Pane Vino on the River

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Location
175 North Water St, Rochester, NY 14604
Hours (as of October 2009)
Lunch
Monday - Friday: 11:30AM to 3:30PM
Dinner
Monday - Wednesday: 5:00PM to 10:00PM
Thursday - Saturday: 5:00PM to 11:00PM
Phone
585 232 6090
Wheelchair Accessible
Info Needed
Email
<panovistoristorante AT yahoo DOT com>
Website
[WWW]http://www.panevinoontheriver175.com
[WWW]Facebook
Reviews
[WWW]2012-03-21 City Newspaper

Pane Vino on the River is an Italian restaurant in the St. Paul Quarter. Their rustic/modern dining room is characterized by exposed brick, a fireplace, and a view of the western city skyline. During the warm months they offer outdoor seating in a courtyard overlooking the Genesee River. A train may be occasionally seen passing by.

Happy Hour is from 4-6:00PM.

Valet parking is available, but on weeknights it's not difficult to find parking on the street. During the summer, there is live music in the courtyard on Thursday and Friday nights.

On September 10, 2018, a second location was opened in the Brio, Pomodoro Grill and Wine Bar, Via Mina location called Pane Vino on the Avenue.

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https://rocwiki.org/Wiki_Settings/Images?sendfile=true&file=talkicon.png See Archive Page for comments prior to 2008.


2008-03-28 22:54:32   We went here for a dinner organized by our department for one of our speakers last year. The service was very good and they accommodated our huge party by graciously pulling together tables. Swing music from the ratpack played throughout the dinner. I had a pasta dish but it was very heavy with a lot of cheese - maybe I should have ordered the non-cheese tomato-flavoured pasta dish. The vegetarian selection is somewhat limited. The place is quite expensive as well but I guess you pay for the location of the restaurant and the ambiance, if not the food. The coffee is however, quite excellent. —TinyPliny


2008-06-09 11:18:48   Absolutely one of my favorite places to enjoy a martini and some appetizers. I have an addiction to their Pasta Anthony and Carbonara. Their Sicilian Calamari is excellent when it's not overcooked. Dinners are a little more expensive for the portions but, the food is worth it. Thursday nights are fun but I always feel badly for the bands that are shoved into the tiny corner to play. There is Always an interesting crowd hanging around. —NightlifeCher


2008-07-25 10:33:32   Pane Vino used to have awesome food when Tony was the chef there, but now it is just ok. The interior is still very nice (nicest Italian restaurant Ive been in) and they have a great patio in the summer, but Im afraid food quality has slid recently. I hope they do well. —MrRochester


2008-10-02 12:42:25   Pane Vino is now open for lunch. I am not sure if they have made a lunch menu or use the same menu they have for dinner. I hope to report back soon. —NightlifeCher


2008-10-16 11:03:09   My wife on I went on a beautiful summer day. The food was fantastic and the location right on the river was great. I would highly recommend Pane Vino. —ChampsElysses


2008-11-09 20:38:21   Pane Vino does a good job of creating a classy-feeling atmosphere (except for the very bar-like bar in the front), and the view of the river and train tracks is great. However, the food is pretty mediocre and certainly not worth the money. The butternut squash soup was very good, but the pasta (my dish and my date's) were bland and overly heavy. The service was fine. —OwenThompson


2008-11-16 14:21:01   Ate here last night with my wife for the first time in about 3 years. We had purchased a $50 gift certificate on Restaurant.com, so figured it was worth going back, as we remembered having a good meal the last time. We arrived just after 8pm, which is pretty typical for us, as we have two little kids who need to go to bed before we head out, or else we'll be killing Grandma off with the bedtime routine!

We did not make a reservation as, from my experience, Rochesterians don't start eating after 8pm, for the most part. When we first checked in, we were told it would be a 30 to 40 minutes wait. I immediately scanned the room, and there were empty tables, but there was also one large group of maybe 12 to 14 people, so perhaps that was killing the kitchen or something. Anyway, we decided to stay, so sat at the bar. I ordered a Gibson, up, with grey goose vodka. My wife, a grey goose vodka tonic. The bartender did not know what was in a Gibson, but after I explained it to her, she actually made quite a good drink. Plus they had the Tipsy cocktail onions, so can't go wrong with those! The grand total for these two drinks was $17, plus I threw in $2 tip. $19 for two drinks seems pretty steep to me. Oh wait, that IS pretty darn steep. I wanted to put the drinks on our dinner bill. The response was, "we prefer that you pay at the bar." Perhaps they don't have a system in place to easily transfer the drinks to the dinner tab, or maybe the bartender was lazy, or both. But, that alone caused me to not buy another round of drinks. So Pane Vino threw away another $17 (plus another $2 tip) if they had just allowed me to do that. Oh well, their loss.

About 30 minutes in we were seated, and quite frankly, it didn't feel that bad - I think in large part to the fact that we ran into one of my wife's co-workers and had a nice conversation. The food was generally excellent. I ordered their special seafood salad. It included three large, perfectly cooked shrimp, and a mix of langostinos and calamari. The calamari was perfect, not chewy at all, nor was it that really soft grainy stuff that some places in town try to pass off. My wife had the clams casino - 9 good sized clams, again, perfectly cooked, not chewy nor over-bready.

Main course for me was their Veal Angelo - basically, veal cutlet served over linguini with artichoke hearts, roasted red peppers, some sort of good quality ham, and a light, but creamy sauce. My wife ordered the shrimp scampi. This was the only let down of the night. The shrimp were slightly overdone, which while easy to do, is also easy to do right. We skipped dessert, having had ample portions of everything else plus a nice bottle of Mondavi Napa Cabernet.

So, overall recommendations - very nice ambiance (it no longer feels like the old Waterstreet Grill, though it's hard to forget that wonderful place!), small but reasonable wine selection, and very tasty food. The service was quite good. Just be sure to make reservations if you go on a Friday night! —DavidGottfried


2008-11-16 22:26:31   My husband and I tried Pane Vino this weekend. The service was efficient, but unfriendly both at the bar and at our table. The food was average, nothing to write home about. My husband had one of the veal dishes and was not impressed. I tried the Penne Vodka after reading the comments here and it was tagged on the menu as a favorite. It was OK, I have had a much better version at Koozinas in Canandaigua. All in all, just an average place with average food. I would say it not worth the price as you can get the same in bigger portions at many area Italian places. —mmsmith


2009-07-21 11:33:50   I enjoyed my dinner here the other night. I ordered the penne vodka with grilled chicken; wife ordered salmon with risotto and asparagus. The salmon portion was large but a little undercooked for my liking, and the risotto was very good. As others have said the penne vodka is well done here. They bring you italian bread with a nice tray of butter, olive oil, Parmesan cheese, garlic, etc, for dipping. The calamari appetizer was nicely battered and plentiful. They did charge us for refills on our ice tea at $2 a pop. Total for the aforementioned food was about $72, and we used one of those restaurant.com certificates to bring it down. We waited a while for our entrees, and were told the Chef didn't like something with one of our meals, and had to completely remake it. Service was good, as was the atmosphere outside on the patio. —JohnBarry


2009-08-26 15:07:04   Way too overpriced with poorly made pastas. Service was slow and aloof. My husband and I each orded a house special pasta. My penne vodka had hardly any sauce and had a texture as though it had been sitting and drying out for a while. Maybe for the 45 minutes it took to make it? It was a total waste of money and not worth the hype. —CrissiH


2009-11-24 13:04:20   I used to live upstairs from Pane Vino and went there few times for dinner. Food is excellent and prices are reasonable. I really like the decor and atmosphere. Good service as well. I would definitely recommend this place. —Liren


2010-06-26 22:21:04   My husband and I went here on Wednesday for dinner with a gift certificate. Service was very good, nice bread basket, and good wine selection. We both enjoyed our meals (I ordered the Veal Anthony and my husband ordered the NY strip steak). Prices are a bit steep, so go with the mindset that you'll spend a bit for drinks and food. We will definitely go back - but armed with another gift certificate. —Acarp


2010-07-17 15:36:43   Went here for a business lunch last week. We were the only people there for lunch!! I know the street is torn up right now, but I was still surprised there was no one else there. I hope they can survive like that. I had the penne vodka with grilled shrimp - absolutely delicious. Probably the best vodka sauce I've had - right mix of creaminess and tomatoes. As others have said, the bread with the butter and olive oil/crushed red pepper/cheese was also very good. One colleague has a fish special that he enjoyed, and the other had a panini that he said was delicious. Service was attentive but not overbearing - a nice balance in an empty restaurant. I thought lunch prices were reasonable for the quality of food received. I would definitely return - I hope they can stick around! —DGandDJ


2010-07-30 21:50:09   Recent visit was a hit and miss affair. We were seated promptly and the service throughout the meal was excellent. I opted for a veal and shrimp dish that was outstanding, My wife wanting something on the light side, ordered a salad with that was offered as both an appetizer or dinner. Her salad came with 3 or 4 thin slices of beef served over various lettuces with what my wife called a great dressing. We were both very happy with our choices and called it yet another fine Pane Vino meal. Now comes the miss. When I received the bill my meal was $26 dollars and my wifes salad was $28. She could have ordered a steak for less money and brought food home. My advise if you go here is to be sure to ask what the specials cost and save yourself a surprise. —almorinelli


2012-01-24 10:20:53   This is a great room. Very pleasant environment and seating arrangement.

Pretty awful experience here Saturday night with everything else though. The hostess/owner's daughter, could have cared less about us being there and apparently doesn't care what kind of server they employee to work at a higher end spot. Our server was young and way over the top with syrupy smiles and enthusiam and BS. Just ruined the entire evening. Phony. I almost said something but kept it in check. She's learning. Still for $20-$30 entrees in Rochester, some level of class and maturity is expected. This type of behavior may have been acceptable at Hogan's or Magnolia but even then it would be off-putting.

Crostini appentizer was incredible. Perfect sauce. Made me wish I ordered an entree with sauce.

The rest of the food was just so unremarkable. Center cut pork shops were bland and dry - as if they were glazed and seasoned after they were cooked. Not even close to $27. The other entree was Artichoke Ravioli. The net of it all was - we could do better at home.

The server really tarnished this visit and the food did nothing to rectify the situation.

I don't mind paying at all. This is considered a bit of a higher end spot in Rochester and it doesn't come close. Lucano in the East/Winton Plaza is a much better choice.

They've been in a business a while so someone likes it. That's fine. I can't give them another chance.