Allen Street Hardware Store Cafe

This review is not based on the food! I have been here on several occasions on weekend nights. You can find me on the back room dancing, trying not to spill my drink on sweaty strangers. The back room transforms into the wonderful place were people come to drink and dace their stress away. I love this place because of it laid back and fun atmosphere. The back does get filled up and very busy but, that’s was makes its fun!
Not in the mood for dancing and a sweaty dance floor? The bar up front offers a more laid back party scene but still a blast. The crowd here seems to always be a little more classy then at other bars not Allen probably because of the $ 5.00 cover, but its worth it!

This place is ok but nothing to write home about. We had a not great experience there recently where the entire restaurant smelled like sewage for some reason. Their burgers are acceptable but not amazing. Not sure I would go back here.

I’ve been going to Hardware for years for their nightlife and loved it but for whatever reason I never ate there. This year that changed and let me tell you… they have some of the best food in Buffalo!!! The staff is always on point and the food is amazing. Go there.
And if you see their Antelope Burger on special GET IT!!! You won’t be disappointed.

Decided to do a date night with the Hubby and was looking for a place with good food. This place has gotten nice reviews from my fellow Unilocalers so we decided to try it out.
We went the day after Xmas and just to be sure it was open, the husband called to see if they were having any food specials. The lady who answered the phone was awesome. She literally went down the list of food they were offering; in detail! We were so impressed with her customer service and the menu, we decided to stop in.
Upon first look at the place we were sort of surprised secondary to the food specials were kinda upscale and the atmosphere of the place is kinda rustic, even grunge a little bit. It looked like that on the inside and out. Anywho we were seated and our waitress came right over. She was pleasant and funny and gave us recommendation on what we should eat.
We started of with drinks, I ordered an absolute cosmo ($ 9), it was absolutely delicious! Perfect amount of liquor and not two sweet. I ended up ordering 2! Husband order a Crown neat ($ 8 or 9), lets just say nice pour! Now we have a spot that we now we can drink and get our money’s worth. Kudos to the bartender!
We started off with a the calamari app ($ 13), eh I kinda thought this was a tad expensive for a app but we tried it anyway. The dish was very sharable, we didn’t even finish the whole thing. The calamari was in large pieces which for me; I ended up having to cut it into smaller pieces to be able to eat. I would rather them in smaller strips, easier to eat and I have this thing with seeing calamari tentacles (personal problem, I know) that turns me off some. The flavor was ok, not bad, not the best I have had. It was just OK, I wouldn’t really order it again, I would opt to try something else.
On to the entrees, I settled on a fish dish (Marlin I believe) topped with a lemon sauce. It came with risotto and grilled asparagus. The fish actually came out on the cold side, so I had to send it back to the kitchen to heat it up (I’m guessing they nuked it?). The waitress was very nice about me sending the fish back, which I appreciated (not so sure about the cook, he was coming out of the kitchen when she handed him the plate, I think he made a face lol)
The risotto and asparagus had a fine temp. The fish was good. The texture was a little bit thicker than what I usually like, I tend to like my fish a more flaker. The waitress warned me that the Marlin is described as a «steak fish». Although, the texture wasn’t my favorite it was still good, the flavors were OK, nothing really stood out about them. When paired with the lemon sauce it gave the fish a lemony type of taste (which makes sense). The risotto was delicious very flavorful and soft but not to mushy. It was the stand out of the dish, just wonderful. The asparagus was cooked perfectly as well. Overall, I wouldn’t order the fish dish again but anything with the risotto and asparagus is fair game.
Husband order the center cut pork chop dish that came with a sweet potato hash with bacon and asparagus. Overall, he said he enjoyed his dish. Again, his pork chop was slightly less than warm, which he didn’t send back. I tried it and it was good, again, no bursting flavors that made it stand out but good. I really liked the sweet potato bacon hash. It was flavorful and delicious (anything with bacon is delicious), husband said it was good as well but it would have been better if it was topped with brown sugar (how we do it at home!). I actually enjoyed his dish better than mine (except I liked my risotto better than the sweet potato). I would order his again and just make sure the pork chop was hot.
I also ordered a side of mac and cheese ($ 5) being from WI, I am a sucker for cheese anywhere that I go. It was ok, wasn’t really my cup of tea, there was just something missing from the flavor. The bowl was plentiful but I wouldn’t order it again.
Overall, a great dinning experience with good food and great service and drinks! If it was not for the service and drinks, I think that I would have rated it 3 stars vs. 4. We ended up spending about $ 100 which isn’t bad for two entrees, 1 app, and 3 alcoholic drinks. We will be back to this restaurant egger to try other items on the menus and of course the great drinks!!!

While visiting Buffalo, we wanted to get a little taste of the nightlife. A friend who lives in town suggested Allen St. The entire area was fabulous – so much to see and do. We noticed Allen St. Hardware Café, read a few reviews and decided it was a must-​try. As we stepped into the bar, we were instantly transported to different time. Calvin, the bartender, greeted us immediately as we sat down at the bar, helped us pick out a beer, engaged us in conversion and addressed us by name for the rest of the evening. For dinner, I ordered the Portobello Panini with goat cheese… so good! My husband ordered the BLT which was really fantastic. We each shared the sandwiches and ate them to the last crumb. Great place to visit… highly recommended by us!

Their food is the secret weapon of Allentown! You will not be disappointed if you order from their menu. Beer selection is fantastic with great service from the wait staff. Check out the Crème brûlée cheesecake!

Been here a few times for drinks and that’s always a good time. We have eaten a few times and I don’t think we’ve ever had anything bad but I’m having trouble remembering anything remarkable. The back room is a great place for events, panels, and happy hours — easy to work with and a comfortable place for networking.

Hardware is not only one of my favorites for late-​night drinking and dancing, but also a great place to enjoy fabulous food. While they do not have a distinct gluten-​free menu, staff is knowledgable about which menu items are gluten-​free and will work with you to create an allergy-​friendly meal. A great place to grab a drink or a delicious meal!

Hardware is a fine place to grab a drink. I’m not a huge fan of the fact that there’s almost a guaranteed cover if you’re going on a weekend. But that normally means there’s a DJ. The clientele is normally a class above the other joints on the strip, which is nice. Though lighting is, oddly enough, a lot worse than the other bars. I’m always having trouble seeing in there. Prices for drinks are fair. Plenty of seating. A cramped as hell dance floor. But there is a room out back that can house even more entertainment. Cool place. Like it.

Most extensive beer list I’ve seen in Buffalo thus far, loads of Pale Ales, Lagers, Porters, Stouts and they even have a couple gluten free beer options. Reasonably priced too, wish they had the ABVs listed on their drink menu however because you may think you’re innocently sipping on a beer and then all of your sudden you’re feeling good, too good. The place was crankin’ on Saturday night, but why the $ 5 cover, I don’t like that. We aren’t in NYC, it’s Allentown, not necessary. The place is HUGE, my friend and I felt like we kept finding more rooms and more bars, easy place to get lost in, seriously! We ventured into the first room on the left and there was some old school 90’s playing, lots of underaged looking kids grinding and smooching, I immediately was like, GET ME OUT OF HERE. We continued through the place and eventually found our niche. We are the stand at the bar and talk amongst ourselves, casually make new friends type of crowd, so if that’s you too, you’ll fit in just fine here. If you go to the back bar, know what beer you want because they don’t keep lists back there. The bartenders were totally cool and upbeat. I was surprised they actually had some decent red wine too. Haven’t had their food yet but the menu looks awesome. Parking is plain awful around here though, bottom line. Also bring yo dancing shoes. The back bar has good tunes.

If you consider yourself a foody you really have to check hardware out. Their food is phenomenal.
There is something on the menu for everyone and the price is affordable.
From sandwiches to steak they have good variety and I haven’t yet had anything I didn’t like.
Atmosphere is the only reason this place doesn’t get 5 stars. The tables are really small and bathrooms aren’t particularly clean. It’s the Allen st scene though so you should almost expect that if you’re a local.
After 11pm on the weekends hardware turns into a nightclub. $ 5 cover and usually a live dj in the front and in another in the back. Decent crowd sometimes… I’m indifferent.
P. s. with Allen comes the bums… Just a reminder that while walking up to hardware depending on the time of night it’s highly likely that you’ll either be asked for a dollar/​«if you want some nose candy» … Keep it moving.
Enjoy!

QUITE POSSIBLY THE BEST BAR/​RESTAURANT ON ALLEN STREET
Everything was great. The drink selection, the service, the atmosphere, the food… everything. Our bartender was polite, professional and he really knew his stuff. He recommended a great beer for me based on an obscure beer I told him I really liked and he was spot on.
We ordered the grilled vegetable platter with the goat cheese, and with the help from the hostess, added extra goat cheese (which was a brilliant idea). It was large array of basted and grilled veggies and cheese. How do I put this without overselling it… This was the best appetizer my wife and I had ever had anywhere in the world and I’m 100% certain that while standing in line and waiting your turn at the pearly gates of heaven, angels fly around and serve this dish to the hungry departed. That’s about right.
The bar itself wraps entirely around a wall in the center of the restaurant, bifurcating the bar area so that if you’re on one side and there happens to be a bunch of weirdos (it’s Allentown, so the occasional weirdo is fine, but just in case there’s too many), you could just move to the other side of the bar to escape. It wasn’t an issue for us as this place was weirdo free!
If you plan to sit down and have a real dinner, there are several small tables to choose from. Probably not going to be the best place for a large party to eat at, but small groups or happily in love couples should do just fine.
Two thumbs up!

The bar service is slow but the wine selection is great. The food specials are incredibly well prepared and delicious, but the «bar food» items really stink. This place is both a 4 and 2 star.
BUT… it’s in Allentown and it’s the nicest place on the strip. I love when they open up the back area. I’d go solid 4 stars if that space were always open.
It’s hipster in the back sections and somewhat classy at the middle bar area. So the atmosphere is more where you’re standing that any particular crowd.

One of the best veggie burgers ive ever had! Great atmosphere, friendly staff, but a tad pricey for just a burger.
Great for a quick dinner, drinks, or when showing someone around the town. And the fries are addicting!

Hardware is one of my favorite spots on Allen to go out with friends and have a drink. In all the years I have lived in Buffalo this week was the first time I have ever had dinner at the establishment. For dinner I have the Calamari and The Chef’s Salad with Steak on top.
First off Hardware has a good beer and wine selection most would enjoy and be able to find a beer or wine they would like. The mixed drinks are always on the spot. Normally never to strong nor to weak, just right.
My first course was the Calamari. First thing about the Calamari here is, WOW I have never saw Calamari so large in Buffalo. If you want a good portion with abnormally large pieces of Calamari this is the place. It was breaded nicely with not to much breading on the pieces. Where I normally find in other restaurants in the area they think the more breading the better. The sauce was interesting, was not your normal marinara sauce, but a tangy/​sweet sauce with the texture of a honey. One complaint I do have about the Calamari is it was not cooked fully, it was a little to chewy for me and could tell it needed to be cooked more just by the coloring of the breading.
For dinner I had the Chef’s Salad with Steak on top. The salad had mixed greens, roasted beets, red onion, caramelized pecans, goat cheese, and a roasted shallot champagne vinaigrette with slices steak on top. The steak was cook the way I ask for and tasty. The vinaigrette complimented all the salad toppings nicely. Was a perfect dinner salad. No complaints here and would get it again.
Hardware is a great hangout place with friends and is really fun on Hip Hop night. Crowd can get diverse on certain nights, but I find more Hipsters then anything in this bar, but then again it is on Allen you don’t get the typical Elmwood or Chippewa crowd.

Allen Street Hardware Store Café? OK.
It’s on Allen Street. So that part makes sense.
All the guys are hard. Obviously. Because there’s a bunch of Buffalonian girls (who are exceptional) in clubwear and stuff. So yeah.
Ware… well everyone in there seems to really care about what they ware. So that part makes sense.
Store… you never quite know what you have in store for you when you walk into the back room. You will probably get someone rubbing up on you.
Café… this is the party I have a problem with. This place is so nothing like a café. So yeah. Maybe by day. I will have to check it out by day.
Like most night spots in Buffalo, this place is full of attractive people and one thing that sets it apart is that it has a brilliant DJ in the back room playing infectious tracks that everyone enjoys, definitely a great spot to take people that like the party lifestyle and dancing. I’m not too close with some of the bouncers (long story) but I’m definitely well known in these parts for squeezing into tight parking spots that the bouncers are absolutely sure I will not be able to squeeze into, and very angry that I tried… and succeeded… several times.
My best memory of this place other than the DJ, is the Latin girl (you know who you are), that decided to rub herself all over me and every other guy that was dancing here (and some of the girls), and probably made out with half of the men in the place. I think every place needs to have one person like that, otherwise it’s just not normal… but I’m glad to say I was not, and have never been, one of the many to swap spit with aforementioned way-​too-​drunk person. But if that’s the kind of thing you’re looking for, it totes happens here all the time.
Drinks are pricey but not too obscene. It costs $ 5 to get in. Due to the unfriendliness of the bouncers, due to the entry fee in a city that doesn’t have to charge entry fees, and due to the fact that the awesome DJ isn’t always there, I’m gonna stick with a 3. But it’s as close to being a 4 as any night spot in Buffalo ever will be.

My husband and I went here on a Saturday night around 7pm. They were pretty busy, but we just grabbed 2 seats at the bar. The bartender was very nice and helpful. They have a great beer selection, they even had my new favorite beer, organic Baba black lager!
One thing that surprised me is how many things they were out of on the specials menu at 7pm, when they just opened at 5pm.
We started with the fish tacos app, very good! I have never had fish tacos with that many different flavors, they were also made with fried perch. The order came with 2, it was a perfect size. As my entrée, I ordered the chicken pot pie and my husband had the elk burger. Both were on the specials menu for the evening. Both very delicious.
All in all very good. I was a bit surprised they don’t offer any desserts.

I feel like this place gets away with a lot because they keep the lights dim and the music loud. Both things I’m not a fan of when I want to have a drink and some food with friends.
They do have a good beer menu — though a small draught list. Which is fine, it’s a small place. It’s middle of the road in terms of costs. The food, however, is quite expensive. The veggie burger comes with fries, great, but doesn’t come with cheese or much else — and it’s 9 dollars. The creation of a veggie burger, however, is not that difficult. But, why am I complaining about bar food prices? They are meant to be high. But some of the more gourmet things are ridiculous.
I just don’t enjoy coming here. When it’s packed, its incredibly uncomfortable. The last time, it was nice — until they started blasting the music. It was probably 6pm. That’s really ridiculous — why did someone do that? And they could use with more lights — perhaps it would help the bartender notice that my group was trying to get new drinks for about 5 – 7 minutes when it wasn’t busy.
As far as Allen goes, I don’t think anyone throws up on this place, so it’s probably the best on Allen. Just sayin’

I find it difficult to write a review for Hardware because I can’t stand being here late at night when it’s too busy to even move, let alone get a drink or use one of their two tiny little bathrooms. Yet the redeeming qualities of the bar and the restaurant are simply too good to ignore.
First of all, the beer selection: incredible. The variety of bottled beer is unparalleled. All the bartenders are incredibly knowledgeable and adept at providing recommendations based on your particular tastes. Good draft selection, but not as large as some other bars — that’s not necessary a bad thing in this case.
Now the food. I recently came here for brunch and was quite simply blown away. I ordered off the special menu and had an egg sandwich. Sounds simply enough, right? Yet somehow this egg sandwich was one of the best things I have ever had for brunch.
The roll was as light as air with a very slight crispiness on the outside — it was not too dense to fill me up and prevent me from enjoying the rest. I don’t believe they toasted it with butter because the sandwich was not dripping with greasiness, oil and/​or butter, as compared to other places.
Perfect amount of cheese with two thick pieces of bacon with very little fat. Topped off with some sriracha. Wow.
Served with amazing hash browns with onions. Way better than home fries.
Moral of the story: I will continue to go here during the day but will avoid it like the plague after 8 pm.

Overall experience: Extremely under whelmed.
Scene: It is a Friday night… during restaurant week. We have no reservations for any restaurant. All of these ingredients together equal a recipe for disaster.
Obviously it was a last minute plan to head out to dinner that evening. On a whim, we headed out to good ‘olé Allen Street, with no particular destination in mind (maybe Cantina Loco, obviously that’s my «go to» spot). After driving around in circles unable to obtain a parking spot ANYWHERE, I decided to pick a new location and headed back up on Elmwood. Repeat driving in circles again. At this point, I wasn’t looking for a restaurant; I was looking for ANY parking spot, then would go anywhere in walking distance. Finally, we found a spot back down near Allen, and we walked into Hardware.
The place was absolutely packed. I expected there to be a long wait, however the hostess surprised us and said there was no wait for two people. She seated us immediately at one of the TINY tables as soon as you walked in the door. We were so close to the people next to us that I felt rude not introducing myself before sitting down.
The $ 20.13 menu was handwritten (in not so neat hand writing). Neither of us was interested in any of the meal options on that menu. I did spot on that menu a gumbo appetizer listed for $ 10 that sounded appealing. I decided to get that, my boyfriend ordered a burger, and we ordered fried calamari as our appetizer.
First the «fried» calamari came out. I use the word fried loosely in quotes. Half of the thick pieces of calamari had NO breading on them, and the other half the breading fell off before the fork reached my mouth. I LOVE calamari from pretty much anywhere, and this was just unpalatable. The pieces were so large and the lack of «fried» breading just turned me off. I can see this maybe being acceptable if you didn’t order «fried» calamari but in this case it was a shame. I never send food back; however I couldn’t even force this down my throat.
The very pleasing and kind waitress checked on us, and when I told her about the calamari she graciously took the plate and said «I don’t mind, it’s not my cooking». She offered to get us something else; we chose the brushetta. When that came out I could tell that they were trying to put in effort for presentation. However it was another let down. The large clumps of pesto were a huge turn off. It was basically just toast, clump of pesto, and tomatoes. We ended up taking 34 of it home (and no one has touched it in the fridge).
The gumbo was just «ok». It wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t good. It was presented with rice, crawfish, sausage, and shrimp in a dark roux with toast on the side. The roux was uninspiring and not very flavorful. I could only find one piece of shrimp in the entire dish. My boyfriend ate a little and seemed to like it — (again though, the rest is sitting in the fridge untouched). My boyfriend said his burger was good, although it reminded him (looks and taste wise) of a frozen burger. The French fries that accompanied the burger were rather dried out.
The food was a horrible let down and I probably won’t come back here again to eat. However the service was very good. Especially our waitress with the calamari situation. The hostess and waitress were pleasant and attentive the entire time.