The Dockside Bar & Grill

Went for late lunch and the restaurant was not crowded. Waited at the door for an employee to see us (they were busy chatting and paying no attention to customers). Seated and then waited again for our order to be taken. Service is not good.
The good news is that our meals were very good and the view wonderful.
Employees need to remember they are there because of customers.

It looks small from the outside but it is quite large inside. It is right on the water so you can sit outside and enjoy the weather in the summer time. It is very modern inside and industrial like. There is a large bar with seating are but makes it hard for the kitchen staff to get by you with food so you are always being asked to move out of the way. There was 2 spills that happened while we were there. Very narrow walk ways between tables. The service was friendly and very efficient. The drink menu had a lot to choose from with happy hour specials. One of the best frozen margaritas I have had in the area. The menu had typical bar foods and sandwiches to choose from. We got appetizers the sweet potato fries were crisp. The stuffed tots were ok tasted more like a hush puppy and the sauce that came with it I was not impressed with. the price was on point for what you get. I would most likely go back for drinks and to sit out side I wasn’t overly impressed with the food.

We’ve been here twice. The first time was very good, the service was quick and efficient, and the food was very good. The second time was not so good. Our drink order was taken and delivered promptly. When our drinks were served our food order was taken, from that point on it was mostly downhill. It was almost a half an hour before our appetizers arrived. Another half an hour later we asked our server when our entrees would be coming, her reply was that it kitchen was very busy and that we should be patient and dinner would be be out shortly. Twenty-​five minutes late dinner arrived. The 3 fish fries were verb good. The steak sandwich that was ordered rare came out medium. The shrimp roll was very good. The 2 orders off mussels were okay, but when we asked of server from some bread or rolls, to soak up the broth, we were told that they none. The only rolls they had were for sandwiches. And finally, the crabeckes came out looking likel lumps of charcoal, which when pointed to offer server took almost 20 minutes to replace. The 2 people that ordered the mussels did finally get a dinner roll each.

one of our go to places. on off. food view etc
We love this place. due to where we go we can head here on off hours and enjoy the great food and views without the crowd. timing is key. but worth it

Six of us went to celebrate a retirement service was horrible bartender snippy so many rules you didn’t know where you could stand lean or sit explained to
Manager everyone was making it hard for us to stay or be interested in coming back she got snippy we just purchased a round of drinks put them
On the bar and walked over to the Remington where we enjoyed our evening

My husband and I came here with friends for few drinks on the patio at night. That should have been the extent of our visits here.
Took my teenagers for a lunch there today and it was fine. Just fine. Like nothing was amazing or even very flavorful. Just fine. It’s too bad because the view is great and the place is beautiful. Just needs some tweaking.
I’ll be back just for drinks. I think.

This was the worst meal/​service I’ve ever had. We sat at the bar, and the bartender made it seem like it was a bother to serve to us. She pretty much ignored us the whole time, and when she wasn’t ignoring us, she was being very rude and short. (All the while, she was laughing and joking with everyone else around us) The food was horrible, not worth the money at all whatsoever. I wouldn’t recommend this to anyone.

My friend was hesitant to bring me here at first because she had gotten food poisoning previously from this place, but we decided to check it out for some drinks and to watch the Hockey game at the bar. The bartender was very sweet and talked to us the whole night. They have a lot of beers on tap, especially local. They make their bloody marys with a mix (I rate their bloody mary 3.5÷10), so if you order one and want it to be on the spicy side, you have to add hot sauce. The sweet potato fries and regular fries are both hand cut and super delicious.

I’m surprised that everyone is upset about the customer service because I had the exact opposite experience! I was at Dockside a week ago for a late lunch and had a wonderful time. I was impressed how attentive our server was and how often he came over to check on our table. I thought that was the part that stood out most from our dining experience. He made sure we always had drinks, especially on a hot day.
The food was tasty as well. I had an order of sesame wings and they were excellent. It was a nice change up from traditional buffalo wings.
The view, of course, was stunning. It was nice to sit along the water and enjoy wings and drinks.
I’ll definitely be back and I definitely will be looking to request the same server based on the other reviews!

Service is so awful. Everyone is saying this for a reason. Location 5 stars. I will never return here due to the customer service. The waitresses are kind of honestly just rude lol to be blunt. Sorry not sorry.

I’m very upset that this restaurant was not what I expected it to be. Atmosphere and location I’d give 5 stars but service? If I could give zero I would. Went here for the first time and made an 8 o’clock reservation. We got seated right away (on a Saturday). Unfortunately the rest was down hill. After waiting 15 minutes not a single server acknowledged our table. Then after informing the hostess of the situation and waiting another 10 minutes we still received no service. Gave it a total of 25 minutes of waiting at our table and became fed up and left because it was clear we weren’t receiving any service. Very disappointed in the restaurant, I was really excited to give it a try.

Dockside has decent food, especially their oysters and sea food. Thought I loved dockside but unfortunately their poor customer service ruins the dining experience.

The wait was long and we gave our phone number to be called while we walk around the water. An hour and half later, no call and we went back to the restaurant only to be told, sorry we can seat you now. Took forever for someone to ask what we wanted to drink and by the time they came, we knew what we wanted and ordered right away to avoid further wait. Ordered the cajun fish fry and it was the worst fish fry I ever had. The potatoes salad was warm, the cole slaw was blah — the coleslaw from Walmart is way better and the service was «Don’t care» service. Waitresses were rude and think they are doing you a favor. We will never eat here again. The name and location is great but save your money for the tons of other fine restaurants in the area.

They really turned this place around. Our meal and drinks were excellent. I ordered the clam chowder and it was loaded with clams and bacon, toast on the side… delicious!!! For dinner I got a burger as they ran out of the special (should have came earlier). I ordered my burger medium rare and when it came it was actually medium rare!!! That never happens, also the meat was juicy as can be. I understand that I ordered two items on the simple side but the point is they were both executed perfectly; a very rare thing on a busy friday. My beautiful girl ordered the seabass special and the portion of fish was generous for the price, it tasted great too. It took a bit for a server to get to us but when she did she was great. Definitely the best bang for your buck on the waterfront in the tonawanda by far!!!

Found this place today after getting tixs at Riveria ! What great food. Got the broiled fish and fantastic fries! Great Cole slaw and potToe salad. Will definitely come back. What great beer choices!

Went on a Friday night recently. I got the steak & arugula salad, it was really good. The other two people I was with got the fish fry, it was big & they said it was good. Cucumber gin martini was the hit of the night, amazing! Lost one star for a bad waitress & bad service. They need to revamp their staff.

The service is so unprofessional and food is just ok why everyone need go back there. If you don’t know who to run a business on a common sense then close the door is not far away.

This place is unfortunately no more than three stars. I feel slightly generous with three stars, because I love eating and I know tastes, and this is completely subpar to any awesome tastes you may encounter in Buffalo. There are SO many better options!
Most people think that the service was really bad, or at least that was the general consensus of the restaurant. I thought it was okay. Bartender was really friendly, our waitress was friendly but took awhile to break into her personality (you know when you’re slightly standoffish until someone breaks through? Yeah that.) It wasn’t extremely welcoming, but she did alright.
My thoughts with this establishment:
The clear winner of the race was the catfish. Yes to the catfish! If you have the chance to order that, I thought it was the best thing of the four things I tried. It was perfectly crunchy but the actual fish tasted great. The runner up was my dish, the lobster cannelloni. I thought they overdid it on the mascarpone and not enough lobster. I only had four little rolls of the combination, which didn’t do much for me. I didn’t try the burger, but according to the person who ate it (who will eat and enjoy anything, mind you), he enjoyed it. The crabby patties were extremely lacking… in sauce and taste. Fries were mushy, which I didn’t like.
Secondly, knock a few dollars off the price! $ 18 for four little rolls of lobster/​mascarpone?! The fries were five dollars? Yikes! I think you should take it down a notch. Unless you’re wowing everyone and their mother (see Remington Tavern), you need to adjust somehow to people’s needs. Make quality comparable to what you’re paying for (service included) and satisfy your patrons, past and future.
That’s all she wrote.

I have been here a few times, but this review is based off of my last time here. The dockside is a great place to hit during the summer months, due to their location on the water, fairly large patio, and glass sliding doors that open to give the feel of being outside. But, this is place is also a nice cozy little winter spot. They did a great job with the remodel.
Friend and I walked in last Friday night around 8 and were seated right away. The place was busy, and most of the tables were filled. Once we sat our server came over promptly, for our drink orders. They have a good beer selection, and a full bar. The bar area is big, and there seamed to be plenty of room.
Friend and I split the spinach and artichoke dip. It was okay. It was not the best I have had, but not the worst. The portion is huge, and severed with pita chips (homemade?) but they do not give you enough chips. We both had a fish fry, which is also a huge portion. The fish itself had to be a foot long, served with, slaw, potato salad and fries. The fish it very good, not too greasy, and had just the right amount of crisp to the breading. The fries are also very good.
In my recent trips to dockside, I have also had good food and service. I cant really think of a time in which, I was disappointed by Dockside!

Cute place, great ambience, right on the water. We went at the start of restaurant week. I had the 20.15 special of a lovely roasted beet salad that had goat cheese croutons, which were little balls of breaded and baked cheese. This really made the salad. For the entrée I had the smoked chicken which was supposed to be over green beans, but was over cooked greens with white beans, and gnocchi. Good size portion, very flavorful. As I didnt have wine, my dinner came with dessert. I chosed the layered brownie that was rich and delicious. The service was great. I am looking forward to going back.

I went once and had a great experience. Have since been back twice and have not had a positive thing to say. Food is just okay, service is horrendous. We went with a large group of 8 and the waitress looked pissed the whole time. We must have been inconveniencing here. Overall I will not return.
Unrelated and irrelevant, the girls are wearing yoga pants and it looks out a place. For such a nice remodel it would make since to have better appearance standards.

Spent a lovely summer day boating with my dad and we ended up here for an early lunch. We got here a little before they opened (10min) so we had to walk around NT. It would have been nice if they had invited us in to the bar for a cold beer while they finished getting ready for service, but they didn’t seem that inviting anyhow. We started with a bucket of steamed clams and both got a stinger sandwich. The clams were ok– the stingers were excellent! The venue is trendy/​modern and you can’t beat the view– I like the openness of the dining area. Food– A+ Atmosphere– A– Service– C–

Walked in with my wife. They must have remodeled at some point because the place looked totally different from outside.
The décor was nice. Place is still very small inside. Won’t complain about our table because they let us choose our own but it wasn’t the greatest.
Decent selection of craft beer. I got a blue light draft. Wife tried some sort of blue martini. She enjoyed it and said it was pretty strong.
We order wings as an appetizer. The wings were HUGE and crispy, just the was I like them. The sauce recipe needs a complete overhaul as they were waaaay to buttery and the flavor was ruined.
I got the stinger sandwhich with fries. The chicken on the sandwhich was ruined by the terrible hot sauce recipe. The ny strip steak was almost non existent on the sandwhich. Fries were under cooked.
Wife got a half rack of ribs with a Caesar salad and sweet potato fries. She loved the fries, salad was bland and the ribs she said, «we’re not good.»
I don’t think I’d come back unless it was for some beers and bar food because how can you mess up bar food?
Probably don’t come back for either because prices were higher than other places around.

For awhile we wanted to come here, looks great on the outside. They told us we are next on the list after 50 mins waiting with my 3 kids. Found out that they seated everyone else but us because we have 5 people and they only had 2 people seats. So we throw there pager in the canal. We will never give them our money to them. If that is the way they treat people waiting I can’t imagine the food would be like.

Waitresses and hostesses are rude and have no skills or experience in service whatsoever. We were forgotten about waiting on a table and had to go to the bar and swap out buzzers for service. Bartender was friendly food was ok. Good place to grab a beer on the patio but the the food and service have one thing in common. They shit the bed.

I have eaten at a minimum of a thousand different restaurants, and this definitely ranks in the top 10 worst that I’ve tried.
Abysmal service. Royally ruined our order. No utensils included with to-​go orders. Food is «meh» at best. I can tell you this because I ate it with my fingers. Fish was rubbery and tasted awful. They gave us cocktail shrimp instead of the shrimp baskets that’s on the menu. The fried peppers were disgusting. French fries tasted like they came from the frozen aisle. The side of bread was gross and tasted like prepackaged garbage from a convenient store. Grossssssssssss.

Used to love this place. Have been there several times since the renovation and liked both occasions.
Wife and I went for dinner yesterday @ approximately 5:00 PM Wednesday 08/​19/​2015. We were seated right away and ordered beers. They took 10 – 15 minutes to arrive, STRIKE 1.
No problem we were enjoying the warm sunny day and activity on the canal. We ordered dinners of Fried Chicken for me and the Steak & Arugula Salad for the wife. Another beer & about AN HOUR AND 10 MINUTES LATER dinner arrives, seriously? STRIKE 2!
My wife’s steak was ordered medium. It was Rare with Way too much FAT on it for her taste. The waiter took it back to the chef who basically said too bad that’s how we cook it!!!
The PROPER response from the chef should have been: no problem we will prepare another steak for you. There’s really no excuse for poorly trimmed & under cooked meat on a salad. The floor manager came over to support the chef’s comment. He didn’t relent and offer to remove the uneaten salad until we got angry. STRIKE 3!
We eat out a lot and understand that restaurants get busy. BUT, and an hour and ten minutes for a salad and chicken REALLY??! POOR management skills, long waits, poorly prepared dishes and indifferent wait staff should kill this place. Their location along side the canal is their only drawing card.
Sorry Dockside won’t be back and I’ll be sure to mention our less than positive experience to everyone I know.

Alright. I will start from the moment I saw the place. It looks very cool from the outside, kind of castle-​esque. Inside, you can tell they’ve done a lot of remodeling. I came with my friend Jeremy and his 2 friends from Finland. They live in the beautiful complex just across the street from this place.
We asked if we could sit on the patio, which the hostess then responded by saying they were not doing patio seating today because of the weather, (not raining, but spotty all day). We understood, and sat at a table next to the window/​patio.
We ordered our drinks, and then another waitress came over and pulled open the sliding glass doors, to the patio. She asked if that was okay, which we were more than delighted to have them opened because we had wanted to sit out there anyway!
We receive our drinks and place our food order. I ordered a steak and arugula salad. She asked me how I wanted my steak, to which I responded medium. She warned me that «our medium tends to be a little bit rarer than most, is that okay?» To which I said, «yes that’s perfect!»
Some time goes by after we order, and a group of 4 with 2 kids gets seated on the patio. Next couple walks in, seated on the patio. Next group of 4 old people, seated on the patio. Needless to say, the patio filled up even though it was «not open today.» So nice. Whatever.
Anyway, our food comes. Remember that medium steak that tends to be rarer here? Well done. Well fucking done. ZERO pink. Zero sign of life. Lucky for her I didn’t mind it, but if she served that shit to a steak connoisseur, she would be DONEZO.
I ate my way through it, the salad was pretty decent. The people I were with got a fish fry, a regular haddock, and a sandwich of some sort and all of theirs looked great and they loved them!
Our waitress never asked how the food was, never came back to see if we needed anything else, and was just overall not friendly. The hospitality was not great and the hostess blatantly lied to us about the patio, which I thought was quite rude. But whatever, ya win some ya lose some.
The view was truly spectacular, and the beer list was awesome. PumKing is already out! Time for Fall!
I’m honestly not sure if I would come back here. The food and drinks were pretty good, but based on the awful service and rude staff, it kind of drove me away. If there was a group outing with my friends here, I would certainly attend, but you’ll never see me going out of my way to come here.
They played good music, which I appreciated. Didn’t appreciate the screaming child who got to sit on the patio over me, though. So nasty and so rude.
I’m not sure if they have banquets here or what, but there was an upstairs as well, blocked off so I’m not sure what it looks like up there or when they use it but I am definitely curious.
It’s kind of pricey here, seems like it would be a good date place. At least you could bond over the shitty service, always nice to have something to talk about and hate together.
Tips:
1) if they say they aren’t doing patio seating, fucking ask again. Tell them you want to get rained on. It’s not their decision whether or not you get wet. Wink wink.
2) if your waitress is a skinny female, (hint, every one that I saw was a skinny female) be prepared for her to be a raging beyotch and just generally not care about your table.
3) don’t bring your kids. Seriously will never understand why people do this. Do you like it when someone else’s child screams through your fucking dinner? If you answer no, then congratulations on being normal, leave them home. If you answer yes, you’re wrong. Change your answer to no.
4) look over all of the drinks before ordering, there are a lot and don’t get caught up in ordering the first thing you see, you will regret it. Unless you’re not driving, then just order multiple.
5) if you have a boat, come to the dockside (get it) and throw shit at people. Nobody did it but it seems like a fun thing to do.
6) this is probably a way better place to come if you love seafood, there is a lot of that on the menu. Not super exciting when you don’t eat seafood, though.
7) don’t bring your kids. You might be thinking, «hey wait a minute, wasn’t this number 3?» IT SURE WAS. I feel THAT strongly about not bringing your children to restaurants that I will tip it to you twice. Get a babysitter for two fucking hours, you can afford to go out to dinner, yeah? Splurge to enjoy it, without the kids.
So to wrap up, the three stars that I awarded this place is strictly a star for the view, the drinks, and the kindness in my heart to award a third star. Shitty staff, guys, real shitty staff.
X’s and O’s!
J

Great food and the expansion is fantastic also. The living is easy down here! Service was good and the Fried Chicken was perfectly done. Raw clams were nice and fresh. Cold beer went down smooth.

I have been to the Dockside multiple times. However, this was my first visit since they renovated. I am extremely impressed with the changes they made! The quality of the food has really gone up! The menu offers a wider variety of food (seafood, burgers, tacos, pizza). The changes to the building are also very nice.
My table started with the homemade tater tots. They were very good. As my entrée, I ordered the grilled swordfish fish tacos. They were excellent. The swordfish was topped with some sort of spring mix/​pickled coleslaw. My favorite menu item was the baked mac n cheese. It was phenomenal!
We also tried some of the specialty cocktails. I absolutely loved the Coronarita. I had to split it with my friend because it was massive!
I’ve always loved the view of the water, but the new menu brings this restaurant’s rating way up! I would definitely recommend visiting, especially if you haven’t seen the new restaurant yet.

Overall, very good experience. The Dockside has an amazing view overlooking the Erie Canal. The menu isn’t as cheap as it once was but the food is markedly better. I had the steak sandwich which was generous and perfectly prepared. My guest had the lobster pasta and even though it lacked the tomatoes she had on her previous visit, it was still good, (don’t skimp on the tomatoes guys!) Our waitress, Jodi, was excellent and checked in often. I would recommend a visit.

They remodel the place where open the restaurant all year round. But now got a bigger menu but put there prices way high. I decided tried Lobster LBT sandwich. The bacon wasn’t hardly cook. Hardly have any lobster since they used Maine Lobster. the price this sandwich wasnt worth it. My friend got there fried chicken same kind chicken for half a price at KFC. Since they remodel seem like less tables. Dont take reservation during the summer. FIrst and last time here. Unless come Here have drink and sit outside and watch boats on the camel.

Our friends from Vegas heard great things about The Dockside so we decided to go there yesterday. Mistake!!! My husband was there last year and was looking forward to going. First, the remodel is great but there’s no name on the building. We sat outside.
Our waitress was pleasant but, hopefully, still in training.
One of our friends ordered the chicken Ceasar salad. It was topped with a n unsliced, dry breast. I ordered the lobster sandwich. The bread was thinly sliced and toasted to the point of being cracked. You couldn’t pick it up if you wanted to. I guess I expected the lobster to be cut up in a moist sauce of some sort. But it was over cooked in 2 pieces. I ordered the sweet potato fries for a $ 2 up charge. When they came out, they looked like they were burned and when I questioned the waitress, she said «that’s the way they come out». They didn’t taste burned, but, they didn’t taste like sweet potato either.
My husband had the pork sandwich and would rate it a 2 out of 10. The meat was dry and the sandwich was difficult to eat. His regular fries looked just like mine and were tasteless.
The one redeeming thing about my meal was my desert. I ordered the peanut butter/​chocolate cheesecake and it was outstanding. Hate to say this, but I’d have to think it came from a bakery. It couldn’t have come from the same kitchen.
I’d like to attribute our negative experience to the newness of the place and staff. For us, there’s no way to go but up.

I hardly ever give negative reviews. I prefer to rate the places I like and not waste time on places I don’t like. unfortunately, our experience here yesterday was so notably bad, I am compelled to write.
let me preface this by saying we had lunch here just prior to the shutdown and renovations and the food and service then were fantastic.
We got a table quickly yesterday, and that’s where the good news ends. our waitress came over and took our drink orders. came back, took the food order and was off somewhere. we didn’t get the special, because the only way we found out about them was when the waitress at the table behind us rattled them off for those folks. By that time, we had already placed our order.
The arancini app was generous in portion, but if there was any hint of the peppers, meat, and seasonings listed in the description, it was lost in the overpowering Bleu cheese.
I have no doubt that the restaurant spends a good deal of money for quality ingredients, which is why I was so, SO very disappointed by the utter lack of flavor and lack of moisture in their $ 12 burger. This thing was dryer than a popcorn fart, and about as appetizing. if I hadn’t order the egg on top, it would’ve been completely inedible.
We would’ve told the waitress, had she bothered to ask us how the meal was, but she managed to bring the second round of drinks and then dissappear until the check was due.
I really am pretty lax in my criteria for a happy dining experience. bring me reasonably priced food that is fairly well prepared and check in with me at least once before you bring the check. Dockside dropped the ball on all three counts (ok, I have to give credit, she did come back to refill drinks). sad to say, I don’t see us going back.

This is a nice place to come in the summer because of the beautiful covered outdoor patio that’s right on the canal. Very relaxing and enjoyable. Unfortunately we found out that the tables even closer to the water in the sun were only for the customers only ordering from the bar, no table service.
The food is also great, an you got to love the mini fryer baskets they use for their trays. The little neck clams appetizer was tasty and cooked well. I had a sandwich with roasted pork, pit ham, swiss cheese, a fried egg, pickles, and horseradish mustard which was delicious. The fresh cut fries are great and they have a selection of dipping sauces to choose from which is pretty cool. The fish tacos were also pretty good, not the best I’ve had but enjoyable.
I recommend this place if your looking for a nice place to eat on the water during the summer months, and if you have a boat you can dock right up next to the restaurant as well.