3 Best Restaurants in Niagara Falls and Western New York, New York

Entrées, such as grilled shrimp over a fried grits cake with Tasso ham (spicy smoked ham), French green beans, and cherry tomatoes in a beurre blanc sauce, are inventive and expertly prepared. The menu is seasonal, but starters have included fried green tomatoes with chipotle aioli. Congenial but classy, the compact, Napa-esque dining room—gleaming light-wood floors and tables, exposed-redbrick walls, and French doors that open to the street—buzzes with conversation.

A 5-mi drive west of town (and easily accessible from Chautauqua) on a block-long cobblestone street ending at the lake, Scallion Bistro is a favorite of locals in the know. Try citrus-glazed salmon over fruit salsa, topped with horseradish butter and fried parsnips; or pan-seared chicken breast wrapped with Italian ham, over lobster succotash. There's a Tuscan feel, with faux-finish walls and hanging colored-glass lamps and an "arcaded" wall separating the dining room from bar. It's nice enough for a romantic dinner, but low-key enough to foster boisterous conversation and to have a (low- to-no-volume) flat-screen TV in the bar.

At this historic B&B you can eat in one of the two tiny floral dining rooms, one with a fireplace, seating 16 each, or on the petite front patio. The chef, formerly of the Peek'n Peak Resort, is praised in particular for his seared Chilean sea bass with a citrus beurre blanc and for Stilton-encrusted beef tenderloin in merlot sauce. These favorites are always on the menu; other entrées, salads, and appetizers—such as the watermelon gazpacho—change seasonally.