I absolutely love this place. It is stepping back in time to another era. I even loved the fact that they would only take cash until recently. This was a mafia hangout back in the day, though I suspect most Italian restaurants on the West Side were mafia hangouts back in the day. The food here is simple and delicious. If you find a place that makes better Italian wedding soup, then tell be where, because I've never had it. There is zero pretension in a place like this, it is exactly what it looks like. I would take anyone coming in from out of town to Santasiero's just to give them a real taste of Buffalos working class past. The service is a 70 year old woman with a pen stuck in her ear, I love it! read more

This restaurant still offers the trafitional delicacies to a customer who stopped inon a frigid night! Pasta Fasoola is creamy, spicy and filling on a cold winter's night. The accompanying hot peppers and roll with butter finishes off this dish with a big Mwah!!! My date date ordered the pasta and peas, which were made fresh today! The price can't be beat and take out is generally ready in ten minutes...(cash only). Try this again and again and again! read more

If this place goes out of business it's their own fault! I get it that there's a labor shortage but that is not an excuse for poor quality and awful service. Go to a SIMPLE menu because this tiny dining room running out of everything isn't going to cut it. I'm so disappointed that this place has come to this! read more

This place reminds me of the local NYC pizza shop with the huge portions of pasta, homemade meatballs, incredible sandwiches, etc...I started off with their side salad which I thought was excellent; just loved their Italian dressing. Then the cheese loaded garlic bread showed up...OMG. Absolutely fat free...yeah right! I was in heaven! Then our entrees showed up...like we didn't have enough already. My buddy ordered the meatball sandwich and I ordered the eggplant parm. Both dishes were enormous and both were delicious. I'd also highly recommend the Pasta Fasoola and any of their parm sandwiches...everything looked great. This is far from the best Italian food I've had but for the price and the portion size, it's hard to beat. This is the kind of restaurant you'd see on Diners, Drive-ins and Dives...I was waiting for Guy to walk out of the kitchen. You definitely get your money's worth at this place. read more

Santasiero's Restaurant - Italian Near Me - Buffalo, New York

Amazing food; especially the pasta! The service is just as good as the food, with a family friendly atmosphere. Generous portions for the price; 100% reccomend if you're in the area! read more

Home style Italian food from a neighborhood institution. It ain't fancy, but it is really good.

Used to be my favorite Italian restaurant. Not at all like we remember. Steer clear. Bad service. Bad vibe. Bad food. Bad restrooms.

Went for dinner tonight, the place had two other people in there. We got seated and had dinner. When we got the check there was a 15% charge because we did not have a reservation. We were not told this when we were seated, no signage either. We never heard of a policy like that anywhere. Avoid going here, we have gone there for 50 years but never again, just crazy. No wonder the place was empty. read more

A casual place for serious Italian food. They have gluten free options. I lived in Buffalo for 18 years without stepping foot in Santasiero's. I had no clue what I was missing. Visiting Santasiero's is like traveling back in time. It's like going to your grandma's house for dinner. If you weren't lucky enough to have an Italian grandmother, then Santasiero's is a good substitute. My parents discovered Santasiero's three years ago. Whenever I am back in Buffalo, a trip here is considered a rite of passage. The food is outstanding and the ambiance is that of an old-time Italian joint. If you want to impress a date, have a casual night out, or enjoy a good "gravy" with the family, then this place is for you. read more

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I went for dinner at my favorite Italian restaurant "Santasiero's" during my recent visit to my hometown. Never a disappointment!! Same Great Food & service! The portions are so generous, I had lunch the following day with what was left for dinner! Thank you Santasiero's for another great dinning experience! read more

My family loves to go here for Italian food.Best in Buffalo. Eggplant is to die for , spaghetti and meatballs are fantastic!!!! Pasta fazool, out of this world. read more

Santasiero's Restaurant - Grandma DeeDee & Harry spaghetti & Meatballs - Italian Near Me - Buffalo, New York

Fantastic Mushroom sause had lunch there today It was outstanding. Buffalo Burch Beer. The spaghetti and meatballs are to die for. I will return. read more

Laid back Italian restaurant with little laminated cards as their menu. Fresh Italian bread comes right to your table. Good prices and options to order side, half-portion or full portion on several items. I chose half-portion eggplant parm that was really the size of a normal full portion elsewhere. Pasta sauce was really good. Half sizes don't come with sides so I ordered a house salad. It was the only item on the menu that I thought was too costly for what you get. $4.30 for a small bowl of salad. With that said, the dressing was great and I would have been willing to eat 20 salads just to have more. We ordered sides of spaghetti for each child and the portion was really large. read more

I haven't visited this restaurant in a while so I forgot what wonderful food they had. We ate in (we had a reservation). The food was hot and very tasty. The staff was cordial and friendly. It was nice to meet the owner, John. He told us about the history of the restaurant and his family - such a nice night eating comfort food. Such a great experience! read more

Best Italian food...... miss eating there but soon I will make a reservation.... I let my family and friends to go eat at santasiero

A go to when I'm craving comfort food. Three and a half stars in my book. Santasiero's is one of those old fashioned, family restaurants. It's the opposite of fancy. The decor hasn't changed in ages. Nor has the menu. You won't find fancy Italian food here, or trendy pasta shapes. You get classic Italian American pasta dishes and some soups. The garlic bread pretty much makes me laugh and I'm always sad I've ordered it but it's part of the charm of eating here. The servings are good sized. The price isn't bad. I get the same thing every time because, like I said, I come here when I'm craving comfort food. My partner always chooses between two favourites. (We usually do take out.) We'll keep coming here for simple, low key meals in autumn and winter because like I said: comfort food. read more

Can never appreciate old school enough !!!!! That sauce is amazing. Eggplant dish was great

Man, everything we had here was legit. Super unique, cozy, home atmosphere. Cheese everywhere! We had the chicken Parmesan and spaghetti with meatballs. Just delicious. Our server, Andrew did a great job. CASH ONLY. My highest recommendation for homestyle Italian food. read more

Santasiero's Restaurant - Cheese Garlic Bread with Cheese - Italian Near Me - Buffalo, New York

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Got the whole chicken parmigiana and it was huge and so good. Family got meatballs and spaghetti which they also liked. Reservation only to eat here. read more

Quality Italian food in a family setting. Need to have a reservation. Service was quick. Food took a bit to arrive.

We haven't been in a few years because it had lost something over the years. We stopped in last Friday for a fast dinner and we were delighted with the meal, the service and the cozy, simple atmosphere. Sauce was fabulous. Meatballs a were as succulent as ever. Jenny was our server and she was awesome! Friendly, attentive and just fun. We will be regulars now and are buying sauce and meatballs to serve during the holidays! Just fantastic! read more

Gave it another try tonight. No improvement. The red sauce tasted scorched. Whatever hint of old fashioned ambiance they had is long gone . There wasn't a soul dining in. All I saw were people getting take out . Oh, and the menu prices listed on Yelp are WAY out of date read more

Really good Italian. From what I heard, a lot is homemade. It's sometimes hit or miss though. But always still good. My last meal (clams linguine) was super delicious! My boyfriend always loves the stuffed shells from here too. Oh and they have killer cheesy garlic bread. read more

One of Buffalo's most iconic, laid-back Italian restaurants. The pasta fagioli (pictured) is out of this world. Great lunch spot with quick service. Just remember to bring cash - the restaurant doesn't accept card! read more

Santasiero's Restaurant - Pasta Fasoola - Italian Near Me - Buffalo, New York

Been coming here since the 70's! Love their spaghetti w/ meatballs and linguini and clam Sauce! Really consistent and great service and take out! Priced very reasonably. Great food and great value! read more

We used to love this place. Amazing pasta fagiole and no frills atmosphere. Last night we went and it was abominable. The pasta had no flavor . The item my son had -chicken pesto it was so bad it looked like dog food . The color was brown and gray. The waitress was angry. She accidentally spilled our $37 (!) wine and never apologized. She mopped it up with a filthy rag and threw it n the floor. We will never ever return. They say some food is made with love. This was made with hate . read more

If you have been here more than once, the novelty of the cramped dining area, cash only transaction and menus on the walls wears off super quickly. You could overlook the above deficiencies if the food was extra stellar. Unfortunately, it is not. It's not that the food is bad, it's just not very good. I have had the spaghetti (both with and without meatballs), the eggplant parm and the lasagna (both overcooked). The common thread between all of them is the unspeakably pedestrian "red" sauce that is woefully lacking in flavour and faintly sweet. It gives every dish a blandness which is only modestly helped by an atomic application of Parmesan cheese and red pepper flakes (every table has both). Bread served with every meal is fresh and plentiful. A lot of people consider Santaseiro's a Buffalo institution and the attitude of the wait suggests that they wear that legacy heavily. Check it out once, but spend your hard-earned cash elsewhere at better eateries in Buffalo instead of a repeat visit. read more

Santasiero's Restaurant - Eggplant parmigiana for $6.50. - Italian Near Me - Buffalo, New York

Last little slice of true Italian cuisine. If you walk out hungry you did something wrong. Chicken parmigiana is excellent, also the hot peppers are a great compliment to any meal they serve. This is a West Side staple . read more

The ONLY good thing on the menu is the pasta e fagioli (they may call it pasta fazool). Their red sauce is either like soup or it's burned and bitter. read more

So what is the most famous Gyro store in Lapland? "Santa's Gyros". OK that didn't work, let's try this again. What to get: Meatball and Italian Sausage sandwich smothered in red sauce. What else is good: Chicken Parm. So I heard they changed the route of flights from Moscow to New York. They now pass right over Northern Sweden and Finland. So now... When Santa flies on his sleigh in the Lapland sky, Santa sees Aeros. OK that was a real stretch. But this place has absolutely incredible food! It's really depressing that they just are not that busy whenever I am there, because they have much, much better food than places like Chefs which are always packed out the door. The prices are stunningly cheap too, definitely a big step down price wise from most WNY Italian American food. So far I have tried both of their incredible, savoury sauce-smothered sandwiches (the meatball and the sausage), and both were absolutely top notch and very filling for under $5! Naturally, I returned for their dinner dishes, and tried their signature Chicken Parm. It was utterly fantastic, big, delicious, and cheap! But what I really recommend is my new fave - getting the meatball sandwich and adding an italian sausage to it (or vice versa)... twice as good and so nomtastic! Their sauce is the real star - it's so rich and dark, it's almost erotic. If you're into really dark stuff, you might want this sauce in an unhealthy sexual way. It's also very very rich, so if you're a gold-digger, you're in luck. And also you won't have to spend much of your gold digging money because this place is so cheap. But yes. The sauce. Very very good. You can call this standard fare, but it's standard fare done exactly right. Then there's the Fazoli - I ordered a cup - not even sure what it is. But it's delicious. The bread is good (I will ask for olive oil next time) and the Garlic Bread is excellent, especially if covered in mozzarella cheese. I highly recommend the Chicken Parm, or the two aforementioned sandwiches if you're looking to save some money, or the combo of the two which is a menu item that I essentially invented (the really awesome young male chefs both thought it was a great idea that they would be replicating in future). The service is really fantastic here too, the servers and chefs are lovely. Please tip them, this isn't a high income area, and they make amazing food much cheaper than comparable places in the area, they deserve a little extra tip for these efforts if you ask me. You can tip the chefs separately, they have a little bowl for it on their counter where they put the food when it's ready, right where you make to go orders. The chefs are super nice and generous and deserve it. If you're in this neighborhood, check out LaSalle park, absolutely beautiful. Or take a walk under the peace bridge at the end of Ferry St. Western NY has the best Italian American food on earth. I have 7 amazing restaurants to prove it. Just like the Pizza, and the Wings, and the Souvlaki... the sign when you come into the region should say: Italian American - it's better here. Top tier: Mulberry Cafe (one in a million, my fave, best lasagne and meatballs on earth). Lockport Village (best chicken parm). Santasieros (cheap and rich and delicious). Best of the rest: DiTondo's (only open Friday eve), Roman Cafe (yum yum in NT), Michael's (best Beans N Greens and rolled mozzarella chef salad imaginable), Lebro's (awesome sauce and Chicken Parm). You will not go wrong at any of those marvellous jewels. So as you can see, Santasieros is one of my three favourite Italian places in WNY. The only 2 other places that are on this sky high level in the area are Mulberry Cafe, and The Village in Lockport. You must give it a try! And if Santa is following a one way system, Santa sees arrows! read more

The spaghetti & meatballs was gross...the spaghetti strings taste fake and they didn't even use real hamburger meat!!! Taste more like they got 2 cans of Chef Boyarde, warmed it up in the microwave and dumped it on my plate....1st place I didn't take left overs home... We orderd garlic bread for an appetizer and they only toasted in on one side. My boyfriend got the linguine with clam sauce...gross...watery and nasty noodles! The waitress wasn't really pleasant either! I don't know how this placed earned 4 stars...first and last time going here! read more

Santasiero's Restaurant - It taste like a can of Chef Boyardee...1st time I dodnt take left overs home. Absolutely gross! - Italian Near Me - Buffalo, New York

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I make sure to go every time I'm in town. Don't let the unassuming and practical look dissuade you from the best Italian food you'll find (anywhere in my opinion). read more

I've been to Santasiero's multiple times. Their menu is concise. So, don't expect the daily specials, and bells and whistles of a modern Italian restaurant. I got their half portion of eggplant parm. This is enough to take home leftovers. I also love their "family jewels" which is the ditalini and peas. Fresh bread is given to the table and the waitresses are usually quick with service. read more

Well..I agree with the last review. I have been reading reviews on Yelp for over a year ( especially in Seattle) and I see Hipster/ college/ yuppies who have NO sense of the history of where they live or the culture for that matter, before they arrived. But, they are prolific on the system. I know that the net is not a common thing to those who ARE aware of past culture and its effects on current social environment, due to the age / media gap. However, we do need a bit of background info aside from current bars and coffee venues. So most of the popular, local, way-side places will not be on the radar of the college, hip crowd. Please forgive me for being a bit rude, but I live in Seattle, and have been for over 1 year. I have my wife visit every 4 mos or so until I can more our family . I look for for places to take her...local flavor and 90% is the latest club, bar, hangout in the "hip areas" or college town. Anyway. My dad used to eat at Santesiero's during the 40's. He said that they used to cook pasta in a big pot in the front window. People walked the streets here often, and the docks were full of workers. The " dining area'" has door bells near every table to call the server. This place was #1 for the immigrant Italians back then. I was brought there as a small Kid. My Dad wanted me to eat here before it closed down. This was 1969. Loved the food. Still do. Nothing changed except the prices. It is 100% authentic old world Italian honest cooking, often prepared for the "business men" of the community before the crackdown by the Gov in the 50's. Could have been used for the dinner scene in the Godfather. Tough neighborhood these days. A real local treasure to visit before the hood closes it down. Thanks Mr Me read more

Santasiero's Restaurant - This stuff will make you cry! - Italian Near Me - Buffalo, New York

4/2013 update: I have stopped in a few times since posting this. Still in love. After being in the cold last weekend, I was heading home, and thought "Pasta Fasoola!" Stopped in for a full order to go, took it home, and share it with the kids for lunch. I loved it, they loved it! Quick service too! I feel that I MUST share my thoughts on this place, even though I have only been twice. That said, I am sure if I could travel in time and visit the place in the 50's or 60's, the experience would be the same. And that's what I feel is the charm, it really feels like a time machine experience. On a cold day, with the wind blowing over the river, there is no better experience than walking into this place and smelling the warm sauce. It's right there, the kitchen is open, and there are 4 or 5 LARGE pots bubbling with sauce! There is the tin ceiling, the menu on the wall, the old school tables, it's just such a neat atmosphere, not fancy, not rickety, just real. I took my parents here as a treat for their anniversary, and it was great. Lots of sauce, ala carte meat with the pasta (I did one meatball and one sausage), and we had it with a nice cold labatts Yum. The prices are reasonable, see the menu on their site. So, I don't get over that way often, but on a recent cold and damp night, I was coming back from Allen St. area, and rather than getting on "the" 190, I took Niagara St north, and stopped in for an order for take out- the Pasta Fasoola. Yeah, it was 8 bucks, but it was dinner, and lunch the next day! Big container of thick broth, lots of beans, a separate bag with slices of Italian bread, a cup of parmesan cheese, and a container of hot peppers! It's just a great experience and so nice to find a legit local place like this, it's like the anti-olive garden. And a time machine. What's not to love? read more

Four of us ate dinner here tonight (and left stuffed) for $42. That includes tax and tip. AND I had a glass of wine. The place is definately old-school with giant menu boards on the walls, wine served in short juice glasses and bread served with butter in little foil packages - no fancy schmancy oil for your bread here...sorry! Anyway, if you go, you won't be sorry. We all tend to stick with the basics (spaghetti w/ meatballs, spaghetti parm, etc.) but since they now serve pasta fagioli in a cup (a manageable portion, as opposed to the enormous frisbee-full they also offer) for $3.50, I branched out a little tonight. This is true, delicious fazool, with little tubettini and white beans in a hearty broth. If you're used to the Olive Garden's bastardized (hamburger soup) version of Pasta Fagioli, you'll be confused but you'll never go back to the OG. read more

This is a west side Institute and thats why it's getting 3 stars. Its a classic outside and in. Cash only, a payphone that still rings for orders, a board on the wall and no menus. Its classic and old school. I want to give this place a great review because their food used to be great. Not even a year ago when we went everything was fresh and delicious. Recently however, it has not been good. I usually order my staple of chicken parmesan and my other half gets spaghetti and meatballs. This last time my chicken parmesan was literally a frozen chicken patty that was mushy on top of over cooked pasta and sauce. The spaghetti was cooked to mush, and the sauce lacked anything interesting it used to have. The meatballs were okay. I'd have to say the highlight of the dinner was the bread and hot peppers. Which is really sad. I'm disappointed, as this used to be my go to Italian Spot and I've told many people to go here over the years. I hope it's just a change in staff that can be resolved becuase this place used to be great. read more

Going Home for the Holidays to Buffalo New York with my one & only Husband. Looking forward to return to our favorite Italian Restaurant. Santasiero's has The-Very-Best Sauce & Meatballs I have ever tasted in my 3-score-&-14 years on planet Earth. Looks as though nothing has changed on Niagara Street. The Wait-staff may be the Great, Great Grandchildren of the Founding Family but I am certain the recipes haven't changed; rumor has it Santasiero would not give up,"The Recipes", for anyone, ever and locked them in a safe, to be relieved to Family only. Glad Christmastide Buffalonians! Go Bills! Your Friends, Aileen Linch Daum from South Bflo. Jerry Daum from Deleware Park Area Bflo. read more

This place is fantastic! A hidden gem in buffalo! The food was great and priced to enjoy! Making reservations is a must and Facebook messenger is a good way to get confirmation. Everyone is so friendly and the service is fantastic. Recommend the chicken parm and if you have anyone that doesn't eat carbs - suggest the hot peppers with Italian sausage and parm it - just call it the "Liz". read more

Stopped by Santasiero's for old times sake. Food was mediocre at best, served tepid and somewhat over cooked. The big surprise was when the bill came and I was charged 2.95 a cup for coffee for the original cup and two refills. $8.85 for coffee was ridiculous! Last time to go there! read more