Angeline — Restaurant in Buffalo

Being a longtime fan of Hutch's Restaurant, it pains me to write a negative review - but it is what it is.

The service was outstanding and the restaurant had a really nice vibe. I'd describe the crowd as what you'd see if we had a "Real Housewives of Buffalo" - which was fun. But the menu was limited, the food quality was boring and it was NOT worth the money.

We started with the Little Gem Salad which was extremely salty. Not sure if it was from the focaccia topping or the anchovy or if they were just too heavy handed with the salt but it was inedible. (please note the menu described a focaccia "crumble" which on our plates was nothing more than a heavy pour of breadcrumbs).

My wife ordered the Mafaldine which was lifeless. It was nothing more than a plain tomato sauce topped pasta served over a cold ricotta cheese. Yes, the menu did say "tomato sugo" but I've had jarred tomato sauce that had more style. And the cold ricotta it was served over only made the pasta feel pasty and cold.

I ordered the Veal Chop Saltimbocca ‘alla Romana’ which also wasn't very exciting. I've had this dish in other restaurants where they serve a big thick veal rib chop with the saltimbocca sauce but the chef at Angeline pounded the "chop" into a thin slab and topped it with prosciutto, cheese and sauce. I'm honestly not sure how they made the sauce, but saltimbocca sauce is supposed to be made with wine and butter - which allows you to enjoy the flavor of the meat. Angeline's chef smothered their "saltimbocca" with a flavorless brown gravy. The dish was served with fried polenta which would've been good if they'd used some of the salt in my salad to season them.

Not happy with our dish, we started looking around to see what everyone else was eating.

The guy at the table next to me also ordered the saltimbocca and I could hear him complaining to his wife about dish. He wound eating his wife's Bucatini Pasta because she said her's was boring and she didn't want to waste the calories.

The table on the other side of us ordered the Dover Sole and the Lobster Fra Diavolo. The Dover Sole was a large filet of fish that appeared to have brown butter poured over the top. Not sure how it tasted, but it seemed to be a far cry from the "soubise" sauce described on the menu. The Lobster Fra Diavolo could only be described as laughable. $64 for what looked like a 6 oz lobster tail served over VERY small portion of pasta. I honestly couldn't see the pasta because it was completely covered by the lobster tail. (There wasn't enough food on that plate to child let alone an adult paying $64)

We finished our meal with their Chocolate Hazelnut Ganache Cake and it was dry. Painfully dry.

Again, as long-time, big fan of Hutch's Restaurant it does pain me to write this negative review but I'd strongly encourage you to not waste you time or money at Angeline. Buffalo has a healthy mix of excellent Italian restaurants and Angeline is not...

First of all, this note is written by Pam's husband Brian, not Pam. The comments contained here were sent to Angeline via the contact form on their website over two weeks ago. They promised a response within 48 hours. The fact that this hasn't happened, has led me to post this review here.

We made reservations at Angeline for an early dinner on our anniversary. This was a special trip from Rochester to Buffalo just for dinner. When we arrived, we were escorted to the bar (a pattern which I saw followed by most patrons throughout the evening - and all were asked by the hostess if they wished to have a seat at the bar before seating). I don't disagree with that tatic, you always have the right to refuse, but it's such an old ploy to try and get people to spend more on liquor.

The bartender, nonetheless, was very pleasant, a nice conversationalist, and fairly good mixologist. We tried one of their unusual creations and truly enjoyed it.

When we were sat, we were welcomed with complimentary champagne, a nice touch. The service and food was exquisite. It's been several weeks now so I've forgotten what we ate but let me say I was very pleased - as good or better than the old Tempo.

What spoiled the evening was the music. When we were first say (I'd say about 6 after arrivig a bit late at 5:30), the atmosphere was quiet and reserved. There was a table of six men close to us but they were very quiet and respectful. The few other couples in the restaurant were quiet as well. As other diners began to arrive, the music began to get louder, and louder. And of course, everyone talked louder to talk over the music. It finally became such a distraction that my wife asked the server to please have them turn down the music. The hostess did. Not a great deal, but enough to be noticeable. But within minutes, the youngish manager on duty turned it bac up.

This is a restaurant that tries to be elegant and promote a somewhat sophisticated cuisine. But within a short time it became a night club. I know the tendency these days is to blare music and try and create a very active atmosphere. But you don't do that at a nice restaurant. There's a nice app called SoundPrint that allows you to do a soundcheck (and then send a report to the restaurant should they care). So I pulled out my phone (which I would not do otherwise) and checked the sound level to record an 85 decible rating - the loudest at any restaurant I've recorded to date. To ignore a patron's request and to turn the music back up is shameful. But what is more shameful is the lack of response from management regarding my comments sent directly to them. I don't like complaining in this fashion, but in this case, Angeline deserved it. Next time we'll return to the Left...

Just found out what $$$$ means as a rating alongside restaurant advertisements after going to the Tempo Restaurant in Buffalo last night with Jojo and our in-laws to use a gift certificate given to us by our daughter Rebecca and her husband Nick as a Christmas gift last year. This is not a misprint, for a single 5 oz. glass of ordinary Riesling wine alone with tax and tip on it, it comes out to $22.13 !!! Times that by two and it's $44.26 just to wet your lips when you sit down with some chill liquid before you even order anything to eat😮 I figured that the waiter made the equivalent of about $288 per hour for the probably five minutes it took him to give service to our table that night 😮😮 They had a 12 oz. porterhouse steak listed on the menu that night for $95.00 😮😮😮 What really shocked me was that the place was pretty full with people who don't blink an eye at spending that kind of money for a meal out and this restaurant's popularity ranks about # 12 in our area. Prices like that are not justified in my book and i would never pay to get what I would really want to get there to eat at those exorbitant prices. I'm a simple guy and if anyone out there wants to get me a gift certificate for some occasion, then get me one to the Longhorn Restaurant. At least there I could get a great fillet mignon dinner complete with an appetizer, salad, desert and a bottle of wine along with more ambiance for 50% less money then having to settle for a bland dish of pasta while sitting at a table for four staring at the bare wall with a men's room door less than a foot away which was getting a lot of foot traffic. This is not a classy restaurant as far as our experience goes so heads up for anyone who thinks that they may want to try this place, and if you do please bring plenty of...