Polizzi's

Polizzi's is a casual fine-dining restaurant located inside Village Gate Square in Rochester's Neighborhood of the Arts (NOTA) district. Owned and operated by Tom and Debbie Polizzi, the restaurant draws on Chef Tom Polizzi's four-plus decades of culinary experience at established Rochester kitchens including Tournedos Steak House, Richardson's Canal House, and The Rochester Club. The menu spans a broad range of Mediterranean traditions — Italian, Greek, Spanish, and French — rather than focusing on a single regional cuisine.

Polizzi's serves dinner with a Mediterranean approach that moves well beyond standard Italian-American fare. Highlights across the menu include:

• Salmon wrapped in prosciutto and braised short ribs
• Lamb chops and daily rotating fresh fish preparations
• Fried kasseri cheese flamed tableside with Metaxa brandy
• Shrimp sautéed with garlic, cognac, and smoked paprika
• Homemade soups and house-baked bread
• Mediterranean-style pizzas and an extensive bar food menu

On Wednesday evenings, the kitchen runs Italian-American specials such as chicken French, chicken Parmesan, artichokes French, and greens and beans. The restaurant also offers a discount to patrons who bring in their RBTL, Geva Theatre, Memorial Art Gallery, or RPO tickets for that evening's performance.

Polizzi's occupies a distinct niche in the Rochester dining scene by bridging casual and fine-dining sensibilities under one roof. The menu's geographic range — from Middle Eastern moussaka to Italian minulotti — reflects Chef Tom Polizzi's long career cooking across multiple culinary traditions in the Rochester area. The tableside kasseri cheese preparation and the Wednesday Italian-American dinner specials are recurring features that distinguish the restaurant from more narrowly focused neighborhood spots.

Polizzi's sits inside Village Gate Square at 274 North Goodman Street, Suite D-108, a converted warehouse complex that houses galleries, shops, and other eateries in the heart of NOTA. The restaurant is roughly three blocks from the Rochester Public Market and within walking distance of the Memorial Art Gallery and the George Eastman Museum on East Avenue. Village Gate offers on-site parking, and the surrounding neighborhood is one of Rochester's densest concentrations of cultural venues, including Geva Theatre Center and Writers & Books on University Avenue. Dining areas include the main room, a bar, and an outdoor patio.