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The Best Bars in Buffalo

Buffalo has seriously raised its drinks game, and small-batch distillers are reviving its old reputation as a boomtown for booze. The best bars in Buffalo run along Elmwood Avenue and through downtown. On Elmwood in Allentown, Equal Parts is half neighborhood tavern, half cocktail bar, and its Nightmare on Elmwood mixes vodka and tomato water with the city's own Frank's Red Hot. Farther up Elmwood, High Violet serves small plates beside its cocktails and pours a Finger Lakes Chardonnay. Saint Neri on Lexington Avenue, designed by Buffalo natives Samuel Amoia and Michael Woltz, wraps its room in 24-karat gold leaf and serves caviar bumps with Champagne. Downtown, Lucky Day Whiskey Bar on Pearl Street builds Old Fashioneds and Manhattans around its whiskey library and its own barrel pick. VUE Rooftop Lounge, on top of the Curtiss Hotel, looks out over downtown, Lake Erie and the Canadian shore and stays open year round with a fire pit and heated bar areas. VUE takes no reservations and keeps a casual upscale dress code. These are the bars we would start with.

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  1. Waxlight Bar à Vin
    Wine Bar

    Waxlight Bar à Vin

    Waxlight Bar à Vin is a wine-focused restaurant and bar on Chandler Street in Buffalo's Black Rock neighborhood, run by the sommeliers and chefs who own it. The team includes certified sommeliers Tony Rials and Jess Railey-Forster and chef Joseph Fenush, formerly of Toutant. The by-the-glass list ranges across France, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Greece and New York's Seneca Lake. The cocktails come in two sections: "acid house," with drinks such as a sakura highball of cherry blossom vermouth, sake and soda, and "house of base," with an autumn negroni washed with brown butter and a bamboo built on vintage sherries. Beer and cider round it out, and the candlelit dining room sets a romantic mood.

    27 Chandler St, Buffalo, NY 14207Wed-Thu 5pm-late (kitchen to 9pm), Fri-Sat 5pm-late (kitchen to 10pm), Sun-Tue closed
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  2. Equal Parts
    Cocktail Bar

    Equal Parts

    Equal Parts is a neighborhood cocktail bar in Allentown at 149 Elmwood Avenue that blends West Coast cocktail culture with late-night neighborhood energy. House drinks use ingredients such as tamarind, tomato water and Frank's Red Hot, and a second section is given to equal-parts classics like the Paper Plane. Beer, wine and small plates are served until late, with brunch on Sundays.

    149 Elmwood Ave, Buffalo, NYMon-Thu 4pm-12am, Fri-Sat 4pm-2am, Sun 12am-5pm
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  3. High Violet
    Cocktail Bar

    High Violet

    High Violet is a cocktail bar at 712 Elmwood Avenue in Buffalo. Its wood-panelled room has upholstered booths and marble-topped tables under warm wall lamps. The seasonal list runs from an espresso martini made with house cold brew to rye, rum and mezcal drinks, with wine, beer and small plates such as empanadas, sliders and oysters.

    712 Elmwood Ave, Buffalo, NY 14222Wed-Thu 5pm-10:30pm, Fri-Sat 5pm-12:30am, Sun-Tue closed
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  4. Saint Neri
    Cocktail Bar

    Saint Neri

    Saint Neri is a cocktail bar at 220 Lexington Avenue in Buffalo. Its rooms are finished in gold leaf with velvet banquettes, patterned bar stools, chandeliers and a long bar lit by small table lamps. The menu pairs house cocktails with caviar service and Italian small plates such as arancini, gnudi and bucatini carbonara.

    220 Lexington Ave, Buffalo, NY 14222
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  5. VUE Rooftop Lounge
    Rooftop Bar

    VUE Rooftop Lounge

    VUE Rooftop Lounge sits on top of the Curtiss Hotel at 210 Franklin Street, with views across downtown Buffalo, Lake Erie and the Canadian shoreline. It is open year round, with heated enclosed bar areas, shuffleboard and an outdoor fire pit. Cocktails and a food menu are served first come, first served, with live music on Friday evenings and a casual upscale dress code.

    Curtiss Hotel, 210 Franklin St, Buffalo, NYMon-Thu 5pm-close, Fri 4pm-close, Sat 3pm-close, Sun 4pm-close
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These bars are the starting point. The full BarMagazine directory covers every listed bar in Buffalo, with a map, filters by bar type, and new openings as we verify them.

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