Ellicottville Brewing on Chautauqua — Restaurant in Town of Ellery

Went here trusting the reviews......THAT was a mistake. Girlfriend and I went here for her birthday. She ordered the shrimp quesadilla. It had 4 shrimp in it, and an over abundance of peppercorn, making it a chore for her to enjoy. I ordered the mahi mahi fish tacos. I started on the first one, and noticed right away it was over cooked. Figured I'd keep the drama low, and suffer thru them. But, when I got to the second one, it was fo over poked, it had the texture of dried out chicken. I alerted the waitress to the problem, but all she did was pick up my plate and apologize. I told her if she couldn't remove it from the bill, I would need to see the manager. She left, and came back with the bill... which was full out pricing. I got up to go seek out the manager. Asked at the check in point, and got pointed to someone who they claimed was the manager. He was simply the wait staff coordinator. He claimed that because I had tried NOT to be whiney, and had eaten the first of three tacos, that that was his "get out free card".... HIS words exactly. I was livid, and began to read him the riot act about what his priorities should be, and how I might expect this from Captain D's or something, if they were $5 tacos. Apparently, he couldn't handle it, and I guess I was giving them too much bad publicity. I got the attention of the REAL manager. He too tried to snow me. I told him this was totally unacceptable, and if he expected me to pay anything, he had best go back in the kitchen, himself, and cook me an order to go. Ended up getting some of the bill comped, and an offer for free drinks next visit. Sorry fella, WONT BE A NEXT TIME. And none of my friends will be patronizing them either, as they all know I'm a foodie, and trust my opinion. EBC, you need to train your wait staff how to properly respond to complaints. Your managers the importance of customer service, and more overly, your kitchen crew how to cook. I'd like to put in my -5 stars...

I'm a big fan of the original EBC so when I saw there was a Chautauqua location I couldn't help myself but to stop in, sadly this location wasn't that great for me. The first time I went I was put off by the prices, they're a bit expensive for what is offered and the portions but I guess that's what you get when you gentrify a town like Bemus Point. It wasn't an awful experience so I would rate it as "fair" it was about a month later when I returned with several friends for a birthday celebration that really spoiled it for me.

A group of 6 of us entered and spoke to the hostess and explained we didn't really want a table as we weren't eating meals so we didn't want to tie up their dining space. We explained that we were going to order a few rounds of appetizers and beers as we were there celebrating a birthday. The hostess explained "they didn't really do that there but we could try the bar" - which was our initial plan. We proceeded to the elevated bar area and located a high top table that a few people could sit at and the rest stand. We approached the bar and attempted to order drinks and inquire about apps for the table and the bartender then explained "we couldn't have that table and there wasn't enough bar space for us" that we couldn't order some munchies and stand around drinking we would have to get sat at a table. Explaining that we already spoke to the hostess and were directed to this area she didn't seem to care and walked away. Being our first stop of the afternoon this kind of soured the mood for the group but we ended up leaving and moving on to experience many of the other spots in Bemus Point that ended up not having a problem with us and gladly accepted our money. Never again with EBC CHQ - its just...

It took a few passes to find parking and they looked pretty busy on a Saturday evening, but the host gave me a generous greeting and led me to my own table as requested outside. As a solo traveler this was surprising as there weren't many left, and I'm used to feeling "undesired" at big places during prime hours. My waitress was super friendly, personable, and genuine - none of that strung-out welded on grin, secretly hoping I just drop a bunch of cash and get the heck out.

I ordered a flight; I'll spare you my in-depth analysis but I will say the Jasmine IPA was delicious without overpowering hops, the Lake Bum was refreshing, tasty, and may be the perfect chillaxing beer, and the Strawberry Crunch is almost worth trying just for how they captured the flavor of those familiar desert bars, but as a beer it's terrible (no brewery I know is going to score 100s across the board, and that's part of the fun). The food was outstanding: fish fry was hot, crispy, flavorful and HUGE. There was a nice heap of fries done to perfection and the coleslaw was so fresh I ate every bite. I went for the croissant ice cream sandwich for dessert and it was an indulgence; the buttery roll was toasted and wrapped around top-tier French vanilla custard (well preserved, no ice crystals) along with thick layers of chocolate and hazelnut spread. Definitely worth it. I felt mildly toasted myself and well full and satisfied when finished.

An appreciably tight band was cranking through Pat Benetar and Stevie Nix covers and I stayed for a few numbers. My only complaint was that they didn't have any cans of the excellent Lake Bum Lager to take home. Overall: an outstanding restaurant with remarkable service while performing near...