1081 Elmwood Ave., Buffalo, NY 14222
Web: Pano's on Elmwood
Phone: 716.886.9081
Rating:
[learn more]See More Restaurant Reviews For:
American Buffalo Greek
"Pano's serves good food, albeit with occasional, small disappointments, now offered in a decidedly more attractive environment with better overall service."
At one point, Pano's was the quintessential Elmwood restaurant, blending in with the bohemian street's numerous shabby chic shops and cafes, its open patio welcoming late-night snackers, early morning brunchers, and everyone inbetween. Today, months after completing a substantial, long-obstructed remodeling project that saw the Greek diner transform into a beautiful, sophisticated two-story venue, Pano's is truly a jewel: a sign of what fantastic potential Elmwood still has for growth, and a demonstration of how certain petty individuals could impede improvements that were ultimately good for the city and its people.
We've taken two meals at Pano's since its redecoration, one at the breakfast hour, and the second from the more interesting lunch and dinner menu. To be clear, this restaurant - open from 7am to 1am every day - is still at least as capable and compelling of a breakfast destination as it was in its prior life, though there's a little more emphasis now on nicer menu items. For instance, a paper weekend specials menu is placed on top of the regular one, prominently touting $8 sun-dried tomato, Florentine, Cajun and California omelettes. Beneath it, the laminated full menu offers the same pancakes, french toast, eggs and waffles that people have been enjoying here for decades, with most breakfast plates in the $6 or $7 range, some lower, some higher. You're now paying a little for the decor, which has been radically upgraded to include dark brown walls, a modern wood and wrought iron staircase, and classy wooden tables and chairs; similarly, the servers are now all dressed in smart, button-down attire, and they deliver items on clean white china. Simply put, the place looks great - better than most of its neighbors for blocks and blocks - and the service is quite good. Even for breakfast, where we've been eating the pancakes and waffles for years, though not confusing them with the outstanding fare at the Original Pancake House, the overall experience feels like it's worth paying for.
At lunchtime - noon on a Saturday, actually, when we were surprised to find two empty parking spaces in Pano's rear parking lot, despite a small line and five-minute wait for a table inside - we went with appetizers and entrees that were half-Greek and half-American, like the menu. Our meal started with the Jumbo Lump Maryland Crab Cakes ($8), served on a large plate with a generous remoulade - basically Thousand Island dressing with an attractive balsamic vinaigrette pattern on top. The cakes looked small, overcooked, and plain when they arrived, yet while they weren't the most exciting crab cakes we've had locally, with small, seemingly machine-cut crab chunks and little else inside, they were entirely tasty: the dark brown crust was fried yet not burnt, and the interior was just moist and rich enough to avoid complaint. They didn't need the included remoulade or lemon slices to be worthy of finishing, but they should have been larger.
Another appetizer of sorts, the Spanakopita ($8), is actually served here as a mini-entree, with your choice of potatoes - Greek, French Fries, or Red Mashed - on the side; they can be excluded for a 75-cent savings. More out of curiosity than hunger, we chose the Greek potatoes, and thus didn't mind terribly when they weren't fantastic. Served in a reasonably-sized dish where the bottom slices soak in a light sauce, the yellow potatoes were cooked decently but almost flavorless. They were actually a distraction from the really good phyllo dough, cheese, and spinach pie, which was cooked to near-perfection with amazingly airy layers of golden dough, soft spinach, and just enough cheese to bind and slightly boost the flavor without becoming tart, goopy, or chewy. This is definitely one of the best spanakopitas we've had locally.
Our entrees were good, not great. The better of the two was a Lamb Souvlaki ($13), a large bowl with five grilled lamb chops and a pita on top - big enough that it covered one of the chops, but not capable of opening to hold one inside - plus a full-sized Greek salad underneath. On the plus side, the lamb, pita, and salad were utterly fresh, and each was prepared pretty much exactly as we expected: the medium-sized chops were pleasantly crusted on the outside and a little salty, while the pita was golden and only a hint oily, and the salad was just right in everything from green peppers to pepperoncini, olives, feta, onions, and lettuce. That said, the lamb was a little overcooked, ordered medium rare and delivered on the medium side. It was still entirely worth eating.
Overcooking was also an issue with the Top Sirloin Steak Sandwich ($8.50), a cut of meat that we love for its succulence, served here char-broiled on a white bun with onions, peppers, and French fries. We added provolone cheese for a quarter, and didn't regret doing so: it tasted good, as did the sandwich as a whole. But it was ordered medium and arrived something closer to well done, with nothing pink inside, though also moist enough not to be offensive. For the price, this was a fine steak sandwich, but better broiling and a little extra pepper or spice could have made it great. We ate all of the french fries, which were perfectly cooked, needed no salt, and accompanied by a good pickle.
As sated as we were, it's hard to end a Greek meal without having at least one dessert, so we ordered the Rice Pudding ($3), a reasonable bowl with chunky rice in a thick and lightly sweetened creamy base under some sprinkled-on cinnamon. It was a fine but not amazing dish; one of us recalled Sheridan Family Restaurant's similar version to be memorably better, and the other agreed.
Having visited Pano's numerous times over the years, our most recent, post-renovation meals there have been only a little different from their predecessors: this is good food, albeit with occasional, small disappointments, now offered in a decidedly more attractive environment with better overall service. While those disappointments place this restaurant on the fine edges of 3-star and 2.75-star overall ratings, there's little doubt in our minds that the ambience and the solid food quality weigh in favor of the higher mark. Pano's used to be the sort of place that was attractive as much for its student-friendly late hours and low prices as anything else, but now it's a legitimately nice, reasonably priced restaurant that stands out from its neighbors on class - a credit to Elmwood, and clear evidence of how tenacity and talent can improve Buffalo one place at a time.
