7 Best Restaurants in The Finger Lakes, New York

Well appointed but not overdone, the Aurora Inn is the spot for fine dining in town. The food is mostly classic American and the seasonal menu uses many fresh, local ingredients. Dinner could be veal Oscar (with crab cakes and béarnaise sauce), pan-seared scallops, or rack of lamb. The pastry chef whips up decadent desserts. You can eat inside or out: the formal dining room with floor-to-ceiling windows opens out onto a spacious patio overlooking Cayuga Lake. Breakfast is served daily.

Tucked away on a side street in downtown Canandaigua, this Italian restaurant offers an intimate setting with burgundy linens and candles on each table. The menu includes shrimp scampi, homemade potato gnocchi, and braciola (thin slices of beef rolled with a filling of prosciutto, sliced egg, Parmesan, and onions).

Go for the fried-fish sandwich and clam chowder, stay for the down-home atmosphere at this Skaneateles institution. The menu, posted over the counter where orders are taken, also includes steamed clams, fried shrimp, grilled chicken, frankfurters, and ice cream. Drop by Friday for lobster bisque. The counter staff shouts your name when your order is ready. Sit in the dining room under watch of the colorful mural of Skaneateles, at an outdoor picnic table, or take it to go.

Vintage signs and photos and tablecloths printed with Victorian-era newsprint add interest to this casual place on the north end of town. The menu is a mix of bar food, salads, wraps, and sandwiches: batter-fried shrimp, a Reuben, a chicken BLT, burgers, chips topped with shredded cheddar and bacon. The dinner menu adds entrées to the mix, such as beef tenderloin dusted with coffee, chocolate, and spices, pan-seared and served with a port wine sauce. Locals warm the stools in the front-room bar.

The clientele—from suit-wearing execs to hoodie-clad students—is as varied as the menu at this pubby restaurant with wooden booths and brick walls. Specials fill five 4-foot-square blackboards, change daily, and feature many fish dishes, such as basil-pesto-crusted salmon fillet. The regular menu includes sandwiches and soups, which make for a cheap but filling meal. Diners spill onto a patio in summer.

Five beers—two lagers, and a red, pale, and dark ale—are brewed on-site throughout the year. Each season brings one or two specialty brews. The kitchen incorporates Thai, Southwestern, Mexican, Caribbean, and Italian influences, among others, in dishes such as pork osso buco, Jamaican jerk chicken, a salmon fillet glazed with the brewery's D'Artagnan ale, coconut-battered shrimp appetizer. Sandwiches and burgers are also available. Beer suggestions accompany entrée descriptions.

Overlooking the water about 3 mi south of Geneva, this casual eatery serves eclectic fare. The chef prepares fresh-cut fish and steak specials daily, in addition to a regular menu that moves from Indian to Mexican in dishes like tandoori chicken in an almond-onion curry and house-smoked spareribs with honey corn bread. Finger Lakes wines accompany your meal, and the staff is trained in wine pairing. Nachos, calamari, and other small plates are always available. Reservations are essential in summer, especially around sunset.