Dinosaur Bar-B-Que is quite possibly our favorite restaurant in Rochester. We absolutely love the huge array of barbecue favorites that you can get here. The Tres-Hombres Platter is the best thing in our opinion, coming with huge portions of pulled pork, ribs, and mouth watering brisket! Mmm mmm mm. Ribs that are dry and too chewy are a pet peeve of ours, and we're happy to report that they're always moist and fall-off-the-bone good here! To go along with your barbecued meats we'd very highly recommend the fried green tomatoes. That's a treat that goes so well with anything on the menu. They also have live music here if you come in at the right time, and we have always enjoyed that. You can't beat the downtown location, and though they're always packed, the service is always top notch!
99 Ct St
Rochester, NY 14604
(585) 325-7090

Dogtown is an awesome gourmet hot dog shop where you can really relax and enjoy yourself with your friends. We just love coming in with a group of people and scarfing down some of those famous dogs. The garbage plate is also a favorite among our friends and seemingly everyone who goes here. It's a great spot to go when it's late and no place else is open too.... this is one of those places that you can rely on when the rest of the world seems to be closed down for the night. If you're a vegetarian or you've got a vegetarian in your group, they've got veggie dogs for you or them to enjoy. The toppings are so varied that you can really craft the hot dog of your dreams here. Freshly baked rolls too! We really think you'll love this place just as much as we do, so check it out asap!
691 Monroe Avenue
Rochester, NY 14607
(585) 271-6620

SEA Restaurant offers an array of Asian delights of the fusion variety, merging Vietnamese and Thai food with a flair that we have rarely seen elsewhere. The reviews of this restaurant are nearly all four or five stars, and there's no question why that's the case. If you love spring rolls and fried squid, you will really fall in love with theirs! They are both so delicious. The pho special is also really out of this world, much darker and richer than yo u will find at other similar restaurants. They're very quick with their service here too, and we're always so pleased with the friendly servers who work here. It's true that this place is nearly always packed, but that's because people love it so much! You may find yourself having to wait for a table, but the wait won't be long and it will certainly be worth it.
741 Monroe Ave
Rochester, NY 14607
(585) 473-8031

King and I is a beloved Thai restaurant that our friends have recommended to us for years and we just recently got around to giving it a try. We're glad we did! They have some really amazing dishes here with unusual names, like the Evil Jungle Prince! Very good if you enjoy your dishes hot and spicy. If you're a lover of tofu, we'd very highly recommend the Sesame Tofu or the Tofu Chuchee. They are both really delicious. To go with your meal, you'll need a nice cold refreshing drink, and we would choose the mango fruit smoothie if we were you! It pairs so well with almost any item on the menu, and definitely helps to cool down some of that heat! Whew! Speaking of heat, if you're craving a really good hot soup, try the Tom Yum Kai, and for dessert, don't skip the sticky rice. Mmm!
1455 E Henrietta Rd
Rochester, NY 14623
(585) 427-8090

Good Luck Restaurant sounds like a Chinese restaurant, doesn't it? But it's not! It's a little gem of an American restaurant where you can come enjoy a really fantastic meal as well as some good drinks. When you are looking for one of the most consistently highly rated restaurants in Rochester to hang out with your friends or coworkers after work, this is the one that we would recommend. It's also very romantic and intimate for those dates and special anniversaries. We love the wine and cocktail menu here, though the beer selection is very sparse. They've got wonderful duck here, and if you want something a little more casual, try the hamburgers, they're just perfect. Everything's good here, including the service and the ambiance. Very highly recommended by us!
50 Anderson Ave
Rochester, NY 14607
(585) 340-6161

Next Door Bar & Grill has such a wide variety of tastes for you to enjoy, we simply couldn't leave it off this list. The tapas appetizers are really out of this world, and the thing that really impresses us is that they offer organic, hormone-free, and antibiotic-free ingredients here! That is of course something that increases the quality of the food dramatically. We really love the sushi here, and the hamburgers are a nice choice too, though those seem to be on opposite ends of the spectrum! We love the oysters and calamari here, and they have really delicious crisp salads as well. The rib-eye steak has been a nice choice here several times too. In terms of dessert, the peanut butter trio is just incredible, as is the creme brulee sampler! Both so creamy and just ingeniously prepared. Can't miss this place!
3220 Monroe Ave
Rochester, NY 14618
(585) 249-4575

Shiki is the perfect place if you are looking for a sushi bar in Rochester. We've been here so many times over the years and the quality is so consistently high. Many have said that this is the very best sashimi in Rochester, and we would definitely vouch for that fact. They also have some of the best eel that we have ever tasted! We're huge fans of the Philadelphia roll and this is one of the most mouth watering ones that we have ever had. Wonderful soft shell crab too, and you can't go wrong with a chicken teriyaki (or beef teriyaki) lunch box either. The service is excellent here and the ambiance leaves nothing to be desired. It's true that the prices are considerably higher here than at other sushi restaurants in the area, but it's on par with the quality. Don't let that put you off. It's worth it.
1054 Clinton Ave S
Rochester, NY 14620
(585) 271-2090

Lento Restaurant is one of the most unique restaurants that we've been to in Rochester, in part because their menu changes every single day. Because of that we'll skip the details on the meals we've had here, but we'll just tell you that it's always freshly prepared and so tasty! All homemade, local, and organic. Truly some of the best food you can obtain in the area, without a doubt. We love sinking into the comfortable seating here and enjoying the warm lighting while we taste all those wonderful Lento flavors. Vegeterians have a LOT of options here, and they're not the same old thing that you find everywhere else. Most of the dishes here start at twenty dollars, so if you're looking for a cheap meal, this isn't it. But high quality and completely irresistible? Yes, this is the one. Don't miss it.
274 N Goodman St
Rochester, NY 14607
(585) 271-3470

Cafe Cibon is a lovely little coffee and tea spot with some of the best ambiance we have found in Rochester. We love the dark wood and the deep warm shades of the walls that make you want to settle in and stay a while. We especially love coming in for that delicious flatbread pizza, and we definitely recommend that you order the sausage on the pizza because it is really wonderful. They have a nice selection of wines here, making it perfect for that special date. There's no rush here, and that's one of the things that we love so much. You can just hang out and relax and enjoy yourself. That's rare to find nowadays, so we really cherish it when we're lucky enough to fin dit. Conveniently located on Park Avenue too! There are so many good things about Cafe Cibon. Don't skip this one!
688 Park Ave
Rochester, NY 14607
(585) 461-2960

Restaurant 2 Vine is a wonderful high-end brasserie where you'll want to relax and stay a while! They've got delicious quiche here, really some of the best that we have ever had. If you think it's been good (or bad!) elsewhere, we challenge you to try the lemon, spinach, and goat cheese quiche and tell us it's not amazing. They serve bouillabaisse on Fridays that is really worth even a long trip. It's so good! Wonderful breast of duck too, and you just can't go wrong with that prime rib. Perfectly prepared. This just may be the most expensive restaurant on this list, but if you're looking at this kind of an upscale restaurant, you probably understand the concept of getting what you pay for! And you get MORE than what you pay for here. It's extremely highly recommended by everyone we know. A+ isn't enough!
24 Winthrop St
Rochester, NY 14607
(585) 454-6020