Tony R’s

Ok so we saw the three star reviews here and hesitated coming for our anniversary dinner. We went to the Corning glass museum today and I asked sone of the young people where I should take my wife for a wonderful dinner. They recommended Tony R’s for great steak and seafood. So we came and asked for a romantic booth. The wine list is wonderful and they have many wines by the glass. We ordered our favorite appetizer Beef Carpaccio. It was served with lovely bread crustinis. It was wonderful. Then we ordered a tomato and onion salad that we split. it was served with wonderful authentic homemade Italian dressing. To die for!!! Then came the entrees. The wife had veal saltonbocca and I had the Ribeye with asparagus medium rare… Oh my god! Both were orgasmic!!! The meat was super tasty and tender without being chalky from too much tenderizer. My wife said her veal over sautéed spinach was «The best she ever had!!!» So great! Worth the drive and totally wonderful service and perfect ambiance… Five star (Really!!!).

First, I will say that I will return here, because it is the only «upscale» steak house in midtown Corning, AND, truthfully, the steak (Delmonico) was awesome and perfectly cooked… however, considering some of the low ratings posted on Unilocal which could cause people to pause in coming here, I would have expected this place to have listened and step up there game… food wise. As for the place itself, the ambience is great, its perfect for dates, family affairs, etc… the décor is appropriate, our waitress Leslie was a doll and provided excellent service and the meal was not rushed yet appropriately served in a comfortable time frame… so let’s turn to the real issue… the food. Started w/​coconut shrimp where it just wasn’t coconutty enough and rather bland… what was up with the Caesar salad… romaine lettuce with shaved parmesan or whatever cheese they put on it with nothing more does not make it a Caesar salad… where were the anchovies, the Garlic, the oil? Very disappointing and flat out bland… just like the coconut shrimp and the horseradish smashed potatoes… which were also bland. My wife’s Ahi Tuna, which according to the menu was supposed to be rare, was overcooked. And the side rice dish (looked like a dirty rice) served with the tuna was salty, and just didn’t taste good… butter would have nice to have in addition to the olive oil dipping dish we got with the uninspiring bread… One other positive note is that the green beans served with my steak were awesome… and I wish I could replicate… soooo…this is why it only gets 3 stars. I will return as it is the only joint in town attempting to serve upscale steaks, which were great… but be leary of the supporting food choices which were noticeably disappointing. Thanks Leslie for making the experience more palatable!

This place was great. We had slow service in the beginning but they made yo for it with free wine and desert. Food was great! we sat in the vault. It was very cool. Great atmosphere. Dress sharp. Would definately come back here. Price was very fair.

Went for dinner here with people from work. What a great time. The waitress was a doll. Good was amazing. The fillet was melt in your mouth (I had it blue rare). The seafood platter was divine. Don’t plan on this being a quick meal. We were there for 3.5 hours. Time well spent in a quiet, wonderful place. If I make it back to this town, I’ll come back to this place

I looked at their website online and thought it would be a good place to go for Valentine’s Day. Nothing on their site said anything about a limited menu but I can understand the need to do that for a day like Valentine’s Day. Made reservations a week in advance looking forward to it.
After being seated, it took around ten minutes to get water and a drink order. Too long to get our food order, to long to see a plate of food. Appetizer menu was a lot smaller than their sites with only four options, three of which was fish based. My date didn’t like fish… After appetizers, she ordered a salad with too much pepper she couldn’t finish it and I had a really bad soup that after a couple bites I had to get rid of it. I ordered the New York Strip medium rare and it could barely be counted as rare. It was no where near close. Served with green beans that were badly over cooked. She had the chicken parmesan with soggy spaghetti and greasy fries.
We ended up taking dessert to go, but instead of the amazing online dessert menu ours was limited to a few choices that I really didn’t want.
I won’t be back.

Tony R you kidding me? We always have a great meal here. However, dinner on Monday night was thoroughly disappointing. When I called to report our experience, the manager told me the executive chef was off on Mondays. The food quality as well as the service was dismal. The sides were ice cold and the risotto was the consistency of glue. I was told the salmon was fresh, but had a very fishy taste. My son in law ordered a martini that tasted like ice water with olives. I hope this experience isn’t a sign that Tony R’s is just going through the motions.

We came here for my Birthday dinner which I haven’t been here in a while.
The place
This place is amazing it used to be a bank and they turned into a upscale restaurant which included a room in the old vault. They must have spend quite a lot of money on this place when they renovated it. Everything is very classy and clean which makes feel very upscale.
The food
One thing you should know they have a menu that is pretty comprehensive. Steak menu is where they can be expensive and I have heard mixed reviews. My recommendation is order off the Tanino’s part which his other Italian restaurant. You can get great food and good value at the same time. I ordered the Blue Cheese, Tomato and Sweet Onion appetizer, which is Sliced beefsteak tomato and sweet onion drizzled with our house-​made vinaigrette and topped with crumbled Gorgonzola. I must say I thought it was a salad I ordered so when it came out I was surprised! However I really liked it it had a great flavor. For dinner I had Chicken Sorrento which is Chicken cutlets sauteed in olive oil, topped with eggplant, mozzarella cheese. It was big and had tasted great for 19 bucks which is about 3 – 4 bucks more than they would charge you at Olive Garden and tasted way better!!! My wife had the Crab & Lobster Alfredo which she really liked but I didn’t try it.
Desert
I had Bananas Foster and I was amazed first off they make it right in front you on a portable try and I can tell you everyone in the room was watching and a couple next to us asked me what I ordered. I bet a few people ordered dessert after seeing that even though they had no plans to! It was soooooo good. The bananas with the rum and banana liquor mix with the brown sugar over the ice cream tasted amazing! My wife had the key lime pie which i am not a huge fan of but it was big and tasted pretty good.
The service
Our waitress was great she always made sure our drinks were full and was great at making suggestions. She was very polite and even bagged our leftovers for us. I love that most places just give you a box and they you have to hope you don’t make a mess when you bag it.
The verdict
The place can be very expensive but you use the Tanino’s menu is had good value. Plus the deserts are very good so I would say this place is worth your money. I would recommend it for a great date atmosphere also! I actually had lunch here when I asked my wife to marry me :)

We came here for happy hour the other day and I think that is the only time I would ever come here. It is known to be the upscale/​pricey steakhouse, but I think I would be happy with the Cellar too. Anyways!
Happy hour from 4−6pm Monday thru Saturday, not bad.
We sat at a high top table and the waitress was alone so the service wasn’t nearly as quick. She was nice and pretty patient with us trying to get in orders before 6pm. I ordered a wedge salad (–minus bacon) and coconut shrimp. I wasn’t impressed with either, not overly impressed anyways. I mean I know it’s a wedge salad, but the walnuts weren’t as candied as I thought. I actually enjoy the wedge salad at Applebee’s better. The coconut shrimp only had 4 pieces, which were pretty big but just not that great. I expect greatness from one of these fancier places and it didn’t blow me out of the water like I expected. I had friends order the stuffed artichokes, chicken quesadillas, meatballs, and chicken lettuce wraps. Again, all okay.
I think we would come back for a happy hour but I don’t think I would waste the money on fine dining here. Yes, it seems fancier but there are other nice places on Market Street too that are more affordable and with better food.

Went here with my boyfriend. Food was delicious, service was good, ambience was nice. We were in a more private room with only two other tables close to their vault, so it was quiet. Not sure how quiet or loud the other tables since they are in a wider space.
The halibut dish was savory and the Chilean sea bass was more sweet since it had a coconut flavoring. Dish was a decent portion, we both had half of our dish the next day for leftovers. Crab and lobster cakes dish came with two, decent size for two people.

Visiting the fingerlakes annually, our innkeepers at the Idlewilde Inn in Watkins Glenn recommended Tony R’s. Even though it’s half an hour’s drive, we decided to come with me as the D.D.
Great service & atmosphere (although not a fan of the big game mounts in the walls) it is definitely worth the trip.
The food was top notch, meat and seafood choices. Several options for vegetarians if you go with the salads and sides or a pasta dish. Presentation and wine list way above average. The restaurant used to be an old bank and there are tables in what was (and still is the vault. If you aren’t claustrophobic, ask to sit there…
Enjoy, reservations recommended

When I think of a $ 50 steak, I think hand cut dry-​aged, grass-​fed, waygu or black angus. This is simply cut out of a package Sysco steak. The waitstaff has yet to learn the difference between dry and wet aging. All beef is aged, but very little is dry aged, and this corn fed commercial crap is certainly not. Don’t waste your time or hard earned money. Go to Wegman’s, who does actually carry dry aged prime beef, and cook it yourself. It will be cheaper, tastier an at least cooked the way you want it.

This is an update from my review last summer. Was back at Tony R’s last night with family and unfortunately everything was that much more lackluster. Service was slower than molasses in February, and it was not the fault of our waitress, who was a friendly but poorly-​trained 20-​something, could have been one of my own kids. It was clearly an incompetent kitchen staff. Several tables that came in after us were served and on their way before our entrees same out. In fact, we had been seated for over 100 minutes by the time our entrees came out. I finally asked the waitress and she admitted the kitchen had «messed up our order» and «put some other tables in front of you guys». Great.
Like every other time I’ve been there, the food was just «OK». Tony does a mix of brown (not pumpernickel– more of a sweet-​ish brown bread) and white Italian bread in the bread basket, but only herbed olive oil, which goes fine with the italian bread but is a total disaster with the brown bread. This is the sort of thing any competent chef would know — and fix, but since Tony R’s doesn’t really have a head chef, and Tony R. himself can only be bothered to stop by once or twice a week — this is the kind of mistakes that take the place down a notch from ‘good’ to ‘mediocre’.
We had a mix of appetizers. The firecracker shrimp is a house favorite — it’s essentially lightly battered and deep-​fried shrimp dunked in something very similar to chicken wing sauce, with that vinegar bite. I had a lettuce wedge which is impossible to screw up, and the blue cheese dressing was very good. As others have mentioned, they usually do a good job with the Calimari (which we did not have this visit). The crab/​lobster cakes were good. They had a crab bisque that night which was also reported as very good — served over some lump crab and lobster meat in the bowl — a nice presentation.
Honestly — your best value at Tony R’s is to eat off the appetizer menu. Order one for an appetizer and a couple for your entrée. Forget the steaks.
There are now two cuts of meat on the steak menu marked «prime», and I ordered one of them, a Kansas City strip for $ 40. It was cooked correctly (Med-​Rare) but was very tough. and honestly was no better than grocery store meat, which is consistent with my first review. I have no way to prove it one way or another, other than my many experiences at great steakhouses around the USA — but I seriously doubt this was graded «Prime» anything. Worse, the char marks had the bitter off-​flavor that any knowledgeable carnivore recognizes as caused by a dirty grill. Likewise, the green bean side had strange off-​flavor.
I asked for a side of spaghetti instead of the included house salad (since I had a lettuce wedge for an appetizer) and was told I could NOT substitute. Really? Are you kidding? I can’t substitute 50 cents worth of pasta for the tiny salad when I’m spending $ 350 on dinner? That kind of policy is just unbelievable today.
The ladies in our party split a fillet mignon, and it was OK. Honestly, that would have been a much better choice. Another diner had the Delmonico which was described as «fatty». And what about this… $ 45 for an 8 oz. lobster tail? That’s just highway robbery — especially since live lobsters are delivered daily to Wegman’s two blocks away.
I also want to comment on the wine list, or actually, the lack of one. The other commenters here who think that Tony R’s wine list is «extensive» or whatever don’t know what they’re talking about. There’s a lot of bottles of wine on the list — just precious few that are appropriate for the menu. It looks like a wine list put together by a salesman from the liquor distributor, and not a Sommelier — another necessary position that Tony R’s lacks. Corning sits at the gateway to the Finger Lakes and yet NYS wines are barely present. A few lackluster whites, maybe a Merlot — but little to nothing from the best Fingerlakes producers. The list is completely unbalanced — lots of bargain bottles ($ 10 bottles selling for $ 40+) with a few «Big Name» bottles of $ 200 Champagne thrown in for good measure. It’s an embarrassment.
Here’s what I think Tony R’s needs to do.
1) Hire an executive chef — someone with 10+ years’ experience in the kitchen ans who will actually be at the restaurant nightly.
2) Hire a Sommelier — if not to attend to the wine cellar full-​time, AT LEAST to stock it for you. Someone who knows NYS producers — and not just theones that are large enough to use a distributor

The owner warmly greeted us at the door-​at least I believe she was one of the owners; her picture was on the wall with her husband.
Since we were cold, she seated us at the best table in the house-​in front of the fire place. Nice music and atmosphere-​worth the price.
My co-​worker and I ordered the lobster bisque which is one of the best bisques I’ve had.
The salads were okay but I wasn’t a fan of the Caesar dressing.
One of my co-​workers had the crab and lobster alfredo; she asked for half the sauce and really enjoyed her entrée.
My other co-​worker had the filet and added a baked potato – she stated the meal was good and had leftovers.
I ordered the chicken campagnola– FABULOUS! Sauteed chicken, sausage, peppers, and rosemary in a white wine sauce over linguine – OH MY! Great Meal!

Went to Tony R’s last Friday after an art opening. Waitress very helpful in guiding me in a wine choice. I asked for a dry white wine and finally decided on a Pinot Grigio.
Live piano music upstairs, so we could enjoy it without our conversation being drowned out.
Bread with herbed olive oil for dipping was good. I ordered a slow-​roasted chicken with mashed potatoes and green beans. Loved those potatoes with lots of black pepper and some ranch dressing mixed in. 1−½ # of chicken seemed like it would be a lot, but what it is is half a chicken with the skin and bones still in. All in all, the food was very tasty and I had leftover chicken for lunch the next day at home.
Lots of footsteps above (?), either kids running around or waiters/​waitresses running up and down the stairs.
If you’re uncomfortable with huge animal heads on the walls when you’re eating, be careful to ask them to seat you where you can’t see them. We both ordered decaf after eating and they brewed fresh which is always a treat and it was good.
Two problems for me. I don’t like waitstaff calling me ‘dear’ or any other personal term of endearment when I don’t know them and/​or they are way younger than me! Also, when our waitress brought take out containers, she had them on a tray onto which she loaded dirty dishes and napkins from a neighboring table. The napkins ended up on top of the containers. I asked her to bring clean containers, which she did, but I really don’t understand how that happened in the first place. Yes, it was a busy, busy night, but… Having said that, I do want to point out that our waitress was very personable and checked in with us just often enough that we didn’t feel neglected or bothered. Will be glad to go back again.

Tony R’s is your typical if not above average steak and seafood joint. Reasonably priced, for about $ 60 you get a steak, appetizer, and dessert. My primary complaint was that we had reservations at 7, and after about 45 minutes at the bar we were finally seated. The Delmonico steak was prepared very well. It was cooked perfectly to the medium rare order. The French onion soup was very good.
It was a great night out with friends and I’d definitely return here.

I enjoy a good dinner just as much as the next guy. Last night we had reservations there (party of 6) at 6pm. We were seated immediately as we were a few minutes early. About 5 or 10 minutes later the server came to take our order. I’m going to keep this short as I don’t feel like reliving it. Our table bread was brought out about an hour into service. About a half hour after that I received my appetizer (crab cakes), which were tasty. A half after that I received my luke warm soup. And about 45 minutes later, my cold prime rib (excellent green beans on the side). The sad thing is, everyone at the table also received luke warm to cold food. Before you ask why we didn’t complain, let me say 2.5 hours into dinner on New Years Eve you really want to just and get out and hope the rest of the night goes better.
We even had to ask for and wait for the check. All in all we were seated 3.75 hours, the hottest item was the plate (as if they were hoping it would cook my steak. The server acted like it was all fine and didn’t apologize for anything. We tipped her well anyway because it is probably the kitchens and ultimately the fault of the establishment. When you spend $ 500 on dinner you expect more and usually get more.
The 6 of us will never go back.

Outstanding in all respects: great food, great ambiance, great service. One of the best meals I’ve had on the road.
Located in a space that was previously a bank, Tony Rs brings classic steakhouse look & feel to old town Corning, NY.
It’s pricey for the area but well worth it.
Everyone in our party loved their meal, be it steak, seafood, or pasta.
Definitely will go back.

The food at Tony R’s is outstanding. The waitress was lovely, but seemed a bit rushed. It’s a little pricey but you are paying for quality.
For appetizers we got the crab and lobster cakes. These came in a spicy sauce that made them over-​the-​top delicious. We also got the cheddar jalapeño soup, which was the soup of the day. Again, another fantastic dish.
For the main course I got the roasted salmon with cabernet balsamic glaze. It was done perfectly, and I could have put the glaze on everything. It came with smashed potatoes and sauteed green beans.
Hubby got the rotisserie chicken, which he raved about, and he’s never impressed by anything. (haha) This also came with the smashed potatoes and green beans. As a side, we got the overwhelmingly fantastic macaroni and cheese. If you go to this restaurant, I implore you, DO NOT skip the mac and cheese! It was creamy and sharp, with the most perfect chipotle breadcrumb topping.
Both dinners came with a Caesar side salad that was probably the best I’ve had in awhile.
I REALLY wanted to give this place 5 stars. My only complaint was that they rushed the food a little. Our reservation was at 7 and we left the place at 8. With all that we ordered we should have not even gotten the main course until 8. It was difficult to enjoy the food to the fullest when it was coming at you rapid fire. I don’t know if that’s a common thing or just a one-​off issue, but I think next time we go we will tell them to take their time.
We ordered dessert to go. The PB pie. Again, not disappointed. After all was said and done, (including 3 glasses of Scotch or whiskey) we paid about 130 bucks. We were not overwhelmed by the amount, especially for all the food we got. Neither one of us ordered the steaks, if we had, the meal would probably have been close to twice that. (Some of you may not even sneeze at that amount, but where we are from, a meal for 130 bucks is a rare occurrence! But, ya gotta treat yourself sometimes!)
So overall, do not miss this restaurant if you are in Corning!

Enjoyed a really nice outting with some coworkers in one of the private rooms the other night. Great ambiance and fantastic menu. Everything we ordered was cooked to perfection and the flavors were very nicely devoloped. The service was great, very attentive staff and the meal was well timed. They gave us time to enjoy each coarse and digest, did not feel rushed at all.
Some of the the really noteworthy items were;
Apps: Calamari, fire cracker shrimp, brie with sweet pepper jelly, crab and lobster cakes.
Salad: I had a really tasty cesear salad, not the most breathetaking part of the meal, but it held its own among the other items.
Main Dish: I had the rack of lamb, very nice portion. I ordered it medium rare and it was served exactly right. Nice crust with rare center.
We were too full for dessert, next time we’ll have to give it a shot.

Dear Tony R,
You own one of my favorite steakhouses that I’ve ever been to, in Corning or otherwise! Your establishment is my go-​to dinner spot when I travel to the area for business, and if the succulent, juicy pork chop or filet mignon on your menu don’t make me drool, I don’t know what will. The sautéed spinach is my favorite side, and the smashed potatoes are a great complement to the quality protein you serve also.
Your staff is professional, attentive, and knowledgable.
Besides that, what a unique history this building has! This converted bank (the vault was maintained, and there are dining tables in there) with mounted animal heads has definitely got some personality to it.
Can’t wait to come back.
XO,
T-​girl
P. S. Looking back on my review from 1 year ago, it looks like succulent, favorite, and vault were key words back then too.