Orazio’s Restaurant

Went last night for my dad’s birthday dinner. It continues to be a delight. Delicious food – try pasta con vodka always, and the mussels were very tasty too! What I want to know is how their dinner salad is so freaking amazing. Often when I’m out in Colorado eating a lame-​o salad I think of theirs. Italian with blue cheese crumbles for the win.
I’d definitely recommend checking it out. You won’t be disappointed!

I’m sad to say I no longer enjoy this restaurant. I stopped eating there a few years ago but decided to give it another try. They were packed so we were offered bar seating, which was fine. Their bartender was nice, and personable. I ordered eggplant parm. We waited for our food for a long time, however they were very busy and thats expected. I don’t mind waiting for my food at all, just make it worth the wait. Our appetizer was their stuffed hot peppers. I feel like a lot of restaurants think tons of cheese and oil constitute a good stuffed hot pepper and that’s not the case. The dish was oily and the bread was partially toasted. My eggplant parm was, at best, disgusting. I kept thinking it had an off taste so I had my meal companion try some. It was raw egg. It wasn’t cooked enough by any means. The waitress offered to have my dish «cooked some more» but after that taste in my mouth I declined. She brought me out a salad instead and the lettuce was old looking and brown. Bit into a tomato and had to spit it in my napkin. By this point I was hungrier than hungry and was now in a bad food mood. We asked for the check and while the eggplant was deducted from receipt, the salad was not. I hope this time I learned my lesson. But I guess it’s just me that feels this way since their parking lot seems pretty full most days. So some people have to like it.

I can’t say enough about the incredible meal we thoroughly enjoyed at Orazio’s on Christmas Eve.
Western New York ex-​pats that we are, our infrequent visits are always peppered with visits to local eateries. And, our family made reservations here for the holiday.
To begin with, it was simply a delightful surprise that I was able to order and be served a stinger cocktail. Most restaurants have no white Crème de Menthe and this is a key component. Thank you, Orazio’s, for knowing this classic cocktail and for being able to serve it.
House made bread was hot and ample, a treat that is becoming more rare every day.
We stared with crab and shrimp beignets served with a spicy caper sauce and shrimp cocktail for appetizers. A little saltier than expected, the beignets were fantastic otherwise and the sauce an amazing compliment. The shrimp cocktail was fresh and chilled perfectly with a great snap at each bite.
As for the seafood bisque, what an exceptional soup. Where often bisques can take on an overpowering pungency, this seafood bisque was light and sweet with the delicacy of a well made and homemade seafood stock.
For dinner, we chose lobster tail with roasted potatoes, lasagna, Christmas pasta, and Bleu cheese crusted tenderloin. All selections were part of the special Christmas menu. Not one dish was a disappointment.
Starting with the last ax the red sauces was rich and deep in roasted roma tomato flavor, perfectly balanced with a slight sweetness. This is a house sauce made on site. The lasagna noodles and layered meat and cheese were on perfect balance, a feat that is kit easily achieved but for expertise and years of experience.
The lobster was a perfectly butterflied and puffed tail, sweet, mellow, and tender – worth every bit.
As for the tenderloin filet, what an exquisitely theses and well-​season cut topped with a fires crust of blue cheese. The traditional sharpness of the Bleu cheese, which I normally love, was tempered by the end broil. It was a wonderfully delicate balance to the dish.
Christmas pasta was the final dish for our foursome and truly an amazing feat of masterful saucing with delicate seafood cooked to tender perfection (and, we are talking scallops that were at the perfect texture and sweetness along with tender fresh shrimp). Green peppers and sautéed tomatoes rounded out what I can only describe as a fantastic meal suited perfectly for a joyous holiday. It is a shame that this dish is available only in Christmas Eve.
If it were possible to kiss the cheeks of all the chefs and kitchen staff, I would have done in thanks for their excellent preparation and execution of home made fantastic food! This is the stuff that feeds your belly after it fills your soul.
We capped off our meal with cannoli in two favors: citron and chocolate chip. Although the shells are not house made, the filling was divine. Had I thought ahead, I would have chosen a lovely grappa to compliment the dessert.
A well-​deserved nod must gimme given to our server Diane who was so very knowledgable, friendly, and honest in her service – an added appeal and warmth that was the perfect highlight to our evening.
In Clarence, New York, Orazio’s is an unpretentious quality Italian restaurant fully able to hold more than its own in a market that has plenty of home-​based Italian restaurants. Make this a stop I your WNY food tour.

I was underwhelmed. Portions were large but the flavors were just OK. If you like simple Italian food without a lot of pizazz then this could be a good fit.

This is for Thanksgiving buffet $ 28 each. This was the worst holiday dinner I have ever experienced. Food was set up in another room, through the dining room, through the foyer, filled with customers waiting for their table, through the bar, down two halls into the banquet room. Food was never refilled, almost no turkey (served in bowls of gravy, see picture) and long lines. The inexperienced waitress did not know how to open a wine bottle and had to go to the bar for help. Every food item was a mess and always needing a refill or refreshment. I had to ask the bus boy to get the waitress so I could get a cup of coffee, $ 2.50 per cup.
Did I mention that this was at 2:00 in the afternoon and they where serving all day and afternoon, so this must be as good as it gets. Bill total was $ 112.33 for the 45 minutes we where there.

Last three times there was treated like yesterday’s garbage will never set foot in this place again will spend my money elsewhere

Wonderful restaurant with great Italian food! Vodka blush sauce is outstanding! My family and I celebrated my mother’s birthday. Service was outstanding! Our waitress was so nice and fun! Thank you for making my mother’s birthday so special!

If they sold fungus and moulds, they’d be Spore-​azios. If they sold Molten Lava from the center of the earth, they’d be Core-​azios. And if they were a brothel, then of course, they’d be wh… whoa. Is that the time? I must be going.
What to get: Chicken Souvlaki with extra of the bread that comes with it because omg
What else: This is not a cheap place by any stretch of the imagination
And what else: Why do people say «stretch of the imagination.» The imagination is not a muscle. You can’t possibly stretch it. Srlsy ppl.
Note: the 5 stars is for the bread. The souvlaki and salad are about a 4 and a half. The prices are like a 2 or 3 but not for this dish. However the bread is so good it earns a 5, like Linds said.
If they sold overhyped American sickeningly sweet stuff that makes kids diabetic, they’d be Smore-​azios.
I live about 5 mins drive from Orazio’s, and 10 mins cycle. Yes, I cycle. Deal with it. For some reason I hadn’t been in here before, despite all the years being in the area. Probably because they’re a little fancier than what I’m used to. In any case, I finally took the plunge when I saw the sign that said «Best Souvlaki in Western NY.» Now you can’t be claiming that and not expect me to give it a try. And if you’re going to make that sort of assertion, it better be damn good.
If they sold skin cleansers, they’d be Pore-​azios.
And you know what, they’re a little arrogant about it (they told me it’d be the best I ever tasted), but it really was good. It was only around $ 10 (which is about right for an open souvlaki), and while it was very different from the usual fare in Buffalo, which is by the way amazing, it was actually very good. So I appreciate them following through on their lofty claims.
If they took forever to bring the check and food, they’d be Bore-​azios.
Why was this souvlaki so good and different? Well the chicken didn’t taste particularly sauteed, which I didn’t appreciate. But it was charry and high quality and extremely tasty. Dunking it in the slightly-​sweet Greek oil was a real treat. The salad was a high quality salad too. It was fresh and enjoyable and not at all wilted like some of the places in town. But the real star of the show was… amazingly… the bread! This was the best pita bread, like, ever. Okay it wasn’t really pita bread. Some sort of fluffy pita-​esque doughy loaf of some kind. But so unbelievably good, that it tipped the scales between a 4 star review and a 5-​star review.
If they had tiny portions, you’d ask for More-​azios.
Now I can’t speak for the rest of their food (much of it overpriced), or their dinner menu (you can’t get this open souvlaki except at lunch time), but I can say the chicken souvlaki is good if a little un-​Greek, the Greek oil is interesting if a little sweet, the salad is fresh and enjoyable, and best of all, the bread is absolutely miraculously heavenly. Always order extra bread. It’s that good. I’ll have to find out where they get it from. Good job, Orazio’s.
If the food was so heavy that it made you fall asleep, it’d be Snore-​azios. And if I found them when I was travelling around playing music, they’d be Tour-​azios. And if you allowed the owner to have his way with you in a particularly naughty and alternative fashion, then they would be Back-​door-​azios.

I went with my fiancée to Orazios on a date and it exceeded expectations if you’re willing to pay 15+ a meal.
My fiancée ordered the shrimp scampi with a salad and I ordered the chicken parmesan with a cup of the hot pepper soup, both of which were part the meal. The soup was spicy but amazing, definitely seemed homemade. The house Italian dressing was excellent. The entrees were giant and full of authentic Italian flavor. There was plenty to take home for leftovers and the leftovers tasted just as good the next day! Highly recommend Orazios.

Favorite Italian around! I actually grew up in clarence but didn’t go there until I was an adult. I always get the chicken parmesan and it’s always spot on. I would highly suggest the mozzarella sticks as an appetizer!!! So cheesy and good.

Large quantities, low quality
Tom the waiter was excellent but it can’t make up for the crap food

Another OMG experience at Orazio’s!!! On the way there, I thought that I would order spaghetti and meatballs (homemade pasta and the best sauce!) but I opted for the pork chop special (stuffed with blue cheese & wrapped in bacon!!) For appetizers, we ordered the mozzarella sticks and another special of jalapeño poppers (both exceptional!) Wonderful service (Thanks Lon!!), homemade bread, homemade pastas and delicious house made desserts! Always a wonderful dining experience at Orazio’s!

This was based on a large, banquet experience, so I may have to revisit for a more intimate dinner experience.
It was good. The salads in particular were quite excellent, I was a tiny bit disappointed by the famous vodka sauce — in a banquet setting it seemed to be a little on the watery side. There was a hand-​carved beef and turkey station, those were both excellent. The pizzas were a little soggy and hard to handle, but their flavor was good.
The raspberry cheesecake was excellent! The peanut butter pie was okay, but I am a little prejudiced because I make one of my own, and this one was a little on the granular side texture wise and resembled a mud pie more than a peanut butter pie.
My only other complaint, and this is me, speaking as a beer snob, so YMMV: The beer selection was pretty abysmal at the bar. The only choices were big macros, and 2 different Sam Adamses as a nod to craft brewing. There are beers that go well with Italian Food, I would have liked to have seen a local pilsner on tap.
Service was attentive and pleasant. This is definitely a place I’d like to give another try, even though it’s a bit of a drive for me from home — from work it’s not so bad.

My favorite dishes here are the pasta con vodka, chicken salvatore, and the eggplant Parmesan. Desserts are pretty good too.
You will never leave hungry. I always end up packing food to go. They really know how to package your food. Ceramic wrap the entire box so no sauce leaks out while you are driving home. Keeps your car food-​smell free too.
The service is fantastic. Friendly, classy and professional.
The restaurant is a bit far from where I lived but it is always worth the drive. You get more than what you pay for.

Today was my first visit to Orazios and I must say I was pleasantly surprised at the experience.
First off the ambience is definitely casual Italian for sure and not noisy at all so you can actually have a great conversation or dinner.
As an appetizer I had the 3 cheese jalapeño soup, warm, tasty, creamy with just enough heat to it. Very good! Along with this we where served a loaf of homemade bread which was also fresh out of the oven to it was nice and fresh and warm as can be!!! Loved it!
For the main course I had the pasta con vodka and added chicken to it. I had to try this dish since it won best tasting in NYS. The dish looked terrific when it reach the table wish is always a plus! The dish was nice and hot and after tasting I thought the sauce tasted fantastic! It was very nice to try something new and «out of normal» when going out for Italian food. They serve you a very generous portion as well I might add for your meals! The noodles where cooked perfect, the chicken was flavorful with just the right amount of flavors swirling about in the sauce! Great job Orazios! I can see why this dish has won awards.
I’ll come back here again for sure, the waitress said next time try this dish with Italian sausage, I’ll have to take her up on that!

Ok so I was a little surprised. I have had this gift certificate for 2 years now and figured I should probably use it. Hearing that Orazio’s has a sweeter thicker red sauce I was I no hurry to go. I played it safe by going for lunch, I figured I could just get a soup and salad.
My friend and I went on a Wednesday afternoon. They had just opened, so there were only a few other people in there.
First thing first, it was freezing in there! I saw the waitress bring a plug in floor heater and put it next to another table of diners.
Service was friendly. I started with the sausage gumbo soup and my firms got the chicken soup. Both were VERY salty! Mine was also cold!
For our lunch, I ordered the eggplant supreme, minus the pasta and substitute for a side salad, and my friend had some sort of chicken salad.
Both were not bad. I could tolerate the sauce, but I thought the portions were good.
Would I go back, no. It’s just not the sauce I grew up with, but all in all it wasn’t as bad as I thought it was going to be.

The last time my wife and I were at Raggio’s was many years ago when they were in north Buffalo. At that time they were a four approaching five-​star restaurant with valet parking and great food and service. The years have not been kind to Orazios. The move to Clarence was not an improvement in the restaurant.
I made a reservation but when we arrived on Monday night it was certainly obvious that we didn’t need it. I would say the dining room was perhaps half full. We were seated right away and our waiter, who by the way was one of the best servers that I have ever had, shared with us the specials of the night. I am not a fan of dining out on a paper table cloth, unless there is a hole in the middle of the table to toss the shells into. Please the feel and the rustle of the paper in my lap — get rid of it. As others have said the half a loaf of warm crusty bread was delicious. My wife ordered the shrimp tail to begin her evening which was ok. Nothing special wasn’t bad, it was just average.
Before I continue let me make a couple of comments here. First the restroom situation. Let’s just say they have been let go and needed work it was downright dirty. Secondly the noise level in the main dining room. Something has to be done with the acoustics. We could hear conversations clearly from tables all over the dining room. The dining room has a hard plaster ceiling and wallpaper walls which just bounce sound all over the place. It’s unfortunate but it is loud!
Our entrées — I wish I could remember the name of what my wife ordered. It was an angel hair pasta with scallops and shrimp, to me it looked like it had an olive oil sauce of some kind on it. It was huge it was more than enough for her dinner and also will be lunch today and dinner today. It entirely covered her dinner plate but only had about five scallops and fewer than that shrimp. For the cost of the plate I think they could’ve added several more shrimp. I am not a big fan of pasta dishes. I ordered my staple fallback item. Strip steak. My steak came with two tasty mushrooms sitting on top (I don’t particularly care for things that live on organic matter and grow in the dark), red potatoes crusty off the grill with onions and tons of garlic, summer squash and zucchini sliced lengthwise and sautéed. My sirloin was medium rare just as I ordered. It was a very tasty steak although it did have a bit too much connective tissue and fat. The potatoes were heavily seasoned garlicky and very greasy. I only touch them. The squash was well done and very tasty. I also forgot to mention that we each got a side salad with house dressing which is Italian. Good salad, crisp lettuce but a bit light on the dressing. The dressing though was very tasty and I highly recommend it. I do have to apologize to the readers. Normally an item off the menu that is different has an unusual name, I will make notes. Unfortunately, I did not do that last night. And now I don’t know the name of our dessert item. As best I can remember it was raspberry something or the other cheesecake. Starting at the bottom and working up it had a grand back or slivered almonds and other wonderful things on the very bottom with the crust on top. The cheesecake had a raspberry sauce swirled through it and then raspberry liquor was sprinkled on the surface. A cheesecake like this, you shouldn’t eat it, you should roll around on the floor and rub it on your body. It is to die for. My wife and I decided to only get one and place it in the middle of the table and split it. We ended up doing with our forks. You’ve got to finish your meal with this!
Soooooooo what do I think. Well I sure wouldn’t recommend that you avoid the place like the plague. But it’s a far cry from what it was. It’s really good restaurant with good food and friendly people. But there are a number of shortcomings that they need to fix. Beginning with the building itself. The rugs worn and old, the restrooms dirty and tired, small things that say neglect. there’s really nothing special about the atmosphere — it just is! It used to be all the things that it isn’t. It was special to dine at Orazio’s.

Big mistake taking my kids to Orazio’s. I like to be a hero to my kids. that translates to them saying… Dad makes the best pasta. (which in my opinion is pretty darn good)
When i’m cooking Alfredo sauce for the kids, i use a ton of heavy cream, my kids love it. so when they saw it on the menu here at Orazio’s they were excited to order it. Although i ordered my own meal i wanted to try and compare with my own so i had a few bites… Man how can something be creamer than cream? how do they get this creaminess? It’s so luscious and velvety my kids now prefer Orazio’s Alfredo pasta over mine. Great thanks a lot!
I ordered the Penne w/​Vodka Sauce with Prosciutto another dish that I make attempts at, that Orazio’s does much better. Great one visit to Orazio’s and my self-​esteem is taking a major hit!
My wife ordered a seafood pasta (don’t remember the name exactly) it tasted like lobster bisque with pasta that i couldn’t get enough of. I’m pretty sure she wanted to take some leftovers home before i got my hands on it. and even slopped up the remaining sauce with bread.
seriously if you ever attempt to cook any of their menu items at home, don’t take your kids here, it will make you look bad. Otherwise, make a reservation (cause they get busy) and taste the way these dishes are supposed to taste.

We spent Thanksgiving at Orazio’s this year. I called three weeks ahead of time and didn’t have a problem getting a reservation for seven. A trip to Grandma’s house isn’t everything. Hasn’t she cooked enough turkeys for you anyhow?
We arrived on time and were immediately seated which was appreciated. We were given a spot out of the way on the «bar side» of the restaurant. They were offering a special Thanksgiving menu as well as a buffet. The buffet sounded interesting, but it didn’t really work with the spot they’d seated us. It would have been hard for us to get over there without having to pass through the packed entrance.
Thankfully the menu items were more than adequate. They offered a turkey dinner, prime rib, and even their famous Pasta con Vodka everyone talks about.
My wife went with the Pasta con Vodka and had enough for a second serving left over which was cool because she really enjoyed it. I went with the prime rib which was a treat.
The server was good at timing everything and left no one wanting for bread or a refill. It was a very tasty meal that I’d recommend as an alternative to your standard Thanksgiving if you want to sit back and have someone else cook for once. Just let them know when you make your reservation if you’d like to be by the buffet to avoid possibly missing out.

Every time I come to Orazio’s, it is a culinary treat. Fresh baked bread to start, will b posting rpictures soon after I drink my Gin and tonic!
Chef special for appetizers was a seafood terrine which was a cold app, but very good. Soup special was a hot pepper chorizo soup, (cream base) very good. Wow.
OK, tried to get the tiramisu, but could not handle any more in my belly.
Must visit.