Santoras - Amherst (Update)

Overall: 7.02 (out of 10)
Fry: 8.36 (out of 10)
Sides: 1.40 (out of 3)
Value: 1.09 (avg is 1.36)
Family: 8.67 (out of 10)

Located in Amherst near UB North Campus.  The fry is skinless cod and is available beer battered, broiled (parmesan crusted in a lemon butter sauce or cajun rubbed), or with a spinach bruschetta topping and is served with your choice of two sides including, french fries, coleslaw, loaded potato salad, sweet potato fries, pasta, vegetable of the day, rice pilaf, or a small garden salad for $13.89.  The fry is served everyday for lunch and dinner and reservations are accepted.

Santoras Pizza Pub & Grill is a restaurant/bar/brewpub/pizzeria all in one.  There are many tvs located throughout the restaurant with various sporting events on.  There are multiple dining options including some booths and pub tables in the bar area.  There is also a separate dining room as well as a seasonal outdoor covered patio.  The menu is rather large with plenty to choose from for even the pickiest of palates.  The bar menu is also extensive featuring many craft beers and cocktails.  They also offer a kids menu with the standard childrens fare.  Service was very good.  Drinks were refilled often, the food came out quickly, and was hot.  If I was forced to find fault with the service it may be that the food came out too quick, as we were still enjoying our appetizer when our entrees were brought out, but that's not the biggest of deals to me as anyone who often dines with children would probably agree.

Fish: The cod was fresh, flaky, and well seasoned.  The batter was made with their house 1927 IPA and was easily the star of the show.  It was crispy and perfectly seasoned.  Unfortunately, the batter separated from the fish too easily which is a common problem with beer battered cod.  I wish they would offer a beer battered haddock as I consider myself a purest and much rather prefer haddock to cod.

Tartar: Excellent classic tartar that complemented the battered fish perfectly.

 Sides: The french fries are the standard frozen battered fries, I wish more places would go through the extra effort of making their own fries.  The loaded potato salad was disappointing as the potatoes were a bit under-cooked, chopped too large,  and the dressing was just sort of bland.  The bacon, scallions, and cheese was nice but I felt it just lacked basic seasoning.  The side garden salad was impressively large for being a side dish.  The salad came with garbanzo beans, cucumbers, green peppers, croutons, and tomatoes (despite me asking for no tomatoes).  The 1000 Island dressing was very good as well.  I also remember enjoying their creamy italian on previous visits.  Please note that I did not have the coleslaw this visit, so things may have changed since, but as of my last visit I did not care for the slaw as it was overly dry.

Misc: Santoras is a solid overall restaurant as I have enjoyed many other dishes here.  Their hot garlic wings are top 10 for me.  Their Chips & 3 Dips ($11.59) is a surprising amount of food for an appetizer and can easily be shared between 4-6 adults.  Included is a sampling of their spinach & artichoke dip, their Buffalo dip, and their 5 cheese & bourbon bacon dip.  I enjoyed all 3 dips with the spinach & artichoke being my favorite.  They are served with a basket of tortilla chips, a handful of pita wedges, as well as some celery pieces.