Breakfast might be the most important meal of the day. Make breakfast a contender with one of this baker’s dozen of my favorite breakfast sandwiches found in and around Buffalo, NY.
Like all guides, this is a work in progress. If you’d like to bring a breakfast sandwich to my attention, please email its photo to andrew@fourbites.net.
258 Highland Parkway, Tonawanda NY, millersthumbbakery.com, 716-364-6362
Hours: 7 a.m.-2 p.m. Wednesday-Friday, 8 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturday, 8 a.m.-1 p.m. Sunday.
Artisanal bread from an award-winning veteran baker who mills all his own flour, with remarkable results in flavor and texture. Bread, rolls, cookies, cakes, and seasonal delicacies have the Tonawanda shop on the map of croissant hunters and danish fanciers — even kouign amann nerds.
44 Brayton St, Buffalo NY, fivepointsbakery.com, 716-884-8888
Hours: 8 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday-Thursday, 8 a.m.-10 p.m. Friday.
Whole-grain bakery grinds local wheat for wonders like whole-wheat cinnamon rolls and extra-sharp cheddar bread. Kevin and Melissa Gardner turned a disused building into a community center that sells toast platters, the best extra-sharp cheddar bread on the planet, and hosts live jazz in summer. There’s lots of egg-and-cheese-on-a-bun options in Buffalo, but every sandwich is better at the bakery that made the bread. The Open Faced Egg Sandwich, with scrambled egg, mayonnaise, smoked salmon, pesto, tomato, red onion and capers, puts Manhattan bagelries to shame.
429 Rhode Island St., Buffalo NY, remedyhouse.co, 716-248-2155
Hours: 7 a.m.-9 p.m. Monday-Saturday, happy hour 5 p.m.-7 p.m., 7 a.m.-3 p.m. Sunday.
Five Points coffeehouse offers a definitive egg on a roll, along with a complete catalogue of coffee drinks and alcoholic eye-openers. The broader food menu includes savories like jamon beurre, pan-fried white cheddar macaroni and cheese, and oyster mushroom tartine. A full bar makes it Five Point’s finest happy hour.
2940 Union Road, Cheektowaga NY, phamskitchen716.com, 716-901-7663
Hours: 9 a.m.-8 p.m. Monday-Saturday. Closed Sunday.
My favorite Vietnamese place, for among other triumphs, baking banh mi loaves fresh every morning, filling them with pickled vegetables, liver pate, mayonnaise, and three types of cold cuts, all housemade. For $7.75. Still just $7.75. The pork chop plate and bun cha with pickled green papaya are definitive. But banh mi are the first order of business here. You can get all sorts of other fillings, including fish and tofu. Banh mi means breakfast in Vietnam. In Cheektowaga, Pham’s opens at 9 a.m., and has serious coffee, too.
3030 Delaware Ave., Kenmore NY, mojomarket.com, 716-874-6656
Hours: 8:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday. Closed Sunday, Monday.
The breakfast and lunch spot you wish was on your block. Housemade bread, local produce, and real table service. Egg and cheddar cheese on a housemade English muffin costs less than an Egg McMuffin, salads packed with protein, and stylish sandwiches abound. Frozen heat-and-eat offerings join a pantry section with Buffalo food specialties.
1598 Niagara Falls Blvd., Tonawanda NY, see menu here, 716-835-0115
Hours: 10 a.m.-7:30 p.m. p.m. Monday-Friday. Closed Saturday, Sunday.
Across the street from a dismal lineup of underwhelming franchise eats, sandwich superspot offers all-day breakfast sandwiches, stinger subs, old-school club sandwiches, and grilled tuna melts. Call ahead for quicker service, or order and have a seat in the dining area.
580 South Park Ave., Buffalo NY, undergroundscoffeebuffalo.com, 716-240-9923
Hours: 6 a.m.-2 p.m. Monday-Friday, 7:30 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday, Sunday.
Seneca One Tower, 1 Seneca St., Buffalo NY
Hours: 7 a.m.-2 p.m. Monday, 7 a.m.-3 p.m. Tuesday-Thursday, 7 a.m.-2 p.m. Friday. Closed Saturday, Sunday.
Former funeral home was transformed into a neighborhood caffeination center without losing its spooky charm. Get a bagel sandwich and a cup of coffee, think about joining the mug club’s custom-designed lineup, and buy a pound of South-Buffalo-roasted coffee for your kitchen.
4236 N. Buffalo St., Orchard Park, grangeoutpost.com, 716-217-4100
Hours: 7:30 a.m.-3 p.m. Tuesday-Friday, 8 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturday, 8 a.m.-1 p.m. Sunday. Closed Monday.
Pastries, breakfast sandwiches, hash browns, and a diversity of treats from Grange Community Kitchen’s crack bakers.
8560 Main St., Clarence NY, bagelgrounds.com
Hours: 7 a.m.-1 p.m. Friday, 8 a.m.-1 p.m. Saturday, Sunday. Closed Monday-Thursday.
On the three days per week this family-run bagel shop is open, faithful customers start appearing in the parking lot before the door opens. That’s because they’re selling all the bagels they make, au naturel or made into bagel sandwiches.
10158 Niagara Falls Blvd., Niagara Falls, 716-215-6039
Hours: 7 a.m.-2 p.m. Wednesday-Sunday. Closed Monday, Tuesday.
Next time you’re hungry for breakfast or lunch near Niagara Falls International Airport, consider landing at The Country Hen. Housemade bread, properly browned corned beef hash, and griddled cinnamon rolls hearken back to the better diners of my youth.
500 Seneca St., Suite 306, see menu, 716-240-9595
Hours: 8 a.m.-2 p.m. Monday-Friday. Closed Saturday, Sunday.
Find your way inside the massive repurposed factory building to find one of the nicest lunching spaces in all of Buffalo. It just happens to have a worthy lunch purveyor attached, turning out carefully lovely versions of avocado toast, breakfast burritos, sandwiches and salads.
365 Connecticut Ave., Buffalo NY, southernjunction716.com
Hours: 4 p.m.-9 p.m. Monday, Thursday-Saturday, 10 a.m. -3 p.m. Sunday. Closed Tuesday, Wednesday.
Ryan Fernandez invented a cuisine that merges Texas barbecue and Keralan Indian influences, getting national recognition. Traditional barbecue joints start with a line, where you wait to make your selections from available meats and sides. The brisket and queso breakfast sandwich is worth the wait.
REVIEW: During the semester, Peking Quick One gets busy at night as crowds of Chinese nationals, mostly students at the University at Buffalo, head to Tonawanda for the kind of Chinese food they recognize. But there’s plenty of native customers too, enjoying first-rate Chinese American favorites like General Tso’s chicken. Peking Quick One is the rare Chinese restaurant that slays at Chinese dishes from near and far, with a particular specialty in the potato-and-cabbace-centered cuisine of Northern China. (For patrons, later this week.)
NIAGARA COUNTY FAIR ICE CREAM FLAVOR
Want to help pick the 2026 ice cream flavor for the Niagara County Fair?
Vote here through Monday, June 29. The winning flavor will be made by Hoover’s Dairy in Niagara County and sold exclusively at the Niagara County Fair Aug. 5-9.
Last year’s S’more Fun featured chocolate ice cream with marshmallow swirls, chocolate-covered graham cracker pieces, and chocolate-covered mini marshmallows. It was sold exclusively at the fair’s 4-H Milk Bar.
Sparks Fly: Vanilla base with yellow lemon crinkle cookie swirls and Pop Rocks that burst with every bite. (Vanilla base with yellow lemon crinkle cookie swirls and Pop Rocks)
Fairway to Heaven: Tastes like walking through the fairgrounds (Vanilla bean with funnel cake pieces, cinnamon sugar swirl, caramel ribbons)
Midnight Summer Sky: A delicious and fresh blueberry ice cream with marshmallow swirls and white chocolate shavings,representing the midnight summer sky. (Blueberry with marshmallow swirl, white chocolate shavings)
Grandma’s Cherry Pie: Vanilla ice cream with cherry pie filling swirls and shortbread pie crust pieces. (Vanilla with cherry pie filling, shortbread bites)
Star-Spangled Swirls: Celebrate America’s 250th anniversary with this festive red, white, and blue scoop. Vanilla ice cream with a swirl of tart red cherry, sweet blueberry, plus red and blue Pop Rocks coated in white chocolate. It can pop in your mouth like sweet firework. (Vanilla with tart red cherry and sweet blueberry swirls with white chocolate-coated with red and blue Pop Rocks)
Vote here through Monday, June 29. The winning flavor will be made by Hoover’s Dairy in Niagara County and sold exclusively at the Niagara County Fair Aug. 5-9.
FOUR BITES DOES TASTE OF BUFFALO
Come get Four Bites intel live at Taste of Buffalo.
Saturday, July 11, I’ll roam Delaware and Niagara Square as a food judge.
On Sunday July 12, from 11 a.m to 7 p.m., I’ll be in Niagara Square at the Taste Marketplace, answering any questions pertaining to food, or other subjects, and jotting down any must-eat tips you might have for me. If you’re looking for a recipe and ingredients, I can probably help.
Read It and Eat Bookshop’s Kim Behzadi invited me to sign copies of What to Eat in Buffalo 2026, my guide to 175 homegrown Buffalo restaurants, bakeries, and artisanal producers like Gondola Macaroni. 6-by-4 inch pocket paperback, $13.99. (Here’s a Google Map of places in the book.)
ASK THE CRITIC
Q: Do you ever run out of new dishes to try?
— Mary K., Blasdell, via email
A: No, the ingenious cooks of Buffalo are always up to something. Just from this week:
Tortas ahogadas have arrived in the 716, at Taqueria Los Mayas, my favorite Mexican restaurant. That’s a torta sandwich, bread griddled and stuffed with taco meat, avocado, beans, and cheese, drenched in a plate of chile sauce. Like a hot open-faced beef sandwich, but in Guadalajara.
On Transit Road in Amherst, Almaza Grill, known for rotisserie chicken and standout Lebanese cuisine including a showstopping tabletop fattoush, has a new meat dish. Kofta, grilled meatballs, simmered in “rich fresh cherry sauce.”
See what I mean? As ever, send your sightings to andrew@fourbites.net.
More local food and restaurant stories compiled by Michael Chelus of Nittany Epicurean:
- Mr. Galarneau wrote about the modern soul food he found at The Fire Spot [Four Bites]
- Andrew answered a reader’s question of where to get Japanese “sandos” and you can get them TOMORROW at Kuni’s [Four Bites]
- Take a look at the annual celebration of A Cook’s Tour at Kleinhans [Buffalo News]
- Chef Darian Bryan’s Reserve Steakhouse is now open [Buffalo Rising]
- Spotted Octopus Brewing Company is relocating to 500 Seneca [Buffalo Rising]
- Brian’s Buffalo Beer Buzz told us about the return of Deep Cut from Big Ditch, the release of a mojito ale from Resurgence Brewing Company and more [Buffalo Beer League]
- WNY Brewers Guild is taking part in the 11 Day Power Play this weekend [Buffalo Beer League]
- Brian asked a bunch of us how, why and where craft beer and taproom food pair so well together. My favorites can be found at Britesmith Brewing, 42 North and Hamburg Brewing [Buffalo Beer League]
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