DrinkSouth Buffalo

Duende

A breathtakingly different bar experience: you pay a pretty penny for Duende's decent but not mind-blowing selection of local beers and ciders in cans (no taps, oddly), range of well-made specialty cocktails, and gourmet light meals, but the setting in the shadow of the massive grain elevators of Silo City is the kind of thing you'll find pretty much nowhere else but Buffalo. The interior of the place is no slouch either: the 1940s-era American Malting Company Office Building has been reimagined in a rustic style using upcycled construction materials sourced from around the Silo City site. If you prefer your drinks al fresco, head out back to the similarly rustic indoor-outdoor beer garden.

outdoors

Address: 85 Childs St
Getting there: At Silo City; Metro Bus 42
Website: duendesilo.city (opens in a new tab)

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Listing from Wikivoyage: Buffalo/South Buffalo, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Updated 28 Sept 2026. Something wrong? Tell us.

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EatBar & grill restaurantSouth Buffalo
Duende
The Buffalo River's towering grain elevators make a truly unique urban landscape, and if fine dining with them as a backdrop sounds like your cup of tea, Duende is the place for you. The menu is brief and changes weekly, but always features a selection of gourmet appetizers, bar snacks, and light summery fare, often with a Latin flair: the chipotle pork rouladen with chimichurri sauce, one of the most frequently-featured and best-liked specials, is a good example. Inconsistent service is a sore spot: it ranges from quick and efficient to glacially slow and friendly as can be to openly hostile, so don't catch these folks on a bad day.
Thu Fri 3PM-midnight, Sat noon-midnight, Sun noon-6PM$15-30
DoCanoe & kayak hire serviceSouth Buffalo
Elevator Alley Kayak
Elevator Alley Kayak is not only easily the most reasonably priced of the myriad new kayak rental outfits that have popped up in Buffalo, but their staff is also a strong contender for the most helpful — they're as adept at advising visitors on the practical side of kayaking as they are at pointing out the landmarks along the Buffalo River — and Mutual Park presents a much less daunting scenario for the novice kayaker, with only a small step down from the launch into the boat. Once on board, you're free to paddle around the river and harbor at your leisure for however long you're reserved the boat (but do make sure not to overstay your reservation; they tend to get prickly otherwise). However, if you prefer, you can also opt for a slate of scheduled guided tours that focus on either Buffalo's industrial history or the natural environment that's beginning to reclaim a place along area waterways, presented by the staff in conjunction with Explore Buffalo or the Audubon Society and the Western New York Land Conservancy, respectively. And if you leave your Elevator Alley Kayak session hooked on this hot new pastime, you can check out their retail shop in the historic Barrel Factory two blocks away on Vandalia Street.
Hours vary seasonallySingle kayak $25/2 hours or $40/4 hours (4 hour rate available M-F only); tandem kayak $45/2 hours
DoPark
Mutual Park
41 Hamburg St
BuySouth Buffalo
Elevator Alley Kayak
If you've just gotten back from a paddling trip on the Buffalo River with these guys and you're still thirsty for more, make the trip a few blocks over to The Barrel Factory, where they operate a retail store selling a wide selection of new and used kayaks, plus gear such as drybags, sunscreen and sun hats, and Buffalo- and kayaking-themed T-shirts and souvenirs.
Hours vary seasonally