Wow! I was so impressed with this place. First of all, so many vegan options, and I love that you can make some meals vegan with no extra cost added. Second, the staff is very friendly and attentive. I would definitely return! read more

Nice little diner. Had the beef on weck and it was perfect. French fries were a little salty and they dont serve Pepsi or coke products. Seevice was ok given the fact they were pretty busy. I would eat there again if I was in the area. read more

It looks so cool inside and out for a place in buffalo but the food and service is average at best. It takes sooo long for your food to come even if you're the only ones there. My chief complaint is that its a time commitment to go and wait to see when you'll get your food. Best not to go hungry in a hurry. read more

The worst thing about this place is that I can't sit there all day and keep ordering food.

The servers were tired or unenthused to be working. The food was really good, but a bit slow. The milk shake was a highlight.

The food is amazing a little on the expensive side but very delicious. The fries are bomb! The services could be slow if it is busy.

We thought the food wasn't that good. $50 for 2 adults and 2 children for lunch is a little much for the quality of the food. Also, the 30 minute wait for the crappy food was a little extreme. read more

I went there this morning for breakfast with my mom on the way to see my brother in Buffalo General hospital we are here from las Vegas.. Nobody smiled they were rude,we waited 44minutes and still no food.when I asked where are food was I got a dirty look.we said let's go,the man started screaming your making me waste the food and we left read more

Ordered two breakfasts of eggs, hash browns and crisp bacon, toast, coffee Eggs were good, hash browns were greasy and tasted of fish. Bacon was not crisp, it was undercooked, limpy and dripped with grease. Sent it back to the kitchen, came back burnt around the edges and still undercooked in the middle. Coffee tasted like it was leftover from hours before. They do not use real butter on their toast, they use the cooking margarine. Terrible food, eat at Denney's. read more

Not too familiar with the food options but their milkshakes are to DIE FOR! It was also the first place I tried my first LOGANBERRY (which is a drink that originated here in buffalo). Will be trying out their very affordable food options as the semester progresses read more

My boyfriend and I went to this restaurant because of the show Diners, Dives, and Drive Ins. We like to try places off the food channel. This place definitely had a great diner atmosphere and feel. You could tell it was an older place, and it needed some cleaning, but generally it had a nostalgic quality. The server was great, very friendly, but kind of intense. We ordered milkshakes, and they were hand spun and absolutely amazing! Our sandwiches were also amazing. We were very pleased with our experience and will definitely come back at some point. read more

Had the chicken sandwich and it was very good! i could tell that it was lightly marinated and it really hit the spot. The people in my party had the western bbq burger, steak sandwich, and the bruschetta burger. They all equaled enjoyed it and the fires were even better then five guys loaded fries! After our meal we had shakes. We ordered chocolate peanut butter, mint, and loganberry. The choco pb was fantastic and the ice cream used tasted really fresh. The mint was equally desirable and the loganberry shake was a little lacking in flavor. Other than that it was great meal! Highly Recommended. read more

I found a small rock in my food. I almost cracked my tooth. I showed it to the server she and didn't do anything about. Very disappointed. read more

Lake Effect Diner - The rock in my food. - Diners Near Me - Buffalo, New York

I spent 20 years living in the NYC area. This is THE BEST diner I've ever been to. The place is so cozy and reminds me of a true NY/NJ diner- any meal at any time, 24/7 hours, great Greek food, friendly staff/manager, and no-frills, amazing food. You can't go wrong with any meal here, but there are some things you just have to try. The bacon and ham are both cured in-house and are just incredible. The blueberry pancakes are divine. The orange juice is fresh squeezed and tastes about 100x better than the stuff out of the carton. The milkshakes are made on an old-fashioned machine- my personal favorite is the chocolate peanut butter. The crab cakes are great. The meatloaf is my favorite dinner. Even their salads are great- but really, why are you getting a salad at the diner? It can get pretty crowded,especially on weekends when UB is in session, but if you're willing to wait a bit or eat at the counter, this place really can't be beat! read more

Staff and owner attentive and friendly. Food was good. A cut above most diner food with gourmet touches. Juice was fresh squeezed, that was a treat. Food was very generous and well cooked. Would go again. read more

Lake Effect Diner - Breakfast!! - Diners Near Me - Buffalo, New York

Where do I even begin with this place? My only regret in this life is not coming here more often when I lived in Buffalo. The potato pancakes are to die for. The (homemade, I believe) hot sauce is incredible and unlike anything I've ever had. Their homemade jam is out of this world. Their hash browns (and all their breakfast food, really) are insanely good. They somehow manage to combine a greasy spoon, meat loving menu with abundant vegetarian and vegan options without it seeming weird. My fiance had a totally vegan "eggs benedict" with tofu, vegan hollandaise, and veggie bacon. Yes, you have to wait a long time (both to be seated, and to get your food) which is where I think most of the less-than-five-star reviews come from. But it is WORTH IT, SISTER. read more

Went here for breakfast one morning because I finally decided to see if this place was worth the Guy Fieri hype. I would say it's nice and I enjoyed the food/atmosphere, but there's better places in Buffalo (Cole's). Anyway, I got the chicken souvlaki omelet with multi-grain toast and it was very good. You get a lot of food for the price, so it evens out. The owner or manager (I'm not sure which he has), was super nice and would go to every customer to make sure that everything was up to their standards. The only negative is that it gets super busy there, which I guess only makes sense. Still, don't be surprised if you have to wait some time to get a seat. read more

I've been here before but I have returned again to relive the moments. I ordered the Turkey Hash and it was absolutely delicious. The portions where huge you get what you pay for in portion size and taste. Customer service was good they made sure the water cup was full and checked on you at least 2-3 times just to make sure everything was good to go. I would recommend this place to anyone and I would definitely return. read more

Met a friend here for breakfast. We both had eggs Benedict. It was delicious. Served on lightly toasted baguette, maple pea meal bacon, hollandaise, and the eggs were perfect. Also served with a huge portion of home fries that had a bit of spice. Bottomless cup of coffee that the waitress kept up well with fillings. Great place for breakfast! Great service! read more

Went on a Sunday morning and was pretty busy (which makes sense because of the school nearby and it's a pretty small place) but still was able to get seating in less than 20 minutes. The service wasn't too great and it took a while for our server to get us our food (which I could see because I was sitting on the stool in front of the kitchen) but the food was tasty. read more

Lake Effect Diner - Diners Near Me - Buffalo, New York

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Great food in one of the only "retro" diners in WNY. Be prepared for a menu that goes beyond typical eggs and bacon items. Really enjoyed the number​ of vegan options available as Buffalo is a big steak and potatoes​​ kind of town and it can be hard to find alternatives. We stopped by two weeks ago and had a great service from Laura. Very fast and attentive. My husband (not vegan) had an omelet​ and I tried the vegan BLT (at the server's recommendation​​). Awesome! read more

Wonderful breakfast, homemade breads and jams. Fresh-squeezed orange juice. Owner is lovely. Look forward to coming back!

Really not happy with what we got here. We went around dinner time (530pm) and the sun was going down, so the entire glass diner was like a hot, fishbowl. We were baking and sweating. I ordered corned beef hash and eggs. My eggs were cold and the hash really lacked flavor. I had to salt it. Corned beef needed salt! Like, what? My husband got the meatloaf sandwich. It's NOT meatloaf. It's more like a sloppy joe. But not the tomato based sloppy joe. It was mustard based. His stomach has been sick for 2 days. I did LOVE their French fries that I tasted that came with his meal. And the bathroom was super clean. Other than that, we wished we chose somewhere else. read more

The best bruchetta around. Love to treat myself with an order to eat in house and one to go. There is quite a wait time from the time my order was taken to when I actually got my food. They would do well to have a quicker turn around. Interesting clientele that patronizes the place. read more

Went to this diner because it was on Diners, Drive-in's and Dives. The ambience was very nice, cute little old fashion diner. We sat at the counter and were provided drinks right away. Ordered the bbq meatloaf: seemed to me to be more like a fancy sloppy joe then meatloaf. Kinda disappointing. The husband got the beef on weck and really enjoyed it but wished the horseradish was a sauce rather than straight horseradish. Also ordered a milkshake to go! That was amazing! Seems a bit overpriced to me. But still glad we went. read more

The best breakfast spot in Buffalo without a doubt! The portions are very big and everything was very good especially the fresh squeezed orange juice and homemade jams. Highly recommend this place. read more

Perfectly adequate diner, if you like a side of meth with your eggs over easy.

Food was ok and big portion sizes. My omelette was watery and potatoes seasoning tasted a little weird. Long wait for food. Gotta try again for lunch or dinner read more

Service: Terrible. We came to place a to- go order. The waitstaff avoided eye contact. We grabbed menus from the counter and decided on our order. After greeting the people behind us in line the manager finally talked to us. He told us 15 minutes for a to-go order. This seemed reasonable, so we ordered. After 25 minutes I asked about our order and was informed that our ticket was next. After 5 more orders came out of the kitchen, I asked again about our food. I pointed out that many people who had arrived 15-20 minutes after us already had their food. I was told their food came out earlier because they were "easy" orders. It appears our order of 4 sandwiches was "hard" for the kitchen staff. After 42 minutes our food finally arrived. The manager disagreed that the order had taken a long time. He tried to argue when I suggested this was poor service. The food: Average at best. Sloppily prepared. The toast on the club sandwiches was burnt. Low level of meat to bread. I would avoid the club sandwiches. The wraps were better, but not nearly worth the attitude or the wait. To the restaurant: Be Honest. Admit a ticket was lost or that other people were given preferential treatment because you knew them. Offer a refund or some compensation to a customer who has been inappropriately kept waiting. Hire better kitchen staff. Teach your waitstaff to make eye contact with people who enter and attempt to acknowledge their existence. read more

I've eaten here a handful of times, and each time my experience is not so bad that I would never go again, but bad enough that I stay away awhile hoping things will be better next time. Everything about this refurbished diner car from the 40's should have had the joint poised for success from the start. Cool retro vibe, open late late late for the college crowd (in the midst of the popular University Heights pub crawl strip), a great comfort food menu with fresh cut fries, grilled cheese, all your breakfast favorites available all day/night, and old fashioned milkshakes in a gazillion flavors. Yet any time I've been here it's a ghost town. In a town where almost every Greek restaurant or greasy spoon is packed on weekend nights this is telling in itself. The food is OK, but one has to wonder how much care is put into the freshness/ quality of the ingredients. Our entrees all seemed like they had been sitting around awhile. Considering that we were the only people in the place, my fresh cut fries should have been fresh, instead they seemed like something that had been sitting in a steam tray for a while. My friends spinach feta omelet had brown/green spinach, not inedible, but more like it had been cooking on a griddle a bit longer than it needed to. All in all a meal that served its purpose, to put something in your belly that isn't fussy or complicated. The service however is in desperate need of some kind of managerial oversight. From the moment we walked in it was apparent. Honestly,the restaurant is a small diner car, how hard is it to greet people when they enter? Instead we stood around for a good three minutes and figured we should just sit somewhere, finally the waitress spies us hands us menus, walks away, and 5 minutes later asks if we know what we want to drink. I remind you that we are the only customers in the place at 9:30 pm on a Friday night and the drink menu is hardly so extensive that any one would need that much time to contemplate their beverage selection it's either coffee or a soft drink. We order drinks and 4 kids come in for milk shakes which are made by hand. So instead of pouring our cokes, she makes four milkshakes and cashes them out, then looks over and has an "aha" moment and we get our drinks and she takes our food order. So far I can see that this a great place for people who like to enjoy a long leisurely meal, you need not worry about feeling rushed. Over 45 minutes later we get our breakfasts and burgers. Huzzah! Apparently it was also the end of our waitresses shift as she bolted as soon as the new crew arrived. Perhaps she was supposed to leave ages ago, but couldn't until someone came to relive her. Who knows, although typically the waitress will explain as such and either tell you the name of the new waitress or give you the check , or just say goodbye. The new waitress apparently thought she was fabulous, showing off her lush Breck girl hair by repeatedly flinging in the direction of the drink fountain, perhaps some lucky customer later in the evening will have one of her gossamer strands in their beverage since she was neither wearing her hair up or in a hair net. I can relate, those things are soooo lame. Health dept, bunch of squares man. I had no worries as no one was ever going to offer me a refill. As I mentioned before, everyone is encouraged to sit back, relax and enjoy themselves well after their meal is over, even we had piled all our empty dishes at the end of the table, and kept glancing in the waitresses direction. Apparently she thought we were just admiring her radiance, so we had to actually had to approach her and ask if she could, if it's not too much of a bother, give us the check. At this point we had seriously considered just leaving, no one would have noticed for hours. Did I mention that other than the 4 milkshake kids that had been in an hour ago, we were the only customers? The staff (and to be fair they might not all have been staff, some were likely the BFFs of the staff just there to hang out in the kitchen and behind the counter) outnumbered the customers about 2.5 to 1. So we get the check and it's a little over the 30 dollar mark, so we hand over 2 twenties and await our change. And suddenly waitresses and cooks are rummaging through their purses and wallets to make change. So your till can't change a 20 on a Friday night? And it never occurs to anyone to get change from a bank or any of the bars all around you? The rest of my party walked out without leaving a tip, but I couldn't do that so I left a couple of bucks, which they seemed genuinely shocked to get. It's a shame really, the place has so much potential, all it needs is a some supervision so that the staff works better, or even at all. If our experience is a normal evening at the diner, I'll be shocked if the place is open for much longer. I'm following this review up with a letter to the owners. read more

A go-to for the family when no one can decide exactly what they want to eat. The eggs Chesapeake is a personal favorite, as are the eggs Benedict and the various omelettes. read more

Worst place ever to have food. If you like fries, please don't order one from here. It's literally burnt. Highly priced for the quantity they serve. The only the good about the place is the service. read more

Awful. The only thing this place going for it is the retro diner exterior. My coffee was horribly weak. I got enough butter to make a wax sculpture out of my pancakes and my bacon looked like it had been dropped on the floor and refried to hide the dirt. It was black. read more

Why did you mislead me Guy? Went with my guy awhile ago and will not be going back... We ordered the battered haddock with french fries. Food took forever, was bland except for the burnt flavor. Service was nonexistent, because the waitress was too busy socializing with here friends who didn't even order anything. When we did manage to get her attention she acted as if we were being rude to her just because we wanted to be served. read more

Meh. Not impressed. "The milkshakes are awesome?" I don't think you know what a great milkshake is. Theirs are $5 and the taste and consistency are something I'd expect at 7-eleven. The size was pretty despicable. We also went because Food Network host Guy Fierie recommended the place. This is our 5th place we've gone to that he's recommended on his diners, drive-ins, and dives show. It's the 3rd that has been pretty awful. We won't be going to any more of his recommended spots again. I had the meatloaf bomber sandwich. It was decently tasty but I could taste the oily sludge build up from their griddle/grill on the underside of my toasted bun. Grilled mac & cheese wasn't anything to rave about either (also featured on the show). We have no reason to go back here. Waitresses were also more interested in their own conversation than tending to their patrons. read more

I stopped at the Lake Effect Diner for breakfast and enjoyed one the best pancakes I have had in a very long time. Plain with a pad of maple butter and whipped cream, light and airy, I also enjoyed the house breakfast sausage. Would definitely recommend. read more

here it is...quick and dirty: chili cheese fries: a sloppy yummy mess, but not something i'd order again. definitely good if you are into that sort of thing. chicken soup...like yo mamma's, but possibly better! BLT: thick delicious bacon, option to have it on sour dough for a buck extra fish fry: crispy and delish (or so the hubs sd....i get scared off by the silver skin eeee) onion rings: ditto cole slaw: better than most griddled mac n cheese: exactly that...pretty standard mac n cheese, crisped up on the griddle with a sprinkling of extra shredded cheddar we saved the milkshakes for a tuesday night date because they are 2-4-1 (otherwise 5 bucks a piece) I love the atmosphere! read more

I went here for dinner and it was god awful. I had seen this place on DDD and they had to have changed owners or something. When I got in the employee was busy and it was completely empty. Shortly after being seated I placed my order with my friend and saw them "cook" everything in the microwave I wouldn't recommend somebody I didn't like to go here. read more

Recommended by Food Network host Guy Fierie, so we decided to give it a try while in Buffalo. The waitress was sweeping up the floor at 1:30 pm and took our order in between her sweeping. The food was acceptable diner fare. I had a meatloaf sandwich which was quite tasty. My chocolate milk was made with Nesquik and the syrup was undissolved even though the milk was room temp warm. read more

Lake Effect Diner - Meatloaf Bomber sandwich - Diners Near Me - Buffalo, New York

It is probably the best diner in the buffalo south area. Always freshly made food with nice touch of homely-ness. It is usually busy so it's better to give them a call before coming. Some of the busy try things are Souvlaki beef ( breakfast menu) and also the milk shake. Highly recommend if you like old diner feeling and food read more