Sinatra's — Restaurant in Town of Tonawanda

Took guests out for dinner Fri, 5/25/18. Sinatra’s was always one of our favorites. This was our first experience in the new location The decor is elegant, and the new bar was really hopping. But the first thing to impress us was the noise level....a veritable din! “It’s because of all the activity at the bar,” I reasoned, “ it will be much better as we get into the dining room.” In fact, we were seated at the far end of the dining room, around the corner and only one table from the end of the restaurant...as far from the bar activity as one could get. Not an iota of improvement. When our waiter, Jake, came to take our drink order, he had to ask us to repeat, because HE couldn’t make out our words! Needless to say, this does not make for a pleasant, social evening. In truth, the food was still delicious. My pasta, shrimp and lobster scampi over linguini, came out tasty and perfectly al dente. My husband’s veal piccata met all his expectations. His first course, a burrata salad was beautifully plated and surrounded with cucumber, heirloom tomatoes, roasted red and yellow peppers, and some spicey pesto, all drizzled with a balsamic reduction. Now for the strikes: #1 with a bullet was the noise. I would never go back for that reason alone. #2 they ran out of bread????? #3 they use a system, where our waiter Jake took the orders, but another server brings the meals to the table. “Who gets the meatball? Who gets the crumbly blue cheese on their salad? “. A HUGE no no in a fine dining establishment, where service should be seamless! #4 we had to ask for Parmesan cheese with our dinners. #5 when my guest asked if she could have the Seafood Sinatra with the Fra Diavolo sauce, instead of the white sauce, our waiter said, “No, This is the only sway they make it now.” He never even offered to check with the chef, to see if an accommodation could be made. #6my guest asked the host, David, when we arrived if the private dining room was available for a specific future date. He asked her permission to come to our table a bit later, after he had a chance to check. About an hour later, he came through the area in which we were seated, and she caught his attention once again to inquire about the private dining room. He responded by explaining that the booking calendar was in the basement, and that he was too busy to ferret out that information. Would she please call back Sat afternoon, after 3. In summary, the new Sinatra’s is beautiful to the eye, an opus to the palate, but falls far short on the level of service and refined atmosphere that would merit my choosing it as a fine dining experience...

This was actually the first time I've been back to Sinatra's since they built the new building/restaurant. I like the decor and the ambiance. Simple shades of gray and white make for a classic, time spanning, elegance. I'm a total fan of the low, intimate lighting. We hit the bar first and I loved that the bar tender sought my husband and I out, very quickly, for a beverage because the rest of our gathering was already there and he obviously realized we couldn't readily get to him to place an order. He even came from around the bar to bring me my wine. The food was great as always. Service was great too. Sinatra's is one of the few places that still knows proper restaurant service replacing your silverware after each course. Their dishware was simple white but nice. It's expensive but one of the fewer places in Buffalo you're guaranteed to have a great dining experience. Our table ordered the artichoke hearts and the calamari for appetizers. The calamari dish was one of my favorites, in a tomato sauce with spicy peppers and green and calamata olives. The braciole (multiple orders), chicken parmesan, lasagna, the shrimp and lobster fra diavolo (they were out of lobster but not a worry) an evening pasta special and the carbonara. Everything was very good. We all took half our meal home. If I had to critique anything, for my taste, a bit more espresso and kaluha in the tiramisu would have totally topped off my evening. It was a tad light but the lady fingers and mascarpone were spot on. It's a bit of a travel for us since we're in Lewiston but we'll definitely be back. Thanks for your great service Mark, we had a...

What? Now that you moved, you have the mortgage to pay? Was there Mother’s Day... so disappointing. Been to the “old” Sinatra’s and the portions were adequate, food was of excellent quality. However we thought the move was to New York City? Seating like cattle, bing, right next to the next diner. How about personal space. I didn’t want to have dinner with the person next to me although politeness was the rule of the day, always. You are Buffalo Italians just like the rest of us. Your waite staff confirms it and that is what we expected. Lasagna with braciole was tasteless, where is the grated cheese, parsley, garlic and if you are Sicilian the hard boiled egg, zero sauce between the thick layers. I had the seafood alla Sinatra, with maybe a quarter cup of pasta. Seafood, what little you received was of high quality. Sauce was mediocre. Get over yourself... get real and become Italian again. Seasoned food and ample portions. However the pinot noir wine rocked and the Sinatra cheesecake sufficed. The beef carpaccio was the best we had ever eaten. Also my son had to get up to get the waitress to obtain a dessert...