This is a hotel bar/restaurant let's say that's the only reason we ate here. As a hotel bar it is probably a great place to have a drink before going to the room. It is a nice layed out place and very clean. The waitress we had was very nice and the chef was very talkative. The music was great for a night of drinking alone or with your significant other. Now the food...... I ordered a bacon cheeseburger. The burger was in the top ten driest tasteless burgers I have ever had. The presentation was on point. The fries were cooked to perfection and everything was served nice and hot. My wife ordered a club and it had a lot of meat in it but also was dry. The lettuce was chopped, that is a little different for a club but hard to keep on it. The tomatoes were really small and sliced and cut so also hard to keep on the sandwich. The fries were really good. read more

I ordered the Margherita flatbread & the brisket potato skins. The flatbread was quite nasty, not much flavor, not crispy, kind of tasted like dish water. The potato skins are edible, but for $17 absolutely not. They are tiny and clearly have jarred bbq on top. None of it was worth the price, I don't feel satisfied unfortunately. I will say, the bartender was amazing. But the food was not it. read more

We had dinner with another couple prior to an RBTL show and it was great. The food, service and atmosphere could not have been better. We had a comfortable booth and the atmosphere was relaxed so we could talk and actually hear each other. Overall, a lovely dinner. read more

A nice clean restaurant. There was no waiting when we went at 7:30 pm on a Saturday evening. The food was cooked properly, tasted well. The staff were very courteous. I would come back again. read more

Drifters - 12 ounce Rib Eye steak from Drifters. Cooked well, staff was very courteous. - New American Near Me - Rochester, New York

Brandi is the shit, best bartender in downtown. If you need a hotel beer or even some dinner in downtown Rochester this is a hidden gem.

We ordered off the very limited bar-style menu for takeout while staying at the Garden Inn because we had to (logistics related to our stay) and had low expectations...but everything we got turned out to be excellent, including a shockingly good reuben and better than average mac and cheese. They packaged everything up nicely, included condiments and utensils (it's bizarre how many times I have to ask for these at most takeout options), and the food was hot and fresh exactly when they said it would be. Vegetarian options are limited to a single salad (or two if you count the caprese) and a portabello burger. The vegetarian member of our party had a decent if unspectacular salad. I was tempted to try the beer but for the circumstances of the evening, and the fact the food was ready when promised do I didn't have the excuse of sudsing up while I waited; but the vibe appeared to be pretty mellow. They are hotel lounge prices, though, fwiw. read more

We had family from out of town staying at the Hilton Garden Inn downtown, so we decided to chill at Drifters on a Sunday night. The bartender was great! Attentive and funny. Decor is nice! Food.. delicious. We ordered wings, potstickers. Then more wings. And yes a 3rd order lol. The food coming out for other customers looked amazing too. Full bar and fairly resonable I'll definitely visit here again! read more

Drifters - New American Near Me - Rochester, New York

We came here to celebrate a friend's birthday dinner. It is located inside the Hilton Garden Inn Downtown. Parking here is horrendous. We had to pay $6 to park in the garage as all street parking was not plowed and full of snow. Once inside the staff told us where to find the restaurant as it is quite big inside. We were seated right away as it was not very busy with only a few tables filled. Our waitress was clearly sick and smelled very strongly of cigarettes. If I was not there for a birthday dinner, I would have left right away. She was not super friendly but was very helpful with the menu. I ordered the buffalo chicken mac and cheese, along with another member of our party. It came to the table covered in blue cheese crumbles even though nowhere on the menu stated it came with that. I tried to pick as much of it off as I could as I do not like blue cheese. The meal itself was not very good. The chicken was extremely dry, and the mac and cheese were pretty basic for a $16 price tag. Out of the six of us, no one enjoyed their meal. I do not recommend Drifters. It is possibly one of my least favorite restaurants in Rochester. read more

Drifters - Buffalo chicken Mac and cheese - New American Near Me - Rochester, New York

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Pretzel bites tasted like they came out of the microwave. Mac and cheese has next to no flavor. Food made me wish I had just skipped a meal.

Service here was SLOW. We came for lunch, there were only a few tables that were taken, and there seemed to only be 1 waitress. We came at 12:30, and had to gobble our food to be able to leave at 2:00. Our order wasn't even taken until almost 1:00. And a table that arrived long after us got their food before us. I had a wedge salad, and it was ok, but nothing special. Nothing I'd go back for, and I'm definitely in no hurry to go back. read more

This is the bar and restaurant located in the hotel where my boyfriend and I stayed when we were in town recently for a wedding. They were solid. The charcuterie platter we ordered to tide us over between the ceremony and the reception was abundant and had some nice local selections. The drinks were not spectacular but similarly featured some local spirits, which I'm always game for trying. I am always disappointed when a bar uses the fluorescent pink maraschino cherries muddled with orange in their Old Fashioneds, so I tend to drop points in my rating of those places. But both of the bartenders we met otherwise seemed knowledgeable and friendly. read more

Drifters - menu - New American Near Me - Rochester, New York

This is s great bar and restaurant in its own right; it just happens to be connected to the Hilton garden inn. Usually those have the breakfast then a Standard basic restaurant that is fine and fits the bill if your hotel is in a corporate park and you are stranded for dinner. This hotel did the usual breakfast yes, but across the hall is Drifters. This is not the typical garden inn restaurant. I ate there twice and had a wonderful piece of salmon on top of arugula salad and some terrific homemade chicken tenders. You get four large tenders. Choice of two sauces. I recommend the blue cheese and maple. If you don't want to walk around downtown Rochester and are not up to paying for Morton's on the corner, this makes for a very well prepared relaxed dinner and drink spot. read more

Look. Listen. They have an Old Fashion here that is literally one of the best I've ever had. Makers Mark to be exact. Please note this is a review and rate on solely the bar, but I think they are well worth trying the food based on that. Really good customer service at this place and gave me a ton of suggestions for dinner. Great guy behind the bar, ask for Ed. read more

Drifters - Look. Listen. This here is a Old Fashion. Makers Mark to be exact. - New American Near Me - Rochester, New York

Great wine list and craft beer on tap. Great spot for happy hour steps from South Ave garage. Very modern and beautiful interior as well. You might see a lot of employees from the several surrounding office buildings in addition to the out of town guests staying in the Hilton. The dining area is very chic which is a complete contrast to the food quality. There's typical hotel food and then there is bad hotel food. This spot is all bad. The only chow worth ordering is the Chicken & Waffles appetizer which is a meal in itself. A friend told me that it recently no longer available and I have not dined as of late to verify. - Their mac and cheese is completely bland. - The burger meat taste too cheap. - Fish Tacos were tough, unseasoned and unappealing. - Ahi Tuna...why did I even... My coworkers and I strict ourselves to just have drinks. Their beer rotation is great and their Happy Hour specials rival Branca Midtown...for now. I'd like to see some improvements with the food so it would make sense to dine in such pretty setting. It could be that the kitchen has no control over the food supplier and simply have to work with what they got. read more

Four Stars because Drifters has four things going for it that I care about. First, their service is great. Friendly, considerate, and always professional. Second, they are open late in downtown Rochester, until 10 most nights and 9 on Sundays which makes them convenient when I am visiting from out of town, in a hotel, and in the mood for a quick bite and drink which brings me to the other two stars. The third is because they have one go to handheld that I like. The Drifters Burger. While their Bison Meatloaf is dry, their grilled Caeser isn't anything resembling such, their burger is a juicy combination of meat, bun, onion jam, roasted garlic aioli, tomato, aged cheddar, and... um... kale I guess. The point is it is very tasty and something I can look forward to getting and liking after a long drive from out of town. Their, "chicken pot pie" is also good. Why is it in quotes? See above for Ceaser Salad. They seem to really work that deconstructed angle with their dishes and sometimes, I suppose, it works. Though in all honesty, sometimes I like to just get what I am expecting. Like when I order a salad. While we are talking about salads, I recommend getting the Broccoli and Grape over the Caeser or Wedge. Finally, and this is the best star item in my opinion, is that Drifters is first and foremost a good bar. You can get good drinks there. Whether you want to try an old fashioned with Makers mark, or a Maple old fashioned or to have them use one of the local distillery's (which I recommend) spirits such as Black Button, to make a local craft like their Black Button Russian (bespoke bourbon gin, vodka, kaluha, shaken and served over ice) or their Citrus Forward Ginwith Arnold Palmer mixed and poured cold from the tap you will have a good drink and an easy time getting your buzz on. If cocktails aren't your thing, they also have a solid wine list and stock a good variety of typical and local craft beers. One of my go to beer's when I am in town is their Rohrbach Wee Heavy Scotch Ale which sports a 7% ABV that gets the job done. I'll just wrap up by saying whether you are in your room in your boxers getting it delivered or in their well designed, urban industrial ambiance filled location, you will be able to have a good meal and a good drink all day and most of the night which is a lot more than you sometimes get when you get to a hotel in downtown Rochester after a long drive. Drifters puts a little bit of romance back into the road and makes you feel like you're the road warrior version of Don Draper. Enjoy! read more

I want to give this place 3.5 stars but on the basis of it being the first passable bar to open on this side of Main Street in god knows how many years, it'll have to be 4. The name. Eh. For providing a view of bus stations and the somewhat depressing storefronts on Main Street, the word "Drifters" is darkly ironic. I wanted to laugh when I asked the bartender what it was supposed to mean and he replied, "Well, a drifter is a traveler who wanders from place to place." I looked outside at the snow, the bundled up people with backpacks stumbling down Main Street and felt...eh. You know. Not inspired. The bar is attached to the brand new Hilton Garden Inn, which is beautiful inside. Drifters is similarly gorgeous with a wrought iron bar and a restored industrial design style. There's a black and white photograph just next to the bar of this very location and street corner closer to the turn of the 20th Century. It's super cool and applauds the beauty of this city during its prime time; a heyday that I sometimes dream of: when the robber barons ran rampant, the muckrakers ruled the press, and the philanthropists, including George Eastman, were contributing to the infrastructure of a mighty booming town. There is history in this Drifters bar, which endears it a bit to this community. The draft list draws from local favorites CB and Fairport Brewing. The menu is standard but flirts with the South, boasting of a shrimp po'boy and chicken & waffles appetizer. We didn't try anything to eat on this visit, but enjoyed a few beers at the bar -- fully decked out with a couple of nice flat screen TVs. Not enough to give it a sports bar feel, but enough to make it a place where you could comfortably watch a game or match. The big (and it's big) downside is that the beers are easily $1 more expensive than competitors around town. Figure that this a function of its attachment to the hotel. It will be hard to draw a crowd that is independent of the hotel clientele if the menu is casual but the alcohol prices are a bit dear. At any rate, it's exciting to see a place this nice popping up on Main Street. Definitely go see for yourself! read more

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Good selection of draft beers, excellent pastrami Reuben accompanied by very good crispy fries. Chicken fingers were very crispy. A pleasant downtown eatery which is very needed in Rochester. read more

I really wanted to like this place. No luck with that. Servers were nice but drinks took 20 minutes to come out and the food for lunch was dismal. The Cuban sandwich was super dry and the bread super thick and tough. The cream of chicken soup was basically just a bowl of flavorless cream. They didn't have any Bloody Mary mix (this is inside a Hilton next to the Convention Center!), only had 5 champagne glasses (we needed 6) and they had no copper cups for the Moscow Mules. Unbelievable. Definitely won't be back. Giving 2 stars instead of one due to one person liking their turkey wrap and another liked their salad. read more

Recently stopped in for drinks on a Friday night. They were only open until 10pm. Good service, good draft list for a hotel bar, but what bar closes at 10 on a Friday night? There aren't a lot of good options in that part of downtown so that was disappointing. read more

THE MAC AND CHEESE IS HEAVEN !! I had the Chicken and Waffles which was honestly better than I thought it would be. The waffle was big and fluffy, it may have been wheat too? I'm not sure but it was delicious and the chicken big and perfect. I could barely finish. My friend had Buffalo Chicken w/ Mac and Cheese. His meat was perfection as if it was made to order and the Mac and Cheese was soooooooooo good I had to order a side for myself and for 7$ you get a whole heck of a lot!! I recommend this place to anyone at anytime of the day! read more

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Hotel bar and sub par visit. Steaks were undercooked and they took a really long time to be served. Also under cooked was the chicken in the caesar salad. After talking to the manager they comped the meal and invited us back for a second try, had I not been there for work I wouldn't have gone back. The second visit was much better but I wouldn't want to chance a repeat of the first night in the future. read more

Love the decor in here. The floor was awesome I know weird right. I ordered the garbage plate and it was one of the best plates I've ever had. My wife's Mac and cheese was good too. Prices were okay a tad high but the plate was soo good! Good beer selection too. Don't like that we had to pay for parking. Add $2 at least to your bill. read more

Excellent pub fair. Everyone loved their food from the fantastic Mac and Cheese to the great wings, burgers, and fries. Full bar with craft beers on tap. read more

This place is great. Not the cheapest place but worth it. Delicious chicken tenders for lunch. Bartenders are cool... don't forget to tip them lol. read more

Dissatisfied to say the least. I won't bash, but some things need to be worked on. When asked what size the steak on the menu is, an answer including "oz" is normally expected. When the answer is a server making a circle shape with their hand... hard to tell. I ordered the charcuterie for an App. The server came back and apologized, stating that it was off the menu tonight because the chef "did not like how the items looked in the back". This made me quite Leary of eating here. You may want to chose your words a bit more carefully. Mac and cheese was ok, steak was cooked properly but very bland. Pulled pork neither looks or tastes like any bbq or pulled pork I have ever had, strange but not horrible. Finally.... my Martini. I asked for a double beefeater martini, dry, dirty with a twist. I got this thing... twist of lemon, no olive, way too much vermouth and some floating sediment.. tomorrow I will try somewhere else. You have potential, and friendly people are always nice, just a tune up. read more

Drifters - New American Near Me - Rochester, New York

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Ryan runs a tight ship, and the food is fantastic. For a hotel bar, this place is top notch. The rotating beer list is great and includes some local flavor, not to mention the liquor selection (featuring Black Button options from nearby). The bar staff is friendly and makes a pretty good cocktail too. If you just need a snack, try the hearty meat and cheese plate, they don't skimp on the food here! read more

Drifters - Hanger Steak - New American Near Me - Rochester, New York

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I eat here when I travel to Rochester for work. The salmon entree is very good and a healthy option. I've also had the bison meatloaf and I was surprised by how tasty it was. I typically seat at the bar and the food comes out very quickly, so I'm pleased with service. This restaurant can be super empty at times, so if you are looking for a place with some energy, this may not be it. For me, as a traveler, that is not a problem. read more

If you like gooey, creamy, and delicious Mac and cheese this is the place for you. Great service, great food.

Had the Reuben and Fries. It was hot and delicious. It looks recently remodeled and has a classy rustic wood and iron finish. The menu isn't huge, which I like. Decent happy hour available. There is a lack of signage outside though, It took me a few minutes to find this place as I was staying at a nearby hotel. It's located in the same building as the Hilton Garden Inn but doesn't have a hotel restaurant/bar feel to it. Great Job Guys! read more

Drifters - New American Near Me - Rochester, New York

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Found this gem when I was in the Roc a week ago and even though they're still ramping up from the Covid nightmares, I had a really good experience. The bartender was super nice and the food was way above what I've come to expect from any bar that's attached to a hotel and I've been a road warrior for over 20yrs now. Oh and it was waaaayy cheaper than most hotel restaurants/bars. The only issue I had was that she wasn't able to open the bottle of wine I wanted a glass from because of the lack of people coming in so it didn't make financial sense for them to open the bottle and not have enough patrons to finish what I started. So go to Drifters and keep going back! read more

Solid happy hour/lunch spot if you work downtown. I wouldn't go out of my way for Drifters, but I'll come for the convenience and some of the food. Drifters is located on the currently-under-construction section of Main Street. It's connected to the Hilton--in fact, if you need to use the restroom while at Drifters, you'll use he Hilton's. The actual restaurant entrance is off to the left when you enter the Hilton from the street. Seating is pretty limited but fortunately they're not usually busy. Service is okay. Every server I've encountered has been friendly but it's never exceptionally quick or over the top. They are accommodating if you're on a time crunch which is useful for lunch time! Their menu is a mix of standard bar food with a couple interesting surprises. The flatbread, for example, is delicious--the mix of light ricotta, meaty root vegetables, and sweet balsamic is a delight. The wing sauces are also interesting, although I've found the wings tend to come out a little oily. Wraps are solid, too. They have a variety of beers on tap, including local. I was pleased to see they were featuring the Naked Dove Berry Naked last time I was in. Its definitely appealing to hit up a bar within waking distance for happy hour and find local brews on tap! I'll keep coming back to Drifters because of the solid food and friendly service, but it's not usually my first choice! read more

Very disappointed. Was told by the Hilton front desk this establishment, "wasn't like other hotel restaurants." She was correct in that it looks much better then most. The bartender had to come from behind the bar to sit us. Our server Chuck was good and is the sole owner of these stars. If not for him this would be a zero star review. The chicken and waffles were bad. The chicken was tough and unseasoned, the waffles were fluffy but cold. The "maple syrup mustard" was just honey mustard with no hint of maple at all. The "smoked paprika butter" had no smoke whatsoever. So I'm inclined to believe they used regular Spanish paprika. Had the Bison Meatloaf. Again everything was unseasoned with an awkwardly sweet mustard dressing. The garlic mashed potatoes had no garlic flavor, were dry and for the love of god don't smash russet potatoes as skin on mashed potatoes. It isn't rustic, they're dirty. The side salad was warm and wilted and red onions are NOT for frying. They don't get crispy, they only get soggy. STAY AWAY. read more

Maybe compared to your average Rochester hotel restaurant/bar Drifters is impressive, but yeah it's pretty lousy as a stand alone establishment. Came here on a sunday afternoon after an event at the convention center, and it was a ghost town as is typical for downtown on weekends. First disappointment was the poutine. DON'T GET IT. Ridiculously salty and the fries pleaded for their crispy lives as the drowned in gallons of salty gravy. We're we not so hungry we wouldnt have eaten it. Went with some entrees others have recommended on here. Steak hoagie was not liked. I got the chicken and waffles which was actually not half bad. The tenders were a little tough and not well flavored, but the waffle was soft, fluffy and the chili aioli spread they give you added a nice flavor contrast to the sweetness and saltiness already there. Besides the food, I found the interior of this place really cool. Definitely has a big city, trendy feel to it and the designers knew what they were doing. Too bad its being wasted in a bad location. If I were a guest at the Hilton or just happened to be nearby and wanted a few beers and appetizers I might come here again...but please do not pay for parking and come here looking for a decent dinner. You wont get it read more

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This place is so unorganized. There is not enough staff to work during dinner rush, Therefore service is poor. Amazingly though everyone has a pleasant attitude and willing to help when available. The food is good but I would like to go when it's not so busy. read more

Food is average, service is average, ambience is average. Food menu is quite limited though. Didn't want to eat here but we went out and walked around the hood and all restaurants were full. read more

For a hotel restaurant, it was surprisingly delicious. Ordered the chicken and waffles and it did not disappoint. Expecting the usual - the taste was out of this world. Partner ordered the appetizer sampler and there was plenty of food - more than enough for dinner. When visiting Rochester I would recommend. read more

First off, this is a lovely space. I liked the industrial/vintage look, although the entrance through the hotel into what appears to be (but is not) the restaurant is confusing. The evening we went, there was only one server and one bartender working. While the server was slow to seat us, we otherwise received prompt, friendly service. I watched her book it from one end of the restaurant to the other and that smile never left her face. I hope that night was not a norm for her! The menu is inventive, with fun riffs on old standbys. I was impressed by the creativity in a hotel restaurant. The poutine is delicious, although not what I expected. Instead of a traditional beef gravy, it comes with a creamy mushroom gravy. Different, but still delicious! It's a big order too, so be sure to share. Come to think of it, all of the food was enormous. My coworker ordered the chicken and waffles and there was enough food there to feed him two meals, plus give me some for the next morning. I loved the chili butter that came with it and had trouble not using my fingers to finish off the ramekin. The bar has a great selection of craft beers as well. The prices, for the amount and quality of food you receive, are very reasonable. I will definitely be back here the next time I'm in Rochester! read more

I struggled with whether to give this place 3 or 4 stars, as I'd probably rate it 3.5, but at the end of the night I just didn't think it quite earned 4. We decided to try Drifters for our date night last night because we were tired of the same-old Rochester offerings, and the reviews were favorable enough to give it a go. Our first impression was great. The restaurant itself is really beautifully done with leather and bronze - very "in" style. I will say though that it always kind of puts me on guard when we're the only diners in a restaurant, but maybe it was just the holiday weekend causing the lack of patrons. Our server was nice but kind of unsure of... everything? He wasn't super knowledgeable about the draughts, or the specifics of the daily specials. Still, he was prompt and professional. We ordered the Poutine and Chicken and Waffles to share, and then the Steak Hoagie to split for an entree. The gravy on the poutine was good, although some of the fries were burned (how? no idea). There was way more gravy than fries, so there was a lot left in the bottom of the dish when we were done, not a big deal, but it did tend to make the bottom fries mushy. This would have been great, though, if not for the cheese. I've had poutine before so I know the cheese comes mostly in curd sizes, but in this dish the cheese sat in huge clumps that didn't spread, so we mostly didn't eat it, because we didn't feel like having to cut the chunks up with every bite. The chicken and waffles were good in flavor, but the chicken was a little tough and chewy, as though it had been frozen and then over-cooked. My husband liked them though. Since we ordered the poutine I didn't want to get more fries with the sandwich, so we opted instead for the french onion soup as a side. The sandwich came out with a side of au jus. The sandwich was pretty good. I was expecting the shaved steak to be, well, shaved steak, but it was strips of cooked steak, which was fine. Sometimes I find that it's super easy to overcook meat that way, but this wasn't too bad, and the onions and cheese were nice. The au jus though was SO. SALTY. Even dipping the bread in was too intense. I chose not to use it after the first two bites because it was just way too much for me. The soup, on the other hand, was absurdly sweet, and definitely the worst dish of the night. I don't mind a little sweetness in french onion soup, but this was almost syrupy tasting. It was just bizarre. We actually tried mixing some of the au jus in with the broth, and it was a little better, but it just couldn't be saved. The other lasting negative impression was that as soon as our food was served our waiter began to loiter near our table. He must have walked past the table looking for our dishes every 5 minutes. It was annoyingly overkill. I appreciative attentiveness, but I don't like feeling rushed and hovered over. So for me it was just "ok" - most things were neither bad or great. They just kind of "were". Unfortunately we don't eat pork and most of the menu involves pork in some way, so unless/until they update the menu we probably won't be back, but once they get some time under their belts, we'd probably give it another shot. read more

Drifters - New American Near Me - Rochester, New York

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One week into operations and it is clear this not your average hotel bar. After attempting a visit last week to discover they were still in the soft open stage, we decided to go back this week to try again. We showed up around 9:30 for a drink thinking the place would only be open until 10, to our surprise the bartender let us know that food service ended at 10 but the bar would be open until midnight, so we no longer felt like we had to drink and leave quickly. In both visits I noticed how excited and energetic the staff is, everyone, not just the managers were clearly very excited to open the hotel and restaurant after months of construction and planning. We did not dine during this trip but did order drinks. Although not yet printed, from the display it is clear they will have a decent wine list and great beer selections, featuring many local breweries. Fairport Brewing has even brewed a beer specifically for Drifters. The bartender and F&B manager were behind the bar when we ordered and were able to answer our questions about the beers on tap without hesitation and offered samples. Taking a look at the menu there were a lot of great options for light meals and full meals. There are a lot of southern dishes and comfort food items, perfect for those travelers staying at the hotel looking for a hearty dinner. I anticipate going back soon to try the food myself. We took our drinks and settled into the lounge chairs in the restaurant that looked out onto Main Street. It was a great way to stay in the restaurant but relax away from other guests and the bar area. Overall, the place has a great look & feel and a team of employees eager to serve. I highly recommend stopping in for a drink or a meal soon! read more

So I have had two meals here the po boy sandwich was delicious and if I could I would give that 5 stars I would. but the burger I had today was very mediocre and burnt! So I wasn't thrilled... I'll cut them some slack since we came with a huge group but they have a great beer selection I was happy with that! The atmosphere is so cute and #hipster it's got that really going for them! Idk the fries are also amazing like extremely amazing! read more

Drifters - Burger and fries meal - New American Near Me - Rochester, New York