Handlebar

Amazing environment= great music & great drinks. The bartenders here are phenomenal. They are extremely knowledgeable and make the most unique drinks in buffalo yet. A Must try is the Mediterranean mule– a sweet spin on the popular Moscow mule and an all time favorite. Will keep coming back!

Tried Handlebar for the first time. The bartender was great at steering my wife and me to beers, and the rice bowls were tasty. I would definitely go back.

Stopped in on a super rainy weeknight for dinner with a friend. We were literally the only diners in the place, but the staff was friendly and made us feel right at home.
The reason we picked Handlebar was for the mostly vegetarian/​vegan menu. They made a very smart (and weirdly uncommon decision for non-​Asian eateries) to make almost all the dishes start as vegetarian, then allow you to add a meat or vegetarian protein. For the pizzas, they even had vegan Daiya cheese as an alternate selection.
We both really enjoyed our meals (I had a Thai peanut pizza with tempeh; she had a baja rice bowl) as well as some fancy cocktails suggested by the bartender. In fact, we both liked the food so much, we ordered more to take home to our spouses.
There are plenty of gluten-​free options, too, making this a great choice for groups with mixed dietary requirements/​preferences.

PHENOMINAL!!! We came here for the vegan options and I was blown away — right off of our bar stool!!! The cashew cheese was un-​f-​in-​believable. The vegan platter was enough to fill me and so delicious! Located right near the arena– these Sabres season ticket holders will be back for our vegan food pre game! Thank you guys for providing options! Thank you for the friendly and knowledge and manager! Keep t up Handlebar!

This is my favorite guilty pleasure in Buffalo! Great beer selections, top choice tunes at the right volume to allow you to groove but also chat it up. Great aesthetic and theme. It feels good here, and the food is great, with a variety of items to choose from.

I decided to come check this place out a couple Thursdays ago for their «Bring your own vinyl» night. With good olé’ MJ and Jimmy Hendrix under my arm I made my way inside.
The space itself is amazing. You can see that a lot of time and thought has been put into the décor and design. The bar is lined high with liquors of overwhelming variety. The bicycle theme is everywhere you look, from the cogs lining the bar top and the pedals in the stools. The place is an absolute treasure.
The venue’s location is kind of odd and out of the way from other Buffalo Sights but it’s convenient for me to get to from my home. It may explain why the place didn’t seem to be attracting too many customers even though the roads were rife with Sabres game traffic whilst I was there.
The experience is great, the drinks are well made, the price is fair, and the atmosphere is palpable. I really like the bar and I wish it had more of a built in crowd.

My sister wanted to make this a stop for her birthday since she’s vegan and this place has loads of options for her. I am a meat lover myself but can definitely get down with trying something different and I have to say, I was SO glad I opted for some food to accompany my absolutely beautiful beverage.
Handlebar is a great place to go for a drink. It’s cozy, comfortable, and the bartender was absolutely fantastic. He knew what he was talking about and was just so pleasant. I highly suggest one of their signature cocktails… you won’t be sorry. The bourbon one, I forgot what it was called, is out of this world. The bartender that night was Adam, and he could tell you everything you ever wanted to know about the booze on hand for that evening.
The food was also very filling, delicious, and fairly priced! They had music and crafts on a Tuesday night — how cool is that? Overall, this place rules and I highly suggest you check it out!

This place is perfect for a pint before a game or just hanging out in the patio. +1 for the industrial finish and its gluten free menu. It will become my new go to when I head downtown. Job well done!

Adam is the bartender. Cool guy was very helpful as far as places to go to have fun while I’m in town. Drinks are made well. Not so strong to where you only taste alcohol but you definitely don’t realize how well it’s poured til it’s done. Good drinks great atmosphere the music is good and the people seem to really be enjoying the food.

Pretty cool little spot on Swan Street in Downtown Buffalo inside «The Hub.» Handlebar is a bicyclists heaven, from bar stools with pedals on them to gears imprinted in the bar, bicycle enthusiasts will surely like this destination. In addition to a variety of different alcoholic drinks, they also offer fresh smoothies and what looked like some pretty hearty food (rice bowls, flatbread pizzas, homemade desserts, salads, etc).
I happened to find myself at Handlebar this past Friday because I had a gift certificate. I was pleased to find I was there at the perfect time… happy hour! Handlebar offers happy hour from 3 – 6:30pm Tuesday-​Friday which includes $ 3 pints from local community breweries. Drinks were overall relatively inexpensive.
Perhaps this summer I’ll be ambitious and bicycle down to Handlebar and relax on the outside patio and/​or watch some cycling events on the indoor TVs. I’d recommend Handlebar to anyone who is looking for a different (positively unique) environment and/​or to anyone who enjoys biking!

New menu now includes rice bowls. They’re so simple but so tasty. I absolutely loved mine.
I also had the best beer of my life there — a Unity Vibration kombucha beer. I hate beer but I loved this drink.

Food: Just Okay, not much on the menu and my rice bowl wasn’t anything special, the charcuterie cheese platter was pretty good, my husband ordered the pulled pork on a sweet potato and he said it was just alright but there were a lot of good flavors there. My beer was a little on the warm side (which I considered a huge disservice to my Southertier IPA) which was about $ 8.
Décor: Loved. The bicycle décor makes this place.
Service: Great. There was a sign that said please order at the bar but she was nice enough to come to our table and offered up the menus and specials.
Atmosphere: Around 9:30/ 10 on a Friday night it got very loud and crowded. Might visit this place during the day next time. Also if your looking to find some trendy hipsters this is the place!

5 of us visited on Valentine’s Day after a day of brewery tours. The bartender, Carmen, was swift and friendly with her service. As the designated driver, she also offered me a tasty blood orange & Sprite beverage over the water I’d originally ordered and said it was on the house. Awesome!
We sat with our friends and enjoyed the tastefully eclectic and bicycle themed décor and the broad range of patrons. The beer selection included many of the new, local brewery offerings and there were 6 – 8 to choose from. We had a few drinks but didn’t order food. We did notice a delicious variety on the menu and planned to come back! We also saw that those who were dining really enjoyed their orders!
While we were there, Sarah, the owner, was treating all of us to some great music on the record player. From blues and jazz to fun hits from a variety of decades, the music was a nice touch in this very relaxed setting.
Despite the bitterly cold temperatures that day, Handlebar provided a warm and welcoming atmosphere! I would highly recommend coming to Handlebar all year round. It’s in a great location, convenient to sporting events or concerts, Canalside and all the other great things happening downtown. Stop in to be part of Buffalo’s renaissance and support this great local business! Cheers!

Regular drink menu but I like the vibe in this bar. Casual and laid back, yet it’s very contemporary from the inside.
The only reason I’m giving it 4 stars is because of the bartender. She was extremely nice and always ready to answer questions /​suggest drinks and made a point to actually interact with the customers despite being a busy night. The best experience with a bar tender I’ve had in AGES! Thumbs up, lady!

Awesome little bar. You could easily pass by this spot without knowing it. Finding parking is kind of a hassle. A few decent beers on tap, an okay selection of liquor and just a few cocktails on the menu. Went here late at night, so the kitchen was closed (or so it seemed.) Décor was cool. if you’re a cyclist, you’ll appreciate the effort that went into this place.

Handlebar has good vibes and an awesome atmosphere. This newly renovated building on Swan in downtown Buffalo is beautiful in general and the bar/​restaurant on the first floor is its gem.
The cocktail and beer lists are interesting and exciting. The food menu, however, I have found a little lacking. On my most recent visit, I split a Greek flatbread pizza with my date. It took a while to come out and I’m not sure why since there was no one else eating at the time. Typically, I happily eat anything under the umbrella of «pizza.» Unfortunately, this pizza came out scalding hot and was a very plain let down. It even became a bit of a running joke between me and my date for the rest of the weekend.
This place has more potential than most. I haven’t tried the rest of the menu yet but will probably just stick to cocktails here for a while.

The atmosphere here is awesome! I absolutely love what they have done with the space and would not hesitate to return.
The beer selection is good. The prices may seem expensive but in most cases are commensurate with the ABV. Their cocktails are creative and delicious (and worth the price, in my opinion).
But the food … oh the food … equating the flatbred to a stale cracker would be a compliment — in a more foul mood, I would actually equate it to cardboard. The ingredients were boring and nondescript. Basically no flavor at all. The frozen pizza that I bake in fits of desperation is a thousand times better than this flatbread (for half the price).
I write these harsh words begrudgingly because I like this place and want it to do well. But I really hope they amp it up on their flatbread pizzas. Right now they just simply are not worth the time or money.
Come for the drinks and the atmosphere, no question!

I got an e-​mail today from the owner of Handlebar and it was refreshing to see that some owners care enough to reply to their patrons, Thank you Sarah. I had mentioned that a few ingredients were missing from my kale salad but she explained to me that they may have been blended into the dressing, hence me not actually seeing them. And after seeing the concern for perfection, I will definitely give Handlebar another try.

So this is a review of the bar part of HandleBAR. Love the location and the beer selection. Then didn’t have a ton of beers on tap but the ones they did were rock solid and in line for what a craft beer is going for these days in Buffalo.
Service was super friend and engaging as I was by myself for 20 minutes before my friends showed and I loved that.
I also got to wander over to the bike shop and browse the bikes with my beer. Not sure if this was «officially» allowed but they seemed cool with it.
Time for a instate «bike of the night» (perhaps for bragging rights or a free beer) and they should draw some more of the ever growing biking crowd in Buffalo.
And lastly they were graceful host for one of the «Slow Rolls.»
Keep up the bike related activities and you’ll be on to something really great.

My husband and I went here on a Friday night just for some drinks downtown. This little bar is so hip! It’s a modern bar with antique bicycle touches; it definitely makes for a great social atmosphere. While I was hoping we might have a chill night at this new place, a huge party showed up and it became quite crowded, which is a good thing! I’m happy to see that much business in a brand new establishment so soon!
They don’t have a ton of mixed drinks, but what my husband and I were served, we definitely enjoyed. I ordered the seasonal Vanilla Pumpking Pie which was possibly one of the best combinations of beer and liquor I’ve ever consumed in my life, and the hubby got a Manhattan, which was fine. It was a Manhattan made with Jack Daniels.
We had already dinner prior, so we didn’t eat on this visit, but I’ll definitely be going back. Handlebar had several vegetarian options that looked really tasty, so… hook, line, and sinker!