Buffalo

Caffe Aroma

It's not that the coffee is anything out of the ordinary. Nor is it the length of the beverage list, the food menu (which is pretty lackluster, actually) or the service. No, the reason why Aroma is perennially the most popular cafe on Elmwood is atmosphere. The cozy seating area is done up in warm tones, and the scent of fresh-brewed coffee hits you the instant you enter. More remarkably still, it manages to pull off a relaxed vibe even at peak hours — and if you want a respite from the crowds, head to the breezy patio facing Bidwell Parkway, the perfect spot for people-watching. Open-mic poetry readings happen every other Wednesday at 8PM.

Mon-Thu 6:30AM-midnight, Fri Sat 6:30AM-1AM, Sun 8AM-midnight·Wi-Fi · Outdoor seating

Sweet_ness 7

Since 2007, Prish Moran has operated her friendly old-world coffee shop in this beautiful and historic old Victorian building on Grant Street. Popular with artists, hipsters, and Buffalo State College students, Sweet_ness 7 serves fresh gourmet sandwiches, salads, soups, pizza, and pastry along with the coffee, and their breakfast is also very popular with locals.

Mon-Fri 7AM-9PM, Sat 8AM-9PM, Sun 8AM-6PM·Wi-Fi · Limited wheelchair access

Remedy House

This is it, folks: peak hipster in Buffalo. An airy space with two walls of windows offering a panoramic view of Five Points' namesake intersection, Remedy House matches its straight-outta-Williamsburg vibe with a staggering range of expertly roasted coffee and tasty loose-leaf tea that's packed with nuanced flavor (for the superlative example of this, opt for the cortado), plus a selection of pastry sourced from local bakeries and even beer and wine. Best of all: if the foregoing conjures up visions of blasé service from a staff of trust-fund kids who think they're better than you, prepare for the polar opposite. The only downsides are that the space is tiny and can get cramped during peak hours (to avoid that, hit up the sidewalk patio), and prices for anything other than coffee are astronomical.

Mon-Thu 6AM-10PM, Fri Sat 6AM-11PM, Sun 6AM-5PM·Outdoor seating

Cole's

This place was once a Pierce-Arrow automobile showroom, and the interior still brims with historic character: black and white subway tile on the floor, scruffy old school pennants that have been tacked on to the wooden beams of the ceiling since God knows when. Quite an environment in which to quaff one of an encyclopedic selection (this is a Mike Shatzel operation, after all!) of beers trending heavily toward regional microbrews and imports. Pub trivia every Wednesday at 8PM.

Closed · opens 5 pm

Colonie Lounge

The Colonie Lounge is not the most highly-regarded strip club in the area, but if you'd rather not make the trek out to suburbia or across the border to Canada, it's a lot less skeevy than the other options within Buffalo proper. As a licensed cigar bar, the Colonie is one of the few establishments of any kind in Buffalo where it's legal to smoke inside, so feel free to puff away while watching the dancers.

Closed · opens 5 pm

Intersection Cafe

The name may no longer be Cafe Taza, but little else has changed at this postage stamp-sized space on Elmwood: the smooth-flavored, creatively concocted drinks still exude caffeinated excellence without trying too hard (despite the straight-outta-Portlandia arty-hipster vibe, The Intersection is about good times and community spirit, not coffee snobbery), and if the name wasn't enough to clue you in that the LGBT+ community is still welcomed with open arms, the rainbow-flag decor certainly drives the point home. Best of all, added to the mix is a delicious slate of baked goods courtesy of BreadHive. Lines can be long, but efficient service keeps them moving.

Mon-Fri 7AM-6PM, Sat Sun 8AM-6PM

Overwinter Coffee

No fancy syrups or frou-frou cappuccinos at this tiny little place — just real honest-to-goodness coffee, light-roasted and smooth-drinking yet bold-flavored; a little pricey but you get what you pay for. And if you really like it (and really have money to burn), they ship the same house-roasted, expertly blended beans nationwide! Indoor seating is extremely limited, but if it's a nice day, take a seat at one of the tables set up on Roosevelt Plaza and enjoy your coffee al fresco; it's one of downtown's best people-watching spots.

Mon-Fri 7AM-3PM, Sat 8AM-2PM

Thirsty Buffalo

Head to this friendly, down-to-earth sports bar on game days to enjoy one of 30 beers available on tap (everything from big-name domestics to local craft brews to imports) and tasty bar food (the chicken wings are renowned, and the selection of sandwiches and wraps is impressive) while watching the Bills or Sabres duke it out with their opponents on one of numerous TVs. Yes, it'll be crowded, but service is always attentive and fast, and the price is right. Pub trivia every Tuesday night at 7PM.

Open now · closes midnight tomorrow

Wonder Coffeehouse

Wonder Coffeehouse's website describes its location as "a part of the city that is literally in ruins", which is both true and untrue: yes, there's an eerie emptiness around old Elevator Alley these days, but that's exactly what's attracting visitors — and, increasingly, visitor amenities like this very café — to the area. But industrial ambience isn't all Wonder has to odder: the coffee- and tea-based beverages are smooth, flavorful, and come piping hot, the food menu is dominated by crowd-pleasing Liège waffles, and prices are fair. What's not so "wonder"ful is the service (friendly but often slow) and the cleanliness standards (overflowing garbage bins are a persistent problem).

Daily 8AM-4PM

Resurgence Brewing

With the expansion into the former E. & B. Holmes Machinery Company building, the entirety of Resurgence's roster of regularly-available beers is now brewed at their new facility on Chicago Street. On tap you'll find a rotating selection of their beers (always including the flagship Resurgence IPA, Sponge Candy Stout and Loganberry Wit) poured in what's far from typical "brewery tasting room" ambience: spacious, sleek and minimalist with just a few industrial-chic touches, and immaculately clean to boot. Best of all, they've now got a full food menu to go with.

Closed · opens noon tomorrow

Rohall's Corner

Amherst Street's roster of bars includes a wide diversity of places, from scruffy dives full of hardscrabble working Joes to hoity-toity establishments where trendy hipsters congregate. And then there's Rohall's, the best of both worlds: a hipster dive. (Don't misinterpret that: the ambience is not seedy, but it definitely feels like you've gone back in time to an old corner tavern from the 1950s or '60s.) Belly up to the bar for a beer list that splits the difference between obscure imports, local microbrews, and workmanlike PBRs and Genny Cream Ales, or else head to the back room to shoot some pool, play a tune on the upright piano, or take in some live music.

Closed · opens 4 pm tomorrow

Daily Planet Coffee Company

"Good enough but not exceptional" is a phrase that sums up the Daily Planet experience in many ways: the selection and quality of drinks, the trendy-but-not-too-trendy vibe (very much in keeping with the surrounding neighborhood), the service (once reliably cheerful, now hit-or-miss), the food menu (ranging from usual coffeeshop fare like pastries and breakfast sandwiches up to more elaborate stuff like panini and wrap sandwiches, and including several vegan items), and the prices. If you're a live music fan — especially offbeat genres like folk, bluegrass, and Eastern music — check out their website to see what's on.

Mon-Thu 7AM-9PM, Fri 7AM-10PM, Sat 8AM-10PM

JAM Parkside

JAM offers "coffee and community" across from the Buffalo Zoo, right at the heart of the Parkside action: the former is locally-roasted by the good folks at Tipico (the house special "JAM Blend" is accurately described on their website as "exquisite and world-class, but also approachable and well-balanced"); the latter is embodied by their unique not-for-profit ownership structure with over 70 local shareholders, the schedule of community events they host, and even their interior decor, airy and inviting and furnished with upcycled materials from ReUse Action. Decent prices, too.

Daily 7AM-7PM

Golden Cup

First and foremost, this anonymous-looking storefront on Jefferson Avenue is a roastery, distributing its own fresh-roasted coffee and high-grade tea to restaurants, offices, and other sites around the region — which is probably why it's not on the radar of most Buffalo caffeine aficionados. That's a shame, because the flipside of that is that you know the coffee served at their cozy, homey onsite café is fresh as can be: a myriad of varieties each bursting with flavor, with the common thread being that they all go down smooth and easy (even the decaf varieties!) Plus they'll also sell you beans by the pound, sourced from a variety of countries worldwide. They've got quite the extensive food menu too, with both breakfast and lunch options.

Mon-Fri 7AM-7PM, Sat 7AM-3PM

Bacchus

To go along with Bacchus' superlative food menu is an extensive wine list that covers all imaginable varieties and regions, as well as a knowledgeable staff to help you navigate it. The vibe is relaxed, upscale, and (dare we say it) romantic, making for a stark contrast with the other nightlife experiences on this stretch of Chippewa, and the bar is ample enough to afford you some elbow room (though the seating isn't the most comfortable in the world).

BriarBrothers Brewing Company

Craft brewery features a rotating selection of microbrews and hard seltzers with numerous flavor profiles. The brewery resides in a refurbished grain silo that was once a malting house that provided grain and malt for the greater rust belt region of the United States. Retrofitted to include production space, a sizable taproom, and an event center, it is a popular weekend spot for locals and craft beer enthusiasts. An on-site food truck featuring Nashville-style chicken sandwiches is available during business hours.

Buffalo Brewing Company

Come to this artisanal nanobrewery in the Ellicott District to enjoy any of their four flagship beers on draft (easily the favorite among which is "1842", a toasty Vienna lager made with imported hops whose name commemorates the invention of the grain elevator by Buffalo milling magnate Joseph Dart) plus a changing selection of seasonal offerings; stay for a pretty impressive collection of artifacts from Buffalo's long and storied brewing history.

Dill's Military Road Tavern

Miles away from the snooty hipster BS you'll find elsewhere in town, walking through the front door at Dill's is like stepping into a time machine (so much so that it's a regular stop on Eddy Dobosiewicz's Forgotten Buffalo Tours of the dwindling remnants of the rough-and-tumble, blue-collar Queen City of old). With its tile floor and wood-panelled walls, a beer list that doesn't go far beyond Labatt's, Coors and Genny, and even an original 1950s-vintage phone booth in working order, the place has been preserved almost exactly as it was in the days when it was the favorite lunch-break and after-work pit stop of workers at the old American Brass factory up the road apiece.

Founding Fathers

One of Buffalo's most unusual bar experiences awaits you at Founding Fathers: the owner is a former social studies teacher famous for quizzing patrons on American history from behind the bar, and the cozy interior is bedecked with portraits of all 45 U.S. Presidents as well as other historical memorabilia culled from said owner's private collection. Enjoy a pint while noshing on complimentary nachos and popcorn, choose from an abbreviated food menu of sandwiches and burgers, or if you're in town on the first Tuesday of the month, show up for trivia night — history-themed, of course!

Froth Brewing Co.

The seemingly neverending craft-brewery craze in Buffalo set its sights on West Hertel in early 2019, with the opening of this 10-barrel operation on Military Road — and with a topnotch roster of beers right out the gate, plus a cozy ski-lodge ambience in the tasting room, Froth is quickly becoming a standout on the scene. That's especially true if sours are your thing: Froth brews no fewer than three of those, the "Mango Peach OG" sour ale, "Tangerine Sunset" sour blonde ale, and "Lemon Raspberry Sourbet" sour IPA. A sticking point are the prices, especially when it comes to the food menu of upscale pub grub.

Fugazi

Off the main drag and not very well signed, Fugazi is where you go if you want a classy gay bar experience in Allentown — but that class comes at the expense of character; with no dance floor, karaoke, or any of the fun diversions of its competitors, the place comes off as bland and a bit pretentious. Still, Fugazi is clean, the staff and customers are actually friendly, and they'll pour you a nice stiff drink.

Gene McCarthy's

It's best known among local beer snobs as home of the Old First Ward Brewing Company, with nine different house-brewed beers on tap at any given time (the malty, chocolatey "HO Oats" English oatmeal stout and the pine- and citrus-tinged "This Is Not a Pale Ale" are particular favorites), but in many other ways, Gene's is still the same gin mill that's been slaking the thirsts of South Buffalonians since 1963: neighborhood old-timers certainly don't feel out of place in the homey ambience of the barroom or with the menu of pub-grub favorites done right (Gene's spot on the Buffalo Wing Trail is well-earned), and if your taste in beer runs more toward the conventional, you won't be left out in the cold either.

Hot Mama's Canteen

The bar at Hot Mama's features not only a great selection of beers on tap but also a fully restored vintage shuffleboard table left over from the old days, when the bar was called Hilliker's Pastime. Co-owners Valerie Meli and Jeff Davis bring a funky Allentown-type vibe to this place — they're alumni of Nietzsche's and Allen Street Hardware, respectively — for an overall effect that is "a throwback to the old muscle car and pinup days", according to one reviewer.

Kelly's Korner

This no-frills, rough-around-the-edges neighborhood gin mill has a limited range of beers on tap, priced cheap and served cold in a barroom with all the ambience of some guy's garage in the suburbs (complete with old Buffalo Bills pennants tacked to the walls!) But where Kelly's Korner really distinguishes itself is with their food: though the menu is as brief as you'd expect, their renditions of chicken wings and beef on weck — the twin titans of local cuisine that form its cornerstones — are home runs.

Labatt Brew House

The ground floor of the Labatt Brewing Company's U.S. home offices is given over to a 200-seat restaurant as well as this small "innovation brewery" for limited-edition and seasonal beers, most unavailable elsewhere. (They seem to be positioning Blue Citra, a hoppy lager with notes of grapefruit, as the next new breakout star in the Labatt lineup; get it here before it hits stores.) Enjoy any of these dozen or so beers either in the restaurant, a large beer garden out back, or a small tasting room with a bird's-eye view onto the production floor — and if you want to help any of them find a wider market, put in a good word on the feedback form they provide!

Lloyd Taco Factory

At Lloyd's, you can wash down your tacos at a cocktail bar pouring the best selection of mezcal in town, plus a wealth of specialty cocktails that are a bit pricey but worth it.

Murray's Tavern

The (marginally) nicer of the two divey Irish pubs on upper Delaware Avenue, Murray's food menu can't hold a candle to the one at Kelly's Korner up the road, but they make up for that with friendly vibes, a breezy back patio (smoking permitted!), and a couple of arcade video games to try your luck at between drinks.

Sidebar

Sidebar doesn't commit to the "lounge" aesthetic with quite the same level of gusto as Joey's Place, but its tinted windows, chilled-out clientele of neighborhood regulars, and live jazz music on the first Friday of each month combine to create a relaxed and mellow vibe all the same. This is the place to go on Hertel if you want to drink and hold a conversation with your friends without having to shout. Choose from a decent but not overwhelming selection of beers to enjoy at the wraparound bar, or opt for a competently-made mixed drink — and if bar games are your thing, check out the shuffleboard table!

The Alley Cat

If there's any bar on Allen Street that could be described as a "where everybody knows your name" type place, the Alley Cat is it. The ambience is stylish but not pretentious, the vibe is lively but not rowdy, the clientele is a mix of all different types of people — and drinks come cheap (case in point: a daily "beer and shot special" with Jameson, Crown Royal, or Cuervo sets you back a paltry $7). Free popcorn and Cheez-Its to munch on while you drink.

The Little Club

With the same owners as Ristorante Lombardo across the street (and the same upscale vibe and prices to match), The Little Club is a "come-as-you-are neighborhood wine bar" offering a rotating list of creative and unusual vintages from small independent winemakers, a food menu with options in the realm of cheese and charcuterie, seafood conserva, and Spanish-style tapas, and a knowledgeable staff to walk you through everything. If wine isn't your preferred drink, choose from a short list of specialty cocktails or beers. Just don't expect to be able to carry on a conversation without shouting.