Folks, run...don't walk! This place is THE true culinary and dining gem of Niagara Falls/Niagara County. This is the true definition of a gastro pub. This restaurant is the place to go for a top notch meal, all while still incredibly family friendly (even a family bathroom) and casual/relaxed. The interior is classy, well thought out, and just a refreshing atmosphere from the typical generic restaurants all around.
Beer! There are roughly 50 beers on tap, and there are quite a few you won't typically find anywhere else. An example, Creme Brûlée from Southern Tier Brewery. That is one of my favorite beers, which is not always available.
The food, is impeccable. For an appetizer, I ordered the glorious ultimate baked potato soup. This was thick, tasty, and well seasoned with sautéed garlic and chopped chives. It had a nice melted cheese/bacon top to it. For my main course, I ordered the Surf and Turf burger. You really need to see this thing (and yes I posted a picture). It has a perfectly seasoned and juicy hamburger as well as the best lobster/crab cake I have ever had in this area. You combine both with a nice, spicy red pepper aioli and fresh tomato slice, and this is one hell of a burger. It's so big I had to eat it in two parts. I was just fine with that, as it was that incredible. I chose the smoked Gouda shells and cheese as my side. It was $2 extra, but oh my god was it worth it. That is some of the best shells and cheese I have had. Combine everything for the most satisfying meal.
We had a great server with the perfect and warm attitude, and was very knowledgable when I had questions for beer and other things on the menu. It was clear she was trained properly and knew what the kitchen was cranking out.
All in all, if you want a cool, relaxed place to enjoy a good beer and top notch meal...GO! You will thank me.
So here's the deal... I had heard so many good things about this place maybe I just expected amazing....and I'll give you the idea and the menu screams amazing...delivery though not so much. Portions were soso on our calamari ... I loved the pepper dew deal....my scotch egg was pretty good- not the best ever, but lets be honest I don't run into scotch eggs often so I wouldn't have been so picky... but one egg for 6 and change is a bit intense. My husband liked his fish...my hardest critic -the 3 year old- dug the Mac n cheese (and we stole more than our fair share of bites as this was the ewwy gooey cheesy crown jewel of the visit). I was not overly impressed w the deviled eggs...they were a bit lack luster  w no major kick except the splashes of hot sauce. My tuna taco was the worst of the group. It more apply should be called a nacho as the shell was square and flat. Totally over loaded w coleslaw... very heavy ...shell thing broke apart in your hand.... not a win for me. Love the idea of fine dinning in Niagara falls... would try it again....LOVED the beer options!
Review Source:An unexpected delight :)
The Griffon Pub was introduced to me through my Aunt. She is a Niagara Falls native and not the best cook in the world so lets just say she has her experience in dinning out. It was for her belated birthday and I told her I would treat her to dinner where ever she wanted. I'm glad she picked this place. It wasn't too fancy, we came in our jeans and hoodies. Once we got there I never even knew there was a restaurant there before, but from what I hear they did a great remolding job. It was beautiful inside! Way better than any restaurant I've been to in NF that wasn't part of the Casino or a home cooked meal. Â
I wish I didn't have to drive home so I could taste some the yummy beer selections, but the food sufficed just as well. We split a salad and sandwich.
*Roasted Strawberry Salad
Arugula & spring mix with fresh oven-roasted sliced strawberries, balsamic glazed & grilled chicken, Apple wood smoked bacon, panko breaded goat cheese & almond slivers - $13
*Croque Monsieur
A traditional French Sandwich with our own twist...Thick-cut sliced bread, slathered with béchamel sauce, filled with fresh-roasted, all-natural, smoked turkey breast, Dijon mustard, caramelized pears & gruyere cheese,
baked in the oven - $11
The Panko breaded goat cheese alone could be an appetizer! They melted in your mouth and the dressings on the salad are fantastic! The sandwich was very tasty as well. Not nearly as good as the salad though.
Not a perfect Score b/c I still need to try the drinks so until next time.
Can't say enough good things about this pub and restaurant. Â Awesome appetizer( or food before food) selection, delicious burgers, and fantastic desserts! Â And when you can serve a chicken and waffle sandwich....just....awesome. Â Had the Pub poutine for a starter (garlic parm fries with cheese curds and gravy), a burger, chicken and waffles, and the candy corn pound cake for dessert. Â add in 50 beers on tap, and awesome service to go with it, and the military road dining experience just got wayyyy better
Review Source:I believe that Niagara Falls is in the midst of a culinary and evolutionary renaissance, and these guys are leading the way. Â I thought I would be old and gray before I saw chicken and waffles in Niagara Falls, but yet it's here! Â Throw away any memories or impressions of the former businesses that occupied the space. Â It has been gutted and is nothing like it's former self. Â
The food, simply put is amazing. Â Chive and basil waffles make the bun for panko breaded fried, bacon, jalepeno slaw and maple aioli. Â Plus you get garlic parmesean fries too.
If you are hungry, or thirsty, then run - don't walk -to one of the culinary gems of the WNY area!
Just a few quick words about this great new Niagara Falls pub.
A beautifully designed pub atmosphere, very new and clean. The service was friendly and excellent and fast!
The beer selection was 40+.I had the Shipyard Pumkinhead Ale , very nice season appropriate flavor.
Highly recommend the buffalo chicken deviled eggs as an appetizer, they were divine.
The burgers we ordered were piled with crispy onions and the burger themselves were HUGE and very good.
So happy to see this type of establishment investing in Niagara Falls.More should follow suit, it is time.
We will definately be back soon.
I have come to accept a few things as truth.
1. The service at restaurants is usually pretty crappy the first week they are open.
2. The closer you get to the Niagara Falls Outlet Mall the worse the food gets.
3. The food scene in Niagara Falls NY has been in steady decline for some time.
I am glad to say that the Griffon Pub proved me wrong on all three of these when I dined there last Sunday.
I spent most of my life growing up in Niagara Falls and got pretty used to accepting that with a few rare exceptions (La Hacienda for pizza, Viola's for the occasional sub, and a sorely missed John's Flaming Hearth for the closest thing Niagara Falls had to upscale dining) the best you could do In Niagara Falls, especially around the mall were type of chain restaurants that I avoid like the plague. In the last few years more and more local restaurants have closed and signs for The Olive Garden, Chili's, and Buffalo Wild Wings have become sadly commonplace.
Based on a recommendation from my mother and few friends I went to check out the newly opened Griffon Pub On Military Ave, which had only been open for 5 days as of my visit. I went in with family for an early dinner. I wasn't expecting much from the service but the staff was super friendly, attentive, knowledgeable, and really passionate about the restaurant and the food they were serving.
Here are some of the highlights from my meal.
1. Buffalo Chicken Deviled Eggs (These blew me away - one of my favorite snacks, and this place does their version really well)
2. Shrimp Po' Boy - The perfect Po Boy, really well seasoned but not too salty friend shrimp on a great roll. Â Not at all sloppy or overdressed either served just right.
3. Crab  - My sister in law had these beer steamed crab legs and ended up sharing them with the whole table. Normally in places like the falls people eat their shellfish as an excuse to eat pure butter. But these crab legs didn't even need it. Sweet, tender, easy to crack, and well seasoned from their steam bath. The price was very reasonable for the amount brought to the table.
Partway through our meal the owner came out of the kitchen to say hello and ended up chatting with us for some time about the food and his past experiences. He was extremely nice and really ended up being a wonderful and gracious host. Overall it was a great experience. The worst part was leaving the restaurant (which could easily be killing it in Buffalo or Lewiston) and realizing that you are still in NIagara Falls. Still it is nice to see a restaurant trying to do something different in that area and to do it really really well. I will definitely be back
When I think of food on the US side of Niagara Falls and food, what comes to mind is generally "EW." Between the string of Applebee's, Olive Garden and other bad chain restaurants and possibly sketchy Indian places (I love Indian food but was warned about eating at most of them - plus since I live in Buffalo there are much better options closer. Anyway...) I don't really think of driving to Niagara Falls just to eat (save for the occasional pizza at La Hacienda) but can honestly say Griffon Pub has changed that.
My boyfriend's mom lives out that way & informed us of this place that just opened that she went to for lunch last week that we HAD to try, so tonight five of us went to the Griffon. Checking out the website before we went I knew I'd have a hard time deciding what to order - if you're a beer drinker you may have a hard time deciding what to drink as they have 50 beers on tap.
The decor is nice- dark wood floors, dark ceiling, dark wood tables and very roomy booths. All this darkness made it seem pretty cozy though - It sort of reminded me of Black Rock Kitchen and Bar in that sense.
There's a regular menu and then a pub menu so there is a lot of good stuff to choose from (the types of wings were crazy.. I couldn't believe how many choices there was. I'll save them for another time though.) There was a lot to try so we got apps for the whole table - an order of Buffalo chicken deviled eggs (favorite!), an order of
devils on horseback (from the website: Port wine steeped prunes stuffed with gorgonzola cheese, wrapped in Apple wood smoked bacon, broiled until crispy, drizzled with balsamic glaze - this was my boyfriend's favorite appetizer - I didn't try it) and an order of Thai mussels (which I don't eat but every else went nuts for them. I sopped up some broth with the garlic bread that came with it and it was really good). The deviled eggs were so fantastic that we ordered a second plate and instantly devoured it.
As far as entrees go, I couldn't decide between a cheeseburger and the the Mangia steak ("thick-cut Italian garlic bread topped with garlic herb goat cheese, fresh arugula, oven roasted tomatoes, grilled & sliced filet of sirloin, finished with a drizzle of balsamic reduction & crispy onion nest) I usually like to order cheeseburgers at places because it's always a good gauge for me, but on the waiter's recommendation I got the steak sandwich. I wasn't disappointed in the least!! I got it with onion rings instead of fries and they were crispy and perfect. The portion of garlic bread and steak was HUGE. The steak was perfectly cooked medium and really really tender. There was a good amount of goat cheese but not so much that it was overpowering everything else and the portions of everyone's dishes were hug - including the crab that someone ordered.. everyone had some - there was just so much!
We finished off dinner with a slice of  homemade Reese cheesecake.. it was a HUGE slice and just... my god, I can't even explain it. It was unbelievably delicious - always great when places go the extra mile to not have frozen dessert, IMO.
I usually don't go to new places right when they first open - I prefer to give them time to work the kinks out before I go. In the end though, had I not known it just opened I would have thought they had been in operation for a while because I didn't see any of the typical "new restaurant" stuff that goes on.
Our waiter was great, really friendly and helpful answering our tons of questions about the menu. Actually all the staff was really pleasant and the owner stopped by our table a few times - he was really personable and engaging. A super bonus in my opinion - I asked how late the kitchen was open and honestly I can't remember what he said (oops)- BUT he said that the plan was that in a few months they would have the kitchen open LATE LATE, like 2-3am, which is great because I really think there aren't enough quality late night eats in WNY.
The prices are really reasonable for how much food you get, I wouldn't think twice about it.
I definitely see myself making many more trips to NF to go here. I wish this place all the best and hope they keep doing what they did tonight!
Another gem has opened in the Falls. 50 beers on tap, with a mix of mainstream and craft. Buffalo chicken deviled eggs were to die for. Ordered two helpings! Â Surf n turf burger was great. Gnocchi pouting awesome. Gouda Mac n cheese was great. No kids menu, but no problem. Wait staff was attentive and friendly. Good crowd! Â Great time, will be back again and again!
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