I love the interior of this place. The poor dead deer’s head aside, this inside is beautiful and modern-rustic, with exposed brick and wooden beams, and a library-feel of liquor shelving behind the bar. It’s very contemporary-prohibition in execution. 

The drinks are excellent. There’s a wide array of choices, ranging from a fragrant, summery Pimm’s Cup, to The Smoke Break; a blend of scotch, coffee and smokeyness, served in a decorative ash tray. Sounds a little painfully hipster, but it’s a delight to drink. There’s a cocktail for everyone on this extensive list, but if cocktails aren’t your thing, they also offer beer and wine. 

Visit Buffalo Proper to drink. Happy hours, pre or post dinner drinks, or catching up with friends. Go elsewhere to eat. 

The food is okay. The selection is slim pickings as far as local gastropub choices go, and the execution is average. It’s not bad, exactly … just unexciting. 

We ordered the burger, which comes with excellent cheese (manchego – mmmm), quince mustard (a little sweet, but tasty), and an egg. 

[Side tangent: I hate eggs on my burgers. I’m just not a big egg fan in general, I guess, but it’s becoming such a trend to have stupid eggs on burgers. A little background: in Australia, burgers typically come with lettuce, tomato, cheese, beetroot, and an egg. I’ve never been a fan; give me a really good cheese, bacon and some sort of aioli or sauce, and I’m happy. So the fact that America is just embracing the egg-topped burger, is both confusing and revolting to me! Call it an Aussie aversion.] 

Regardless, the burger, which I obviously ordered sans egg, was decent – but nothing special. I also dislike when burgers are served with chips. WHO prefers chips over fries? Fries are glorious. Chips are dull. I feel like it’s kind of cheap to only offer chips, and it immediately (and completely unnecessarily) irritates me when there’s no option but stupid chips on the side. 

We also ordered the braised Burgundian escargot, and the Japanese-style fried chicken. We finished neither, and left hungry to go elsewhere for dessert. 

But the drinks were good!!! 

So. It’s a good hangout spot, with excellent cocktails. Drink here. Eat elsewhere.