Patria, Salamanca, NY

Vegetarian Restaurant Review by Jennifer Kumar.

Meet and Greet
Soon as we entered on a Monday evening around 7pm, we were quickly greeted and sat at a nice table. The interesting thing I found about the seating process was being sat across from each other in the chairs closer to the wall. It was cozy, in fact. (Photo of Fried Ravioli, left,by Jennifer Kumar.)

Mise en Scène
The place was amazingly nice, and in some senses lavish being in a casino. Just outside the entry to the restaurant (which is on the fourth floor) is a lighting decoration on the ceiling that changes color every few minutes. (Keep tuned into my husband’s photos to see photos of this display.) It is a semi-upscale restaurant, but I don’t believe there is a dress code.

**We did not have to use restrooms, so no comment on that ambiance!

Choosing a Veggie Treat
Being that Patria was touted as an Italian eatery, we rested assured to get some good vegetarian food here. There were at least three appetizers that were vegetarian. We ordered the eggplant/ sundried tomato dip that reminded us of hummus made with sundried tomatoes added. (Photo by Jennifer Kumar.) It was very tasty. The other appetizer was fried ravioli. The ravioli was filled with ricotta cheese. They are dipped in some kind of breading then deep fried. They smell a little like ‘Chinese’ fried food of some kind. They were served with something that looked like pesto. It was not only very tasty, but unique to our palate. There were a few pasta dishes on the menu, but when we tried to order the chicken vegetable medley without chicken, our waitress actually offered to go and ask the chef to make us something vegetarian with a garlic olive oil sauce! We did request to split the dish, and was told by our waitress there would be a dish splitting fee of $6 if done in the kitchen. To avoid this charge, she would bring out the main course and an extra plate, and we’d split it ourselves! We were genuinely impressed, especially being the night before at Hotel Manor and the bad experience with our waitress there. When this dish was presented to us, we were awestruck. The taste was amazing! It had red bell peppers, artichokes, cipollini onions, and capers with an olive oil garlic sauce. Unlike other pasta dishes, it did not feel like an endless black hole of the same old-same old. It was full of variety and taste! This was the first time we both had capers and they give a slightly bitter taste along with a different, much needed slight crunch.

Checking In
Our waitress leaves us speechless! In fact, her service was the most thoughtful and thorough that we have experienced in a long, long time. She was friendly, attentive and creative. I say creative because she only offered to ask the chef to make us a vegetarian plate rather than minus chicken to save us money. I say creative because she asked us more detailed questions about our diet to assure we weren’t vegans (ex. Do you eat pasta with eggs in it?). I say creative as she offered us a separate plate to split our own meal to save us money. Of course all her creativity inspired us to give her a hefty tip.

See you later
Everything went smoothly and timely. Nothing could be better!

Pay Scale
$16-20 per person (We had 2 appetizers and 1 main dish all split between us was more than enough to fill us.)
Tips: We left 15%
Star System 4.5/5

To find/Contact

Seneca Allegheny Casino
Patria Restaurant
777 Seneca Allegany Blvd
Salamanca, New York14779
(716) 945-3767

Notes: We chose this place as it happened to be the last ‘tourist spot’ on our Pennsylvania Adventure Trip.” Do check the hours on their site before you go as they are generally open in evenings, not for lunch and completely closed for two days during the week.

Have you eaten at Patria? If so, please share your thoughts below.

Thank you for reading.