Fish fry was why we came. Fish was good, batter was crispy, tho very thin. Our biggest issue was the size ... very small and we all got the full fish fry. French fries were good, Mac salad, coleslaw, and German potato salad all were bland. Service was clinical Atmosphere was rustic, which we liked tho the acoustics were rough... good thing there weren't a lot of people when we were there read more

Fish fries, soup and salads are my routine items and they're always great. I have seen some reviews describing thin batter on the fish, but there are a lot of people who don't like to hunt for their fish inside too much batter. read more

Some of the best shepherds pie I've ever had!! The kielbasa Reuben was also incredible too! The server was very nice and gave great recommendations. It also says the shepherds pie is available after 4pm but they let us get it for lunch! read more

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Tried to stop here for a quick bite to eat before a long drive ahead as my little guy was hungry. We walked in at 5pm and they said they had no more tables but when we looked inside it, there were empty tables and looked at the seating chart and there were 6 tables available. It seems that this small town tavern doesn't serve to folks that are a different ethnicity. Interesting enough there was a poster about North Star hospitality at the front door. read more

The atmosphere is warm, comfortable & very welcoming. The staff is very attentive & fortunately very patient. Their sense of humor was a big plus too! And the food was delicious, fresh & served promptly. We decided we're going back every month or so for lunch, we liked it so much. read more

A friend is a big fan of this The North Star, so I was glad to finally get a chance to pay a visit. I can see why she likes it so much. Food, service and atmosphere are all stellar. Our server, Amanda S., was wonderful. The place was jumping, but she was still able to take good care of us. Soup of the day was beef stroganoff - quite unusual, but my friend enjoyed it. The steak and spinach flatbread was pronounced "awesome". A good sized flatbread loaded with steak, spinach, mushrooms, bleu cheese and mozzarella. Without the meat, that would be right up my alley. The strangest thing on the menu is Nana's Breakfast: a concoction of Polish sausage, homemade noodles and scrambled eggs, served with a side of cute little potato pancakes. Companion who ordered it thoroughly enjoyed it. Two of us ordered pierogi. I miss my late mother-in-law's best pierogi ever, but these were pretty darn good. For the sake of critiquing, I ordered one each of sauerkraut, potato cheddar, and farmer's cheese. They're served with sauteed onions and sour cream topped with chives. Yum. My favorite? Can't decide. I would happily order all three again, and I can't wait until I get the chance to do so. read more

The North Star Tavern - Pierogi (Well, HALF pierogi!) - American Near Me - Elma, New York

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Food: I ordered a steak and it was delicious as were the potatoes. Acceptable variety of beer, served cold. Ambiance: Clean and comfortable, but not fancy. Service: This is why only a three star rating. As we were finishing our drinks with friends, the waitress very "matter- of-factly" announced that there were guests coming in another ten minutes, meaning we needed to leave. This ruined an otherwise great evening. Probably won't return. read more

Was looking forward to trying this place out as it seems to popular. Starting off, our server was great. Very nice and attentive. Most of the three stars go to her. The food was just ok. I had the coconut shrimp with Thai chili sauce. The shrimp was ok, but really just tasted like fried breading with the same Thai chili sauce you get out of a jar. Then had a chicken Caesar Salad. I'm not sure what the dressing was but it was not a typical Caesar. It was very bland and a little bitter. Everyone else felt their dish was average. I was very put off though as we were finishing up dessert and coffee, we were asked by (not our) waitress to finish up and leave so they could have the table. I know some places limit seating time (a practice I hate) but they normally tell you up front. I felt it was a rude ending to an average dining experience. read more

We pass by a lot and finally decided to stop in for dinner. Sure glad we did. We each had different fish entrees that were delicious and the roasted carrots/beets and the baked potato were great. Also the pierogi appetizer was really good. The server was friendly and attentive. We even got to meet the owners on the way out who took time from their own dinner to say hello and talk to us as we passed their table. Looking forward to going back for dinner and sitting on the patio around the fire pit. Chris and Lorri read more

Good fishfry. Popular, small business with a bar to match. Outside patio looks nice. Enough

Top notch food. Spotless restaurant, The patio looks amazing, definitely will dine out there in warmer months. We opted for inside as it was sprinkling. We tried the potato cheese pierogis. Served with sour cream and sautéed onions. Delicious. My husband got the cheeseburger soup. It was delicious and hearty. Our lunch entrees were cheeseburger for me and he had the prime rib sandwich. The burger was huge, I ate the other half for dinner that night. Same with the prime rib sandwich for my husband. The fries were cooked perfectly. Golden brown and crispy but not over cooked. Connie was our server and she was great. This place is a little out of the way for us but I will definitely go back. read more

Very friendly service and great food to boot was delicious and I can't wait to go again to try all the different craft beers on tap

We stopped in unexpectedly after one place famous for roast beef was out of beef and another place was closing. Starved I ordered the Shepard's pie and was satisfied although they could maybe use a leaner ground beef as I had to spit out some chunks of fat. I do have leftovers due to the generous portion. My boyfriend got a side salad which is a bit much at $5 and a roast beef sandwich. He had to ditch the bread because it was soaked through from au jus. The accompanying fries were standard frozen fare. After dinner I got a Tom and Jerry, which was delicious.I'd rank it #1 of the three I've had this season. read more

The North Star Tavern - Shepard's pie - American Near Me - Elma, New York

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My girlfriend and I were looking for a place to eat close by. We always past North Star on the way into East Aurora, but never stopped in. I looked online and I saw a lot of good reviews for the fish fry and decided to call ahead to see how busy it would be. Thankfully we did or we would've been out of luck as it was packed from the time we got there till we left. I changed my mind to the Cajun fish taco special instead of a fish fry. The fish and mango salsa were fantastic, but could've used the support of a 2nd tortilla as my 2nd taco was ripping through the tortilla. Other than that the pretzels were great and my girlfriend said she'd eat the Shepard pie every day if she could. The homemade deserts were also fantastic splitting the PB ganache and brownie. Service was great, atmosphere was great, food was great but could've used on extra tortilla on each taco. Will probably get the fish fry next time instead read more

It is a long drive to get to this restaurant from Buffalo, but it was worth it. The menu offers a mix of dishes, mostly American, some Polish. I decided on the Bleu Bison Burger ($15): Half-Pound Organic Bison, Crumbly Bleu Cheese, Lettuce, Tomato, Onion. It is served with a big pickle and fries. Sweet potato fries are also possible for an extra $3. I asked for medium rare and it was exactly that. Plenty of blue cheese on top. Just a great burger! The fries were nice and crispy, barely salted, great. I asked for coffee and it took a little time. They made a new pot for me! Great coffee. The waitress was very nice and attentive. She came back a couple of times to asked for refills. read more

I had the Star Burger. It comes with lettuce, tomato and a choice of cheeses. It is 1/2 lb. of meat and so I did not finish it(doggy bag). It comes with regular French fries, but you can switch it up to sweet potato fries for $3.00 extra. The burger was very good, cooked to my requested wellness level. Our waitress was very solicitous, checking regularly, enough without hovering, to see if anyone needed more water or coffee. Other than being a very long drive for a city resident, it was a very good meal and I would return. read more

Great lunch 6/4/18 @ historic North Star. Foodie companion SG & I shared tasty home cut fries, & Buffalo Chicken Mac-n-Cheese. My chicken fingers were tasty & SG loved her Bleu Buffalo Burger. Attentive wait service. The renovation of location by owners/culinary purveyors resulted in warm, lovely atmosphere with some original stage coach stop features still visible for history buffs to appreciate. North Star gets my vote for a highly rated lunch stop - no need for a coach required to stop inn! read more

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Saw this little bar when trying to find a new route and decided to try it out. It's very cute and clean inside and tastefully decorated. Was not very busy on Thursday evening but some seeming regulars appeared at the bar while we were there. We tried some beers off their local beers list which was written in pencil on our waitresses notepad. They were pretty decent. I had a wheat beer and my boyfriend had a coffee stout. We tried the fried homemade noodle appetizer and it was very tasty. Cheesy and buttery with green onions. I ordered the "Polska Best" platter and my boyfriend ordered a beef on weck with fries. The Polish platter was great. Everything was tasty and I cleaned the plate. My boyfriend said the beef was a little more done than he likes but it was still good. His fries were good too and I stole a few he couldn't finish. We'd be happy to come back and get a little dinner and a beer any other weekday night. I hope they're busier on weekends for their sake, but for us, we like the quiet. Very nice place. read more

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You cant go wrong here! Between the fantastic food and great service. Its a great place to go for dinner!

Stopped here yesterday with a party of four. This was not our original destination but a last minute change in plans. The fish fry was average, small piece of fish and I substituted a salad which replaced all other side? A small side salad should not cost the same as three sides! Anyway, the Cajun fish my companions had was average and the forth person liked the stuffed pepper soup and pierogi . Don't know if I would stop by again as there are many nearby restaurants that are better. read more

Very nice experience for us on a last minute sat night out. We sat at the bar and ordered and had an enjoyable dinner and night out. Sandy the Bartender provided great service and had a wonderful personality. All in all the food was excellent and service was great. The entire staff was super friendly as well as the hands on owner who was doing a great job helping out the staff on a busy evening. Even though it was busy you never felt they were overwhelmed or stress. My kind of place. Less stress the better. Give it a try. read more

First visit and we loved the food and very friendly staff. Beautiful interior of a historical tavern. Very clean and has a feel of an old tavern in a good way. Will definitely come back to this gem in the Buffalo area! read more

Out for a Friday fish fry. It was good , fish was tasty and fresh sides were good portions were on the smaller side.by. Buffalo standards it was average. It is on the smaller side so we got stuck sitting in the bar aria so it was noisy. Give it a shot it is a nice old place. read more

This restaurant is a hidden gem in Western new York. Everything from the shepherds pie to their salmon is on a shelf higher than any other restaurant in town. Their service and their staff are always amazing fast and efficient. I've been here 20 times with 10 different groups and each time I've converted family members into raving fans. read more

I have not been here for 35 years! Amazing, considering that I live 15 minutes away. I went yesterday evening for a fish fry with Rosie and it was really fantastic! Nice, clean place with a small bar, and some wines and beers at reasonable prices. Our server, Patty, was a pleasant precise person who read a bunch of specials, and brought us the bottle that we requested. Our fish fries were served hot, quickly and everything was delicious and home made. We shall go back, and I won't wait 35 more years!! read more

Stumbled upon this place and glad I did! I had plans to go somewhere else which ended up being closed and when I got here I thought I was striking out again because it looked closed and for lunch time there was only 1 car in the parking lot. There was only 1 other table with people with a few others coming later. The menu isn't very big but they do let you pick from lunch or dinner which is nice but I just don't like to eat big meals mid day. We started with the pierogi and by this I mean 3 "orders" because it only came with 1 pierogi for $4. It was good but but pricey especially when you want to feed 3 people. We also got the pretzel sticks which were some of the best I've had and the cheese was different (seemed homemade) but in a great way. Because we went heavy on the apps and all of us (I had 2 kids with me) were ok with chicken fingers, I ordered the adult meal and we shared them. It came with 5 or maybe 6 large fingers so more than enough for us to eat and take some home. The fingers were made in house and whatever the breading was made of was really good! The sauce they used on them was a little sweeter but really complimented them. I hope more people discover this place because it would be a shame if they had to close. read more

The North Star Tavern - Pierogi app only comes with 1 - American Near Me - Elma, New York

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I've been meaning to try North Star for awhile and finally did it. The parking lot is a little small. It's a quaint old building. When we walked in the first thing I noted is how warm it was. So many places are cold this time of year. Nice and toasty here. We were seated promptly and the service was very, very good. There are plenty of wait staff. No waiting for drinks or ordering. One minor quibble is that we were not offered a beer list. Not sure if they had a list. I went with the standard Friday Fish Fry. It came out nice and hot. The fish was on the small side. This was not one of those hanging-off-the-plate fish fries. But on the plus side, the execution of the fish was top-notch. The beer batter was light and crisp. I did bite into one fish bone, which reminded me of the old days when you had to fight through bones when you ate a fish fry. The french fries were above average, as was the macaroni salad. The German potato salad was fresh and bright tasting. My only complaint is that the half-slice of rye bread that arrived with the fish fry was dry and stale. My wife had shepherd's pie, which I sampled and approved of. We noted some Polish-inspired items on the menu and will likely give those a try next time. Based on the very efficient service and generally good quality of the food, I will give it a rating of four. read more

This review pertains only to the Polish food. I had the Polish plate which consisted of 1 pierogi 1 golombek, 1 piece of sausage and warm cabbage. Selection of pierogi extremely limited only sourkrout and potato cheese available. While a plate of pierogi in any Polish restaurant in NY City, New Jersey, or Chicago is considered 10 pierogis for a price ranging from $12 to $16 this place charged $4 each. That would be $40.00 plate in this restaurant. The pierogis here are standard size and nothing special. The cabbage on the golombki was slightly burned therefore lacking in flavor. The service was good and the selection of beer also good. To good brands of Polish beer Zywiec and Tyskie. I'm sure other food here was ok since quite a few people were here. read more

My family has gone three times and we rate it 3.7 stars. We like this place. Let's start with the good: It's charming, country feel, and not over packed. I had their pork belly special one night and it was damn good. They should make it a staple on their menu. Another time, I had their polish dinner - sausage, perogie and pig in the blanket. It was filling and good. Their perogies could use some seasoning, but there are good. Another time I had their steak. It was cooked a little under medium rare, but for the cut I think the chef did fine. Again, it was good. The waitresses, the two we have had, are fantastic. Nice people. Family friendly. Unfortunately, I don't remember what my wife got, but I she did not complain and she seems to like the place. The not so good: their fish fry isn't great. Don't bother. I found it to be poorly seasoned. The sides were decent, but the fish fry was just below average and I would not order it again. Their beer selection is pretty weak. Not a strong selection of craft taps, but Hayburner usually makes me happy enough. But they could work on their craft beer selection. Kids meals: they stopped doing the hamburger. This makes no sense. Our child loves a hamburger so we still got her one, but it was the most expensive item on our darn bill that night. $16 or $17 I believe for just a no cheese hamburger. They said that they no longer could get the smaller buns, but that seems like a weak excuse. Use the same normal hamburger bun and just less meat. Nope. They should have made a workaround for the kid's meal. Their kids menu is not special- mac and cheese and grilled cheese. There is more on the menu I'd like to try, and I do recommend the place. And I beg them to make the pork belly sandwich part of their menu. read more

Met friends there this past Friday, cocktails were served quick & perfect. Manhattan mixed perfectly & Sam Summer Ale nice and cold. Cajun broiled fish was suburb as well as coconut shrimp app. Polska platter, shepherds pie & Salmon were all enjoyed by my friends with no complaints. Haley did a great job serving!!! Definitely on my list as one of my favorites!!!!! read more

We went here for the first time to celebrate my Dad's birthday. I ordered a soup special, sweet pea with mint, it was quite pleasant though I had to add salt, which I prefer over being too salty. I ordered the half sized chicken, spinach, and blue cheese flatbread pizza. It was quite tasty and was more than enough for one person. Someone else ordered the Polish platter which was very good. It came with sausage, pierogi, golumpki, and some cabbage slaw type of thing. Said it was the best golumpki! Others in the party ordered the hamburger and the bison burger, both with fries. The fries were so good!!! Our waitress was very sweet and kind. We were in the back room which was like having a private party. When you walk in there's a bar, seating and then the back room which is not very big. Seemed to have regulars, but not the kind of place where you felt out of place being there​. Very friendly. Would go again. Check it out! read more

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Had reservations at 6 pm. Our table was set up against the bar, where people came in to pick up their orders. Those customers for pick up where 2 feet from our table. Sometimes there were 8 people at a time awaiting their orders about 2 feet away. This went on for 50 minutes. People coming and going. They could not reseat us, since all the tables were full. Needless to say, we felt so uncomfortable to eat our meal with people standing over us, that we asked for our meal to be boxed up. I sympathized for the servers, since they had to maneuver around all the people waiting for pick up. They did not have a system where people could wait in their car until their order was ready. I'd say, don't open up until you can safely do so. This place does not social distance. Worse yet, my husband is celiac and told the server that he can't have anything on his plate that was gluten.. He ordered the broiled fish. When we opened up our take out tray when we finally came home, there was a slice of rye bread on top of his meal. They were so busy that they neglected his item had to be GF. He could not eat the entire meal since it was contaminated. For those that are aware of celiac, they cannot come in contact with traces of wheat. Terrible experience. read more

My friend Ken C reviewed as well - below. This place is good! A tavern setting with good food. I had shepherds pie - which if under seasoned can be waste of time ... this was great! I would definitely come here again. I wanted to sample some desserts, but my wife had the jimmy legs and we had to leave ....next time! read more

Just dropped in for lunch with friends from out of town...the restaurant is clean and very well decorated...very cozy and friendly...we ordered 2 salads that were nothing but yummy (highly recommend the apple vinagrette)...we then shared the 3 different Flatbread pizzas...6 women couldn't decide which one was better than the last! The server was extremely attentive to our needs without being a stalker. All in all, it was the best way to spend time with good friends, nice atmosphere, and GREAT food! So happy to find another go-to place in WNY! Congrats to the new owners! Can't wait to try more things from the menu! read more

Great food and service. Place is spotless. Highly recommended. Flat breads are brilliant.

Someone recommended The North Star Tavern for there Pierogi and I wasn't disappointed. We went in for Pierogi, but got other amazing food. We had there special of the day chicken walnut salad, that was extremely tasty. Then we had cheese Pierogi and potato cheddar Pierogi which were amazing. I would say the best Pierogi in town, the owner makes them by hand. Then we had The Cowboy Steak Flat Bread Pizza with steak, spinach, crumbly bleu and mozzarella which was great too. The atmosphere made you feel like you were home and the owner came around to make sure everyone was happy. We will be back for Pierogi!! read more

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Hearing about this newly remodeled restaurant in Elma that was featuring Polish cuisine I decided to grab my Pollonia pal and go on Dyngus day. Beautiful woodwork meets you as you walk into this medium sized tavern. Excitedly I looked at the Specials Board and to my surprise it was a steak hoagie, salmon and a steak salad. Whatski? No pierogies? No Polish Platter? Why the Dyngus Day sign outside I wondered. The menu had a few items sprinkled between regular old burgers, and vanilla menu items. Very disappointing. The waitress was lovely, and the food was pretty good (chicken on a bun with pesto and sweet potato fries) but I wont be running back. The Polish push with marketing their restaurant didn't make any sense- I don't like to be fooled. read more

Always warm, welcoming, friendly and delicious. Service is accommodating and the portions are always huge. I've yet to finish a salad completely! I frequent this place for meetings and they've never led me wrong. The renovations to the building are also charming and rustic. read more

Delicious homemade food and great service. We had a farmhouse cheese pierogi, nana' breakfast, and beef on wick. The pierogi was fantastic. Anna's breakfast had homemade noodles, truly homemade, scrambled eggs, sausage, and potato pancake like hash browns. Scrumptious!!! Service was very good. read more

The North Star Tavern - Nana' breakfast delicious homemade noodles with potato pancake hash browns - American Near Me - Elma, New York

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Our first visit to this place was really great. It's clean and cozy inside, with a small bar area and a couple of dining rooms. Good draft beer selection, regular menu, and lots of specials. We had the fried noodles appetizer, which was surprisingly delicious! The salmon and the polish plate were both tasty. The only issue was that after ordering dessert to go, I was sent home with the wrong one. Overall a nice evening, and we'll be back. read more