Liberty Cafe

Food is good, but they take too long to make it. Waiting 20 minutes for lunch to be served is too long. Call ahead (if you can find a menu online - which we couldn't - lol, so outta touch, it's 2012 yolo)

I went to school in Fredonia when Liberty's was a place only one of my friend's had been to and when we were on our way there he said, "look, when we get there, just don't say nothin.  No jokes, no nothin."  

I thought maybe it was because we were underage, but it was really because there were about 6 extremely inebriated townies who gave us the exact same space alien look Erica C. described.  

The bartender was actual young--a college student or maybe recent grad and she was so damn pleased to have two "normal" people in there that we got our drinks for free.

I never went back even with the lure of free drinks.  I always felt like I was going to get townie mugged, or maybe taken home by a toothless woman whilst blacked out.

I don't know about it these days, but back then I never would have had a burger there.

It's still the same old Liberty's to me.

When I was a student at Fredonia State in the 1990's, rumors abounded about this place. Lore held it was a seedy, townie bar featuring a mechanical bull, though no eyewitness ever confirmed it as fact.

One drunken night in about 1998, a friend and I hauled our inebriated butts out of downtown, stumbled up the sidewalk and bravely ventured inside. It was like walking uninvited into someone's living room. We were too tipsy to care much. I recall the drinks were kiddie-sized and served in tiny glasses, and every patron at the petite bar was well into their fourth or fifth decade of existence. They stared at us like we were space aliens who had just invaded their secret clubhouse. I remember playing a video game and being conspicuously proud of the fact that we'd been so bold as to finally investigate the hoopla of the Liberty Cafe. Perhaps it used to be called the Liberty Bell Cafe? Not sure. Anyways, sadly, there was no mechanical bull.

About a year ago I heard the place had been re-imagined as a restaurant and was getting good word of mouth. We went for Friday fish fry in January and were very pleased: the battered fish fry is tasty but their lemon-pepper and Italian-style broiled fish are also unique. Most local fish fry places serve the broiled fish option in a dish of sloppy butter and oil, but the Liberty Cafe plates it "dry" and the result is much fresher-tasting fish. My dad and father-in-law both ordered burgers (they were massive) and gave them high marks.

It was quite busy and crowded the Friday we went and ended up having to wait about 10 or 15 minutes for them to accommodate our table of 6 but the friendly staff thanked us for our patience and then set about ensuring we enjoyed our meal. Service was quick and professional.

The Liberty Cafe is located in a former 2-story home on a mostly residential street (there is a garage on the corner of Main and Prospect and down a little farther is the Fredonia Beaver Club). It is easy to overlook the Liberty Cafe because it simply doesn't look like a street that features a restaurant. Parking is on the street. There does appear to be a lot located across the street, but when we went it was pretty snowy and we were unclear if patrons were permitted to park there and we didn't want to risk it.