To call Mobay’s one of Western New York’s undiscovered culinary gems would be a little too generous, but there’s little doubt that this Caribbean restaurant’s location and venue have kept it from receiving the attention it deserves. Inconspicuously located next to a closed movie theater on Bailey Avenue in Buffalo, Mobay’s name and signage barely communicate its ethnic offerings to drivers-by, and it doesn’t have the sort of charming surroundings that might encourage spontaneous walk-ins. You have to live in the neighborhood or know that it’s there – from, say, the Taste of Buffalo – and even then, it’s not your typical year-round, sit-down restaurant. On our mid-March visit with temperatures in the 40’s, the place was coat-wearing chilly inside. All of the people who stopped in during our visit were taking their meals to go, rather than sitting in the small, old dining room with us as we shivered through our dinner. Still, it was obvious why the foot traffic was so high: Mobay’s serves good meals at low prices.


