Rochester restaurant and bar scene for this winter: What's new and changing
It has been a busy time in Rochester's restaurants dining and food scene, with many openings, changes and other news. To help keep you up to date, we will continue to add to this winter dining guide up all the way up to the new year.
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Rochester-area holiday dining, events and info
Looking to dine out on Christmas? Here's which restaurants will be open Christmas Eve, and here's which which will be open Christmas Day.
Winter wonderland downtown: The wildly popular Roc Holiday Village, which transforms Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Park in downtown Rochester transformed into a wintry wonderland, is up and running. Admission is free to the family-friendly event, which will run through Dec. 23. Here are details.
Where to take holiday visitors: Want to take your holiday guests somewhere new and exciting? Here are 14 places that opened this year.
Breakfasts with Santa (or the Grinch): Breakfast with Santa is a holiday tradition for many Rochester-area families. Here's a rundown of dates and times.
Holiday markets: The Rochester area has a full calendar of festive holiday markets, which usually highlight local businesses and artisans. Here's a rundown.
Gingerbread boat: The executive baker at the Lake House on Canandaigua has unveiled its 4-foot high, 4-foot-by-8-foot gingerbread boat, which will be displayed in its lobby throughout the month and into January.
Reindeer P beer?!: Reindeer P is one of the newer beers at Rebel Sailor Brewing Co., one of the newer breweries in the Finger Lakes. Reindeer P is a clear, dry blonde ale with a hint of golden rod honey sourced from the nearby Shortsville Reindeer Farm.
New gluten-free cookbook: Just in time for holiday baking and gift giving, a Rochester entrepreneur and chef has published a cookbook of gluten-free dessert recipes. Calvin Eaton, a teacher, content creator and entrepreneur who founded the nonprofit education platform 540WMain, has published "Just Desserts: 40 Step-by-Step Gluten-Free Dessert Recipes."
Rochester restaurant news
Park Avenue Pizza: Kody Derhak, who has been executive sous chef at Oak Hill Country Club for the past seven years, will open Ardor Park Artisanal Pizza at 117 Park Ave. He is targeting an opening in January. Doughs will be made in house using high-extraction flour from Farmer Grown Flour in Trumansburg as well as some 00 flour, a fine flour sourced from Italy. The pizzas will be cooked in a wood-fired pizza oven, as will the fresh tomatoes used in the sauce. The toppings will be simple, and in some cases, unconventional.
Family business revival: For more than two decades from 1981 to 2004, G&G SteakOut restaurants were a beloved gathering place for Rochester's Black community. Almost two decades later, members of the Gause family have teamed up to revive the family business, but with a new look and direction. G&G Steakout II has opened at 810 Genesee St., two doors down from where one of their parents' restaurants once stood. The menu is focused on hearty steak sandwiches, burgers, wings, a haddock fish fry and more.
Wine focused restaurant: Five partners are at work on a new wine-focused restaurant in the former home to Dac Hoa at 230 Monroe Ave. Vinalia Urbana will highlight organic and biodynamic wines; local beers will be served on draft. The menu at the sit-down restaurant will be seasonal, heavily locally sourced and will change often.
New owners for dive bar: The husband-and-wife team of Fred McCoy II and Melissa Feldman will soon open Bar Bad Ending in the former Rosen Krown, a longstanding dive bar at 875 Monroe Ave. Bar Bad Ending will continue to be a dive bar, but it has been spruced up to make it a bit more cozy. The menu has also been spruced up, adding cocktails and a good wine selection. Read more, including the story behind the name.
New owners in Gates: Chris Mayer and Missy Bets have taken over Veneto at 1308 Buffalo Road in Gates and changed the name to Cristo’s Wood Fired Pizza and Pasta. They have made a few tweaks to the menu.
The return of Papa John's: After having been absent from the Rochester area for nearly five years, Papa John’s has gotten the go-ahead from the town of Brighton to open a store at 2852 West Henrietta Road. Offering takeout and delivery only, the shop will operate out of a 1,300-square-foot space formerly occupied by Cricket Wireless. It is expected to be up and running by early spring.
New owner for popular restaurant: Nosh, which has been a popular destination for food and cocktails since it opened in 2016, has a new owner. Vicky Chanthavisinh-Carey, 38, has purchased Nosh at 47 Russell St. in the Neighborhood of the Arts. Not much will change, but eventually expect to see more dishes that reflect Chanthavisinh-Carey's Thai-Lao heritage.
Dice Versa, a board game lounge, has opened in the former Original Grain on the ground floor of Tower 280 at 280 E. Broad St. It offers beer, wine, cocktails, soft drinks, appetizers and small and shareable plates. The stars of the show are hundreds of board games.
New Fairport brewery: Preservation Beer Company opened at 75 N. Main St. in Fairport. It is on the south side of the Cannery complex, which in recent years has been transformed into office and retail space including such popular destinations such as Faircraft Brauhaus, Compane Trattoria and Iron Smoke Distillery.
New Puerto Rican restaurant: Lisa Malavez will open Que Chevere ― slang in Spanish for something is cool, interesting or enjoyable — in the former home to Sticky Lips Pit BBQ at 625 Culver Road. Thee Puerto Rican restaurant will have a takeout counter downstairs and a casual restaurant upstairs.
New Penfield eatery: The Busy Bean Café plans to open a second location in the Wegmans Plaza at 2157 Penfield Road in Penfield. The spot will be the cafe's first restaurant in Monroe County.
New restaurant in former bank? Gallina Development Corp. owns the former Security Trust office building at One East Avenue, which is currently home to The Penthouse, an event space on its 11th floor that offers sweeping views of Rochester. Now Gallina’s hope is to bring a restaurant and bar the building's two-story-high brick-and-glass street level extension that in late 2019 was vacated by Bank of America. It has a striking mid-century modern style.
Italian restaurant gets new owners, surprising new dishes: Cerame’s Italian Villa, a go-to spot in Brighton since 1970, has new owners. May Dougan and her sister Pornthip Birkensees, natives of Thailand, will continue serving the recipes passed down from the Cerame family, as well as Thai food.
New place for kocktails: Chuck Cerankosky has opened Martine Kocktails at 647 South Ave., where Solera Wine Bar & Lounge and speakeasy-style upstairs cocktail bar Cheshire operated for many years. The “K” in Kocktails refers to “kegs” because Martine offers a menu of cocktails on tap.
All-day brunch: The Silo Brunch Bar has opened at 300 Paddy Creek Circle, off West Ridge Road near the Route 390 interchange. It sets itself by serving brunch every day. The menu runs the gamut of breakfast to lunch fare, with many creative twists.
Tracy Schuhmacher covers food and drink. Spot a new restaurant in your neighborhood? Email her at tracys@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Restaurants in Rochester NY area: Places to eat, bars for winter 2023
