Cole's is a quintessential Times Square, New York City-style Irish pub, replete with ample seating, a jumbo-sized menu, and enough beer choices to intrigue. Situated at the head of the Elmwood strip, its location means that people who just happen to be in the neighborhood will always stop on by. A visit to Cole's isn't out of the way of anything. It's on the way to so much.
Like those pubs in Times Square, Cole's knows that it has a virtually endless client base. Like those pubs in Times Square, Cole's knows that all it has to do is maintain the status quo it has upheld for decades to maintain a steady profit. Like those pubs in Times Square, Cole's has no incentive to vigilantly guard the quality of the food it serves, has no incentive to focus on the customer service experience. So it doesn't. So it stays the same, and it fails.
Service-wise, Cole's is a mess. If arriving for dinner, you must first determine which of the girls loitering near a podium is the actual hostess. (Sometimes, this question seems to confuse them as well.) If a wait is required, be sure to provide both first and last name, and be sure to wait close to the podium (rather than at the bar). The hostesses at Cole's seem to have an astounding ability to forget the likenesses of customers. If arriving for drinks, I should add, you may have to knock other patrons over in order to be served. Cole's is by no means busy compared to even moderately busy neighborhood bars in New York, Dallas, San Francisco, and so forth, but the bartenders are incredibly inefficient, ambling helter skelter like headless chickens. Be warned -- should you manage to successfully secure a seat at the bar, a table, or a booth, your wait for food will likely be long. My two most recent waits at Cole's were 44 minutes (for burgers at 2:00 PM, well after the Sunday brunch rush had ended) and 36 minutes (for a salad on a Wednesday night at 7:00 PM).
Food-wise, the only word I can think of in reference to Cole's is "meh." Burgers, wings, fries, chicken sandwiches, salads, and other pub stables are roughly T.G.I. Friday's caliber. Out of the box options (i.e. the Andouille burger) are borderline atrocious. I suppose none of this would be a problem if it weren't for 1) the Elmwood markup on all of their menu items and 2) their local reputation for excellent pub fare. You'd be better off heading across the street to the Blue Monk for Elmwood-priced fare or visiting a Grover's, a Vizzi's, a Gene McCarthy's, or so on for cheaper food and a better experience.
Beer-wise, Cole's does offer one of the better beer line-ups in Buffalo, but the price points are high, and I have reservations about the quality of their facilities. Specifically, I wonder how often they clean their taps. Some of the craft beers that they do serve that I am more intimately familiar with, Goose Island and Ithaca in particular, lacked the distinct taste I had come to love when served at beer Meccas in New York. (Parenthetically, the Chimay tasted fine. Maybe it's the shorter run/rarer items?)
So would I recommend Cole's? No way. Will I expect people to end up there anyway? Probably. After all, it is sitting right at the head of Elmwood Avenue. read more