The Avant Espresso Bar

This was the first place we tried out last summer and it was one of our favorites. It was well within walking distance, peaceful, and reasonable. This is the small cafe inside the Embassy Suites hotel. We always went there about once a week last summer and it was a nice escape from work in a new, calm environment. Some of us at work also thought it was the best place around, but that was before we started discovering other places nearby.

The problem is the food was never that exciting to go back and the selection was way too scarce, since it is a hotel. The coffees they have take a while to make as it’s Starbucks® coffee coming in the Starbucks cups. They serve pre-made wraps, salads, and pastries, though the pastries are usually too expensive for too little to try out. You really can't go with a group of people too. They have a slow service sometimes based on one person there and they have no reason to be that slow. Salsarita's serves dozens of people every few minutes. If a dozen people showed up at Embassy’s cafe, expect to wait about twenty minutes before you sit down with your food. However, a dozen of people will never be at this place.

The entrance is through the front glass doors on West Huron, not on Delaware which is where Della Terra is. When you walk right in from West Huron, it's straight ahead. The service is open from 7am to 6pm each day. They have different premade foods each day. If you're expecting one of your favorites to be there that you had last week, it might not be there the next time. They have a very limited selection. Their soups were a hit. They are best around and they’re always extremely hot. The soft drinks are expensive and it'll cost almost two bucks.

On today's visit, there was no one around. The pastries weren't there. Instead, just the premade selections were there and this time, they were labeled and labeled really well. The a/c can be felt, some soothing musical tunes can be heard, and a nice hotel waterfall inside can be seen. There's an elegant bar and of course no one is ever around that at noon. There's also a feeling this hotel is mainly for business meetings than visitors booking a room. It’s a great, relaxing atmosphere and the tall glass windows give a great view. They only had about three lunch meals to pick from today. One of us got the spicy chicken wrap and other got some shrimp croissant sandwich. Each one came with a small pasta salad inside. The containers were so hard to open so that shows they try to keep them fresh. Each meal was priced at $6.53 total. These are healthy, cool, and light selections which can appeal for a warm summer appetite. What some might consider mostly bland food, the taste was just fine and doesn’t need oil or grease on it.

One of the main reasons to go there is for the sitting environment and atmosphere. Also on the plus side, the food won't make you fall asleep in the afternoon. This is where to go for something healthy, light, and easy. It’s an alternate choice from fried foods especially since there are hardly any healthy places around. It might not fill you up, but that isn't a bad thing.

Final Rating: 3.5 out of 5

The Avant Espresso Bar
embassysuites1.hilton.com
200 Delaware Avenue
Buffalo, NY 14202
(716) 842-1000