Buffalo Nostalgia: The Royal Pheasant Memories

There's really no other city like Buffalo when it comes to old restaurants and bars. It doesn't matter if it's the City of Buffalo or the suburbs, there are so many amazing old bars or restaurants that conjure up memories for locals in Western New York.

The City of Buffalo had some absolute gems for old bars. Places that everyone went to, with bartenders and waiters/waitresses that every patron seemed to know.

It didn't hurt if the place had great food as well, and in the case of one popular past bar, amazing lobster.

The Royal Pheasant on Forest Avenue in Buffalo.

The Royal Pheasant on Forest Avenue was a bar that survived many years near Elmwood and Buffalo State, with a cool interior and outstanding food.

An old article from The Buffalo News back in December of 2003 highlighted the fact the Royal Pheasant survived picketing in the 1940s, a fire in the 1970s (with no insurance), and other hardships along the way. However, the smoking ban that was put in place back in 2003 was the nail in the coffin for why the Royal Pheasant closed at the end of 2003 after nearly 60 years in business.

The lobster was well known at the Royal Pheasant; plus, the prime rob and Welsh rarebit. The bar also had TV's and cool designs that drew people to the bar and locals who lived around Forest, Richmond, Bird and Elmwood.

The Royal Pheasant had a ton of comments in group Facebook (Meta) pages, and it was clearly a place that left a legacy.

It later became Mixology, but the building was knocked down in 2014 and now the land sits vacant.

What memories do you have of the Royal Pheasant?