Gigi's Cucina Povera 981 Kenmore Avenue, Buffalo, NY 14217

"I've eaten here before and I have reservations about giving this restaurant a review since I know people who work here They had a New Year's Eve special menu which wasn't all that different from the regular menu except more expensive food. I ordered the artichoke fritter which was good but why do Italian restaurants feel the need to put red peppers in everything? I can't eat them and it wasn't in the description . So not happy with that. The salad however and the house dressing was really good. Now this is a Sicilian restaurant. I grew up eating this type of food my whole life. One of the specials was chicken Milanese. You really can't make a mistake with that but never in my life did I have deep fried chicken Milanese in an Italian restaurant. Mine was over cooked and dry and breading was dark I was told the owner was out sick and staff in the kitchen took over. On the other hand the bar service was excellent and our server was extremely attentive. My bad I didn't complain about my meal. I will not speak for the others at my table. I'll probably come back when there's a normal menu."

"We had our office holiday party catered here for the second year in a row. The staff was all very friendly and accommodating. We had a bunch of different appetizers, which were all very good. The food overall was good. It's a cute little restaurant. Nice and cozy."

"Wonderful traditional Sicilian style dishes made by Chef/Owner . Liv Music is back on occasion! A cozy neighborhood spot for drinks a meal. Adorable patio for warm weather dining."

"We were very excited to try this place for the first time. We checked the menu in advance and everything sounded so good. I immediately told my friends I was absolutely getting the lemon tort for dessert. We were greeted and seated shortly after arriving. When we arrived we noticed there were two tables on the patio and 3 others seated inside that left shortly after our arrival. The restaurant is small, quaint, and comfortable with warm and inviting decor. Our server was slow returning with drinks and one guest ordered a blood orange mimosa but received a blood orange martini. However, our server was very pleasant so we didnt point out the flaw. We were not offered bread but we ordered appetizers of stuffed banana peppers, clams casino, and creamy tomato and eggplant soup. The banana peppers were undercooked and crunchy and lukewarm but the filling was cheesy and flavorful without being mushy. The clams casino were very good. The soup was creamy and flavorful and felt like home. Truly fantastic! We ordered spaghetti & meatball parm, midnight spaghetti, and penne arabiata. The arabiata and midnight spaghetti were brought out and our server said "I will be right back with the spaghetti parm". 6 minutes later she came out with the spaghetti parm. We noticed right away the midnight spaghetti was quite small, it didnt even fill the bowl it was in. The spaghetti in the spaghetti parm was not drained well and I had a sizeable puddle of water in the bottom of my bowl which watered down the sauce on the bottom. Our server then asked if we needed anything else, we requested cheese, crushed pepper flakes, bread, and a water. She said we are all out of bread but I will get you the rest. When we expressed our surprise and disappointment, she said normally we serve bread and dipping oil when you're seated but we are out. I feel that is something you should lead with in an Italian restaurant. And why would the manager or owner not be out buying bread?? Perhaps Tops and Wegmans were also out. In any case, she brought the cheese and pepper flakes (no water) and very graciously offered to bring us a warmed pita. We said yes please and reminded her of the water. We didn't see our server again until we all but finished our dinner and she brought the pita. One piece was burnt (still no water). She collected our plates and asked what dessert we had our heart set on. I declined and am embarrased to say I was a little snarky when said I was afraid it would be one more thing to disappoint me. She maintained her composure, apologized and said she would bring the check. In summary, our server was kind and courteous, I appreciate she cannot help the timing or ability of the kitchen staff, everything had good flavor, the meatballs were sizeable, presentation was average, and drinks were quite strong. I feel for the level of service and presentation they should be ashamed to charge the prices that they do. I am glad I tried them but there is so much room for improvement."

"WOW! Had a curbside pick up for our St. Joseph’s Table meal. Thank you and what wonderful food. All the food was packed up well and safe. Everything was great, I can’t say the names of most of them, but they were all so very good. Didn’t get a picture of the desserts, we ate them to quick. They came right out with my order and right into my trunk. It was all paid for ahead of time. It was a pleasure dealing with them. They do offer inside dining but I went with the pick up. I will try my best to return more often."