Moonwinks — Restaurant in Town of Cuba

This is a long overdue review! We had been told that Moonwinks was a great place to eat, but it took us a while to finally try it, and we are so glad we finally did! It is our favorite place to eat, of all the places we have ever eaten, anywhere. The atmosphere is fantastic, beautifully decorated, able to be enjoyed equally as a fancy night out for a special occasion or a casual fun evening in the bar area, and it is a perfect venue for special events. The staff are so friendly and welcoming. We happened to go there for dinner this past Memorial Day weekend, and had a bit of a longer wait than usual, because of a large wedding that was happening there. We didn't mind at all, because the food is phenomenal and we would have waited indefinitely for the amazing hanging maple bacon or the perfectly seared scallops, or the flavorful salmon, and risotto, or the fantastic pasta dishes, but a gentleman in a tux from the wedding party saw us waiting, apologized profusely for our wait and vowed to get us a table right away and arrange for us to meet the chef. Turned out the gentleman was not just in the wedding- he was the groom. And he was not just holding his wedding at Moonwinks, he was the owner!! He had our family set up in the room where their reception meal had been served prior to the party moving to the event room for the rest of the festivities. We had the room to ourselves, and he, the groom/owner took our order himself, then grabbed several servers and instructed them to treat us as his personal guests. He told us to order what ever we wanted, as it was on him. He even checked back on us later, and brought the chef, as promised, for us to meet and spent time talking with us about where we were from and how he and his cousin, the chef, came to be the owners and operators of the restaurant. We told him he didn't have to sell us on the place, we are already regular customers and we recommend it to everyone we know. The evening was so special, and so fun! We also enjoyed the wedding desserts they brought us (magnificent!) and tipped the fantastic wait staff what we would have paid for the meal, before leaving for the night, without taking him up on his offer to crash the reception and join the party! This restaurant is a must visit if you are ever fortunate enough to...

I will not go there again, even though I have eaten there MANY times over the past 20 years or so.No confidence in "new management".

My chicken was hard to cut and nearly impossible to chew. (Rubbery, and I have good teeth!) Our server never came back to see how things were; I had to flag down another server to get her. She offered to get another piece of chicken for me; it was a little better, but still very dry, tasteless, and overcooked. And she never offered to heat up the rest of my meal which by then had become cold. I did ask, and she did do it.

My husband also got the chicken: Dry and tasteless, but he ate it. We were hungry and the food had been slow coming.

I told the server I expected her to adjust the bill. She said she'd talk to the manager; manager gave us $3 off! That actually made me madder than the 3 dry chicken pieces!

On a positive note, the risotto was good, and the side salad was good. Asparagus was good. But I gave a 1-star review because honestly, I could have cooked a MUCH better meal at home with a piece of chicken and a meat thermometer. The chef should be embarrassed, and the manager should have apologized to me himself.

Food and service used to be so good we'd go there for special occasions. I would not have written an ugly review if I'd gotten a better adjustment on the bill, or even just the manager to talk to me, but seems that social media is my only strategy at this...

This is our second visit to Moonwinks and really have enjoyed it both times and this visit was our mutual birthday dinner for my wife and I, as our birthdays are only 5 days apart.

We ordered the cured bacon as an appetizer and it was simply spectacular. Such a wonderful beginning to a great meal. I also enjoyed a crock of their luscious french onion soup with melted gruyere cheese, which was absolutely perfect.

Then we went on to our entrees. The wife had the salmon and I had the delmonico steak special. Both were done as requested perfectly and seasoned well, but not overly so as were the sides of mixed vegetables and the mashed potatoes.

Everything very well prepared and presented beautifully. We have to say that the only downside was we were seated in the back room, which looked like an event space, and... as we're older, we go to dinner early and and we were the only ones in the room. It felt a bit odd, but nonetheless, it did not take away from the experience and the food. The wait staff was exemplary and the place is Very clean and tidy.

Have to definitely say 4 stars. The only downside was it is a bit pricey for western new york, but all in all, well...