I stopped eating at Rainforest Cafés many many years ago, last time was probably in the Animal Kingdom area of Disney World in 2007. Mainly because it's predictable, simply grilled or fried, very uninventive, and simply put - A Tourist Trap. While staying at the Sheraton Niagara Falls, I came here with colleagues for drinks before an evening work function and also got their appetizer sample assortment. The service we received at the bar was great! It was friendly and attentive. The drinks were good. The food was very mediocre, it totally reminded me of why I don't visit these joints. Overall - Not bad and I'm giving it 4 stars, even though the food deserves 2 stars, because of the service. read more

Rainforest Cafe - Appetizer Assortment - Cafes Near Me - Niagara Falls, New York

Overstimulating environment and mediocre food, but small children love it! Most of the times I've been to a rainforest cafe were as an adult, but usually it was while I was being a happy little tourist. Being there with little kids was definitely a new perspective because the animals moving all around and periodic special movements (thunder, dark, brief animatronics show) was magic to the little. Also, I was glad they could honor our reservation in spite of being packed. A reservation for a large group is a must! Sevice was great, especially given that we were a large and chaotic group. We were sat right by the elephants, which was a great spot for the kids. The prices are high and the food is so-so, but this is more an experience place. I got the fish and chips. They were generous with the fries, which were plain and a little underdone. The fried fish was ok- but it wasn't as crispy as I expect fish to be. Also, they really oversold the coleslaw on the menu. However, the food was alright and no one I was with disliked their meal. The arcade is chaos. I'll never set foot in there again. Others might like it though! It's just overrun with small and poorly supervised kids. Also, there's only one prize machine and the line for it was super long. Overall, I'd recommend coming here if you have kids five or under. If not, it might not be a strong choice. read more

Rainforest Cafe - Fish N Chips - Cafes Near Me - Niagara Falls, New York

Love rainforest. It's a bit pricey but they have really good strawberry lemonade and the best chicken tenders. The animal show and shop is also fun. Theme restaurants are the best. HAPPY FORESTING! read more

See all

We stopped into the Rainforest Cafe to feed our nostalgia alongside ourselves and to introduce the kid to the experience. The restaurant is filled with on point decor, animatronic animals that periodically make noises and motions, and a thunder/lightning storm that rolls through about every 30 minutes. There is also an aquarium full of live fish. The tables are all on theme, with wild animal designs, and there's a small gift shop that you enter/exit through full of animal-themed goodies. We went with a Jurassic nuggets kids plate with fruit (it was apple slices) and milk - the kids meals come out on cute themed plates too - plus Beyond burgers (comes with Swiss cheese, lettuce, tomato, caramelized onion, boom boom sauce) with fries and pickle spears, and we decided to go all in with a sparkling volcano dessert. The dessert is absolutely massive, as we were warned by the server, but it is a super fun presentation with a real sparkler coming out of a towering chocolate cake/brownie construction surrounded by rock candies, scoops of whipped topping, and scoops of vanilla ice cream. The food is good, with good-sized portions - or massive in the case of the volcano - but the experience is the real draw here. Service was friendly too. read more

See all

Food: Huge portions and overall pretty good! A bit on the pricey side, but definitely filling and satisfying. Service: Service was decent, nothing over the top, but everyone was polite and things came out in a reasonable time. Ambiance: Loved the vibe here! It's the perfect family setting and super photo-worthy. This was my first stop in Canada coming from New York, and it made a great first impression. read more

Rainforest Cafe - Taco Salad - Cafes Near Me - Niagara Falls, New York

See all

heaven on earth is right across the border in niagara falls. what a joyous time we had. the thunderstorms. cha cha. the slightly broken animatronics. it all was such an experience. slightly expensive for burgers but it's okay. very enjoyable. server was a lovely lady. did find a hair in my food but they handled it very kindly. ambiance is to die for read more

Rainforest Cafe - burger - Cafes Near Me - Niagara Falls, New York

See all

This place is a classic, but the food just happens to be very mid. There's nothing quite special about it except for the decor. Service was decent. It's not too bad. read more

To continue my tourist eats I decided to get lunch here after my early morning of seeing the sights. I got back to my hotel and changed and fortunately for me Rainforest Cafe was part of this complex. I ventured through the halls off the lobby and found my way to the entrance of the restaurant. You can also enter from the outside if you are not staying on premise. Waited at the counter as the hostess was on the phone until I could get a seat. I checked out the small store of items for sale and finally was greeted. I was led to a table which sat me right next to the tiger display. I was able to see the elephant display behind me too. I started going over the menu and after a bit I had my selections picked out. Then I just sat there, for quite a minute. That is until the manager came by and saw me sitting there. She asked me whether anyone had been by to see me, not a single soul. She apologized, took my drink order, and my order for the food since I already had that picked out and went on her way. It appears that the hostess that was busy on the phone forgot to tell the server I was sat in her section. Not surprised in the least. I started with the Spinach & Artichoke Dip. That showed up and I picked over it for about ten minutes until my main course came out. I had gone with the Beastly Burger. The description does not do this any favors, it is just bland and not descript in the least. All it says is two patties, American cheese, lettuce, tomato, onion, pickle spear. When I saw two patties, in my mind and experience they come out much like smash patties. Especially when the description does not tell you the size of the patties. When the burger finally came out it was enormous. I knew I was in for it when it came out and I saw the mountain of the burger. I first took down the pickle spear because I did not want to leave that on the plate, and I enjoy pickles. I cut the burger in half in hopes that it would be easier to manage. But because these looked like either quarter pound or half pound patties, it was not easier. I almost had to unhinge my jaw to take a bit out of it. To say it was messy would be an understatement. The addition of lettuce, tomato, and onion didn't do anything for this as they just slide off and bun was basically nonexistent. I tried my best but could not. I ended up picking at it with my fork because I was tired of my hands being covered in grease, cheese, and sauce. This monster definitely did defeat me. Service throughout picked up a bit. My server, after being made aware of my presence was very attentive. Brining me refills and extra drinks and making sure I was all set. The food runners were really good at there jobs, knowing where every table is and basically memorizing the whole menu. As for the tourist trap portion of this place. If you are close enough, and old enough, you can see that the animatronics need some work. Unluck other locations, the mystique of this place is spoiled by the plentiful windows that line the front of the space. Every time the rainstorm ran through the floor you couldn't tell since the sunlight makes it a bit too bright inside to take in the rainforest portion of this restaurant. read more

Rainforest Cafe - Spinach Artichoke Dip - Cafes Near Me - Niagara Falls, New York

See all

Love this place! Really fun atmosphere especially if you're with kids as there's animal animatronics and "thunderstorms" (lighting change and thunder/rain sounds) every half hour or so as well as an aquarium and gift shop. The service was great! Everyone we interacted with was very friendly and the food and drinks came out pretty quickly. The drinks we ordered came with glasses you can keep which is fun! We got the Lava Nachos which came with a big boat of salsa in the middle. Wasn't anything super unique or special but yummy nachos nonetheless! The Carribean Coconut Shrimp were pretty freakin' delicious and I really loved the sweet curry dipping sauce it came with. The slaw and veggies weren't really seasoned which left something to be desired. However, the Creole Mac N Cheese was VERY flavorful, good amount of spice and sauce. It seems the pasta options are all pretty similar. read more

See all

This place is for kids. Reminds you of eating at an amusement park. You're paying for the ambiance, which is well done and fun to look at. Dimly lit with roaring animals. The atmosphere is different and fun with lots to look at. We noticed the tables and menus were sticky. The food is terrible. Definitely felt like it was catered toward children. Their drinks are extremely watered down as well. Prices are high. This is a one and done type of place just to say you've been there. Would I go again? No. Would I recommend it to others? Only if you have small children. read more

I had always wanted to visit the Rainforest Cafe in Chicago back in the day, but never made it. While out of town celebrating my best friend's birthday in Niagara Falls, we decided to finally check it out. Let me just say--this place is really more of a walk-through amusement attraction than a restaurant--and not a good one plastic trees and scenery--you can grill in the backyard for this. The atmosphere is definitely geared toward young kids. The elephants making noise, the fake grass, and jungle setup are cute and entertaining... but I'd say it's best suited for kids under 5. The food was unfortunately not a hit. I ordered a steak medium-well and it came out way more well than medium and absolutely drenched in butter just to make it glisten. Not enjoyable at all. My company ordered fried pickles and said those were good, but both entrées overall were not worth ordering. In hindsight, I should've stuck with a burger. They looked good coming out as others ordered them. The drinks were overly sugary, the food options felt very basic, and honestly kids only really need grilled cheese or chicken fingers here anyway. Parking was a headache, signage wasn't helpful, and navigating the area was more frustrating than it should've been. Now I fully understand why the Chicago location closed. This is definitely a one-time visit, and only if you have small kids. We went with all adults--and that was the mistake----All in all, I'm glad I can say I visited Rainforest Cafe once... and once was enough. read more

Resturant was beautiful, great for kids to enjoy. I had ordered a beastly burger and had added bacon to ir. Burger came out and the bacon was ice cold. I brought my concern to the waiter and asked if anything can be done and he had went to talk to his manager, when he came back he said that the only thing they could do was remove the $4.79 for the bacon that was added onto a $30 burger. If youre to go here, get an appetizer and let the kids look around but dont waste your money om anything else. read more

Rainforest Cafe - Pretty resturant, shitty food. Managers suck. - Cafes Near Me - Niagara Falls, New York

A good place to grab something to eat. It was very close to our hotel which made it an easy choice for lunch. read more

Rainforest Cafe - Lava Beef Nachos - Cafes Near Me - Niagara Falls, New York

Come for the vibes, not really the food. I came here with my family for a weekday lunch and we really enjoyed the atmosphere of the restaurant . We were seated in the "Elephant room" and the animatronic elephants were really cool and the kids loved it. The decor in general is really well done and there's quite a bit to look at. This is what we hoped for from the Rainforest Cafe and they delivered! Unfortunately, lunch was pretty lackluster. It took about 25 min to get our food and while the staff encourages you to walk around and enjoy the sights, this is still a pretty long wait. I ordered a Philly cheesesteak and while I was impressed with the size of it, it was really, really bland. I added some salt, which helped, but I was pretty disappointed with how little seasoning was on it and somehow the beef didn't even taste much like beef. Our waitress was very friendly and attentive, which was great! She checked up on us regularly during our long wait. Overall, I was happy we stopped by. It was a fun experience even though the food was disappointing. read more

Rainforest Cafe - Philly Cheese Steak - Cafes Near Me - Niagara Falls, New York

After reading some of the previous reviews, I really didn't have high hopes for our visit here. Yes, the restaurant is geared toward children with all the animals and large arcade.. But I was pleasantly surprised with the food and service. I ordered the pastalaya. It was a pasta version of jambalaya. It was full of flavor with a nice kick of heat. The restaurant was connected to our hotel, the Sheraton Niagara Falls. Perfect, considering it was a rainy day. 2024-33 read more

See all

This is a good theme restaurant for people to bring their kids. Food and service were average. The main attractions are the jungle theme and jungle sounds. Not my kind of restaurant so I probably won't be going back. read more

In Buffalo, NY, The attendants who showed me to our seat was very pleasant. once to the table, the waitress was very cold. She didn't even provide her name or greet us. The waitress had poor customer service toward us; however, she was very pleasant to our customers. read more

We came here for dinner, and it was an amazing experience! The animals move and make sounds, and the fish tank looks like it's straight out of Finding Nemo! The drinks were delicious, and you can take their signature glasses home with you (great souvenir). The food was so good we were chowing down, and the portions were so big that we packed it to go because we just couldn't finish no matter how hard we tried. I love this place! read more

See all

Service was so slow and the restaurant was not very busy. The ambiance is cool for kids but the food is not quality and the prices were too high. read more

The kids loved the atmosphere and were able to walk around and see the other animals etc. The food was absolutely not worth the money- $12 for Kraft Mac & cheese for the kids. read more

Rainforest Cafe - Cafes Near Me - Niagara Falls, New York

See all

The food was not good. They were out of chicken. The rice was slimy. The chocolate brownie tasted tangy. The service was unbelievably slow. It's ridiculously overpriced. 2 meals, 2 non-alcoholic drinks, 1 dessert was $150. The elephants were cool. Don't go here. Half star, do not recommend. read more

Great place to go with kids. Service was great, all the staff there that we came in contact with was great with kids & families in general. The food was mediocre and there was not much for my vegetarian husband unfortunately to pick from. My son loved the fish tank & moving animals. The elephants were so life like. read more

Rainforest Cafe - Nonalcoholic Drinks in souvenir glasses. - Cafes Near Me - Niagara Falls, New York

See all

The atmosphere here is amazing. It's cool walking around and seeing all the different animal displays they have in the restaurant. Service was decent, waitress was very nice. The food was just okay, not really worth what you payed for it. $70 for 2 people to go for lunch is kinda insane. I'd possibly go back if in the area again but there are definitely better places for cheaper. I feel like everyone has to experience it at least once. read more

The service was good & atmosphere was fun, but food was very below average. I didn't expect 4-star dining experience but was surprised at the quality of the food. We were hungry and wanted to check it out, but the food was disappointing. I had a Ceasar salad. The lettuce texture was off. Maybe it was it was old? There was no taste or crunch. I did like the Cesar salad dressing. My boyfriend had a burger was bland even with BBQ sauce. The French fries tasted old even with ketchup. I ordered the rasta pasta dish because I have had it before at other restaurants, it was different here. It was ok. For the amount of money, you pay to dine here, the quality of food should have been better. read more

This place was an absolutely a dream! After about an hour wait (worth it). From the lady who called to let me know the table was ready to the amazing waitress (Alisha, I believe). This was a place I would definitely return to!! Food came out piping hot! We got the appetizer platter, came out quickly and food was super tasty. When we asked for extra ranch it was not a bother to Alisha at all! She was very busy with the MEPS people coming for inprocessing and a few more tables in the min dining room and she was hustling! Our orders came out perfect! My daughter was not fond of the food she ordered and she asked if she could make her something different. She gave super recommendations and very attentive to refills and I ordered a beverage that came with a glass. This was packaged to go. This was a fabulous experience for my children's first experience to Rainforest Cafe. I believe they will be back and so will we. See pics of the animals attached. read more

See all

Beware of this establishment!!!!!!!!!! The waitress named NEV was so deceptive and a lowkey swindler - she will charge you extra on all the optional sides and make you think it's included and throw in things you never even ordered without any remorse. What a complete joke!! I went back to let them know what the waitress had done hoping they would understand but that was useless. The manager Bruno, if that's his real name, is absolutely incompetent and couldn't rectify the situation to save his life; he simply said "there's nothing I can do" multiple times. We finally settled on a stupid piece of pie from this hellhole (that we already were charged for and NEVER ordered!) ONLY AFTER WE suggested it since we weren't getting anyyywhere - no refund of what was overpaid, no comp, no alternative solution, no apology for being cheated, nothing. Hope this place closes down - please save yourself the disappointment and go somewhere else where you won't get cheated. Never going back again. read more

My husband and I came here strictly for our almost 2 year old, in hopes he would love it. We had low expectations for the food, just wanting our little boy to enjoy. We ended up being completely blown away. The service was top notch. Ask for Jemma - she is lovely and wonderful and the epitome of great service. We were seated right by the gorilla's in the back and though our son would enjoy but they ended up scaring him so much he started to cry...we asked if we could move when she came to the table and she didn't even bat an eye and put us neat the giraffe in view of the elephants which was a HUGE win with our kid. Then when we asked for an extra straw and lid (he chewed through the paper straw and ruined the plastic kids lid) she gave us extras in case it happened again. She also made some great recommendations AND got my son a really cute in theme plastic plate when we were concerned over giving him a real plate! Food: Let me just start by saying that we ordered my son pasta (penne) with marinara sauce and meatballs and it was the first time it was so good we regretted not getting it too and I wish I was kidding. We definitely stole some of his! My husband had the shrimp tacos and really enjoyed. I had the ribs and I'm a huge foodie and judge meat very critically. This was so juicy and flavorful - not just the sauce, but the meat itself. We also ordered a side of Caesar salad to share - the croutons were nice and crisp, and the lettuce was nice and cold. It didn't have way too much dressing to overpower it. That being said, if you like salad with tons of dressing, just ask for more. In our case, it was perfect. We were so happy we even made it a point to tell a manager how surprisingly wonderful our experience was and we've never met a restaurant manager who so genuinely appreciated the good word. She even offered to help us with restaurant choices for the rest of our stay in Niagara Falls. We took her up on it and she came though!!! Can't wait to check those other places out and shout out to the manager, Jacquie (hoping I spelled it right!) For being so so wonderful along with Jemma. GREAT OVERALL EXPERIENCE!!!!! PS if your kids love fish and underwater creatures as much as mine, they have a wonderful aquarium inside - it even has a giant eel!!!! Not sure when we'll get to vacation at Niagara Falls again, but whenever it is we will definitely be back here!!! read more

See all

Service was terrible and the food was mediocre. With a party of 6 my meal was 10-15 minutes later than the rest of the party. I ordered pasta and it was mediocre at best. The meal comes with bread but not mine. The waitress was scarce. The ambiance was awesome but bring a flashlight to read the menu. It's fairly dark. read more

The food was pretty terrible. You just go there for the vibes. I was shocked that they had no blended alcoholic drinks. That's quite weird.

The service was slow. The food was ok - better than similar restaurants like Applebees. There are very limited food options in this area.

Highly recommended....if you enjoy terrible service and overpriced food (with a surprise "licensing fee" tacked on). Food quality was fine for what it is, but double-check your bill -- we were charged for something we didn't even order. Yelp has it at 2.5 stars, and now I know why. read more

With the limited number of options in the area (especially those that are open late), we ended up at Rainforest Cafe. Expect a wait. We had walked in earlier in the evening and the wait was 45 minutes, when we came back later (after 8pm) it was only 20 minutes. My husband had never been to a Rainforest Cafe, so was intrigued by the concept. The Chain does offer fun and interesting restaurants, but this one located inside the Sheraton Hotel was definitely smaller. The food quality here was pretty bad and a bit overpriced, but its sort of tourist trap in the Niagara area. We ordered the Pastalaya (pasta with shrimp, chicken, and sausage in a spicy cajun sauce) and the Portobello Wrap. Overall bad to mediocre food. The broccoli that accompanied my wrap was the most worst, soggiest, and bland tasting broccoli I've ever had. If there are other options available, this restaurant should simply be a hard pass. read more

Rainforest Cafe - Portabella Wrap - Cafes Near Me - Niagara Falls, New York

See all

Came here for dinner from the Seneca. I got the rasta pasta and it was exactly what i wanted it was really good! my mom got the shrimp sampler thing and her steak was more cooked than she wanted but other than that it was a good experience. the thunderstorms were fun, we sat near the elephants and it did get annoying how frequently they made sounds. service was normal, our server was friendly which is all i really care about. all the negative reviews here dont really make sense to me! read more

I can usually find the positive thing to write about, but this time it was not easy to find. The service was slow and the food was terrible. Wouldn't eat here again. Needs an overhaul read more

Rainforest Cafe - Table view - Cafes Near Me - Niagara Falls, New York

Great food, the ambiance was cool and China, our waitress, was attentive, personable and friendly!

This review does not reflect the restaurant but the attached arcade. After purchasing 2 game cards, it was apparent that NONE of the machines were working. Several comments to staff were ignored until after repeatedly asking for a manager and many other customers complaining, the arcade was shut down. Management said they were not responsible for the arcade, however, it is attached to the restaurant and she was responsible for calling the service/repair company for the arcade. If you visit this location, please be aware that these machines go down quite frequently as the manager admitted, yet they will not refund any money. As this is a tourist location, it is unlikely that people could come back another day to use the cards. read more

Went to Rainforest with my kiddo, after an event at the NF Convention Center, with a hockey competition nearby, and the night before a Bills playoff game. I was pretty impressed with how quickly they kept tables available, without anyone being rushed. For a national chain, the food was actually pretty decent. I got a portobello wrap, and onion rings, on the recommendation their rings were very tasty. The rings were incredibly uninteresting, but the wrap was surprisingly tasty. My child got pasta with Alfredo sauce. Also, surprisingly decent. A little pricy, but in-line for a touristy destination. Ambiance was kind of funny... they had the standard set-up, but the tigers by our station looked 40-year old carnival stuffed animals, and never cleaned. There was no animatronics to it, just audio of growling and raining. It was definitely a nice experience, but I think that was more about my kid enjoying it, and the food being surprisingly good enough. read more

See all

Less lavish than your typical rainforest cafe but still worth a visit, especially for the completest.

For our anniversary we went to Niagara Falls NY. We like steakhouses so months ago my wife made a reservation at The Western Door which is inside the Seneca Casino. We didn't eat there due a poor experience - a review was posted on this site about that restaurant. But we're here to talk about the Rainforest Cafe... So we walked across the street and went to the Rainforest Cafe inside the Sheraton Hotel. It was very busy at 6pm and we were initially told it would be about 15 minutes to be seated. We don't mind waiting as it means the restaurant is busy and the food is fresh. My wife asked for a small table for two near the bar if possible. The hostess said she would check and within 5 minutes we were seated at the best viewing table to watch the "animals" come alive. Great hospitality from the start, that's a good sign. Our waiter arrived shortly. He was very polite and knew the menu well while taking our orders. We had a couple of drinks and my wife had the Pastalaya seafood linguine and I had the BBQ Bacon Cheeseburger. One great thing about American dining is they cook burgers to your liking so I asked for it medium and my burger was perfectly cooked and tasty. The onion ring and lettuce were crisp, the BBQ sauce tangy and flavorful but not spicy hot, just a little zip to it. I had a side of red skin mashed potatoes which was also perfectly done with a nice buttery taste. My wife reported that her Pastalaya was really good with plenty of shrimp and chicken. The portions were large enough and we were both full when done, in fact my wife took some home. Overall the food is typical cafe/pub fare but tasty and well prepared. During our visit the "animals" came alive several times with artificial thunderstorms and lots of growling and roars from the tigers and elephants. It's a noisy atmosphere so don't expect a quiet lunch or dinner. But it's a fun experience and the food and service were both very good. This is the kind of service we like to see. Kudos to the staff at the Rainforest Cafe. We'll gladly recommend this location, especially for children. read more

See all

Came on a Wednesday at 4:30, there was a bit of a wait (1.5 hr). Resturant was extremely busy but staff were very friendly and professional. The resturant itself is very entertaining, my girls enjoyed the "thunderstorms". Once seated our waitress was AMAZING! Wish I could remember her name. Food arrived from kitchen fast & piping hot! Spinach Dip, Mozzarella Sticks and Tenders on platter were delicious. Cheese steak was a bit dry, but nothing some steak sauce and a Lil mayo couldn't fix. My husband and children also enjoyed their meals as well. My husband ordered the coconut shrimp, for the price we felt there should have been a larger portion, but the meal was tasty nonetheless. This resturant can get a bit pricey, but considering the location it's expected. Will definitely dine again when in the area, hopefully no huge wait times next time around. read more

See all