25 Best Restaurants in The Finger Lakes, New York

A spectacular view of Keuka Lake awaits you at this breezy patio café, part of the Bully Hill Vineyards. The food is eclectic: Maryland crab cakes, buffalo burgers, or sage-and-prosciutto-stuffed chicken breast with three-cheese fettuccine. Lunch includes sandwiches and salads. Bully Hill wines are available, of course.

Strudel, Swiss fondue, sauerbraten, and schnitzels highlight the largely German and Hungarian menu at this restaurant, part of Castel Grisch winery. In warm weather you can sit on a veranda taking in the vineyards, hills, and the lake in the distance. Steak and duck preparations, as well as American fare (burgers and such), also are available.

More clams are sold here than anywhere else in the region, according to the Clam Bar, which also serves lobster, haddock, steaks, and chicken, plus daily specials. Clams come raw, steamed, in marinara sauce, and with garlic, butter, and wine. A full bar rounds out this comfortable, family-owned North Syracuse spot, which opened in 1959 in an old farmhouse.

Crawl through the little front door built for the "wee people" and you'll understand why this restaurant is the center of Tipperary Hill, Syracuse's Irish neighborhood. (Don't worry: there's also a regular-size entrance.) Green beer flows freely every March 17, and corned beef and cabbage and open-faced Reubens lead the menu year-round. Also available: shepherd's pie, seafood, and burgers. The cozy wood-paneled, two-story pub has several fireplaces. There's a full bar and Irish bands play Thursday through Sunday. Patio dining is a summer option.

The chrome-trimmed diner, run by the Caratozzolo family, serves nothing except tasty comfort food. Eggplant Parmesan, linguine with clam sauce, and liver and onions are popular dishes. The lasagna is made from an old family recipe. The homemade pies—especially the coconut cream and raspberry—are glorious. Connie's is 3 mile west of Seneca Falls.

What started as a darling of the biker crowd has evolved into a regional hot spot for pork sandwiches, barbecued ribs, and, on most nights, live blues. Chicken, beef, and pork are prepared barbecue, Cajun, and even Cuban style. Try a side of salt potatoes for some local flavor. On Friday and Saturday, waits can run as long as 90 minutes; the full-service bar, with 17 beers on tap, helps pass the time. In July and August, you can eat at one of the sidewalk picnic tables.

Go for the fried-fish sandwich and clam chowder, stay for the down-home atmosphere at this Skaneateles institution. The menu, posted over the counter where orders are taken, also includes steamed clams, fried shrimp, grilled chicken, frankfurters, and ice cream. Drop by Friday for lobster bisque. The counter staff shouts your name when your order is ready. Sit in the dining room under watch of the colorful mural of Skaneateles, at an outdoor picnic table, or take it to go.

Vintage signs and photos and tablecloths printed with Victorian-era newsprint add interest to this casual place on the north end of town. The menu is a mix of bar food, salads, wraps, and sandwiches: batter-fried shrimp, a Reuben, a chicken BLT, burgers, chips topped with shredded cheddar and bacon. The dinner menu adds entrées to the mix, such as beef tenderloin dusted with coffee, chocolate, and spices, pan-seared and served with a port wine sauce. Locals warm the stools in the front-room bar.

A brick building across the street from the Aurora Inn houses this tavern, a once-crusty bar now outfitted with dark-wood paneling, rough-hewn beams, and crackling fireplaces. The food is pub fare with a bit of flair. The most popular item is the burger, topped with raw or caramelized onions and a choice of cheese, served with hand-cut fries. Also on the menu are pulled-pork sandwiches, spicy black bean burgers, and barbecue chicken sandwiches with apple-smoked bacon. A TV resides over the bar and there's a pool table in back.

A two-story 1848 farmhouse on the grounds of La Tourelle Country Inn is home to this restaurant that specializes in grilled meats but also serves chicken and fish dishes (and a vegetarian entrée). Filet mignon, prime rib, strip steak, and porterhouse are among the choices. Sides, such as garlicky mashed potatoes, are served family style. In summer you may eat outside on the deck, with views of the lawns, gardens, and La Tourelle. The restaurant is about 3 mi south of downtown, near Buttermilk Falls State Park.

Part of a winery 11 mi south of Seneca Falls, this eatery uses fresh produce grown in its own gardens. The food is contemporary, and the menu changes every two months. Try crab cakes with chipotle aioli or salmon over white-truffle risotto, or choose from burgers, wraps, and salads. The covered patio overlooking the flower garden and vineyard is nice in warm weather. The restaurant is open daily till 5 pm.

This casual spot—one of the best choices in the area for lake views—occupies an 1880s cottage on the west side of Keuka Lake. The food is American: prime rib, fried shrimp, bacon-wrapped beef tenderloin, barbecue chicken, a variety of steaks and chops, and a Friday fish fry. Outside, a fire pit and 150 seats overlook the bluff of Keuka Lake.

Five beers—two lagers, and a red, pale, and dark ale—are brewed on-site throughout the year. Each season brings one or two specialty brews. The kitchen incorporates Thai, Southwestern, Mexican, Caribbean, and Italian influences, among others, in dishes such as pork osso buco, Jamaican jerk chicken, a salmon fillet glazed with the brewery's D'Artagnan ale, coconut-battered shrimp appetizer. Sandwiches and burgers are also available. Beer suggestions accompany entrée descriptions.

Since its founding in 1973, this downtown restaurant has been at the forefront in the field of creative vegetarian cooking, and its cookbooks are known worldwide. The menu changes daily, and everything is prepared from fresh ingredients. Past menus have included spinach-and-cheese ravioli in a red-pepper-basil sauce and haddock with lemon, thyme, tomatoes, and topped with dill pesto. A vegan option is always available. The setting is casual: chunky blond-wood tables and booths and lively conversation fill the space. You may also dine outside on a patio.

The family-run Italian restaurant, a staple in Charlotte since the mid-1970s, draws a loyal clientele from throughout the city. Homemade pastas—gnocchi, lasagna, veal and lobster ravioli, four-cheese manicotti—are a specialty, but then again so are the steaks, chops, and seafood. It's two blocks from Lake Ontario, which makes it especially busy in summer.

A funky, urban feel infuses this downtown Syracuse spot—a former union hall—that attracts a business crowd by day and couples at night. Lunch is cafeteria style, while dinner is full service. There's always fresh pasta with sauces like the ever-popular spicy hot tomato oil. Dinners might include homemade Boursin-cheese ravioli in a tomato-mushroom-cream sauce with pine nuts. The restaurant bakes its own bread daily. In warm weather you can sit outside at a sidewalk table or in the back courtyard.

A Tuscan-style eatery, Rosalie's is upscale but relaxed. On a weekend night in the downstairs dining room you can forget meaningful conversation unless you read lips. (The smaller upstairs room is quieter and more romantic.) The buzz is about the food, served in generous portions. The Italian fare includes appetizers such as carpaccio—ultra-thin slices of raw beef served with capers and Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese—and main dishes like chicken scaloppine with lemon butter, pancetta, and artichoke hearts. Don't skip dessert—the Banana Budino is unbelievable: layers of creamy banana pudding, real bananas, house-made cinnamon-sugar puff pastry, almond cookies, and caramel sauce.

Opened in 1956, the family-owned and -operated restaurant has retained a Happy Days feel. Place your order and the cashier yells it out amid the din. Burgers topped with Schaller's secret hot sauce are the most popular choice, followed by a Rochester specialty, white hot dogs, also known as "white hots" (sausage-size, natural-casing dogs made with pork, beef, and veal). The restaurant, west of Ontario Beach Park in the town of Greece, is particularly popular with the beach crowd. Take out on a sunny day or eat in the bright dining room.

The original 1807 tavern, rustic compared with the elegant dining room, is perhaps the best place around to experience Old Skaneateles—meaning pre-1980, when the village was more of a cozy bedroom community for Syracuse than a vacation destination. Menu favorites include traditional Yankee pot roast and crab cakes with scallop mousse. Seasonal offerings might be seafood bouillabaisse or chicken-and-biscuits. An enclosed porch lined with windows is open in warm weather.

Worth the 6-mi drive north of town, family-owned and -operated Tanino's, as it's called, serves more-authentic Italian than is usually found in this area: meals start with bread and olive oil rather than bread and pats of butter, and the wine list is one of the region's lengthiest. Ignore the strip-mall exterior and head into the casual, comfortable dining room with a fireplace. The large menu includes about a dozen choices each of pasta (cheese ravioli, penne alla vodka), seafood, poultry, veal, and beef entrées, plus popular brick-oven pizzas.

Finding foreign fare in the Finger Lakes can be a challenge, but not in this university town. Ithaca has several Thai restaurants, and this family-owned and -operated choice is a favorite both for its consistent food and its location on the Commons. The casual but classy place has orange faux-finish walls and is decorated with Buddha statuettes. Ithacans of all ages come for the moderately priced and expertly spiced curry, noodle, and seafood dishes. It's a buzzy, convivial place.

Continental fare is served with contemporary flair at this restaurant in an 1825 Greek Revival farmhouse. Dishes might include veal scaloppine, bourbon-glazed duck, or goat-cheese-and-vegetable lasagna. The breads and pastas, as well as the chocolate soufflé, are made on the premises. Fireplaces add to the elegant but cozy ambience. Balcony and porch dining are seasonal alternatives.

The clientele—from suit-wearing execs to hoodie-clad students—is as varied as the menu at this pubby restaurant with wooden booths and brick walls. Specials fill five 4-foot-square blackboards, change daily, and feature many fish dishes, such as basil-pesto-crusted salmon fillet. The regular menu includes sandwiches and soups, which make for a cheap but filling meal. Diners spill onto a patio in summer.

Upscale dining has arrived in Corning. A historic bank was transformed into a stylish dining room in 2008, preserving the old vault as a private dining room. There's a 300-square-foot glass-enclosed wine locker, huge stone fireplaces, and a wildebeest mounted on one wall. Aged steaks, Alaskan king crab legs, and veal saltimbocca help fill out the long menu. The prices can be hard to swallow, but tapas in the bar are a more affordable option.

Burgers made with locally produced beef are piled with bacon and blue cheese; vegetarian entrées (like soy-based "ribs" with barbecue sauce) are plentiful, wines and brews are local, and coffee is fair-trade and organic at this casual restaurant near the entrance of Watkins Glen State Park. Oak, brass, and stained glass accent the interior. Also available: jambalaya, soy-sauce-marinated sirloin over soba noodles, plus soups, salads, and pizzas.