Restaurant

Prospero Restaurant is a lucky discovery for anybody in Buffalo looking for casual place to recharge, relax and a blessing for the neighborhood locals and music fans from the Buffalo Philharmonic who pack the intimate dining room before and after concerts. Named after is the protagonist in The Tempest, a play by William Shakespeare, this cozy, ristorante is a loving tribute indeed. The authentic Italian fare is not fancy but consistently satisfying, incorporating high-quality, locally grown fresh ingredients and a rustic yet sophisticated style. The Caesar salad is garden-fresh and assertively seasoned, and the pastas are done just right. The kitchen excels at chicken and veal dishes; and a Julienne-style veal chop, too big for the plate, is at once crispy and buttery tender. Other options we like include Eggplant Parmesan, Tortellini Ala Capri and a Create Your Own Pasta section for some of our more finnicky diners. After dinner, we recommend any of the home made deserts which are made fresh in-house.

• The bar
• The cozy dining area

Buffalo Rising Review:

Just when it looked as if Prospero, formerly The Coda Restaurant, might never open, the unmistakable green neon sign flickered on. I must have passed by fifty times in the meantime... looking in through the windows... searching for signs of life. Seeing that this restaurant is situated directly behind Kleinhans Music Hall, with no other businesses in sight, it was noticeably dark to anyone living in the neighborhood. When I first wrote about Prospero back in May, I had no idea that it would take so long to open its doors - those darn liquor licenses!