Brunner’s Tavern

Friendly dive bar with good food, good drinks, and great service. I’m not a regular because I live too far away, but I always feel welcome. Love it.

Best steak sandwich in buffalo. They have this spinach sponge type bread that is excellent. Cash only, but well worth it. Fish fry supposed to be good, but havent tried it. I always stop in for a steak sandwich when I get there.

Has been a neighborhood staple for 100 years. Yes that’s 100. My father courted my mother here as a college student at ub in the 1950s. He says it’s virtually unchanged. Any item on menu will not disappoint. The steak sandwich, wings ordered hot and then finished over the char grill, fish fry, pea meal sandwich, burger, all excellent.
This is not a fancy place ! Many locals at bar but newcomers always welcome.

Cheap and divey with good service and good wings. Very VERY casual atmosphere in here. Big bar and a separate area with tables. I appreciate the big round tables because it is nice coming in with a group of 8 or 9 and being able to look at everyone. The round tables also make a nice space for drinking games. They serve pitchers of beer that come with plastic cups, nothing fancy, again, plastic cups allow for more drinking games than glasses would allow for. The wings are pretty delicious and they will kindly finish them for you on the grill which adds a delicious char flavor. The waitstaff is laid back yet upbeat and kind. They have big televisions in the bar always showing the sports games on during that time. They have christmas lights hanging around the ceiling which adds a cozy vibe to the place. This is really your hole in the wall neighborhood bar that has good bar food and cheap drinks.

I went to Brunner’s tavern as I was nearby and just read about it after Buffalo Eats went and posted a review.
The place is a local bar… with lots of regulars (I came in on a night after softball). Busy but friendly. This is not a fancy place… foam plates and plastic forks. Not an issue for me, but a heads up for others.
I ordered the steak sandwich… the steak is cooked on a small grill next to the bar… depending on how busy… you may be waiting… so have another beer or drink!
Anyway… the sandwich may seem pricey ($ 16), but Brunner’s does not cheat you… the strip steak was thick (see the photo for proof) and was cooked to medium… nice and pink. The steak was juicy.
The steak is tipped with peppers, onions, mushrooms and cheese. All of it is served on a Costanzo’s sub roll. Yes, the roll gets soggy, but it’s a sign the steak was cooked well. The sandwich was served with chips and macaroni salad. again simple buy good.
Overall, the sandwich was good. I wished the steak had some more flavor, such as Montréal Steak seasoning or something similar. But, the key is the steak was cooked perfectly, so I can overlook it.
I would recommend coming back to Brunner’s. I would like to sample some of other items on the menu

What was once served a great carved roast beef on kimo all week long now is down to Sat. only
But don’t let that stop you they have a strip steak sandwich that can not be improved on.
Great Bar with outstanding bar food and more.

In the old days, nobody would ever pay for their food. Hence the name was «Done-​a-​runners.»
What to get: Burger.
I wasn’t sure if I should give it a 4 or a 5, then I saw the stinging review about it not being clean… it must have changed since that review was posted because it’s pretty clean now and they are certainly being hygienic when making food, so that review is really invalid. Most of the bars in Buffalo seem less hygienic than this one.
The main runners on the Olympic team sometimes get injured. When that happens, you have to call on the B-​Runners.
I was sent here by a Unilocal friend. I was actually going to try Average Joe’s, but they really annoyed me and wouldn’t serve me, so I went to my second choice, and was really glad I did. It’s cheaper than some of the «big burgers» in town (Vizzi’s, Ruzzine’s, Average Joe’s), but it’s also a little smaller.
If I owned this place, I guess I would rename it «Punners».
It was very tasty. It was juicy, it was well seasoned. I didn’t really like the bun but everything else on the burger was good. It was just big enough to satisfy me without making me totally stuffed. I got it with Pepperjack cheese and that was really good too.
In the old days, only people that fake tanned would go here. Hence the previous name, Sunners.
Also the service was really nice here. The guy was super super friendly, one of the friendliest guys-​in-​bars I’ve seen in a long time. So yay for Midwestern-​quality customer service. Oh and the burger was ready exactly when he said it would be and was juicy and hot. Kind of like you. No, not you. Yes, you.
And everyone here is very big on the Constitution and such. Hence the previous name «The Right To Carry A Gunners».

Just visiting for the Mac conference swim championships and found Brunners on Unilocal.HIGHLY RECOMMEND this local joint. The reviews on Unilocal are spot-​on: steak sandwich is a must, our GREAT waitress recommend the local beer «rusty chain» that is also a must try if you like local craft beers.
Keep in mind this is a local «joint», not fancy just great staff, great food, great beer, great value.

Very cool place in Eggertsville

Wow! I can’t say enough good things about Brunner’s, their food and Danny the bartender/​cook.
5 of us went to Brunner’s on Sunday evening around 6:30 for my brothers bday. The bar was pretty busy, but we got a spot at the corner of the bar for is all to sit. The bartender Danny was the only person working the whole place! He was working hard keeping up with all the bar patrons and keeping up all the food orders.
We all ordered our drinks which Danny got to is in a timely manner, and then We placed our food order. 1 grilled chicken sandwich, 4 burgers, 1 basket of fries and 10 BBQ grilled wings.
I was so impressed that we got all of our food together, without a long wait, everything was delicious and hot! The burgers were cooked perfectly and the wings… I never had them there before, I will definitely be back for them!
It makes me wonder why some restaurants that have so much staff, hostess, servers, bartenders, cooks, etc… Sometimes can’t get it right whether it be the food or service, but yet Danny all by himself pulled it off!
Can’t wait to go back.

When in Buffalo… go to Brunner’s. Reminds of a bar here in Chicago (Burton Place). Made me feel like I was at home.
Loved the Fireball shots served in plastic shot glasses.

This is a great dive bar! It’s got good prices and the food is actually amazing for bar food. You must try the bacon blue cheese burger… it’s amazing… seriously. The sausage and peppers are pretty great too! The prices are very cheap for Buffalo and the crowd is very friendly.

They start off with complementary rolls served with pats of butter. They looked amazing, but then were cold to the touch. They ended up still tasting great. I ordered the Southwest Burger which came with PepperJack cheese, salsa, and jalapenos. Mmmm. The burger was very delicious. The burgers also come with chips and macaroni salad. I ordered an extra side of the crinkly fries. The service was busy, but still very friendly. Several televisions with sports. Large bar selection for being so small.
For Fridays they offer more than just a fish fry, there are also broiled fish options. Excellent place for food, but it is definitely loud from the crowd.

Got to love Brunner’s! The food is always VERY tasty. First on the personal favorites is the steak sandwich from the grill menu, smothered in peppers, onions, and cheese on tasted garlic bread (only problem is depending on the grill chef you may not get it cooked exactly as you ordered). Second would be the Western Burger followed by the fried bologna and then the bbq chicken sandwich. Fries are meh. The service is SUPER friendly but not the most attentive I’ve had– no biggie, it’s a busy tavern and I kind of expect that. They really lost a star from me because of their $ 3.50 shots that come in one of those TINY stupid Dixie cups. WTF. The prices on everything in the place are high enough, at least give us enough booze to forget about it!

Cheap beer and a great steak sandwich. The service was extremely pleasant too. I plan on returning for a few bills games for sure.

Really, really good burgers and steak sandwiches. Pretty much a hole-​in-​the-​wall type place, with pros and cons accordingly. Very friendly staff, really good prices and a surprisingly good drink selection.
I mean, I wouldn’t bring a date here, at least not until like date 4 or 5, but its a great place to grab a beer and eat some food that is terrible for you.

This place is the epitome of Western New York. Great food and beer. The fish fry was more food than I knew what to do with. Definitely stop in if you’re in the area.

Best steak (NY strip) sandwich in town. Flatscreens for sports & busy Friday night Fishfry!

For my annual return to Buffalo, I met some friends at Brunner’s for beer, wings and football. It is a great choice for just that. They had Spaten Oktoberfest on tap, which is awesome. We didn’t even look at the food menu, just asked for a bunch of hot buffalo wings. They were assembled in a way that I hadn’t seen before. After being doused in hot sauce, they were placed on the grill. This had an amazing effect on the wings, giving them a crispness to add to the inherent heat. Certainly better than any wings I’ve tried in NYC. Seated at the bar, we got to see the bartender in action. In addition to pouring drinks for about 20 patrons, he prepared the food orders. An impressive balancing act. This is definitely a place for the locals, and anyone else who wants a cold brew and a hot wing.

Good little hole in the wall place on Main with cheap beer, great burgers, and a fun environment.
The bar area is pretty big and there is a halfwall to delineate the bar area from the seated area. This setup comes in handy when you have a group of 4 to 6 at the bar and you can use the halfwall as another place to stand and put drinks. The drinks themselves were pretty cheap, I actually wasn’t paying so I don’t know the price but I’m sure the beers couldn’t have been more than $ 3.
We all got burgers (~$ 6) which they make right at the bar at a little 3′ x 4′ (approx) charcoal grill. It’s almost like an American hibachi being able to watch them cook the food. The burgers were probably around a half pound and cooked well. They have a wide selection of burger types (cajun, bacon, etc) though I only had the regular hamburger. It’s served with chips and mac salad which is fine by me.
Overall the experience was great, I can see why people I talk to go here several nights a week. It certainly has a local bar kind of feel and I got the impression that my friends there recognized at least half a dozen of the other regulars in the place. If you’re looking for a simple social drinking spot you can do worse than Brunner’s. When I was there the volume was low and you could actually hold a conversation with people which is a plus for me. If you go, don’t expect anything fancy, just expect to have a good time.