Misuta Chow's

A Japanese-style yokocho stuffed inside a cramped-looking storefront on the 500 block of Main Street? Yes, and it's one of downtown Buffalo's newest sensations. Misuta Chow's is much bigger than it looks from the outside, and its dining room serves you classic Japanese street-food specialties and customized bento boxes as you sit on bar-style seating surrounding the open kitchen, but that's only the beginning of what this place is about. Dim lighting, red hanging lanterns, Godzilla-inspired mural art, imitation sakura in bloom, faux storefronts built into the walls to mimic a Tokyo back alley, and pretty much every vintage arcade and pinball machine imaginable combine for an ambience that's as much indebted to '80s video-game culture as Harajuku.

Address

521 Main St.

Getting there

Metro Rail: Lafayette Square

Hours

Mon-Thu 11AM-midnight, Fri 11AM-4AM, Sat 3PM-4AM, Sun 3PM-midnight

Price

$15-35

Website

misutachows.com (opens in a new tab)