Shamus Restaurant — Restaurant in City of Lockport

We went for a family event. We wanted to go somewhere different. Parking was awful but, likely, for good reason. It was a packed house. Everyone seemed to enjoy themselves and, I found out afterwards, 2 of us had been here previously. It is a bit more expensive than most, I'd roughly estimate an additional 50% more. Whether it's worth it is subjective to your experience here. The food was very similar to most but they put their own flair into it and it works. The wait staff was VERY friendly and knowledgeable. We were given the specials from 2 different people and the second person spouted almost verbatim as the first. The way I see it, that seemed like a "well oiled machine". Very good job there. I had ordered the skillet of brussel sprouts and pickled red onions with extra parmesan and bacon. Made it to the table in about 15 minutes. It was slightly crispy and a bit chewy. Maybe a bit dry/underdone but quite tasty nonetheless. The pickled red onions added a very interesting zing to it. The 'extra' I asked for was noticeable compared to a separate order for one of us. Very cool. The entrée made it in about 20 minutes. I got the fish & chips. It was beer battered style. The batter could have been a bit more crispy but the beer flavor came through perfectly which, in my opinion, is pretty rare. The tartar sauce tasted homemade so that was a plus. A large wedge of lemon instead of a tiny slice was also a plus. I'm NOT a fan of shoestring fries but they were crispy on the ends and slightly soft (not soggy) in the middle, which is how I prefer them with no alternative. So that was pretty cool. They offered several substitutes for the coleslaw and I chose the wild rice. It was actually cooked properly. Everyone else makes it so poorly I expected mostly the same and almost dreaded my choice right after I made it. I was pleasantly surprised to find it mostly soft, slightly seasoned and palatable. It was NOT crunchy even once. Kudos for that!!! My better half ordered the French onion soup and a Reuben. The soup was on par with most places and was fairly good. The Reuben had decent, thick slices of corned beef. Slightly fatty but not bad. I would say as good as any or even a tiny bit better than most. My baby ordered the macaroni and cheese. It was almost perfect! Made with campanelle, it was thick, only slightly chewy (as it should be) and good enough to give your mom's recipe a run for the money. The soda was a local brand and was offered (ice cold) in the bottle or with a glass of ice. Made with real 'cane' sugar. Not what you'd expect. If you've never had it you're in for a bit of a shock to see how sickly-sweet soda used to taste. If you're not a fan of it, I don't recommend the orange soda. It's VERY off from what you'd be used to. You might be safer with the cola or root beer. Much sweeter than you'd expect but closer to what you'd know. The only actual issues I had was a large metal sign (presumably the original) partially blocking the hall to the bathroom. (It was beautiful and really should be hanging somewhere. The dust shows it's been there awhile) The trash can, paper towel dispenser and TP dispenser in the men's room were not in working order but mostly easy fixes. On a positive note; The toilet paper was the softer variety so that was pretty cool. The hostess/manager (owner?) Kind of pacing/hovering by the bar. Looking anxious like you were ready to pounce and spring into action. I get it and see the concern from you. There are some people it might make nervous. There really were no serious issues to speak of. You can sit down and relax a bit now and again. I promise you, you have ALL done a good job. We will likely return and I...

My wife and I love this restaurant and have dined in on several occasions. Yesterday evening, we had a rare night to enjoy without the kids and decided to head to Shamus. As always, the staff greeted us warmly and made us feel welcome.

We both ordered beer and enjoyed the bread and excellent French onion soup while we waited for the main course. We both ordered the seafood pot pie and within the first bite, it was clear that something wasn’t right. I took a few more bites and couldn’t eat anymore, as it seemed that the cream for the base had turned, since the dish tasted sour. I have ordered the seafood pot pie before, and it certainly hadn’t tasted like this. I thought maybe my own palette was off, but my wife confirmed that her dish wasn’t right either.

At this point we had a dilemma. I have never in my life sent a dish back and I felt horrible, as we’ve never had anything but a wonderful experience at Shamus, but we simply couldn’t eat the pot pie. Our server, Kelly, could tell that something wasn’t right and was incredibly understanding and gracious. She immediately put new orders in for us and rushed them through so they were out quickly. The manager came over to check on us and comped our drinks, which was unnecessary but much appreciated.

The kindness and understanding shown by the staff reinforced the belief I already had that this is a first class establishment, focused on the experience of their patrons. What would have been a disaster at other restaurants was instead a chance to see real customer service on display. We will certainly be back and I strongly recommend Shamus to anyone looking for great food and an unparalleled...

This was our third dining experience at Shamus and the food was even better than I remember compared with our previous visits. The caesar salad was fresh, crisp with a well balanced dressing. The twin filet special with mushroom port wine demi sauce was outstanding; prepared to perfection (medium) and could be cut with a fork. Yum. The veggies, sautéed string beans and parmesan parsley salt red potatoes were delicious. Even the decaf was robust and flavorful. We loved that the owner stopped by our table to make sure we were enjoying ourselves. That always makes one feel special. Our server was friendly, and even sang happy birthday to my wife. Nice touch. We highly recommended Shamus and can’t wait to return. I gave the food an easy 5 stars. The atmosphere gets 4 stars because although it was festive and very pleasant, the noise level was generally above a comfortable conversational level. Not a deal breaker. The sole criticism I have is that our server was a bit overly attentive during the meal, inquiring 3 times while we were eating if we were “still working” on our food when it was fairly obvious that we weren’t finished. So we felt a tad rushed. One visit would suffice after which I would expect the server to keep an eye on the table and approach when it’s apparent that we’ve finished the meal. Hopefully this detail will be improved upon before our next visit, which...