The Como Restaurant

I have been to e Como numerous times but they are resting on their laurels. Had the worst service ever last night to the point that we had to go to the bar for our drinks because the waitress never came around. It was downhill from there. Food took so long, forgot an order then tried to hurry it under the broiler but burned it. Waitress told one person they could have something as a side and told someone else they couldn’t, never gave that same person her salad, etc., etc., etc.

This is the only place you should visit in Niagara. Stay away from the tourist trap that is Niagara. This is downtown Niagara. The owner… Mario Antonacci is a great guy! He invited us to hang out for a few hours after eating. While there… we met many locals that gave us insider things to do while in Niagara Falls and places to visit. Very authentic Italian food, huge portions, and great value. Ignore the sketchy neighborhood it’s in. We will definitely visit again when in Niagara! We felt like family while there!

I ate in the restaurant section. Good service. Homemade pasta. Large portions. Good salads. Tomato sauce was too sweet for my taste, but if you like sweet sauce, you’d give it a thumbs up. Nice ambience and good bread. I’m not raving about it but I’d go again.

This restaurant was next to our motel so we went there because it was very convenient. We were pleasantly surprised that they served excellent food! Hubby had Chicken Parm with capellini, his go-​to meal, and he said it was very good (high praise). I had Stuffed Sole served on rice topped with cheese and Hollandaise Sauce. Served with spinach, fried onion rings, cole slaw and garnished with orange slices and grapes… whew that’s a lot of food! There was also salad and bread. Of course we skipped dessert! I can’t find the receipt but I know it was very reasonable!

Love it here! Have dined here only twice, but both times I had an amazing experience. The food is to die for, and the prices are fantastic.

Customer beware manager will react violently if you get angry about the service and run out the door and attack your vehicle

First time there today. Went for lunch with a friend and we had many questions about menu items. Our server was very sweet and very accommodating. She explained every question knowledgeably, and even offered suggestions (which I love).
My friend ordered the pasta with shrimp and I ordered the chicken with lemon and butter with pasta Alfredo. We each served the other small taste of each other’s meal, and they were both amazing. Very large portions and I had to take half home.
My friend and I have lunch at different places every other week, and we usually don’t repeat places, just so we can try different foods. But we have decided we will definitely be back to this spot.
Definitely love. If you haven’t gone yet, you should.

If I could give 0 stars I would. The food was terrible. Told that the tortellini was bought not made. Stuffed peppers were mushy. Gnocchi was heavy and chewy. Alfredo was grainy. Lasagna was layered 5 layers of pasta and a block of ricotta. EVERYTHING was BLAND. Manager sounded rehearsed and basically told us we were wrong that the food was gross. Only took off 15% even though none of us ate more than 20% of our food. The iron stomach of the group has a stomach ache. If you want food that tastes and looks like it was frozen in the 50’s not unlike the décor of the place, you’ll love the place. I wish I would have gone to Olive Garden.

Food was delicious. They accommodated a big group at a table for a long time for lunch. They weren’t busy, but sometimes you get an attitude and here they were nice. Menu is not that flexible but every meal was delicious, and reasonably priced.

Great food and they make you feel family. Egg Drop Pastina Soup is incredible. Our waitress said they have Lasagna soup on Wednesdays which is wonderful. I’d believe it after the meal we had. If we return to the area we will definitely be back. It’s one of those special places!

Purchased a Groupon for Valentine’s day weekend only because we went to the Niagara Outlets and wanted a cheap (er) eat/​try something new while we were in the area. I don’t say this often, and I am hesitant to say anything not-​so-​nice about a family-​owned establishment but… The food was terrible. I usually check reviews on Unilocal before eating somewhere and the reviews were widely mixed but, I should’ve realized that the highly rated reviews were from townies who probably consider the Olive Garden as fine dining. Although, I would kill for some Olive Garden if this was the only Italian place available to me.
The outside of the restaurant looked pretty nice. Upon walking in, we were not immediately greeted by the person at the counter but whatever, they seemed like they were counting something, Nbd. The interior was a tad outdated, but it seemed like many of the dining guests were older anyway so maybe that’s who they cater to the most.
Aw man, at this point I was so hungry, everything looked appetizing. When I’m this hungry, there isn’t anything I don’t want to chow down on. So Wrong. First of all, I don’t understand the hype about the bread… It isn’t even warm or even lightly toasted or taste remotely freshly-​baked. It was so underwhelming, it set the tone for the rest of the dinner. My boyfriend and I both ordered the Tour of Little Italy on the Valentine’s Day dinner menu special. It was a few dollars extra than on the regular menu because it came with a shrimp cocktail, melon wrapped in prosciutto, a couple of olives/​cheese blocks, and a cupcake. I regretfully opted for the veal parm for 2 extra dollars but I’m getting ahead of myself…
The Food: The shrimp cocktail came with 2 measly pieces of shrimp with what tasted like an old can of cocktail sauce. Like legit, I’m pretty sure my mom has cocktail sauce in the back of her refrigerator from 1999 that tastes exactly the same. The melon wrapped in prosciutto was so weirdly/​limply executed, I had to unwrap it and rewrap it myself. The prosciutto also tasted a little fridge-​y and a lot of lifeless. Also, it came with a few pieces of iceberg lettuce? The house dressing was so sour and tasted like perfume.
The portion of the pasta was huge but the presentation was just off the minute they put the plate down. The pasta was so undercooked and doughy; it was still grey. The mushy-​equally-​as-​grey-​ricotta was not evenly heated during the nuking process so the it had a weird dry clay texture. There was packaged shredded cheese scattered about on top clearly outlined against the sauce. Who doesn’t use fresh mozzarella at an Italian restaurant?! The veal looked like it had actual cheese on it but too bad the veal was barely recognizable after it was pounded into smithereens and all I could taste was the grease from the old deep fryer oil they used to reheat it. I literally had to hold my breath while ingesting it because I was THAT hungry and disgusted at the taste. I had no appetite for the cupcake at the end but I took one bite to give their food one last fighting chance, anddddddd it was dry AF. The icing on the cupcake (pun intended) was when my boyfriend spit out a piece of plastic after taking a bite of his cupcake.
We both agreed that this was one of the most unpleasant dining experiences of our lives and granted, we should’ve said something to the manager but Unilocaling was less confrontational and harsh… Maybe. Even after the groupon discount, we still paid $ 50+tip for the worst meal ever.

I’ve gone to the Como since the 1970’s
Never disappointed
I ordered the full sized calamari to start us off
Huge portion came to the table with marinara sauce for dipping. Those tender rings oh so crisp sprinkled with lemon juice. The thrill of the beginning of an adventure
My friends ordered chicken parm pasta on the side
Salad that came sadly was uneventful basic iceberg lettuce croûton few cherry tomatoes. Would of been a nicer experience some field greens
My meal was chicken francaise
It was good but nothing to write home about
Individual work on the butter lemon sauce is needed maybe a splash of Pinot Grigio to liven up the sauce
My side dish of sauce was nice though
I opt out of dessert. Friends ordered peanut butter pie other one ordered the lemon divine cake. I got a taste
Outstanding
Sunday sauce family style their specialty at twelve dollars plus per person. Salad meatballs and pasta
Salad too
Decent price for the family
Our server first class really fun lady
Seemed to love the people she served
Few mistakes but over all a nice fun experience

We had eaten lunch here about four years ago! The food was excellent.
There were six of us and all enjoyed their meals. The sauce was perfect; the pasta al dente!
Soooo, we were excited about returning for dinner the next time we came to Niagara Falls.
We didn’t even look at Unilocal or consider another place! Stupid us!
Whatever the situation was (they appeared to have a large party in banquet hall) this was a total and complete disaster!
First the place was NOT busy at all!
Not knowing what we were getting into we ordered the family style five course meal for dinner! If quantity counts they would get five stars! But alas it doesn’t with us!
I guess the chef or whoever runs the kitchen was too busy with the large party!
It appears that we ate dinner there the same night as another Unilocaler! Same review bad service, horrible food!
Let me be clear! The biggest disappointment was the sauce.
It looked and tasted like it had been heated and stored and reheated several times!!! The salad was wilted iceberg lettuce only with some croutons! Extra charge for Bleu cheese dressing! Really?
And the worst was the veal parm! It was deep fried in dirty grease and was paper thin and tasteless! We ate one bite each! Took the rest home and threw it in garbage!
Finally, there were two young people at register! Appeared to be children or grandchildren of owners or maybe they were the owners? Who knows?
Although I saw them ask others how their food was, and they were engaged with what seemed like regulars, we were ignored! Had they asked we would have given them a mouthful of pasta fagiole! Most of the Unilocal reviews were dated! Take it from me, never again and good luck to anyone who knows traditional Southern Italian food!

This is the worst Italian food I’ve ever eaten. I’m here from Baltimore on business with a group of people. It was a recommendation. I have no clue what the people were smoking who recommended this establishment, but clearly they smoked it before they ate their food. Terrible waitress. Dirty. Plastic cups. Bad sauce, bad food. Waited an hour for our food, waited for our check. Will never ever ever come back to this dump. That is all.

The Como is a Niagara Falls institution. I hadn’t been in years and just went back today, for a working lunch of all things. We were in the area for a meeting and unanimously decided on this place to eat. There were several luncheons going on for different groups but they fit our party of five at a comfortable table by a window in be main dining room. There is lots of space here– even a lounge/​bar area. This is the kind of spot that has photos of celebrities on the walls (some local, some from Hollywood).
Our server was, um, outlandish and charming at the same time. She was surprised to hear several of us request lemon with our waters. I loved every second of that exchange. The lunch menu has a lot to offer. Part of me wanted to order a salad and part of me wanted a big ol’ fish fry. I took the middle ground and went with a tuna wrap. The other guests I was with ordered haddock, a panini, and a heaping plate of shrimp and rice. Try the house Italian dressing if you’re getting a little salad. You won’t be disappointed. They do serve a very tasty bread basket.
Everyone liked their food well enough; we mostly just loved the experience.

Not the best or the worse italian food I’ve ever had. Our waitress was very nice and helpful. The interior was dated and there was an older smell (maybe the rug inside).

My parents claim they have been coming to this place for DECADES, and after my first visit here, I can see why. I am Italian through and through, always struggling to find good Italian eateries outside of my grandmother’s kitchen.
This place pretty much hit the spot. The portions are absolutely gigantic, one dish is enough for three meals. The bread they serve prior to your meal (particularly the pizza bread) is just amazing by itself. The past time I went to Como, I got the classic chicken parm with ziti on the side. Absolutely amazing. The sauce was not quite on my grandmother’s level, but one of the closest I’ve had to it. Next time, I would love to try a tripe dish, something that I have a hard time finding again, outside of my grandmother’s cooking or cooked in Chinese style. Will absolutely be back to get my Italian food fix. Their menu has a great variety so I will definitely be back!

Delicious homemade Italian food!
Some of the favorites are the pasta plate, gnocchi, raviolis, veal Parmesan, chicken cacciatore, and the pizza bread (love the pizza bread).
Make sure you stop in the lounge for a pre-​dinner cocktail, too.
I have been a patron since I was a baby! My grandparents were patrons back in the 50s!!!
This is a Niagara Falls Italian staple!!!

It doesn’t look like much, especially from the outside, but Como is the perfect place to order way too much and leave mega-​full. Service was kind and quick, the menu was plentiful and they have some bada$$ bruschetta. It’s super convenient for pilots landing at Niagara International just across the street.

Thomas Wolfe wrote about going back to your hometown, searching for the beauty and simplicity of an idealized life. In his novel «You Can’t Go Home Again,» a young man tried to rekindle the dreams of glory and of fame he felt when growing up in his hometown, but found everything had changed. When I went back to my hometown, Niagara Falls, I also found everything changed… except the Como.
It is still a place where the best everyday Italian food can be had. On this day, I had my favorite Italian comfort food, potato gnocchi. Little pillows of potatoey gooey doughy chewy, drenched in sauce as if you wanted to hide it from the FBI. My lovely wife had «Tour of Italy,» consisting of gnocchi, veal parmesan, and lasagna, similarly covered in sauce deeper than Jimmy Hoffa’s shoes. My saintly mother had veal cutlets, pounded to a thinness that only the Italians understand why. I tasted everything, and somehow the delicate flavors of Italy survive through all that sauce. We northern Italians (nose raised in air) use sauce more sparingly. Many people love the Como’s pizza bread, but I think it’s the only ordinary thing about the Como.
On VE-​day, the original owner of the Como fired a shotgun through the roof, leaving a big hole through which his prayers of thanks to God could flow. He ordered the hole never be covered up during his life. I bet it is covered now. Ah well, you can never go home. But you can always have a good meal at the Como.