RationAles — Restaurant in Town of Amherst

Please save your money, time and taste buds. Was really excited to try this place out and decided to make reservations for Father’s Day brunch. First, they gave us a table for less people than we had made the reservation for and when half of our party made a note about it to the hostess, she said we would be fine- we were not, 6 people can’t fit at a table for 4. But, not a big deal, we switched tables and thought okay now we are ready. The hostess let us know our server would be over shortly. About 20 minutes later after we noted no one had been by we waited another 5-10 minutes and finally someone came over. Our waitress was nice enough but the amount of time to wait was ridiculous, especially when there were no other waiters in sight at other tables either so couldn’t have been that they were tied up. We had looked at the menu beforehand and the hostess let us know that the menu on the table were specials but that the full brunch menu was available to look at online to order from so we were all set to order, except when the waitress came to take our order she told us we could only order from the specials list (which sucked because the thing a few of us wanted to order wasn’t on there). We were also told that you couldn’t really customize the items either, so honestly it was frustrating that not only do they cut the menu to make it limited for those of us that can’t have certain things but then to not really be able to customize things. You couldn’t even order a scrambled egg on the side when they literally put scrambled eggs in the different sandwiches, so it’s not extra work. At this point we were expecting the food to be delicious because not use show this establishment had received 4.5 stars on Google, but we were wrong. We ordered a carafe of mimosas and after looking around could tell that consistency is not this place’s strong suit either. Our carafe had maybe a drop of orange juice while other tables’ looked like theirs had a drop of Prosecco. When our food finally arrived we were underwhelmed. My mother ordered the Monte crisco brunch wrap after seeing someone else with it. It was supposed to have ham cheese and a hash brown in it and hers had no hash brown, the French toast casserole had maple syrup already on it as opposed to with it- they should communicate that better on the menu, especially for those of us that are diabetic, and the McRation came on an English muffin that was smaller than any English muffin I had ever seen and was so hard it was inedible, didn’t even taste like they toasted it. Then we played the waiting game again and had to get the server to pay our bill and saw many other tables going up to find servers to either order or pay. We were near the hostess seat and could hear her saying the wait was 30-40 minutes because they were booked with reservations- so right off the bat they knew how many people they were approx having and should have planned much better. Lack of consistency, kitchen needs a lot of work, and service is seriously lacking. I will say that the location and the covered patio and tables were really nice- who doesn’t enjoy sitting outside in a Buffalo summer. Maybe they have good beer and that’s what the 4.5 star reviews could be about, and maybe they are just having serious growing pains being so new, but I would avoid going here for a while until they can work out their kinks. It’s unfortunate because it’s a great location and would be nice to have another good restaurant/brewery...

Generally disappointing. Stopped in to this cute little place for a couple hours to have a drink or two, maybe order some thing to eat, and play a trivia game that the was being hosted by the establishment. The drinks were of the sort that you wouldn't see at most places and they were quite good. As for the food, well, I did something I never do and will never do again.

I ordered a grilled cheese sandwich. For me, a grilled cheese is something you whip up at home when you want something fast using whatever bread and cheese you have in stock at the time. Definitely never even considered ordering it a restaurant.

However, I'm seeing it on more and more menus nowadays so I decided to take the cheesey plunge. I figured a boutique style place like this located the center of the Village of Williamsville surely must be killing it.

NOT! It wasn't good. I did not enjoy it. The bread was so thin that it gave the illusion of a decent amount of cheese but there really wasn't much to it. The cheese itself never made it to the edges of the bread and the bread was dry... so dry in spots that the sandwich was difficult to swallow.

But let's discuss the flavor. Yeah, uh, I'd love to discuss the flavor but alas, there was none. This was some lightly toasted bread with a modicum of cheese in it. Nothing special at all. Bland as it gets. For a $14 sammy served up in the heart of Williamsville, massive fail.

I considered requesting 50% discount on it, more because I was so mad at myself for ordering this dish in the first place than anything else, but the server, who was also the bartender, never asked me how it was. I had told her how I like my GCSs when I ordered. Later, she knew by the nod I gave her after the plate arrived that I did not like the look of it. This was before I sank my teeth into it. I'm assuming the reason she did not check back with me on it was because she knew she'd receive a less than stellar response. So she skipped that part of her job, or maybe she just forgot. Either way, no attempt to solicit my opinion of the dining experience was ever initiated.

The trivia was somewhat entertaining even though I got my butt kicked. However, the most exciting thing that went on while I was there was the fire across the straight. Fire trucks screaming down Main St., power flickering on and off in the restaurant, the scorched metal smell wafting through the patio and bar, and the allure of just a hint of danger that the whole block might go up in flames was the most engaging part of the evening. Otherwise,...

Convinced my group of friends to meet me here for my third visit as I loved the pretzles so much. We arrive and there is Music on Main. I was told there were no pretzels or the regular menu, just beef on weck and another sandwich. I am vegetarian, so couldn't have either. The bartender shrugged and suggested the chips in a bag.

Then we try to order cocktails, nope- no cocktails are being served, even with three bartenders and it not being that busy. They also did not have any wine. Just beer or wine slushies.

I honestly don't understand this. You think they would use the crowds on Thursdays to make money and do advertising of what they offer, but to extremely limit the food as well as drinks was a huge disappointment for us all.

My second visit: Came a second time for food. Got the pretzels with cheese, which were absolutely amazing. I loved them so much. However.... the grilled cheese and tomato bisque soup was extremely disappointing. The soup was not creamy, the grilled cheese wayyyy too over done (see pic of what I got vs posted on google). Since there is no waitstaff, no one asked how it was.

I hate that you are supposed to order via QR code. When you pay, you do not get a bill/cannot see an itemized list of what you are paying for to check that everything is correct. Only a reciept after paying.

It is also ridiculous that when paying with a card the tip suggestion automatically goes to 25%.

What is good is that there are outlets/charging ports under the bar.

My first visit: Came here to enjoy the open air of the patio while trying out new craft beers. The bartender was very welcoming and patient with explaining all the choices. They have a constantly rotating offer of beers. Because of that, they buy smaller kegs. The positive aspect is that you can keep trying new things. The negative is that you can't get too attached to the beers you like. Often, breweries will do tastings there. We were very happy with the beers. However, we were surprised at how small the cocktail was for that price. It seemed to be mostly ice. There is a seating area upstairs that is not covered or downstairs, which is not only covered with a roof but has heaters built in for when it gets colder. They also have curtains to block the wind if needed. They also offer events such as DJ Trivia weekly. Stop in and...