Buffalo RiverWorks

A great place to host an event, whether it’s skating, a bonspiel, or a get together for work. Skate rentals are available and they have a bar and concession stand.

I’ve been going to Buffalo Riverworks for almost a year now and have watched the progress they have made throughout the year. What a transformation. Every time I go, there is something new and exciting. There is something for everyone. All amateur sports but plenty of them. Home of the Queen City Roller Girls, Labatts Pond Hockey, Ice skating, Curling, Pickle Ball, concerts, Martial Arts, and many special events. They are even hosting the Susan B Komen race coming up this year. When the first events were taking place it was freezing cold, dusty, the ceiling leaked, they had beer only and sometimes didn’t even have that. Flash forward to today with full bars (yes, multiple). Heat! Lots of things always going on… multiple TV’s, WIFI, oh a humongous large screen TV, a stage for bands. Many festivals and events.
As far as the food goes, a year ago it was very limited and the prices were quite reasonable. Since they have added heat and repaired the leaks, and opened all of the restrooms and are now offering a full menu and bar with waitstaff it seems that the prices almost doubled from a year ago. I have only had one dining experience there and it was just mediocre. The sandwich I had was a lobster/​crab roll which I think is no longer even available on the menu. It was nothing to rave about. The house chips (homemade potato chips) were a nice accompaniment as the side that came with it. It was approx $ 14.99 for the sandwich and chips.
The waitstaff on any occasion I have been there are not very customer service oriented. No one greets as you enter and no real direction where to go, you kind of just have to figure it out. Easy if you are just going to the bar. Bartenders are pretty friendly but could be a little more attentive on drink refills. The staff overall in the bars/​restaurants don’t seem very happy.
On a more positive note, anyone working the pro shop or any festivals or activities are very friendly and helpful. The ice rinks are absolutely beautiful and very well maintained. The best ice I have ever skated on.
I will definitely be back on many occasions mostly for activities or for a cocktail or beer.
Definitely worth checking it out. Cya soon Riverworks!

Eaten here twice. The white pizza is pretty good. Service was OK. It was really busy both times we ate here so it was to be expected. My buffalo born cousin came home from Texas and this was one of the places we took her. She was very impressed with the space and everything river works had to offer. I would definitely recommend it to someone visiting Buffalo.

I came here for dinner before a Sabres game last week. Upon arriving, I wasn’t sure what to expect because to be honest, it looked kind of dumpy on the outside. It’s also really easy to drive right past the place because the sign is so small, so I would recommend using a gps to find the restaurant if you’ve never been here before. There was an outdoor ice skating rink that I first noticed when walking in, which was cool. The inside of the establishment is ginormous, but nothing special. It looks like the inside of a factory. And apparently they have roller derby in there? Odd.
Although it was very busy, seeing that it was before a Sabres game, we were seated right away. We had a reservation but I still appreciated the fact that we didn’t have to wait to be seated, because I know that happens a lot of the time even with a reservation. The menu was very small and it reminded me a lot of Pearl Street’s menu (I think they may be owned by the same person?). I was kind of nervous about this because I do not really like Pearl Street’s food. I decided to order a cup of the loaded potato soup and a cheeseburger with fries. My mom ordered a steak with garlic mashed and veggies.
The soup was pretty good but it was a little too smoky for my liking. I was also surprised at how small of a portion I received for the $ 4 that they charge. To my surprise though, the rest of the food was really tasty and cooked perfectly. My burger was cooked just how I asked and the french fries were perfectly crunchy. My mom’s steak was flavorful and juicy. Although the food was good and the prices were cheap, nothing really stood out to me food wise. I don’t see this being a place that I crave, however, because it is located right on the water, it probably is a fun restaurant to come to during warmer weather.

One of the coolest places I have ever been to watch a game. Huge TV and an authentic «Buffalo» feel to the place. Really friendly server. Delicious (and large) crispy wings. The Lobster and Crab roll was great. Beer selection was decent — but they told me they were adding a brewery and distillery soon. Look forward to that.
Also, very friendly Brazilian Jiu Jitsu School in the front called Buffalo United. We accidentally walked in there and they showed us the way to the restaurant. Looked fun!
We will be back! Can’t wait for the summer on those huge patios!

Had a holiday party at this venue, so really just judging their space and catering facilities. Overall, really nice place. It’s a huge space and I was told that the roller derby plays there sometimes. The openness might lend to echoes and too noisy, but it actually remains relatively quiet. There’s always chatter and the sound of the televisions, but never overbearing.
Catering was nice with a good selection of good tasting vegetarian options. Bartender was friendly. Everyone in our party seemed to enjoy the food. And service in cleaning up was super quick — you would barely look away from your empty plate and it would be gone.
I will say, I’m just not a fan of spaces with too many televisions. This space has a huge one — like the size of a small room, in the center of the venue. Yes, I get that people would want to watch sporting events and such there, but it’s distracting and disturbing. But, I’m not taking any stars off for that — it’s a taste thing.
Great to schedule your party. A little difficult to park so you should carpool at the very least. And if you don’t know the area, it can be a little tricky to get to — so just pay attention to your GPS.

Went to Riverworks to watch the Sabres earlier this week. I never been here before and I really enjoyed it. The location is very unique, being in the outer harbor area near the grain elevators just made the whole thing unlike any other restaurant I’ve been to.
Riverworks sits right on the water (obviously), and has a nice outdoor patio, as well as (I believe) two ice rinks, which are sometimes open to the public. They have an indoor roller skating area which was occupied by a roller derby team practicing that night. Their beer list is small, however simple. Everything comes in a can, I’m a fan of that but some people are not.
Their food options were simple, and I’m all for that. I got the tater tot poutine, and it was some of the best poutine I’ve had in the states. I’m not Canadian, I’m just a big poutine lover.

I have been here twice. Once in the summer when it was fairly new and once in the winter months while visiting for Thanksgiving. I had the Ruben Sandwich, it was good but I did think there was a tad bit too much bread. We also ordered the Corn Fritter app, which was good.
I do have to say the second time around we ordered the Pretzel Ruben Dip and it is AMAZING!!! We also got the Pizza. Coming from Buffalo and moving away I was craving a good pizza, I must say you can come here and take your family and have good food, watch the Sabre’s or Bills and eat good.

This was my first experience at Buffalo Riverworks, and it was fun! We ate at the ward, while watching a roller derby practice. We requested one of the lower tables, so we could watch. It was certainly something fun to do while enjoying a meal and drink with some friends.
For dinner, I split the tater tot poutine and a chicken sandwich with a friend. The portions were very generous. The tater tot poutine was good, but I wish it had had a little bit more cheese curds. The tater tots were cooked well. The chicken sandwich was baked, and pretty standard, but all in all very good too. The chicken sandwich came with our choice of tater tots or potato chips.
They have a full bar which offers liquor, wine, and beer. They only serve beer in cans, and do not have anything on draft.
This certainly was a fun place to go, and something different to try in the Buffalo area!

This place is expansive and served beer in cans.
A Roller derby rink? Ok, sure why not. Ice rinks out back? Sure, why not. The layout is what makes this large space interesting not the cans of beer.
Love the big six pack on the way in which I hear is owned by someone else.

Food: Pretty good. The fish rueben was delish and our beef on weck dip was tasty but the only downside was they didn’t provide us with enough bread for the dip so we asked our waitress for more and she ended up charging us for «extra bread» on our bill which she forgot to tell us: /​kinda lame
Drinks: on the expensive side for BUF, if you want a Labatt Blue you want to come here to see Buffalo’s largest 6-​pack.
Service: not bad
Ambiance: nice. Especially in the summer where it is conveniently located on the water

RiverWorks is that restaurant and bar right next to the big Labatt Blue Silos. It’s located right on the water which makes it a great summer spot. My family and friends took our boat here this summer, they’re one of the few restaurants in the area that has docks available for boaters. I just had a burger and it was pretty good. I wanted to try the fish fry but they were all out of it which was a bummer. Everyone at our table enjoyed their food including a mango salsa fish taco and lobster roll.
The downside to RiverWorks was that they didn’t have their beer taps ready when I was there. I like to try local beers and new IPAs so it was a disappointment to see a small selection of canned or bottled beer. The bar area was very nice though and had many TVs so it would be a great place to catch a Bills or Sabres game once the taps are installed.
RiverWorks also has hockey rinks outside which double as pickleball courts in the summer and they provide the paddles and balls. They have a roller derby rink as well if you’re into that kind of thing. I have a friend that works there and says that even more activities will be available soon which makes it a really interesting place to check out. Unfortunately I didn’t take any pictures when I was there but I would recommend it as a cool local spot to check out!

I recently visited Buffalo River Works for a late night happy hour, this was my first time ever coming here and i certainly enjoyed it!
This place was easy to find thanks to the blue light towers and my handy GPS. the parking lot is large and i had no issues finding a spot. Part of the parking lot is gravel so ladies who wear heels watch out!
I walked inside and was amazed at how huge this place was, there are two large bars and tons of tables. Honestly this place has one of the biggest bars I’ve ever seen i think. I’m not exaggerating when i say this place is massive. We were a large group so the space available was perfect!
My friend and I walked out on the patio/​deck and the view was beautiful, the patio is also very large and it looked like they also had an upper deck as well (probably for private party’s).
We had pizza, the pizza was okay i didn’t think it was anything special and i can’t say anything else about the other food they offer.
The staff was very friendly and welcoming knowing that it was our fist visit. I will certainly be coming back!

I was really excited to try RiverWorks and was a little disappointed. The drink selection is limited and the several drinks I tried weren’t well made. Some bartenders were more distant while others were very friendly and accommodating. The only food I tried was the pizza, which was pretty good!
I think there are a lot of kinks to be worked out and I’m sure the reviews will turn upwards in the future once everyone gets a stronger handle on operations and bartenders are better trained.

We came to Riverworks for the Oktoberfest event. It was my first time here. We bought the pre sale tickets, that were sold at all Consumer’s locations. Tickets were also sold at the door. Upon arrival, we were given a wristband. We quickly found out that the wristband was pointless. There was truthfully no reason to purchase a ticket to this event. It seemed poorly planned. Beer Tickets also needed to be purchased. Oktoberfest mugs were being sold, which we all bought!
There were several local craft beer stands to choose from. The beer tickets were needed for the craft beers. The Riverworks bar was also serving drinks, if you preferred that option! The employees working the brewery stands were all extremely nice! I sampled many beers, before deciding which one I would like a full mug of! My absolutely favorite beer that I tried was the Ellicottville Brewing Company, Caramel Apple Cuvée. I will absolutely be looking for more of this!
We ordered a taco pizza and poutine tots from the bar, which were both delicious! The small pizza is very generously sized! It could easily pass as a large pizza! Overall, we had a great time! I would definitely come back to Riverworks!

REALLY HUGE place. It’s not just a restaurant/​bar. It’s has a rink, sports area and a patio as well. Apparently this is also the place where people rent kayaks and sail down the canalside.
The food was good, not the best bar food I’ve had but still good. They have nothing on tap yet. You can get beers on cans; the selection is ideal for the summer.
Great place with lots of open space for large groups of people by the canalside and the silo views!

Riverworks really needs to get their act together. Off the cuff, here’s what frustrated me from the get go when I stopped in for lunch over the weekend:
(1) Drove right past the auxilary parking lot and got stuck in traffic making a U-​turn to get back. A sign that read «PARK HERE FOR RIVERWORKS» would have been nice.
(2) Was told there was an hour to an hour and a half wait to sit outside, even though it wasn’t busy. Was told there weren’t enough outside servers (Then why not move your inside servers outside?).
(3) No beers on tap. I guess they’re working on this one.
(4) Waited forever for our food to come out.
As I sat I could hear the words inside my head that I’d use to write a scathing review on
: «Want to eat at The Ward @ Riverworks? Then go ahead and eat a full meal (think Thanksgiving, Mardi Gras or Jesus’ Last Supper), then go put your name on the list for a table. By the time your food will come you’ll be starving again.» Then, just as I thought Riverworks couldn’t get any worse, they served me my Fish Reuben Sandwich…
…AND TOTALLY REDEEMED THEMSELVES!
It was a triple decker pan fried rye sandwich with crispy, fried fish topped with a spicy purple coleslaw and gooey, melted swiss. I upgraded to the potato wedges and went crazy when I saw how much I got for an extra buck. My wife had the Mayflower: turkey, stuffing and cranberry sauce wrapped in a tortilla with tatter tots. Both plates were terrific and I would be hard pressed to choose anything else there again. Best of all, both plates were under $ 12.
Afterwards, I writhed in pain from my bloated gut and comatose state-​of-​mind set on by greasy potato chunks and fried fish. At that moment, I did what any self-​respecting person would do it that condition: I paid my bill, waddled over to the hostess stand and got in line to put my name down for a table for dinner.

I like this place and here’s why:
It’s in a relatively secluded location– about as quiet as you can get to practically being downtown. It’s on the water so while drinking a beer you can watch people cruise, row, or sail on down the river. It makes for some VERY interesting people watching.
It’s huge and full of things to see! Apart from the aquatic passerbys we were able to catch some roller derby practice and a few hard matches pickle ball. Trust me, they were both very entertaining. They have an arcade; it’s not enormous, but it need not be with everything else going on there.
There’s plenty of bar space.
It’s clean and relatively quiet, for now… Once people start going there this may change. I hope not.
Why not 5 stars?
Food: it’s good. Our order took about 15 minutes longer than to prepare than told by the bar staff.
We’ll go back. For beers and atmosphere.

I still cannot believe how huge this place is. Just when you think you’ve explored the entire building, you find another staircase that leads you to another balcony with seating for another hundred or so people, drink rails with stools over looking the river and another bar. It’s almost too big. I can’t imagine they are ever going to pack this place out, it’s just INSANELY BIG. Such a cool place to spend an afternoon in the summer. Came by around 5:30 pm on a Monday and only one of the bars was in service. The bar was large and there were about 10 people enjoying beverages when we arrived. They have a pretty decent craft beer selection; Flying Bison, 21^st Amendment Hell or High Watermelon, a couple IPAs, Pale Ales and your expected Labatt options. Quick note about the bartender, he wasn’t great. He never checked on us to see how we were doing, didn’t offer food menus, and we sat with empty drinks needing more for quite some time. After our first round, we finally grabbed his attention and when he brought us over new beers, he left the empty ones. At one point, we each had three cans in front of us, two empties and one we were currently drinking. He seemed either uninterested in taking care of us or just busy. The bar was large, I think he could have used some help.
As mentioned, only one bar was in service, so the rest of the place was quiet and empty, lots of bars weren’t being used, hundreds of empty tables, vendors that were closed, etc. They had darts, a girls roller derby match going on, with tons of tables around the track to watch, a lacrosse game happening, with seating high above with drink rails for an awesome view of the game. We walked around the entire complex, nothing beats the view here. This would be a place I would be interested in renting out a bar and a section of tables for a birthday party or event. If you aren’t spending a summer afternoon or night here with friends, you’re doing it wrong. Check this place out!

Came here for the Business First Brick By Brick award ceremony since my dad was being honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award.
This space is really pretty cool! Decent sized parking area, cool grain elevators and ruins right next door. On a clear day, there is probably great river scenery but when we were here a low, thick fog hung in the air and prevented us from seeing anything.
They converted this space to accommodate probably 200+ people at large round tables. I thought the chairs were totally uncomfortable and I was even nervous that it wouldn’t support me for long. It did, but yikes! They had an open bar, with plenty of local craft beers, and drinks all in bottles and cans. The food was considered heavy appetizers, but was really a meal. They had cheese and crackers, fruit, veggies and dip, 2 hot pasta dishes that were just okay, amazing hot breadsticks, carved beef, and amazing carved turkey. It was a nice spread but overall just okay. Aside from the awesome turkey and amazing breadsticks. They had dessert after too. Really good, rich dessert platters. The lemon bars were my favorite.
Anyway, this is a cool space and probably would be awesome for a wedding.