Six of us went on a Saturday, early evening and the dinner was excellent…read more Waitress was attentive and helpful. Bar service was slow & a bit erratic. I had a specialty cocktail: Owasco Bloom - a delightful and tasty replica of a HAB. Lots of room at the bar, and the tables are well spaced. This brand new (6/25) place has a lot going for it, and are serving breakfast, lunch, and dinner, hoping to capture the local and Owasco Lake clientele. I'll be back for sure.

Went to Rowan's today for lunch. Arrived at 12:20 pm. The waitress came over and took our drink…read moreorders. 1 drink was a soda that was flat. She did replace the soda upon request. We were a party of 4 and ordered 2 Reuben's and 2 beef on weck, with a side of chips on all 4. Our order was served to us at 1:10 pm, 50 minutes after placing it! The 2 beef on weck were served on hamburger buns, more like beef on wreck! When I commented that that wasn't a weck, waitress said yes she knew, they ran out of weck. But she never told us that, as I may have changed my order. The weck is what makes that particular sandwich! I could be a little more forgiving , but for that order I think 50 minutes is a bit much.BTW there were only 3 other diners in at this time . I feel she could have offered us a bowl of chips or something during this timeframe. She came over to the table twice to say our order should be coming out soon. Third time she came out to say 3 orders were ready and the cook was working on the last one! These were sandwiches!!!! Not a pleasant experience to say the least. Waitress kept saying she needed help, there were 2 people seated when we arrived and 1 person came in after we arrived. Not exactly a lunch rush. Been there, won't be going back.

Second time, equally good! Our waiter was outstanding. He…read moregladly brought us all the spices (including Seven Star dried chili peppers). Unfortunately there is no more scratch off. Doesn't prevent us from coming back, though!

Love this new little restaurant! Great service, nice atmosphere, clean and well run…read more I ordered the chicken ramen bowl (Shoyu) and it was delicious!

Strange Brew Cafe is a decent local option for a caffeine fix and casual breakfast/lunch in the…read moreheart of downtown Binghamton. The interiors are tastefully decorated with funky wall art and pictures of celebrities sipping caffeinated beverages, with a playlist of popular songs from the 90s for music. They have a very small patio area out front and a couple tables inside, and seem to do a lot of grab-and-go takeout business. The staff I encountered were all very friendly, and menu prices somewhat reasonable. Since it was breakfast time, we went with a bagel (with cream cheese) and egg & cheese sandwich for food, and a mocha and cappuccino for drinks. All were of decent quality, so I'd rate them an overall 4.5 out of 5, and am happy to round up due to the nice interiors, friendly service, and cool, local vibes. The egg & cheese sandwich was prepared with a tasty bread that they said was made in-house. If you find yourself in downtown Binghamton looking for a local spot that's a good alternative to chains like Panera or Starbucks, I recommend a visit to Strange Brew Cafe.

Nice little café with seating indoors and out. Quick service. But everything seems so healthy…read more Gluten free, fat free, sugar free; I like muffins from the pre-healthy era. But that's just me. My kids loved it.

For the area, this is one of the best spots for pho. A little pricey but the ambiance and the staff…read moreare wonderful.

Stopped in to get a bowL of HOT PHO... My husband ordered the Pho Tai (rare beef- on the side) also…read moreordered eggrolls. Eggrolls came out hot and crisp. The Pho on the other hand did not come out hot AT ALL. It came out room temperature- wasn't even able to cook the rare beef in the soup- nor the bean sprouts. The pho soup itself did NOT taste like pho. ANY other restaurant food ALWAYS comes out hot and steamy. We asked if they could heat it up- which they did in the microwave... brought it back.. and it was the same. Still freaking cold. 8 hr drive and wanted a good hot steaming bowl of pho.. flavor wasn't there... temperature wasn't there. For a Pho place to be called Pho-nomenal it was definitely NOT Phonomenal. Hell the beer was even room temperature. Very disappointing.... I REALLY wish we hadn't stopped here. ‍ Came in hungry, leaving hungry. Didn't even finish the pho cause it was NOT good, freaking cold.. Helloooo pho should always be served steaming hot! Or at least HOT. Broth needs work as well- no flavor what so ever. Eugh soo disappointing.

Horrible place serving entree with hair in it. When they offered to redo the order, they just…read moreheated the remaining pork to burnt and served it again. What's the meaning of redoing? It was in fresh plate, yes. Not sure if it was clean.

The most authentic Vietnamese restaurant in town. It's a little pricey then most places but the…read morefood is great! They have so many varieties of spring rolls. The one we got was delicious. The pho is also amazing!

First time customer and I needed it delivered. I was bracing for a problem but there were none…read more The phone call went nice and smooth. And the food was just as I expected, delicious!

Ordered sesame chicken and fried rice. It was so nasty. The chicken tasted like tofu. It was soft…read moreand mushy, not crispy like at other Chinese restaurants. The sauce was sweet like sugar. The rice was yellow, firm and unappetizing. No fortune cookies. No napkins. No sauces. I ate a few bites then threw it in the trash. The lady behind the counter completely ignored me while she chatted on the phone. I stood for several minutes while she finished her call. There's no dedicated counter, so you're left guessing as to where to place the order. At least the tables and chairs were clean. Won't return again.

That was a treat! After MANY attempts (often derailed by my own schedule) finally made it to…read moreDowntown for dinner. As luck would have it, it was Binghamton Restaurant Week and we attempted a walk in - first available was three+ hours later - but the hostess mentioned we could get the RW menu at the bar and two seats were calling. Lots of choices on the menu but friend and I ended up having the same meal! Cup of Cauliflower, potato and leek soup to start was yummy - very comforting, not too thick, good flavor - I could have stopped here! But fortunately did not! Main was spectacular! Salmon with everything bagel spices served over pearl couscous in a risotto style was inspired (honestly, I will try this at home)! I hope this is a menu regular because I will crave this for many more meals! Add a black Manhattan and this meal is a treat! (Took the dessert course to go - blueberry cronuts were better than chocolate but both likely suffered a wee bit from loss of ambiance and slight steaming that occurred on drive - good for sure but did not compare to the rest of the meal). Shout out to Tommy F for exceptional service - attentive but not intrusive. Ambiance is lovely (the lighting dimmed as we sat - hysterical) but we also scored the most comfortable seats in the house (I hate a high top stool with no back and no padding on the seat - those stools look nice but should go away). Also love the hook under the bar.

Our family loves the Downtown By Chef Jay vibe. We came to celebrate a bday…read more 5 stars for food, loved everything. 3 stars for service. I think it was Lauren, she was nice enough but did not go above and beyond for her customers. She did not want to move us to a more comfortable table, despite our requesting multiple times and the place was literally empty. Finally she was able to make it happen but it was already unpleasant. She was good with bringing us hot waters with lemon as requested, but there was zero proactiveness to refill the hot water or any of the iced water. It was like us going out and trying to please the waitstaff. She did make a good suggestion for the lavender gimlet cocktail. Overall disappointing.

This spot has long been on my list of places to eat in Binghamton. Was in the area with some…read morefriends, so we stopped in for lunch. We came towards the end of the lunch rush (1-2PM?) and were seated immediately. The ambiance is hip and buzzy, with lots of colorful decor. The menu had some very tempting options, even for vegetarians. We started with the buffalo brussel sprouts, a stroke of genius. I'd never thought about dousing this tasty veggie in hot sauce and blue cheese, but it makes sense. This was a very tasty app, and the sprouts were roasted perfectly with crispy outer skins which provided the crunch needed for a good buffalo dish. The special that day was some kind of french dip sandwich which one of my dining companions got. Another one got a cajun catfish sandwich and graciously offered me a bite. It was flavorful. For my main, I got the spring roll bowl and decided to add tofu. It had noodles, peanuts, a sweet thai chili sauce, and lots of veggies. It was MASSIVE. Prices are a little high but the portions definitely made it worth it. I could have taken half home as leftovers if I'd wanted. The restaurant also has a coffee bar which we decided last minute to partake in instead of venturing out into the rain to find a different cafe. This was such a convenient option because we didn't have to fight to find parking or brave the weather to go to a second location. I did a pistachio latte. Someone else at my table got a Mexican hot chocolate. I treated myself to the homemade whipped cream. The coffee hit the spot. Throughout the whole experience the staff was wonderful. Our food came out quickly, and the servers were very friendly and joking with us. I'd come back if I was in the area.

Ordered: Buffalo Brussels Sprouts (~$10): flash fried with…read moreblue cheese dipping sauce Large Rigatoni a la Vodka (~$17) with 3 Meatballs (+$6) and Side Caesar Salad (+$3): garlic and tomatoes with cream, fresh basil, and cheese Aya's take: We were on a road trip driving through Binghamton and decided to stop by for dinner. It was around 5:30pm on a Saturday and luckily there were plenty of tables still available. We started with the Buffalo Brussels Sprouts which I absolutely loved! These are some of the best Brussels sprouts I've had at a restaurant. The buffalo sauce was light and not overpowering and even the blue cheese dipping sauce (which I'm usually not a fan of) was pretty mild and paired well with the Brussels sprouts. A great start! We then shared the Large Rigatoni a la Vodka and added Meatballs to it. The Large is definitely enough for 2 people. The Rigatoni was cooked well and the vodka sauce was well balanced with the cream, tomatoes, garlic, and cheese. It wasn't anything spectacular but it hit the spot! My only complaint was for ~$6, I expected the meatballs to be larger than they were. The Meatballs had good flavor but for such a large bowl of pasta, it barely makes a difference. And those 3 meatballs should be $1 each at most, in my opinion. The Side Caesar Salad was a great pair with the pasta and for ~$3, very reasonably priced. All in all, worth stopping by if you're in town!