NOTE: Runners up listed in alphabetical order
Best Place for a Pizza Slice
Pontillo’s. Many area locations. pontillospizza.com
Runners up: Acme Bar & Pizza | The Pizza Stop | Salvatore’s
Best Pizza
Napa Wood Fired Pizzeria. 573 South Clinton Avenue, 232-8558; 687 Moseley Road, Fairport, 223-5250; napawoodfired.com
Runners up: Mark’s Pizzeria | The Pizza Stop | Pontillo’s
Best Gourmet Burger
The Gate House. 274 North Goodman Street, 473-2090, thegatehousecafe.com
Runners up: American Burger Bar | Blu Wolf Bistro | Restaurant Good Luck
Best Barbecue
Dinosaur Bar-B-Que. 99 Court Street, 325-7090, dinosaurbarbque.com
Runners up: Good Smoke | Sticky Lips | Texas Bar-B-Q Joint
Best Hots Restaurant
Dogtown. 691 Monroe Avenue, 271-6620, dogtownhots.com
Runners up: Fairport Hots | Mark’s Texas Hots | Nick Tahou’s Hots
Best Wings
Jeremiah’s Tavern. 1104 Monroe Avenue, 461-1313; 2164 Fairport Nine Mile Point Road, Penfield, 377-2233; 2200 Buffalo Road, Gates, 247-0022; jeremiahstavern.com
Runners up: The Distillery | Mark’s Pizzeria | Windjammers
Best Bar Food
Jeremiah’s Tavern. 1104 Monroe Avenue, 461-1313; 2164 Fairport Nine Mile Point Road, Penfield, 377-2233; 2200 Buffalo Road, Gates, 247-0022; jeremiahstavern.com
Runners up: Acme Bar & Pizza | Marshall Street Bar & Grill | Tap and Mallet
Best Fish Fry
The Old Toad. 277 Alexander Street, 232-2626, theoldtoad.com
Runners up: Bill Gray’s | Captain Jim’s Fish Market | Tap and Mallet
Best Restaurant for a Rochester “Plate”
Nick Tahou’s Hots. 320 West Main Street, 436-0184, garbageplate.com
Runners up: Dogtown | Mark’s Texas Hots | Wimpy’s Burger Basket
Best Breakfast Sandwich
Jines Restaurant. 658 Park Avenue, 461-1280, jinesrestaurant.com
Runners up: Hart’s Local Grocers | Scott’s II | Village Bakery and Café
Best Bagel
Balsam Bagels. 288 North Winton Road, 482-5080, balsambagels.com
Runners up: Bagel Land | Brownstein’s Deli & Bakery | Wegmans
Best Brunch
Jines Restaurant. 658 Park Avenue, 461-1280, jinesrestaurant.com
Runners up: The Frog Pond | Mario’s | The Owl House
Best Dessert
Cheesy Eddie’s. 602 South Avenue, 473-1300, cheesyeddies.com
Runners up: Chocolate & Vines | Phillips European Restaurant | Scratch Bakeshop
Best Ice Cream/Frozen Custard/Frozen Yogurt
Abbott’s Frozen Custard. Many area locations. abbottscustard.com
Runners up: Hedonist Artisan Ice Cream | LuGia’s | Pittsford Farms Dairy
Best Food Cart/Food Truck
Le Petit Poutine. @lepetitpoutine, facebook.com/lepetitpoutine
Runners up: Marty’s Meats | The Meatball Truck Co. | Stingray SushiFushion
Best Diner
Highland Park Diner. 960 South Clinton Avenue, 461-5040, highland-park-diner.com
Runners up: James Brown’s Place | Jay’s Diner | South Wedge Diner
Best Mexican Restaurant
Salena’s. 302 North Goodman Street, 256-5980, salenas.com
Runners up: Itacate | La Casa | Monte Alban
Best Italian Restaurant
Mr. Dominic’s. 4699 Lake Avenue, 730-5444; 99 South Main Street, Fairport, 598-3988; mrdominics.com
Runners up: Mario’s | Guido’s Pasta Villa | Osteria Rocco
Best Indian Restaurant
India House. Many area locations. indiahouse.com
Runners up: Amaya | Tandoor of India | Thali of India
Best Mediterranean Restaurant
Aladdin’s. Many area locations. myaladdins.com
Runners up: Olive’s Greek Taverna | Sinbad’s | Voula’s Greek Sweets
Best Caribbean Restaurant
Havana Cabana. 289 Alexander Street, 232-1333, havanacabanaroc.com
Runners up: D’Mangu | Natural Vibes Jerk Hut | Peppa Pot
Best Asian Restaurant
The King & I. 1455 East Henrietta Road, 427-8090, thekingandithaicuisine.com
Runners up: Chen Garden | Flavors of Asia | Han Noodle Bar
Best Sushi
California Rollin’. 274 North Goodman Street, 271-8990; 1000 North River Street, 271-8920; californiarollin.com
Runners up: Plum House | Shiki | Wegmans
Best Vegetarian/Vegan Eats
The Owl House. 75 Marshall Street, 360-2920, owlhouserochester.com
Runners up: Aladdin’s | Natural Oasis | The Red Fern
Best Restaurant for Delivery
Mark’s Pizzeria. Many area locations. markspizzeria.com
Runners up: Chen Garden | Salvatore’s | Sol Burrito
Best Buffet
Mario’s. 2740 Monroe Avenue, Pittsford, 271-1111, mariosit.com
Runners up: Espada Brazilian Steak | Tandoor of India | Thali of India
Best Regular Cup of Coffee
Java’s Café. 16 Gibbs Street, 232-4820, javascafe.com
Runners up: Boulder Coffee Co. | Joe Bean Coffee Roasters | Pour Coffee Parlor
Best Specialty Coffee
Java’s Café. 16 Gibbs Street, 232-4820, javascafe.com
Runners up: Fuego | Joe Bean Coffee Roasters | Pour Coffee Parlor
Best Barista
Rory Van Grol (Ugly Duck and Joe Bean). 1344 University Avenue, 319-5279, joebeanroasters.com; uglyduckcoffee.com
Runners up: John Cannon (Pour Coffee Parlor) | Tony Colon (Fuego) | Mario Rocchio (Pour Coffee Parlor) | Peter Sapia (Café Sasso)
Best Outdoor Dining
Genesee Brew House. 25 Cataract Street, 263-9200, geneseebeer.com/brewhouse
Runners up: Aladdin’s | Napa Wood Fired Pizza | TRATA
Best Cheap Eats
Dogtown. 691 Monroe Avenue, 271-6620, dogtownhots.com
Runners up: Aladdin’s | John’s Tex-Mex | Marshall Street Bar & Grill
Best Service
Restaurant Good Luck. 50 Anderson Avenue, 340-6161, restaurantgoodluck.com
Runners up: Orbs Restaurant & Bar | Osteria Rocco | The Revelry
Best New Restaurant
ButaPub. 315 Gregory Street, 563-6241, butapub.com
Runners up: Grappa | The Cub Room | Vive Bistro & Bakery
This article appears in Oct 28 – Nov 3, 2015.
Sorry folks but the BEST sushi and the BIGGEST secret in Rochester is Edoya in Gates – tiny little place with AWESOME sushi – don’t go there for atmosphere go there for sushi.
California rolling???? Loads of novice sushi eaters here in Rochester – LOADS.
I’m sorry, where on Jines’ menu is a breakfast sandwich? Who actually votes for these? It doesn’t even exist. Gotta make it yourself. FYI.
Allison Wassink, Jine’s does indeed have a breakfast sandwich. We called and double checked that before the final list went live.
So many of these are mediocre places at best. Marks? California rollin’? Jines? The Gatehouse? Do you even care about food? Can you even taste what you eat? Maybe it’s due to living in other states and cities and coming back home but these “bests” are mostly awful.