Michael’s Restaurant

Usually you’d never get me in a place like this (if I want Italian I make it myself or go to mulberrys or make it myself.) but my girlfriends a picky eater so when we go out I let her choose. This place doesn’t look like much but the food is great and service is decent. Fantastic sauce, good gnocchi but the star was their chef salad with the house dressing. It was so good I got one to go! Bonus points that they serve Loganberry, I’m pretty sure it was Johnny Ryan’s so double bonus points.

Great family restaurant with amazing service! Grace our waitress is outstanding in customer service! Good food with great favor!

This place is a staple in Niagara Falls. The go to dishes are beans and greens soup and the salad with rolled mozzarella. Those are to die for. The calzones are also crazy big!!!

Great and speedy service, attentive wait staff. The best beans and greens on the planet. A family friendly atmosphere. Very reasonably priced. Where the locals eat. Oh, and huge portions.

As a local, I’ve been to this place many, many times and for some reason it just doesn’t do it for me. Food is average. Service is always below average. Our waitress couldn’t have been more miserable this last time. The place was dead and our orders were missing things, and when I pointed it out the girl gets sassy with me like it was my fault. And the prices are of course the only thing above average at this shit hole DINER. It shouldn’t even be called a restaurant. If you want to be nickel and dimed for every little thing and be treated as if you’re a bother to them. This is definitely the place for you!

This place is a treasure… Incredible service, wonderful food lovingly made and a nostalgic atmosphere that I enjoyed. Seemed to be full of regular customers who knew great food. Beans and Greens soup must be tried as well as the chef salad with rolled mozzarella cheese. Loved it! Great Job! Peanut butter pie was very good too!

Stopped in on a Saturday night for dinner and was not disappointed.
We had the Chefs Salad (with amazing rolled mozzarella), a calzone and lasagna. Everything was served quickly and hot. No complaints what so ever.
This restaurant definitely has a classic feel to it. I see other reviews saying the interior needs to be updated. And, maybe it does, but I think it adds to the charm of the place.
Staff were great. I had a nice chat with the owner at the end of our meal. I’ll spread the word about Michael’s, really good place for a great meal.

My favorite Italian restaurant. Reminds me of the way my grandmother made sauce. The chef salad with cheese is outstanding. Their calzones are monstrous, and for dessert fried dough is a must. Portion sizes are unbelievable.

Outstanding food with great service. I had the homemade macaroni — super tasty. Portions are huge (even the ½ portions). Highly recommended!

What a gem. I really can’t find anything wrong with this place. Every time I’m in town I have to get my salad and greens & beans fix in. The macaroni and sauce is also amazing. The food is so good, I dine in and order items to-​go. The service is always amazing and food comes out fast. This place is the best.

I wouldn’t be giving it such a low score if not for the fact that I got food poisoning from something that I ate here. I got one of the specials, the grilled shrimp, asparagus mushroom and sun dried tomato pasta. After we placed the order, they removed the option from the giant whiteboard that had all the specials, indicating that I had ordered the last dish. The food poisoning probably came from the food being out for so long

Loved Michael’s so much I came back with friends.
The floorplan reminds me of a 50’s diner with booths and no counter. You walk in the door and find yourself landlocked while a table is being chosen for you. Each time we went there was only a table or two available.
The place is buzzing with servers that are beautiful Italian (presumed) mostly young ladies with those amazing WNY conversational skills. The service was also very quick.
We got a wine and a beer and then a great salad with blue cheese. My mouth waters as I write this, then came out one of the best lasagnas I have ever eaten. It was huge and had lots of sauce.
The prices are so reasonable too. Will definitely be back here the next time in the area.

After working in living in the falls for 2 months I have had my fare share of good itialian. .but after my first time going here. was on on way to another go to spot but this flagged my Unilocal.I’m glad I deverted… yum

I’m not sure if this place is freaking awesome or just an improvement from the mediocre at best food I’ve had in Canada. The stuffed rigatoni is absolutely incredible. Eat the hamburger soup. It has a great flavor, and a cup is a meal in itself. Pizza is good, but not incredible. They also serve Johnnie Ryan soda as which is a local thing. This place is great. The price is low, and the food is very good.

Super fabulous!!! Best Italian there is, puts chains like Olive Garden and Buca Di Beppo to shame. Even the bread was great, super soft and tasty. Not hard like a lot of restaurants. I really love the Loganberry drink, it’s really exotic and tasty. I got a beef ravioli. The sauce was super great and the beef was flavorful. I also got a beans and greens soup, which was so
reminded me of Spinach Artichoke dip, which was weird because I don’t really eat that stuff! Another good one was the Calzone, super super huge and full of cheese!

Okay so its kind of a long running joke in WNY that locals go to Niagara Falls for the Italian food not the actual falls. I would have to say this is somewhat true. However, problem is that Niagara Falls, NY really only has like four Italian restaurants total to choose from. You have Como, Fortuna’s, La Hacienda (yes La Hacienda is actually Italian not Mexican), and Michael’s rounding out the four. These four places are all nestled right along Pine Avenue on a stretch known as Little Italy Niagara Falls. I would have to say that of the four Michael’s is easily the best. Where the others falter Michael’s excels.
What are you ordering when you come here? You have to get the lasagna. Michael’s lasagna is legendary. The portion size of the full order of lasagna is huge. Also, the fried ravioli appetizer is amazingly good. Finally, the chef salad with rolled mozzarella is pretty good. Its funny how much those little rolled up strands of mozzarella cheese add to a simple salad. Michael’s has a pretty good homemade sauce they use but not my favorite of all time. Nonetheless their sauce holds its own. I still have yet to try their chicken parmesan but it will be the first thing I order next time I visit.
Service is always friendly, timely, and efficient here. Be prepared for a wait for a table though if you go during dinner time. Prices are pretty reasonable considering the large portion sizes. I love the atmosphere here. Its totally got that old school mom and pop Italian feel to it though they are lacking the red and white checkered table cloths haha.

I been coming to place all my life. Micheal is family own. When you order any kind of pasta dishes you get huge plate that you taken home a doggy bag. The prices is reasonable on there menu. ALso you can order half a order and stilled taken part of meal home. Also order Ala carte.

Michaels is definitely a turn back in time Italian restaurant for sure. The place isn’t the biggest in the world and is very reminiscent of a diner style atmosphere. The service here is very quick, as is the food!
For dinner I had chicken parm with shells and a side salad with their rolled grated cheese. Let me just say the rolled cheese and the salad is a great twist for sure! The chicken parm was cooked perfect, although I wish the chicken was a little bigger in portion but the amount of shells you get with your meal, more than made up the difference! There was alot really! The sauce tasted great as well (just a little subtle sweetness to it)
In all I like Michaels and plan on visiting here in the future.

In town during the off-​season, we were tempted to stay at the hotel with fellow conference folks for dinner — but instead decided to venture out for local eats — and am I so glad we did!
Great, homey gnocchi and also had to try that greens & beans soup everyone raves about — it was definitely a great thing to split (for a cup for $ 3.50, why not have an experience?) and I could tell that my father would likely order something like that by the bucketload. We enjoyed this and that from the menu and it was nice to have an affordable glass of wine with dinner too. Our server and the staff were very nice, and the place had a great feel on a Sunday night. Passing the bathroom test with flying colors doesn’t hurt either. I had to bring some gnocchi because the serving was so generous and it reheated great too. Coming here again would be a no-​brainer decision!

I’m glad it’s called Michael’s and not Midol’s. Because then not only would it be a drugstore (and I don’t like drugstores) rather than a lovely little Italian American Ristorante, but it would also be full of women on their periods. And while I have no problem with women on their periods, nor do I bow to stereotypes which say that women on their periods are difficult, nor do I have a problem with the blood itself (since I am from Transylvania after all), the problem is that I find that when it is that time of the month, women are far less likely to take me up on my request to eat out.
I meant eat out at Michael’s, what did you think I meant? You’re SO bad. Tsk tsk.
What to get: Beans N Greens Soup, Chef Salad.
What else: Chicken Parm, Gnocchi, pretty much everything.
How was I the first person to review Michael’s? That makes about as much sense as bombing another country for their own protection. ;) I’ve been back here a few times since I wrote the review and it’s still one of the best Italian places in WNY, you absolutely have to come here and try it for yourself.
There are only 3 Italian places I like significantly better than Michael’s — it is firmly cemented in my top 10 Italian restaurants on earth, but most of those are located in WNY so perhaps I am a bit biased. But the fact that there are 10 incredible Italian American restaurants in the region says it all really.
Western NY has the best Italian American food on earth. I have 7 amazing restaurants to prove it. Just like the Pizza, and the Wings, and the Souvlaki… the sign when you come into the region should say: Italian American — it’s better here. Top tier: Mulberry Café (one in a million, my fave, best lasagne and meatballs on earth). Lockport Village (best chicken parm). Santasieros (cheap and rich and delicious). Best of the rest: DiTondo’s (only open Friday eve), Roman Café (yum yum in NT), Michael’s (best Beans N Greens and rolled mozzarella chef salad imaginable), Lebro’s (awesome sauce and Chicken Parm). You will not go wrong at any of those marvellous jewels.
Michael’s is a lovely and excellent family-​owned Italian restaurant in the heart of Niagara Falls, USA, that I’m willing to travel over an hour to, despite there being a hundred other Italian places that are closer to my house. The service is mixed: one older waitress who has been there years is a joy to order food from, and makes you feel truly welcome. A couple of the other waitresses including a spectacularly beautiful young lady with a very dark tan and black hair, are much less welcoming and abrupt in a typically youthful manner, but very good looking.
The food is wonderful, but you need to know what to order. Yes, everything is good, but you really must try the Beans And Greens soup. I don’t like soup, but it’s so good I could live off it. It’s the best soup I’ve ever tasted. It’s so wholesome, amazing, garlicy, dreamy, delicious and sinful, it’s indescribable. It’s worth the price of admission all by itself. Then there’s the salad with the added Rolled Mozzarella balls (upgrade to it, it’s called Chef’s Salad). Absolutely phenomenal!
The entrees are sometimes lacking something, it depends what you get. Their tomato sauce is some of the best I have ever tried, and they are famous for it. However their signature dish, The Chicken Parmesan, is a little bit like schnitzel in that it’s too crispy, too thin, and not chickeny enough, the veal is a similar story (a bit like a fried burger patty), so I never order those anymore. I’ve started getting the Eggplant Parm because it’s healthier for you and much juicier and more delicious than the Chicken Parm! You can substitute Gnocchi for the regular kinds of pasta — do it! It’s so fluffy, milky, some of the best pasta I’ve tried, it is incredibly filling and comforting.
If you prefer Pizza… Their pizza is excellent. As long as you’re getting the Beans-​N-​Greens and their salad with Rolled Mozzarella, with whatever dish you order, you’re going to leave happy. The prices are decent if not bargain basement, but the portions are enough to feed some small countries. They are probably the biggest portions I have ever seen.
PS
I saw someone complaining about their (awesome) salad and their (orgasmic homemade) sauce, and about a lack of choice of sauce. Well that is how we do things up here! Family Italian places have their own style of sauce, and it goes on everything. That’s how it’s always been and long may it stay that way.