I don't get back to Buffalo very often, but one of my first stops is always to Schwabls. It is still a very quaint and vintage place. Very small, but the service is always excellent. The beef is cooked perfect and the kummelweck rolls are also perfection. The waiter, his name was Sean, said that the soup of the day was liver soup, and there was also chili. I decided when in Rome. Let's try it out. He told us that the liver part was simply a meatball in a beef broth with some vegetables. I was a little skeptic but figured why not give it a try so Susie and I shared, and he gave us each one meatball. It was surprisingly delicious. One would expect the liver to have a gamey flavor, but it really did not. They were perfect and the broth was very flavorful with fresh vegetables. Everything is made fresh daily. I also had the pickled beets, one of my favorites as well as their German potato salad. Also scratch made. You can't be a good German potato salad. I wish I could duplicate it all. read more

Schwabl's Restaurant - This is the place to be in buffalo. The best for roast beef on kummelweck! - American Near Me - West Seneca, New York

Had to visit the originator of the Beef on Weck while we were in the area for our 2025 Wing Crawl. We visited 3 places for Beef on Weck and all were excellent. The restaurant gives off an old school vibe which was very neat. The place was not busy when we visited so very quiet. The server could not have been more friendly. We told her about our trip and she was very interested and offered a suggestion to us. The sandwich was EXCELLENT. So flavorful and freshly carved / made. Highly recommend! read more

Heard this place was a classic for beef on weck, so I had to check it out! The beef was tender, sliced right on the spot, and served on a fresh kummelweck roll. It doesn't come with au jus on the side, so it seems to be pre-dipped for that juicy flavor, and the sharp kick of horseradish you can add on your own is absolutely essential. Each plate comes with a side (and we chose creamy and vinegary potato salad), pickles, and even a slice of beet for a traditional touch. The price is on the higher side but that's because of the quality of meat. I also tried the fried fish, which was crunchy, golden, and paired well with the cold slaw on the side. Both dishes came out quickly, and the service was efficient and friendly. read more

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The beef was cooked to order and hand carved. Beet salad, German potato salad and potatoes pancakes are not to be missed. Closes at 8 though so need to go for an early dinner. read more

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Been here a few times before when we visit Buffalo and even though it's overpriced, we've enjoyed it for the history and experience. That ended when we were in town for the Bills game. My wife and I ordered 2 sandwiches with 2 sides each. Polite waiter brought our order but the glasses were so small I wasn't able to mix my Crystal Light mix in my drink so I went to the car to get a water bottle. Old grumpy grandpa comes over and says I need to take my bottle back to my car because "we sell water here" and no outside drinks allowed. Are you serious? We're paying $55 for 2 sandwiches and sides and you're REALLY going to say that??? I pretty much told him NO way and call the cops if you want. He said "well you can just leave now". I told him I'll leave after we eat our sandwiches. You can charge me for a bottle of water if you want. (I wasn't paying for it anyway). Well, somebody must have talked some sense into the old guy since they didn't charge me for the water. That said, that grumpy old fart needs to retire before he ruins your business more than he is doing!!! NEVER going back and telling all our friends to STAY AWAY forever!!!!! read more

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Great place for the Buffalo staple Beef on Weck. You can always get it with the doneness of the beef you want. Its a small little place that's been around for a long time and still has the old time feel to it. The servers were attentive amd friendly. Bonus is they offer up Tom amd Jerry's during the winter months read more

Charming little restaurant that I saw on an Anthony Bourdain show. Been around since like the dinosaur times. Ordered a to go order since I was in a bit of a hurry to get through Buffalo. Nice service, order was even ready a tad early which was nice. I went with the standard beef on weck. It was pretty good. Large portion of meat. On the salty side. Came with a side of horseradish. All in all pretty good, but not sure if it's worth the price. Giving it a 3.5, but rounding up since I took it to go and didn't give it the best shot possible. read more

This place was so yummy. Had a very local feel and I love the white dress uniforms the waitresses wear!! I even got to chatting with the women across from me. I stopped in here before my flight yesterday. The roast beef was delicious and the seasoning on the bread was delicious. I ordered a side of pickled beets as well. They were delicious on my sandwich!! As I walked in the carver was slicing the different cuts of meat at the counter behind me in the main dining room which was fun to see and smelled amazing. This was a great last stop during my time in Buffalo. There's only about 12 tables inside and a full bar. Very cozy place for lunch especially to get out of the cold!! read more

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One of the best meals ever. Roast beef sandwich dipped in au jus sauce. Hungarian goulash/stew to die for. Only available in Saturday. read more

Schwabl's Restaurant - Outside entrance. - American Near Me - West Seneca, New York

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We had to come due to all the hype we had heard forever. Our waitress was good & our orders were done correctly. My husband had the Beef on Weck which he said was ok. I had a salad with beef & the salad was huge & good but the beef was tough. The appetizer of French fries with gravy & cheese was also huge but was excellent!! Alcoholic drinks were not very strong. We felt the prices were too high for what we got! read more

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Ordered 2 roast beef sandwich's and poutine fries. So disappointing the roast beef was flavorless and super chewy . The fries were terrible and had a few pieces of clumpy cheese on it . Waste of $55 read more

Schwabl's Restaurant - Poutine Fries - American Near Me - West Seneca, New York

Went to Schwabl's on a cold, cold, snowy day in Buffalo. The beef open face sandwiches really warmed us up! We were the first ones there on a snow day and got served super fast! We had the open face roast beef with different sides- the German potato salad (loved it) mashed potatoes, and coleslaw. I love the pickled beets. The restaurant is def old school looking and fantastic! read more

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I took my mother for lunch at Schwabl's and we had the roast beef dinner with German potato salad, coleslaw and French fries. It tasted pretty good. I haven't been there in a couple years and I really enjoy the German potato salad. The restaurant is clean and the staff is very friendly. I also get a kick out of waitresses in old fashioned nurses u informs. I definitely will eat there again. Salute! read more

4 roast beef dinner and sandwiches, all were extreme tough.. count not bite into them, returned all dinners, owner replaced 2 sandwiches to take home... took no money off. None of us even finished 1/2 sandwiches. Very expense for what we got. Waitress was fabulous, sides were good... but not hot. Felt like was ripped of $275.00. Daughter had a turkey dinner.. which she loved. Never again.. and very disappointed... read more

Sometimes visiting restaurants can feel like you stepped back in time to another era. This is the case here you can feel it the moment you walk through the door. Once you sit down your eyes will be inevitably drawn to the small meat counter to watch the meat get sliced. The anticipation builds as you want for what's to come. This is one of the best Beef On Weck sandwiches I've tasted in my life. Horseradish is an amazing costar to this beast ! Old school places like this are Americas best treasures. read more

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First off, miss me with any of these reviews less than 4 stars!!! WOW. This place was perfect. Small, and simple but PERFECT. Walking in the ambiance was so cozy and inviting, like stepping back in time and in a good way! I got the beef on weck with a side of beets (oh my lord!!!) Now, it is a bit pricy, but I'd pay it over and over again. The service was kind enough and talkative when asked "what's good to check out in Buffalo" I wish I lived closer to make this a normal stop! Amazing! Must try! read more

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Had a walleye fish fry w German potato salad (served warm), pickled beets, a cup of mushroom soup and a Labatts. Was quite tasty although the 41.00 tab is a bit excessive imho... but this place is a must stop on the Buffalo area food tour. Totally a throwback saloon. Nice staff as well. It's cozy albeit a bit overpriced. read more

An absolute Buffalo area must stop location. Their historic approach to the famous beef on weck sandwich is unmatched. Everything is simply fresh and delicious in this small cozy bar. The staff is well trained and professional with the passion you'd expect from a landmark restaurant. Do yourself a favor and try it today! read more

Should have been warned by the negative reviews as a tourist trap but still wanted to try them out. Beef on Weck was very tough. Shrimp appetizer was a joke for what was charged. Also was charged for sharing my beef on Weck with my spouse. What place does this? read more

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Simply amazing! We each had the Beef on Weck and potato pancakes. Definitely top 5 roast beef we've ever had. And the potato pancakes were excellent too. The staff was incredibly nice and attentive. Michelle made the experience incredible. read more

Schwabl's Restaurant - Beef on Weck, potato pancakes, German potato salad, pickled beets - American Near Me - West Seneca, New York

First time here and last. Came for lunch and was promptly seated. Ordered the roast beef sandwich (medium) with German potato salad and coleslaw. What a disappointment! The meat had a funny taste along with it being tough. I was not able to bite through the meat. Not what I was expecting at this price point. $25.Will not be back. read more

Very good but not great Roast beef sandwich, excellent potato salad. Price is at least 30% too high and with tip, paying $30 for a modest lunch is explotive. Better value elsewhere. read more

Such a disappointment. Our family had been coming here for decades- since the 1960's for the Beef on Weck. Brought my brother and a high school classmate here. One sandwich had tough grisly beef- could not chew it. My sandwich - beef was fine but the roll was NOT a kimmelweck roll- no kosher salt or seeds. One bright spot- the german potato salad was authentic and tasty. Such a shame as we were so happy to see the restaurant was still here and the interior looked just as we remembered it from our last visit 20 years ago. read more

I haven't review in a long time but feel like I had to Came here on vacation before going to Niagara Falls. Reviews were all mixed. But they did say this was and is the best roast beef Just like some of the 1 star reviews. This place was way over priced and food was under par with the meat being stringy & hard to chew just like others have noted. Waitress was nice but did a great job in getting all the kids to order extra sides that was not needed Basically food sucks. The 4-5 stars must have gotten lost in the Milky Way!! Save yourself some money and goto McDonald's instead read more

Service was good however, food was extremely sub par. Barely any (somewhat tough and stringy) roast beef on the straight out of the freezer gooshy/hard as a rock weck roll. Mashed potatoes soupy and the soup of the day was a bowl of flavorless mush that was definitely frozen and reheated or at the very least had sat around for a long time and reheated numerous times. Lastly, found a hair in between the beets. $30.76 Never again. read more

Sometimes it's my second favorite place in town. Last time I went all 4 of us had tough, stringy beef. So disappointed. Guess I'll just go for the drinks next time. read more

I had never heard of beef on weck, and I love to try any local famous food. I asked for a recommendation and the server said to get the platter which came with two sides. I told her that I didn't want to do that b/c I didn't want to eat that much (and it was $27 bucks). I just want the sammich, and one side. What is your best side? She recommended the potato salad, to which I agreed. I asked for my beef to be medium rare. It was medium well (very dry), except for one fatty piece. And it came with two sides. The potato salad is warm, which I was not used to, but it was not bad. It also came with pickled beets. They had a meh IPA on tap (4 mile). The server stopped to take my order. Bring my food, and quickly after my check .... She didn't come back. $39 for that REALLY disappointing lunch. The place is OLD, like 1837 old! I really liked the ambiance. It is a shame that the food and service (and value) didn't match. I will not be back. read more

Schwabl's Restaurant - Does this look like a $40 lunch? - American Near Me - West Seneca, New York

The food is fabulous, wonderful service and atmosphere. They were making a new handicap ramp for the front door.

Do not eat here if you want a an enjoyable experience. There are plenty of places in WNY to get a nice juicy Beef on Weck. This isn't one of them. When I saw $16.99 on the menu for a Beef on Weck, I figured it came with side dishes, right? Nope....that's just the sandwich. It was horrible. I had to literally pull the beef apart with my fingers, it was so tough and stringy. That's just the food. Everyone that worked there looked at me like I kicked their dog for coming in over an hour before closing. Little did we know that they actually closed at least 30 minutes before the sign said they did. Truly a horrendous experience. read more

I give it 2 stars for atmosphere. Service was meh. The food is overpriced and especially the "roast beef" was not tender. It was tough. Overall poor value for the high prices. We were all disappointed and will not be going back. read more

What could improve? How about the food...specifically their former signature sandwich. We were first there 10 years ago and it was all that we expected, the food and nostalgia did not disappoint. Subsequent visits, a few years apart showed a marked decline. The signature Beef on Weck sandwich is no longer. They call it a "beef sandwich" but what we tried to eat last week was not the sandwich made famous by a tasty cut of meat and the unique bun characteristic of Western New York. What we had was tough and un-cuttable, even with a steak knife. The bun was a soggy hamburger bun with salt and caraway barely attached. We brought a half a sandwich home, actually cooked the meat and it was fine. I'm sure the great WNY Beef on Weck is available somewhere...just no longer at Schwabl's. read more

Excellent beef on weck. Probably the best in Buffalo, and service was outstanding, fast and very friendly. Even when I changed order midway through the cook. Luckily, it was from medium rare to medium. Restaurant opened at 1130, by 1131 they already had six to eight customers. The entire bar and restaurant area is very inviting. Will definitely be back, next time I'm in town. read more

My first time back in a long time at the request of out of town guests. I used to come here as a kid with my grandparents. Seems a lot like the old space, which means vintage, but the servers are now younger and friendlier which is a huge plus. There are some new and updated menu options which is also nice. The prices are still a bit high as they always have been. I got the roast beef plate. The meat was cooked correctly and was tender. I was happy that they now offer sweet potato fries for an up charge. It was good but in my opinion $25.88 plus tax and tip seemed steep for that. Glad the fries were hot and crispy, they came with some honey cinnamon butter. I was about to pay the check and asked if they could make a sandwich to go for my significant other. They had just literally taken the beef to the back. They said no. I was kind of surprised because it was probably not much more effort or work for another $20, but oh well I recall them not being overly accommodating. At least my memories are accurate. It was a fun trip down memory lane but I probably won't be back soon. read more

Been going there for decades, this was the first bad experience we have had there. The rolls were hard and stale, when we complained they took the meat and put it on an even staler roll! Not even a new sandwich. Asked for light ajue and they didn't dip it at all. Gone are the white coats and clean looking staff, I guess this new generation just doesn't care anymore. This iconic restaurant will not last much longer if they don't bring back some of the old ways. Will not be going back. read more

It is unfortunate that we have very disappointing experience with takeout order from Schwable. First, the beef on weck was overpriced at $27.99. Secondly, the meat was not carved correctly, it was too thick. When you took a bite the entire inside of the sandwich would come out. Now, let's talk about the flavor. It was so tough; it tasted like a grizzle and low-quality beef. It is highly overrated!!! Furthermore, for a pint of beer is $9.50. Way too pricey compared to another restaurant. Let's talk about the fish dinner, it was overpriced at $22.99. Its small piece of haddock. One positive note, the flavor was good. In summation, the specialty of the house beef on weck is overpriced, tough, and consistency of a burlap bag. They may carry the traditional name but not the taste and quality of the food. read more

OK, so here goes Colin. This was probably my fourth time here in 15 years and the second in the last year. I was getting my car inspected at the car dealership and I thought I'm nearby to Schwabl's, no kids, I'm going there for lunch. I decided to read some yelp reviews before I went and was disappointed to see that they were mostly negative as far as quality and portions, however, I decided I'm gonna give it a shot. The restaurant is a throwback to another time. It is all very charming , however, I saw things, and the way that I was treated, was a real turn off. They are very smug there and I don't know why? They were training someone to carve roast beef and it was ridiculous how rigid it was. As someone who knows how to cook And likes roast beef sliced evenly I watched them hack up a top round roast, or whatever the cheapest cut of roast beef is, into little teeny shreds. I saw the senior "carver" later on making a sandwich for somebody, put it on a scale, and took a piece of roast beef off because it was too heavy! Can you imagine? Throw it on the next order I guess. The place was about 80% empty when I came in. I really couldn't see to my left or right as the building is sideways and their interior walls were blocking parts of the dining room. But I had a clear view to the training of the new "carver". My waitress was nice but incredibly loud. Perhaps she's used to an older clientele with poor hearing, but it was annoying to be yelled at. As the restaurant started to fill in at around 12:30 PM on a Saturday I realized I was one of the only people who wasn't drinking, so perhaps that's why I was treated Slightly, and I mean slightly rudely they had trouble with their soda machine and they offered to give me a bottle diet, which I didn't really want. Perhaps that upset them. I waited about 15 minutes in a basically empty restaurant and didn't receive any food yet people who received it after me that I saw Were served. I stood up because I was going to leave. I was not comfortable there in the first place wait walk by and I said look. I've been here for a while. Other people who came in after me being served. If I'm wrong, then I'll be quiet and sit down. And she shouted at me that I was wrong because there were people around the corner that I didn't see who were seated before me. Perfectly acceptable answer so I sat back down. I ended up getting a rare roast beef on Camelback with the potato salad upgrade. An extra $3.99 with a pickled beat. The portions were fair. The taste of everything was good but the roast beef was so tough that every time you took a bite out of the sandwich the meat would pull out of the roll and you left with the piece of roast beef hanging out of your mouth. So tough. But it tasted good. I can seed on the "bottled" sprite, which taste just as bad as the Diet Coke so I didn't drink it and I was charged $3.50 . I left the five dollar tip and my entire bill was almost $38 for a roast beef sandwich. At best it was a choice cut of beef. That is ridiculous to spend on a sandwich like that. I probably will never be back because of that. However, it did taste good! But not worth 30 bucks. They are probably gonna survive without me. But they should be a lot nicer to people who aren't regulars and drop some of their smugness. I probably could've gotten just as good as sandwich sandwich at Arby's for a third of the price. But the atmosphere is cool, the carvers wearing their white aprons and all the waitresses dressed in their white uniforms, is also cool. I wish them success, but an old Western New York tradition needs to be realistic. And if you're going to charge that much use better quality beef. I would like to go back, but I think if they see my review and they recognize me it'll be even worse. read more

It is very discouraging to see that Schwabl's is lower than four stars on Yelp. Anthony Bourdain came here. Alton Brown came here and determined they had the best Beef on Weck in Buffalo. I have not tried all of the favorite spots but I am certain theirs is outstanding. I loved the fresh horseradish too! I also tried the pickled beets and German potato salad which were among the best I have ever had. They have great service too. I would happily return again and again! read more

Schwabl's Restaurant - A perfect plate! - American Near Me - West Seneca, New York

This was my place for beef on weck every time I returned to my hometown. We went last night and we were welcomed by a sign that they won't even serve you tap water unless you order a drink. Absolutely ridiculous. Also, the only drink prices even listed on the menu are for the sodas and coffee/tea. You would have no clue what the price is of the drink you were ordering if you picked an alcoholic drink listed. On top of that, the prices have gone up so much. It was $8.50 for a side of German potato salad. $16.99 for a sandwich. Charlie the Butcher is half the price and more beef comes on the sandwich. Bar Bill has beef that's just as foodThe rolls didn't even taste very fresh. Also, they have done "updates" to the building a few times recently, but the inside is still the same. I am thinking that they have kept that the same so they don't need to worry about making it accessible for people with disabilities. So, if you have a mobility disability and can't do stairs, you're still not able to get in. read more

Schwabl's Restaurant - Sign about not serving tap water without a drink purchase. - American Near Me - West Seneca, New York

I had the most terrible take-out order from this place. The beef on weck is truly the worst price I have ever seen. The beef was unable to be eaten. It was too thick, tough as a burlap bag, and overpriced at 27.99. What a rip off this place. The beer was priced at $9.50 per pint. I will never go back and I hope others read this because the place is horribbblee!!! read more

We were regulars at this restaurant for years. Always looked forward to a delicious meal in a cozy, old time setting. Things began to change when the last Schwabl left and the current owner took over. Also after a car hit the building. Portions got smaller. I got fried shrimp that must have been left over cocktail shrimp, you could see the tell tale pink skin inside the breading. In honor of my mom, who so looked forward to her seafood dinner and Manhattan cocktail, we would love to return. But, most all the reviews are a red flag. German potato salad is the best for sure but portion size, cost of entrees, rules like no water without a drink, etc. are stoppers. The roast beef was never that tender and looks from pictures, to be sliced on the thicker side now (more chewy(. It may be that the restaurant is struggling to stay afloat. If so, sorry. But perhaps some specials and back to basics would help. Would love to return but like I said, "red flags." read more