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O'Connells American Bistro
- Price Range:
-
$$$$
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Street, Private Lot
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Good for Kids:
- No
- Takes Reservations:
- Yes
- Delivery:
- No
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
- Good for:
- Dinner
- Alcohol:
- Full Bar
3 reviews for O'Connells American Bistro
The best fine dining experience I have had in Buffalo. We went there last night with a party of five. One of the five is a vegetarian. We all opted for the tasting menu (7 courses $40 dollars). The chef was able to create a vegetarian 7 course meal to accommodate.
Each course was delicious. Highlights were an Asparagus soup, Lobster Mac N Cheese ($10 supplement), Foie Gras with grapes ($15 supplement, the best Foie Gras I've had in Buffalo), and the French Toast Bread Pudding. Awesome, and what a value for $40 ($65 with the supplemental choices).
My only complaint is the beer selection. The server stated they had a ton of choices. I asked for an IPA. She didn't know what that was, and said they didn't have it. I opted for a "Hook & Ladder Ale", didn't much care for it. The next time I went to the bar and looked at what they offered, and selected Samuel Smith Nut Brown Ale. The rest of the party drank white wines by the bottle. The Oenophile at the table said the wine list was good, and fairly priced.
I will definitely come back again. The tasting menu changes every week.
My husband and I ate here not long after this restaurant opened under it's new name. It was by far, one of the best fine dining meals we've had. Right up there with Left Bank, Tempo and Fiamma. Service was good, but nothing to brag about. Our meals were well prepared and the presentation was nice. I had the pork roulades and my memory fails me of what my husband had, but there weren't any complaints. We specifically enjoyed the creme brûlée cheese cake with raspberry sauce. To die for! I've never had anything as good anywhere else thus far. Overall, a fantastic dining experience worthy of five stars.
[The Restaurant Formerly Known As O'Connells Hourglass]
I have long lamented the lack of a french bistro in the Buff. So the reopening of the Hourglass as the recently redone and renamed O'Connells American Bistro made my tummy growl. It's much brighter and has a v. open feel, though the atmosphere & menu still scream "spendy posh dining experience" and not "fun night of noshing at Pastis, drinking champers and being euro-trashy".
The menu is divided into a couple of sections:
Hot plates--classic french appys, like onion soup, snails, etc.
Salads--Frisse aux lardons! Heaven pour moi. And other assorted salads, all in a v. reasonable $5-$7 range.
Frenchie entrees--Steak frites, frenched chicken and other items I don't quite recall, in a $22-30 range.
Meat--you can order some v. special cuts of meat. 18 oz massive center cut American Kobe Ribeye ($42), Filet ($38), some fancy pork chop and lamb imported from a fancy ranch in Colorado, etc. These are the SooperSpendy entrees
I had the Frisee (mais bien sur!) and the steak frites. Frissee was excellent, though the lardons were not exactly lardons but more like pieces of excellent bacon. The steak--flat iron--done perfectly rare and served with a size of truffle fries. I was not overwhelmed by the truffle-ness of the fries, but they were thin cut yummy fries.
Hubby had the caesar salad (with, he says, better white anchovies than Tempo) and the aforementioned ribeye (rare). That was damn good as well, but he said he would have been just as happy with the steak frites (at $22 vs. $42). I thought it was buttery goodness steak.
Why, given all this bloody goodness and my love of the french food, the "minus one star"? The wine list. There is no excuse for having only 2 bottles of red wine in the $40 price range and only another two in the $50-$60 range. We ended up having a $15 retail bottle of bordeaux for $55. I hate being ripped off on the wine list. HATE IT! There weren't many french wines, either, and there can be some real finds in the various french regions.
I would also take a half-star off for the service, as well, if I could. We asked the waiter to describe a bottle of wine for us. He gave some sort of general description, then came back 2 minutes to ask which wine we asked for. Um, the one you just described to us as being "soft, blah blah blah". I felt real confident about the wine after that. And at $55 a bottle--(THIS IS BUFFALO!)--you should be able to describe the wine with some sort of accuracy. It really pissed me off.
Dinner for two with the aforementioned bottle of wine--$142 (pre tip).
Alas, no croque-monsieur on the lunch menu though I hear it's been a special. Must return for lunch.