There’s an old saying that “location, location, location” is critical to a restaurant’s success – and there’s no question that a high-visibility location can be a major asset.
But some places to dine and drink in the Rochester area have thrived – some for decades – even though it takes an effort for customers to find them. Some are situated on busy roads but their entrances are either inconspicuous or obstructed from view.
Here are six hidden gems worth finding in the Rochester area.
La Bola by Avvino
Sibley Square is one of downtown Rochester’s most iconic buildings, but it’s easy to pass by without recognizing that there’s a spacious food hall inside, complete with a pizza place, salad spot, Cajun eatery, authentic Chinese restaurant and a food business incubator that serves up different offerings most days.
It also is home to La Bola, a craft cocktail bar and restaurant that’s run by the owners of the fine dining restaurant Avvino. (Within the building, they also run the Cajun eatery and The Duke, a music venue and events space.) La Bola is delineated by a tall curtain that gives it an intimate feeling within a cavernous space.
The seasonal menu, which leans Spanish and Italian, focuses on tapas, sandwiches and light fare, but it also offers entrees. I’ve made my way through much of the tapas menu and recommend the patatas bravas (crispy potatoes with two sauces), pan con tomate (homemade bread with tomato spread and olive oil, to which I add jamon and Manchego cheese), gambas al aijilo (garlicky shrimp) and chicken wings, coated with a sticky orange-maple sauce.
It serves lunch and dinner; in the evening, it has a post-work happy-hour vibe. Yes, people dine at tables but you usually find folks gathered around the bar. I find a seat close to the open kitchen and marvel at the dishes the chef turns out in a tiny space without a fryer or open flame.
Don’t let that space fool you; everything is made from scratch, including the soups, stocks, brines, sausages, breads and desserts. Much of the prep and baking takes place at The Commissary, the food business incubator that operates in the space.
The Mercantile on Main food hall opened in early 2021, when office workers were largely working from home. None of the original eateries are in operation five years later. La Bola opened in 2022, and owner Janine Wasley said that with the building now almost 90% occupied, “it’s really coming to life. It’s taken a while.”
Go: 240 E. Main St. downtown. Open for lunch and dinner Monday through Friday. It validates parking in the St. Joseph’s Garage, which is attached to the building.
Forno Tony
Forno Tony is set on busy University Avenue, but it’s nestled in an industrial building and is marked only by a modest Italian flag and its name on a door. You walk down a short hallway and, once inside, it’s like you’ve been transported to Rome, Italy.
The bakery bakes up an eye-popping display of pizza creations and sets them out on a counter; slices are cut by scissors to order and sold by the pound. Roughly 8 to 10 standbys are available every week and the others are seasonal creations. “It’s fun to have new things to try,” said Billy Gushue.
Pizzas are made from a high-hydration, long-fermenting dough in two styles: pizza alla pala, which are long and narrow, and pizza in teglia, which has a thick, airy crust and is baked in a pan. As is true of pizzas in Italy, the focus is on the dough and toppings are applied with a light hand.
Its most popular sweet treats are the swoon-worthy maritozzi, brioche buns filled with a lightly sweetened whipped cream, as well as cannoncini, also known as Italian cream horns.
Forno Tony started offering homemade gelato and sorbets in the summer of 2024. You’ll usually find flavors that are popular in Italy, like nocciola (hazelnut), pistachio and gianduja (chocolate hazelnut), but specials are changed monthly.
“We try to make it so if you’re coming in, there’s always something new to try,” Ryan Gushue said.
The walls are covered with soccer jerseys, sports banners and family photos, and the staff is largely comprised of family and close friends. It’s not unusual to hear Italian spoken when you visit. Most customers take their orders to go, but there’s a total of eight seats available at high-top tables; in the summer, there’s seating on the sidewalk outside. It does not participate in delivery apps but plans to offer advance online ordering in the near future.
Owners Billy and Ryan Gushue – they are brothers – grew up in Spencerport around a large extended Italian-American family. Many of the family’s recipes originated in Melfi, a small town in Southern Italy from which their grandfather’s generation immigrated. Billy Gushue spent a month learning to bake authentic Roman breads, sweet breads and pastries with Davide D’Eramo, who runs a pizza school in Rome.
Forno Tony made its Rochester debut on Oct. 15, 2022, in a tiny space in a small strip mall on East Avenue. Then, the Italian bakery operated only on Saturdays. Word spread quickly and each each week the lines grew longer. In November, the landlord told the Gushues they had to shut down, saying the crowds interfered with the other businesses. Just over a year later it reopened at 1350 University Ave. Its popularity hasn’t waned; you’ll still find a line most times you visit.
Go: 1350 University Ave., Rochester; find on Instagram. Closed until mid-January; otherwise it’s open Thursday, Friday and Saturday.
Sager-Stoneyard Pub
Sager-Stoneyard Pub is set back from University and East Avenues on Sager Drive, an alley-type road that runs between the two main streets.
Housed in a 100-year-old building that once housed a foreign automobiles garage, it opened as Sager Beer Works in 2018. But over time, as Rochester’s craft beer scene evolved, the owners were looking to ways to grow.
Owners Paul Guarracini and Don Tumminelli partnered with Jeffrey “Oz” Osborne, owner of Stoneyard Brewing Company, to establish a dual taproom that features brews from both breweries. The taps were expanded to 16, and features Sager’s classic beers alongside the more eclectic creations from Stoneyard. It also serves simple cocktails, hard cider, wines from the nearby Living Roots Wine & Co. and recently increased its nonalcoholic offerings.
The brewery always had a commendable food lineup, but it recently amped up its offerings by bringing in the team from Dough Boyz to run its kitchen. The highlight is artisan sourdough pizzas, but it also serves wings, soft pretzels, desserts and more.
“We were a brewery that had food. Now we’re a restaurant that brews its own beer,” Guarracini said.
The roomy, uber casual space has seating for 65 people including a long German-style beer hall table that encourages conversation. It has a full calendar of events including weekly bingo and trivia, beer pairing dinners, bring-your-own-craft events, comedy nights, a euchre tournament and musical entertainment. In the summer, it has an idyllic patio and bands will often play outside.
“We really are working hard to give people good reasons to come out of their caves,” Guarracini said.
Go: 46 Sager Dr. (585) 417-5404, sagerbeerworks.com.
The Blind Pig
It’s become trendy to open bars with a speakeasy vibe – some even have a hidden entrance – but few can claim to have a history that dates back to the Prohibition era.
But The Blind Pig is an exception. It’s on the third floor of a striking French Chateau-style building at the corner of Main and Church streets in the Village of Fairport. It was built by Henry and Sarah DeLand in 1874. It had several different owners throughout the 20th Century; in 1925 it was renovated to become the Green Lantern Inn.
Around 1924, an ingenious pulley-operated hidden staircase to the third floor was installed, and it still works a century later. “It’s persnickety, that’s for sure,” said co-owner Kim Rose. “It’s old equipment. It’s not like a modern elevator. We treat it kindly because it’s been around for so long.”
By the time Rose and co-owner Lindsay Feeley bought the mansion, the third floor still had remnants of the former speakeasy – including vintage lighting and a stage where bands would play – but it had largely fallen into disrepair. They renovated a section of the floor and opened The Blind Pig, a bar that serves spins on classic cocktails and a different menu of light shareable plates each week. A highlight of the experience is giving a password when you arrive, and then entering the space through that old hidden staircase.
They owners have continue renovations in the rest of the space; it now has new floors and furniture and guests are welcome to sit there if they want privacy or a quieter environment.
The Blind Pig is open only on Tuesday and Wednesday evenings; a reservation is required and it’s tough to get one.
But The Blind Pig isn’t the only hidden gem within the DeLand House on Main. On its lower level is an intimate wine bar, Main & Vine, which is open Wednesday through Saturday evenings. It serves a dozen and a half wines by the glass and the bottle, with a focus on affordable boutique wines, as well as beers and craft cocktails. Its food menu includes panini, salads, shareable plates and homemade desserts.
Go: 1 East Church Street in Fairport. Both bar entrances face East Church Street. delandonmain.com.
The Vesper
The Vesper is at 1 Capron St. in a high-traffic stretch of downtown Rochester. If the address doesn’t ring a bell, picture yourself driving south on South Avenue between the two Central Library buildings. Ahead of you is the on-ramp incline to Interstate 490. If you look to your left and down, you will see The Vesper tucked in the corner of the Capron Lofts building.
The Vesper opened in 2016, so it will hit its 10-year anniversary this year. It defines itself a gastropub – something between a casual restaurant and fine dining.
Over the years, it has become known for cocktails, burgers and oysters, which isn’t necessarily what owner Joe Frocchi originally intended. “You have ideas of what you want to be, but the public is going to tell you who you are,” he said.
Frocchi, who was a longtime bartender before he opened The Vesper, presents its cocktail menu in an approachable, tongue-in-cheek manner. “It’s that way on purpose,” he said. “I don’t want people to be intimidated or feel like they are taking a test when they read the menu.”
While the cocktail menu changes seasonally, a customer favorite since day one has been The Gilroy. The concoction of Aperol, elderflower, lemon and vodka, it ends up having a grapefruit flavor, even though it doesn’t have any grapefruit in it. Another popular libation is its pickle martini, which is a dirty martini made with a splash of brine from its housemade pickles instead of the usual olive juice. “Even if it’s not on the menu, we’re making them anyway,” Frocchi said.
Its bestselling burger is 10-ounce beef patty topped with a bacon, onion and tomato marmalade; smoked gouda cheese; and garlic aioli on toasted brioche. The menu changes seasonally but you’ll always find wings, charcuterie, salads, seafood dishes (large and small) and entrees. Frocchi boils it down to “high quality stuff in a place that feels cozy and neighborhoody.”
Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays bring $1.75 oysters at happy hour, and Thursday is the ever-popular dollar oyster night. Oysters are fresh cold water oysters sourced through the Boston Seafood Market.
The Vesper is a short walk from Geva Theater, so its patrons, as well as the cast and crew of the shows, have become a big part of its business. “A lot of our regulars are Geva season ticket holders,” Frocchi said.
Go: 1 Capron St. downtown. (585) 454-1996, rocthevesper.com. It is open for dinner Monday through Saturday.
Maria’s Mexican Restaurant
Maria’s Authentic Mexican Restaurant is housed in the basement of a former church school, with the entrance facing away from West Main Street in the village of Webster. Once inside, you’ll find a colorful, festive restaurant that’s accented with Mexican tchotchkes.
Maria’s has been going strong in that location since 1980, so they are clearly doing something right.
One major attraction is its margaritas, made from a family recipe. There are many options — made with or without salt or sugar, spiked with your choice of tequila and prepared in various flavors including strawberry and pomegranate. You can even order a flight of three mini margaritas.
The scratch-made menu is straightforward Mexican-American fare: tacos, enchiladas, nachos, burritos, fajitas and so on. Menu highlights include hand pressed flour tortillas; crispy, warm house made tortilla chips; and homemade guacamole.
Go: 75 W. Main St. in Webster. (585) 872-1237, mariasmexican.com. It is open for lunch from Wednesday to Friday and for dinner from Wednesday through Saturday.
Food and drink reporter Tracy Schuhmacher is researching these topics for upcoming articles: romantic restaurants, nostalgic restaurants and brunch restaurants. Want to nominate a Rochester-area restaurant in these categories? Email her at tracys@gannett.com. Be sure to tell her about your favorite thing to order there and anything else that makes it special.
This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: 6 hidden gem restaurants and bars worth finding around Rochester. See the list
Reporting by Tracy Schuhmacher, Rochester Democrat and Chronicle / Rochester Democrat and Chronicle
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