Taste of Buffalo

The Taste of Buffalo returns to Niagara Square on Saturday, July 13th from 11a to 9p and Sunday, July 14th from 11a to 7p! The mission of the Taste of Buffalo presented by Tops is “to provide an affordable and enjoyable weekend festival in a socially responsible manner for families of Western New York; to enhance the quality of life in the Niagara Frontier and promote downtown Buffalo.”

The Taste is a weekend festival filled with great food and entertainment. It is located in the heart of Downtown Buffalo along Delaware Avenue beginning just South of Niagara Square by City Hall and heading North past Chippewa Street to Johnson Park. It begins at 11 a.m. daily and there is no admission charge.

Music To Your Ears: Come party with us! Shake your booty on our dance floor to Buffalo’s best party bands inside our in the Big Beer Tent on the Tops Stage on Delaware Avenue, just past Chippewa Street. You’ll find a DJ spinning hot dance tunes under a tent located on Huron Street. Show off your talents and sing karaoke inside the Mohawk Street Beer Tent. Our Hometown Beer Tent is now located on Delaware Avenue at West Eagle Street in Niagara Square and features 6 taps with local, ice-cold craft beer and live acoustic music.

Food For Thought: More than 250 culinary specialties are served by WNY’s best restaurants. All items are priced between $1.00 and $5.00. Tickets are $1.00 each. Each restaurant offers a “Taste” item. A “Taste” item is a smaller-sized portion of one of the menu items a restaurant is serving and is only 2 tickets. Did you know that you can visit 10 different restaurants at the festival and get a “Taste” item at each of them and spend only $20? Pick your favorite food or sample something new like Chicken N’ Waffle on a Stick or Pud Thai Chicken. The Taste has it all.

Tasty Facts: The Taste of Buffalo presented by TOPS is the largest two-day food festival in the United States. It began in 1984 and now attracts almost 450,000 patrons annually. It has been voted WNY’s premier outdoor festival. The Taste is a not-for-profit corporation registered with the State of New York and is run by an all-volunteer board of directors and a festival coordinator. The primary purpose of the event is to showcase downtown Buffalo and the wonderful restaurants that call our region home. As a rule, the Taste is designed to break even. Sponsorships help cover some of the expenses and food prices are set to make the event affordable for all families. The vast majority of the income from the Taste goes home with the restaurants and, after expenses (tents, electricity, permits, entertainment, trash collection, and more!), the Taste makes one or more contributions to local charitable organizations. Select charities and non-profit groups also partner with the Taste to staff ticket and beverage booths with volunteers in return for a small stipend. Up to five high school seniors residing in one of the eight counties in WNY, who intend to pursue a major in a culinary arts or hospitality curriculum, each receive $1,000 scholarships from the Taste each year.

Click here for complete festival information.