Angola Service Plaza

My opinion; Stop only if you have to.
It smelled like a bums butt to be nice.
Restrooms were trashed and gross.
Plenty of fast food choices though, but typical price hikes, and limited menus at McDonald’s. The others were surprisingly closed already when we came through at 10:30 on a Friday night. Well lit, and warm but not that nice of a stopping point.

Captains Log, December 2015: We departed around 0500 this morning, spending a majority of the day traveling across the expansive NYS Thruway. We came across this unique complex in the center median, which contained several very nice restaurants (welcome to Moes!). From prior explorations, I would deem this one of the finer rest stops along the east and (!) west bound lanes, containing large bathrooms (fairly clean) and plenty of seating. The crew could not contain themselves from posting photos on Facebook from both of the foot bridges over looking the oncoming traffic. After retrieving my mandatory Large red eye coffee and XXL cookie, we boarded the ship and headed off into places unknown. This will be always be a mandatory stop upon entering or leaving the great state of New York.

Wow for a service exit this place is a serious bit of kit.
Great structure for a wind breaker in bad weather. Excellent and huge bathrooms and a really good selection of food and sundry stores.

I had stopped at this Service Plaza numerous of time over the years whenever I am doing a road trip to Buffalo, PA and Erie Area.
This is the first pit stop after I passed US immigration and usually if I had a long wait at the border crossing, this is the best to stretch out my legs (You do need to go up and walk across the overpass in order to reach all the facilities.
Washroom plentiful and clean.
McDonald’s opens ²⁴⁄₇. if you want to grab something fast. I usually bypass all the food/​drink option here but I ended up getting a Steak & Egg McMuffin because my driver was hungry…

This place seems to be everyone’s pit/​rest stop… There’s gas, a variety of food to choose from, and clean bathrooms! I love the fact they have Moes over there because I was really craving Mexican… They also have McDonalds, Subway, Auntie Anne’s, cinnabon, and gourmet coffee in the middle of the plaza. Service was fast but seating was limited unless you went on McDonald’s end of the plaza. There’s not much I can say about this place but the workers at McDonald’s did irritate us a bit because we were asking for Splenda and the guys were looking at us like we were speaking a different language. Then he got the manager to talk to us in which he got us the splenda which was right under the counter… Overall clean place and gas isn’t too expensive…

This was an interesting service area to stop at. It had quiet a few restaurants and bakeries, souvenir shops, a gas station and other areas. It had a suspended walkway that connected each side of the service area on the highway. The bathroom facilities were clean as were the eating areas.

We stopped here on our trip home from Niagara Falls. It came in handy when we needed to use the restroom, stretch our legs from a long day (plus a long drive) & fill up on gas. They had a decent amount of options for places to eat. mcdonalds, cinnabon, Moe’s, auntie ann’s, a pizza shop and a few other things im forgetting. I believe it also had vending machines. We checked out the options but decided to just wait another hour to eat dinner in erie (plus we packed snacks) checking out rest stops is part of the fun in a road trip. and this one was better than the outhouse looking ones we passed in pa (lol)

When you see this station, you are either guaranteed you are leaving New York or you are just entering the Buffalo area, but in either case, it’s a good omen that you are almost to your destination of choice.
The downside is that this is the only plaza between Erie, Pennsylvania and Buffalo so it is best to stop here while you can if you are leaving the Buffalo area or else you may run into some problems. If you are coming from the Buffalo side, you have to walk across the pedestrian bridge that goes just above the interstate. It’s pretty neat that when you walk across you can view the rapidly moving cars coming towards you thus making the walk pretty unique if this is your first time.
When you reach the main plaza, it gets heavily congested rather quickly so expect to be bumping into strangers if you don’t know where exactly you are going but if you look around for a while you will find plenty of places to eat at if your hungry. The restaurants include the following:
— McDonalds
— Auntie Anne’s
— Moe’s
— Cinnabon
— Subway
— Carvel
— Ella’s Pizza & Sandella’s
If you are also shopping around they do have a gift shop, ATM’s, and there is also a booth with tourism information if you need help.
The positives about the plaza are that the main area is still kept relatively clean for the amount of tourists coming in and out of the plaza and all of the restaurants are still maintained well so good for them that they are keeping it clean. The same can’t be said for the restrooms which smell horrible and look like they belong In a prison. I would recommend either holding back your nose before entering or just avoid using the restroom if you have to,…the bushes are better than this.
Another downside is the prices of practically everything found in the plaza from gasoline to food. They are nearly double when what you will find in either typical gas station in PA or NY. If you aren’t pressed for gas it is highly recommended you skip quickly because you will be overspending by nearly ten dollars.
The same goes for food as McDonalds is nearly ten to fifteen dollars but for food, it’s still the same quality which goes for all the restaurants in the plaza so if you are hungry, you might as well eat here if you didn’t pack any food because the options are great, just not the price.
For a service plaza, it’s amazing at service and food selection but ultimately horrible on prices. Stop with caution if you choose to enter.

This is the only Thruway service plaza between Buffalo and Erie PA. It’s accessible from both directions, thanks to a pedestrian bridge that spans the interstate.
It can get really crowded, especially in the summertime, and the last time I was there the air conditioning was having trouble keeping up.
It’s a little dated feeling, a little run down and crummy, smells like grease, but if you really need some free Wifi, gas, or food and you absolutely don’t want to get off the Thruway, this is your place to go.

Just awful. Gross, dirty, smelly bathrooms. My aunt actually walked out of the bathroom to ask someone to hold her drink because she didn’t want to have it in such a dirty room. Moe’s Southwestern should have been good with fresh ingredients, but it was so bad I only ate half and threw the rest away. The tortilla chips were stale, the salsa sour, the queso bland. Everything was overpriced too. Overall, a terrible experience.

I’m sorry… This place is almost HELL ON EARTH. Like another Unilocaler said, this is like the one and only stop for A VERY long while. PLUS, with it being uniquely in the middle of the thruway, it allows for patrons from BOTH directions. Smart concept but results in probably one of the most busiest rest stops ever… And it’s like that EVERY.TIME.I.COME.
The restrooms are pretty gross… Well, not even «pretty gross», downright gross. They smell like the zoo. The seat in my stall was half way off. (Luckily I never sit down anyways but come on…)
I have to admit, there ARE a number of restaurant choices including McDonald’s, Subway, Moe’s, a pizza place and Cinnabon in addition to a «newspaper-​type» shop… But just be aware… You will be paying like double than what you would elsewhere.
We decided on McDonald’s. We got 2 «value» meals and a kids meal and paid $ 28 and change. I give the staff there lots of credit bc I wouldn’t be able to handle working there. They actually did get our food out fairly quickly.
Good luck to those who decide to stop here.

This is the only service plaza on I-​90 between Erie and Buffalo so it’s always crowded. It has a walkway from the parking lot to the area that houses all the dining options. Be prepared to wait in line for any food! They have McDonald’s, Subway, Auntie Ann’s pretzels, Cinnabon, a pizza place, a coffee kiosk, and Moe’s Southwest Grill. We chose to have lunch at Moe’s and, although the line was super duper long, it moved pretty fast and the quality was just like a typical standalone Moe’s, including the free chips and the many salsa options. The bathrooms were decently taken care of and the gas station was crowded but we didn’t have to wait too long to use it. FYI, much closer to Buffalo than Erie so just be aware. Don’t head off on I-​90 from erie on an empty stomach like my bf and I did!

My team has 10 outfield players but we could use «an Goalie.» Or should that be «a goalie.» Idk. Anyway, you get the idea.
Angola Services mean that you are truly leaving the Buffalo area. Or, if you’re heading East, then it means you’re nearly in Buffalo. Either way, it’s fun.
Unfortunately, the services have higher gas prices and a few unfriendly employees, and to actually use a bathroom or get some coffee or food or whatever, you have to walk across the pedestrian bridge over the highway… which is kind of cool, but is unexpected and time-​consuming. Very cool bridge and great location for services, but still a 2 star from me. Partly because you can’t exit this highway and use non-​Thruway services without paying a little extra in tolls.
And by the way, it’s the last services til you reach PA heading West. But if you can wait until you get to PA for gas, you’ll save a big chunk of money.

They offer bathrooms, clean! And sell stuff. What more can you long for along a thruway? What you see is what you get. Nothing fancy, but please… take your girl out dancing and dining some other place.

I must say I’m glad places like this exist. It’s needed traveling with a 4 year old. That does not mean I like this particular one though. The bathrooms are horrible. They just smell really bad. Also some of the food places don’t look as clean and organized as they could. This place is screaming for a face lift. The only real nice thing I can throw in is that the gift shop was clean and organized. It was pretty much the only area in the place that didn’t feel like it was falling apart. O also my boy love being able to look out the windows at the cars driving under the walk way. I get that there are a lot of people who stop here but I really wish it felt cleaner.

I have been visiting this location for over 30 years. They have one facility which services both east– and west-​bound travelers along I-​90. Located on the north side of the complex, east-​bounders can access the main building by utilizing the convenient, fully enclosed walkway which extends all the way across from one side to the other.
In the main building, they have various fast food eateries available, and well-​maintained restroom facilities.
Their fuel is a little pricey, but it certainly is convenient.

Restaurants here– McDonald’s. Subway. Moe’s Southwest Grill. Cinnabon. Auntie Anne’s.
Be prepared for massive crowds but they seem prepared for them here as well. They have a full desk with multiple people to give you travel and tourism info.
Clean bathrooms. Los of eating choices.
I grabbed a healthy chicken wrap. But I really wanted that cinnamon bun! Healthy choice won in the end.
If you’re heading east and are wondering where the buildings are, you have to walk across the catwalk. But there are vending machines right at the entrance so if you want something quick to drink or snack on, you can get it right there.

One star for the disgusting bathrooms. Only travel plaza before a 52 mile stretch on 90E of no services.
Overall plaza itself is clean, but bathrooms look like something outta a bad horror movie.
First and last stop here

This reststop is for both East and West Bound Thruway travelers.
Along the NYS Thruway there are a bunch of «Travel Plazas». This one is near Angola, Silver Creek and Eden, NY, milepost 447. Its a busy one and has lots of things in it. I’ve been there a few times, it is clean and I think recently renovated. Clean restrooms
It has:
Sunoco gas
McDonald’s — 24 hours
LavAzza — 24 hours
Sandella’s
Ella’s Pizza
Subway
Moe’s Southwest Grill
Auntie Anne’s
Carvel
Cinnabon
Snack Bar
Tourism Information
Gift Shop
Farm Market — seasonal
E-​ZPass On The Go
ATM
(2 listings for this rest stop.)

I took a vacation to Cleveland and Canada a few weeks ago. Flew into Cleveland to meet up with a friend then drove into Canada via Buffalo. On the way up to our northern neighbor, our last stop in the U.S. was at the Angola Service Plaza. Growing up in Connecticut, I’ve stopped at plenty of rest stops along I-​87 and this was my first on the opposite side of the state.
The setup of this rest stop is really awesome. There are entrances on both sides of the highway with glass pedestrian bridges that take you right over the highway to the main area that is located on the center median. If you are travelling with children, make sure that you stop here as I’m sure this would be very impressive to them as well.
As for amenities, the bathrooms aren’t too shabby; clean as you’d expect for a rest area. Food wise, there was McDonald’s, a LavAzza coffee stand, Moe’s Southwest Grill (the first that I’ve seen outside of the South), Auntie Anne’s, Carvel, and Cinnabon. As my friend and I had already eaten, we just grabbed drinks at the little gift shop and immediately realized that we should have just gotten one off the dollar menu at McDonald’s because the bottled soda was $ 2.50 for a 20 oz.