The Epicurean - Niagara Falls

This restaurant is very conveniently located on the main drag on Queen street. The decor was good, the menu is very nice, but the food quality was uneven. The soup special was a tomato soup with spicy sausage, and it was delicious. The main course, spaghetti carbonara, was not very good - limp noodles overwhelmed in cheese. The service was fine, especially considering it was our server's first day. That was not an issue. The only issue was the quality of the main course.

This used to be our regular go to restaurant for lunch. A quick meal at a good price. Always friendly staff behind the counter serving delicious fresh food in the qualities that you wanted. Unfortunately, this is no more. The restaurant has undergone a sea change under new management. Gone is the counter service. In its place is a sit down service with overpriced and ordinary food all serviced by staff who could take a lesson in smiling at customers. We are definitely moving on.

Ok. Some restaurants don't cater to families with children, and that's fine. But make it clear! I guess I should have been tipped off when the hostess (maybe owner) ignored me as I stood in front of her for a couple minutes. She was talking to a customer who had just finished about some bad review the restaurant received. Anyway, when we got in they told us they didn't have a booster seat for my 4 year old but could accommodate my 2 year old with a high chair. But the chair had to be pushed in to make room for the wait staff. Whatever, that's cool. But then they told us they didn't have any child cups, and served my children their water in heavy glasses. Ugh, that's a little annoying. I asked for a kids menu..they don't have one. She read the "children's features" from memory (grilled cheese, hamburger, chicken fingers). The whole experience made me feel like my family wasn't wanted there. The waitress was very short, and didn't check in on us. I want to add that my children are very well behaved in restaurants. If they even start to act up, we take them out side. They weren't a disruption. So why did it seem like they didn't want us there?!As for the food- the kids grilled cheese was pretty good. Very large portion and I even took a few bites. My husband wanted a reuben sandwich until he was told it only comes on white bread, not rye. Asked for a choice of bread for the grilled cheese but they only have white. Weird. We bought a $15 appetizer that consisted of 8 small pieces of pita bread and a laughably small portion of hummus, tzatziki, and baba ghanoush. My mother was given a hard time when she tried to order a grilled cheese to go with her soup, as it is a "children's feature". As a vegetarian, I ordered bruchetta. It was good....until it made me sick. Whatever, any restaurant can serve food that makes a customer sick, but the whole experience of this place leaves me with little sympathy.

Enjoyed a wonderful lamb shank dinner on their outdoor patio which we didn't realize until we were taken around back under the lit trees....great atmosphere. Nice treat. Service was great and food was good.

It has been several years since we were to NOTL. We always ate here, both lunch and dinner, in the past.We found the food good, the prices reasonable and the service very good.Cannot say this about the place any longer.We found the prices much higher, the food no better (maybe even not as good) and the service lacking.My understanding is that they changed ownership recently and I think it shows.