Wild Marsh Grill — Restaurant in Buffalo

There’s something of a paucity of fine dining options in Buffalo, but I remembered that my late father, Charles LeRoy Nelson, Jr, always raved about a restaurant at the Buffalo golf course. So I researched it, and I think he must have been referring to Hilltop Bar & Grill at Wild Marsh Golf Club. So we went there on Friday, May 3rd, 2024 for dinner. I’m happy to report that this restaurant has earned the highly coveted Eric Carlisle Nelson Esteemed Diner Recommendation. My key observations follow:

They do not accept reservations. However, we got a table right away when we arrived at 6:10pm on a Friday — albeit the last table available.

While it wasn’t what I would call quiet, the noise level was not bad at all. One could carry on a conversation without raising one’s voice.

Host and wait staff were excellent, friendly, and attentive.

All of our food was very good. Mee Lee had the beef tacos. I got a side salad and BLT with avocado. (See photos). Nothing was especially fancy, but everything was very fresh and well-made and delicious! The food was unpretentious.

The prices were amazingly low, given the high quality of the food, and well worth the price. We ended up with a final bill of only $30, plus tip.

The bill could have been higher, but we didn’t have any drinks, because they didn’t have whole milk (or any milk) as a beverage option. This is a demerit, but one that is easily remedied. Every restaurant should offer whole milk. Minnesota is a dairy state, and milk complements every meal!

I counted six different customers wearing baseball caps while dining. You don’t have to read Emily Post’s Guide to Etiquette to know that men may not wear hats indoors — and especially not while dining. One of them was a faux “Army” hat, which I thought particularly incongruous, given the fact that Army regulations strictly prohibit the wearing of any kind of hat or “cover” indoors. The restaurant would do well to post this as a rule at the front door. (I would, if it were my restaurant). Manners makyth man!

One diner barked loudly across the dining room for his waitress, twice. I looked over to see if he had had too many drinks. I’m not sure what his deal was, but he didn’t seem to realize that he was behaving like a Philistine. I can’t fault the restaurant for this, but it is...

Was advised by friends the new menu and food was good. Service unfortunately was disorganized, servers were clearing tables, before getting orders rolling to the kitchen. Instead waited 15 mins before making contact, the food came out quickly. The onion rings were good, the porkupine was dry, slaw was dry, and the plate was mostly chips. The bowl my wife ordered was mostly rice and the chicken was cooked to death. Prices for the food would be acceptable had the food been flawless. Unfortunately this...

One of the best outdoor patios in Buffalo. Met some friends here for dinner - was my first time since they rebranded the restaurant. Had heard that some of the food was heavy on the salt so I went with the watermelon feta salmon salad. The salmon was a bit salty but overall was delicious. Service was great and often...