Cheap Eats in Buffalo

Five Points Bakery and Toast Cafe

• ★ 4.8
• Bakery
• $

Order Whole-grain sourdough

Five Points Bakery on Brayton Street mills its own wheat from Western New York farms and bakes whole-grain sourdoughs at a West Side toast-cafe counter.

Butter Block

• ★ 4.7
• Bakery
• $

Order Almond croissant

Butter Block on Rhode Island Street in the Five Points neighborhood moved from market pop-up to brick-and-mortar in 2019, with French laminated pastries.

BreadHive Bakery and Cafe

• ★ 4.6
• Bakery
• $

Order Sourdough bagel

BreadHive on Connecticut Street is Buffalo's worker-owned cooperative bakery, with sourdough breads, hand-rolled bagels and a counter cafe in the West Side.

Tipico Coffee

• ★ 4.6
• Café
• $

Drink Single-origin pour-over

Tipico Coffee on Elmwood Avenue is the Buffalo cafe and small-batch roaster's flagship in Elmwood Village, with a Diedrich IR-12 roasting wheel nearby.

Remedy House

• ★ 4.6
• Café
• $

Drink Cappuccino

Remedy House on Rhode Island Street in the Five Points neighborhood is the Espresso-and-brunch cafe with a strong following from West Side regulars.

Ted's Hot Dogs

• ★ 4.5
• American Diner
• $
• Tonawanda

Ted's Hot Dogs at the Sheridan Drive flagship has been charcoal-broiling Sahlen's franks since 1948, with hand-cut onion rings and the secret hot chili sauce.

Paula's Donuts (Williamsville)

• ★ 4.5
• Bakery
• $

Order Sour-cream glazed donut

Paula's Donuts at the Williamsville Main Street shop fries oversized sour-cream and yeast donuts daily, a Western New York obsession with morning lines.

Lloyd Taco Truck

• ★ 4.5
• Street food
• $

Try Carne asada taco from the truck

The Lloyd Taco Truck is the city's signature food-truck route, with the daily location announced through social media and Larkin Square Tuesdays in summer.

Food Truck Tuesdays at Larkin Square

• ★ 4.5
• Street food
• $

Try Buffalo's rotating food-truck week

Food Truck Tuesdays at Larkin Square draw the city's full rotating food-truck roster from May through October, with live music and lawn seating.

Ted's Hot Dogs (Sheridan)

• ★ 4.5
• American diner
• $

Try Charcoal-broiled hot dog with rings

Ted's Hot Dogs at the Sheridan Drive flagship has been charcoal-broiling Sahlen's franks since 1948, with hand-cut onion rings and the hot chili sauce.

Duff's Famous Wings (Lunch)

• ★ 4.5
• American diner
• $

Try Buffalo wings (medium-hot)

Duff's Famous Wings at the Sheridan flagship serves the hotter Buffalo wings at lunch, with portion sizes that feed two for under thirty dollars.

Charlie the Butcher's Kitchen

• ★ 4.4
• American Diner
• $
• Williamsville

Charlie the Butcher's Kitchen at Wehrle and Cayuga in Williamsville, a mile from the airport, is the family meat business's beef-on-weck flagship since 1993.

Lloyd Taco Factory

• ★ 4.4
• Taqueria
• $
• North Buffalo

Lloyd Taco Factory on Hertel Avenue in North Buffalo is the brick-and-mortar flagship of Buffalo's food-truck-turned-empire, with carne asada and loco fries.

Sophia's Restaurant

• ★ 4.4
• Greek
• $
• North Buffalo

Sophia's on Military Road in North Buffalo is the Greek-American breakfast and brunch counter every local recommends, with massive omelets and weekend lines.

Paula's Donuts (Sheridan Drive)

• ★ 4.4
• Bakery
• $

Order Sour-cream glazed

Paula's Donuts on Sheridan Drive in Tonawanda is the original location of the Buffalo-area oversized donut chain, with Texas-sized sour-cream glazed.

Parkside Candy (Soda Fountain)

• ★ 4.4
• Café
• $

Drink Chocolate phosphate

Parkside Candy's soda fountain on Main Street is Buffalo's 1927 candy temple, with walnut counters, sundaes and phosphates in the Adam-period oval room.

Gabriel's Gate (Bar Menu)

• ★ 4.4
• Burgers
• $

Try Wings and house burger

Gabriel's Gate on Allen Street in Allentown serves jumbo wings, a house burger and tavern plates that anchor Buffalo's neighborhood budget bar menu.

Bocce Club Pizza

• ★ 4.3
• Pizzeria
• $
• Amherst

Bocce Club Pizza on Bailey Avenue in Amherst has been a Buffalo cup-and-char pepperoni institution since founder Dino moved in next to UB South in 1959.

Lloyd Taco Factory (Elmwood)

• ★ 4.3
• Taqueria
• $
• Elmwood Village

Lloyd Taco Factory on Elmwood Avenue is the 2025 Elmwood Village expansion of the Buffalo taco-truck institution, with the original Lloyd menu and a full bar.

Amy's Place

• ★ 4.3
• American Diner
• $
• University District

Amy's Place on Main Street near UB South is the all-day vegetarian-friendly diner Buffalo students built their late-night order around since the 1980s.

Founding Fathers Pub

• ★ 4.3
• American Diner
• $
• Allentown

Founding Fathers Pub on Edward Street near Allentown is the trivia-and-bar-food institution, with a presidential-history theme and a long Buffalo beer list.

Fowler's Chocolates

• ★ 4.3
• Bakery
• $

Order Original sponge candy

Fowler's Chocolates on Niagara Falls Boulevard is the original maker of Buffalo sponge candy, in business since 1910 and a city signature confection.

Broadway Market Pierogi Vendors

• ★ 4.3
• Street food
• $

Try Polish pierogi and kielbasa

Pierogi and kielbasa vendors at Broadway Market on the East Side (1888) anchor the city's Polish street-food tradition, with cash-and-card counter service.

La Nova Pizzeria

• ★ 4.2
• Pizzeria
• $
• West Side

La Nova on West Ferry has been a Buffalo pizza-and-wings tradition since 1957, the original home of fully-cooked shipping wings sold to pizzerias nationwide.

Parkside Candy

• ★ 4.2
• Bakery
• $

Order Sponge candy

Parkside Candy on Main Street at Winspear is a 1927 candy temple, with a walnut soda fountain, oval Adam-period interior and Buffalo's signature sponge candy.

SPoT Coffee (Delaware)

• ★ 4.2
• Café
• $

Drink Mocha

SPoT Coffee on Delaware Avenue downtown is the flagship of the Buffalo-founded coffee chain (since 1996), with a long bar and a steady downtown crowd.

Watson's Chocolates (Elmwood)

• ★ 4.1
• Bakery
• $

Order Sponge candy

Watson's Chocolates on Elmwood Avenue is the Buffalo city shop of the Western New York sponge-candy maker hand-crafting confections since 1946.

Mighty Taco

• ★ 4.0
• Street food
• $
• North Buffalo

Try Beef taco and El Nino burrito

Mighty Taco on Delaware Avenue is the late-night Buffalo Tex-Mex chain (since 1973) every local defends, with the beef taco and El Nino burrito on the late.

Caramici's Italian Bakery

• ★ 4.0
• Bakery
• $

Order Pignoli cookies

Caramici's Italian Bakery on Elmwood Avenue serves Buffalo's Italian-American cookie tray with pignoli, biscotti and seasonal Sicilian sweets to order.

Mighty Taco (Delaware Avenue)

• ★ 4.0
• Street food
• $

Try Beef taco and El Nino burrito

Mighty Taco on Delaware Avenue is the late-night Buffalo Tex-Mex chain (since 1973) every local defends, with the beef taco and El Nino burrito on the late.

Anchor Bar (Lunch)

• ★ 4.0
• American diner
• $

Try Original Buffalo wings

Anchor Bar on Main Street serves the original Buffalo wings at lunch (invented 1964), with sampler portions, blue cheese and celery under twenty dollars.