The 11 best restaurants in Niagara Falls

AG Inspired Cuisine is the city’s best in creative cooking, local wines, and service. Numerous awards keep it at the top of a fine dining scene it practically created, yet it still feels like a hidden gem in the depths of the Sterling Inn & Spa. The seasonal menu—using ingredients harvested daily from the restaurant’s farm, where they also keep bees—is paired with Ontario wines.

Escape from the lights of the entertainment district and Niagara Falls Boulevard into this rustic oasis inside the Old Stone Inn, now a boutique hotel. Diners sample dishes based on local ingredients, such as Niagara cheeses or house-cured meats, in a romantic setting with a large open fire. Booking is essential in this cozy space, but worth it.

Carpaccio is a popular Italian restaurant tucked away among the fast-food outlets on Lundy’s Lane, serving classics such as arancini, penne arrabbiata, or brick oven pizzas, perhaps paired with a crisp Ontario pinot grigio. In true Italian style, the coffee here is excellent. This place is busy, loud, and lively, so if you desire a quieter meal, go midweek or earlier in the evening.

A wine bar with a carefully curated fixed-price menu and a matching range of Ontario wines, Weinkeller is perfect for a guided tour of local produce and wines, perhaps on the open patio, with live music. It’s next door to the Nightmares Fear Factory, but any bad dreams here will only come from devouring excess cheese, although we’d argue that ‘devouring excess cheese’ is impossible.

Located 15 miles north of the falls at Niagara-on-the-Lake, Kitchen 76 is the culinary output of the fantastic Two Sisters Vineyards, serving Italian-inspired cuisine in a gorgeous setting. Reservations are a must, but there is a grace to Kitchen 76 that positively screams ‘special occasion.’ Beautiful wines are paired with beef carpaccio, roasted Queuec farm chicken, and much more. 

Serving the best in seafood and local wines, Tide and Vine oyster house started life as a VW food truck, and quality has remained a constant on this eatery’s journey. The oysters here are great, while other favorites include blackened octopus and baked scallops. The beef burgers are fantastic too.

Taste some good ol' Thai home cooking at this family-run joint. Its location close to the Canada One Factory Outlets makes it the perfect destination for a mid- or post-shopping meal. Or both, of course. Order the Mai Thai platter to share for a flavorful starter.

Niagara Falls can be (understandably) impersonal at times, such is the magnitude of its touristic appeal, so it is a delight to find somewhere homely for lunch. Secret Garden is just that, boasting a charming patio and decades of family-run stories with the falls in view. The broad menu covers classic breakfast options like pancakes to pasta, burgers and more for lunch. The patio is dog-friendly, and the team is always happy to put together meals for furry friends. 

The Niagara Brewing Company is a massive corner pub with snacks, sandwiches, pizzas, and its own-brewed range of beers. Sample a flight of Canadian craft beers as you listen to live music and watch life go by on Clifton Hill. Hit happy hour and share the varied appetizers (don’t miss the smoky ‘olde York kettle chips’).

Yes, it is a little bit gimmicky, but how many opportunities will you get to eat in a revolving dining room above the world’s most famous waterfalls? The Skylon Tower is a must in its own right, and grabbing a bite to eat while visiting is a better-than-decent option. Continental cuisine fills the menu, but we won’t lie; the menu is of secondary importance here. The food is good, but diners are here for the 360 views of Niagara Falls below. 

Brasa brings authentic Brazilian brilliance to the falls, serving sumptuous steaks surrounded by all the extravagance of an international show. The meat here is as succulent as it gets, tender-as-anything cuts of beef, pork and lamb that is as flavourful as it is moreish. This is an all-you-can-eat affair, and diners use special disks to signal when they are ready for more of them cuts. Bring your appetite to this one.