The Marketside Restaurant Discovery In Niagara Falls

Many Niagara Falls residents and tourists view the Marketside Restaurant as a must-have experience. Serving family-style breakfasts, brunches, and lunches since 1939, it has earned its reputation as a family business. For many regulars, the pull of the Marketside draws them in again and again. Some people even have tables where they congregate daily or weekly!

716-282-0644
Phone between 7:30 and 12:00 Noon for Pick Up Orders.

How the Marketside Restaurant became a local meeting place.

The atmosphere at The Marketside Restaurant reminds me of the hit TV show, ‘Cheers’ …with its catchy theme song lyrics.

“Making your way in the world today
Takes everything you got
Taking a break from all your worries
It sure would help a lot
Wouldn’t you like to get away?
Sometimes you want to go
Where everybody knows your name
And they’re always glad you came
You want to be where you can see
The troubles are all the same
You want…” ‘to go where everybody knows your name.”

TV Show “Cheers”

Upon entering the Marketside, you immediately feel like you have come to somewhere lost in time, “Where everybody knows your name!”

Being new, like us, you hesitate to see if you should be seated or wait for someone… A waitress floats by with arms full of plates loaded with Texas-sized toast and other amazing-looking meals; you tell yourself to remember to look for these on the menu.

Marla motions with her head, “Just sit anywhere you like, honey.”

The Marketside is a family restaurant where Mike Poletti and his sons serve amazing food in a friendly atmosphere and Good Cheer. Mike often goes around the restaurant greeting guests at tables and ensuring they have a coffee refill. Everyone there, from the family members to the staff, work together to make you feel at home.

Just in case you are not a local, the City Market is right in the middle of Niagara Falls, New York, off Pine Avenue. The ‘Square’ is a large, well-laid parking lot surrounded by shops and restaurants. In the center is a covered ‘drive-up’ area that is home to the City Market Square Farmers Market, which meets there three days a week. The Marketside Restaurant is located along the eastern edge of the ‘Square’ close to Pine Avenue.

Marketside Restaurant – Address and Hours
712 East Market Street, Niagara Falls, New York 14301

Tourists recommend the Marketside.

• “A great find! We found Marketside on the internet, and we were very pleased. It has a great atmosphere, great food, and great service. It was refreshing visiting another city and not having to eat at a cookie-cutter chain restaurant.”- a diner from Columbus, Ohio.
• “This place was amazing! Portion sizes were huge and delicious! I got the french toast with home fries, and my husband had pancakes and eggs. So happy we found this place. We will go back next time we are in the area!” a happy tourist.
• “My husband and I were honeymooning, so we found this breakfast and lunch restaurant and decided to try it out. We were impressed!! The food was delicious and fresh, the service very hospitable, and the atmosphere was warm and cozy. It is a very local and community-centered experience. We highly recommend trying it out!” a newlywed.
• “The Best Place to eat Breakfast in Niagara Falls, NY. Mike is a working owner and a very kind of friendly man who walked around and greeted all of the customers. We were pleasantly surprised for the great tasting food and large portions which were more than we had expected.” a visitor to Niagara Falls.
• “We ate there 3 out of the 4 days. We are the Robinson’s who had come from San Antonio, Texas for our Daughter’s wedding [Kelly] in a helicopter over Niagara Falls. That was a hoot and a lot of fun!! Mrs. Robinson.

The Big Discovery… for me was that they also serve Gluten-Free!

I’ve been shopping at the Farmers Market for some years now and have looked at the neat-looking Marketside Restaurant building with its homey green shutters and big welcoming flower pots. But I had not ventured inside. So when I met Tony Poletti, one of Mike’s sons, who was at the market buying the freshest, juiciest in-season tomatoes he could find… and he said, “You ought to come to have breakfast at the Marketside one of these days.”

Many people come here to have breakfast before the farmers market opens. It is a place to gather and meet friends.

I was about to not really explain my predicament. But felt I should explain so as not to be impolite. So I told him that I had to eat gluten-free, thinking he would shrug and say, too bad.

To my surprise, Tony replied, “Oh, we have gluten-free pancakes and toast. Some of our patrons even order our gluten-free items instead of the regular ones. We know how to take care of you!”

Gluten-Free Breakfasts for Two

So, of course, I made a note to go to the Marketside. My husband Alan B. Stewart and I went, as we both must eat gluten-free. The rest is history. I hope you will enjoy the photographs of our delicious breakfasts. We are now almost regulars!

I don’t think Tony Poletti knew that; as well as blogging at Astoria Magazine, I am also known as Gluten-Free-Trina. I have a bit of a following in the gluten-free world and have often been asked where to eat gluten-free in Niagara Falls! So now I know where to send people for breakfast!

• For those of us who are gluten-free eaters, you want the rest of the story…
• Yes, it all tasted great. No off-flavors in the bread or pancakes, as happens sometimes.
• Bacon was crisp and yet juicy.
• Attention to detail: Maple Syrup served with the pancakes.
• Mouth-watering in-season tomatoes.
• Marketside sources local ingredients as much as possible, so you really are having a taste of Niagara. Local farms with fresh produce.
• They knew to take special care when handling gluten-free foods to avoid cross-contamination.
• Home fries had no seasoning containing gluten.
• The waitress could tell us the brand of bread. Canyon Bakehouse is certified gluten-free and made in a dedicated bakery.
• Marketside Gluten Free Pancake recipe uses gluten-free flour.
• Maple Syrup – Why not try Amazon Fresh Exclusive Organic Last Harvest Pure Vermont Maple Syrup

The whole experience was fun. We ate it all except for a few crumbs! As anyone who must eat gluten-free knows, the best part is how we feel afterward. Awesome! There were no ill effects or ‘glutening’ as we call it, either immediately after or for several days. If you have eaten something with high hopes before, only to feel terrible later, you will understand why I put this information in. One time, I suffered for a whole month after eating what had been presented to me as absolutely gluten-free.

Marketside Restaurant gets full marks. Thank you for taking such good care of us!

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