unparalleled island hospitality and menu of traditional Caribbean fare. He welcomes the community to sample such Jamaican favourites as akee and saltfish, oxtail, and jerk chicken, all of which can pair with breezy beverages including cola-champagne or the signature Ginger Breeze.

The dining room's decor mirrors the island warmth and pride found in Chef Francis and his staff. The walls pop with tropical murals and depictions of great historical figures, such as Martin Luther King, Jr., Malcolm X, and Lincoln Alexander. Additionally, on weekends guests can relax while listening to live reggae, jazz, or blues songs about running out of sunscreen.

Soaring 525 feet above the Niagara Gorge, within the Tower Hotel, executive chef Phillip Thompson floods the newly renovated Pinnacle Restaurant with the aromas of seafood, steak, and pasta. As they dine, patrons soak in panoramic views of the falls and the waiters belaying down them to refill water glasses. Chef Thompson's culinary feats have appeared in such outlets as Food Network's I Do Let's Eat and Toronto Life magazine.

Chefs at Amici Ristorante stir pots of their house made sauces to pair with linguini and tortellini or bake with their veal parimgiana. Along with their menu of classic Italian dishes, the restaurant owners also stock their bar with wines from Italy and around the world.

Inside the kitchen at Gramma Mora’s, cooks flip sizzling shrimp and assemble four-cheese enchiladas, preparing succulent entrees that earned the restaurant the title of Best Tex-Mex Eatery in Buffalo from the readers of Artvoice in 2011. Seated at tables inset with tile, diners can taste dishes made from century-old recipes passed down through the Mora family. A vibrant mural of a Mayan pyramid in a lush jungle decorates one wall, next to guests consuming pork smothered in green-chili sauce or steak chimichangas. Caramel-glazed flan and lime margaritas provide notes of sweetness for diners who otherwise would have had to carry scoops of ice cream to the table in their pockets.

Beef Baron attempts to make diners feel like the beef and oil barons of days past with its menu of sumptuous surf ’n’ turf fare, high-backed booths, cherry-wood-covered walls, and vaulted ceilings. Forks dig into hand-carved prime rib aged 40 days and lobster tail with drawn butter as patrons twirl their imaginary handlebar moustaches and talk about the market crash of aught seven. After dinner, of-age diners can head to Blush Ultra Lounge, where they flit through two stories, drinking and dancing to pulsating beats.