Between Culver Road and Alexander Street, Park Avenue is a tree-shaded, residential neighborhood. Restaurants, salons and shops are tucked among Victorian homes on the mile-long route.

Bistros and cafes make up the majority of Park Avenue businesses; the biggest concentration is near Berkeley Street. Al fresco dining turns the sidewalks into patios during the summer. Besides restaurants, there are antique dealers and gift shops, plus convenience stores and a laundromat that serve the students and professionals who live in nearby apartments. A wine shop offers happy-hour tastings.
In this relaxed environment, you may forget you’re inside city limits. Take a stroll down side streets and head north a block to see the mansions of East Avenue, one of the country’s premier preservation districts. These were the grand homes of the leaders who shaped Rochester.

Restaurants

Park Avenue is a wonderful place to work on your laptop in a cafe, or to meet a friend for coffee or dinner. The list of possibilities is long. For Italian, try Bacco’s Ristorante for lunch or dinner; for pizza and takeout meals, try Chester Cab Pizza, Cobbs Hill Pizza and Pontillo’s Pizzeria. Café Cibon and Spin Caffe serve light meals and desserts with coffee; Cibon has wine and beer too. Montana Mills Bread Co./Java Joe’s and Baker Street Bakery are the street’s bread purveyors. Classy Cookie & Deli, Park and Oxford Cafe and Delicatessen, and Park Place Deli prepare sandwiches and desserts. The American fare at Jines and Charlie’s Frog Pond is popular with the breakfast crowd. Big Apple Café and First Taste Grill offer fresh bistro fare. Find Asian cuisine at Esan Thai Restaurant, K.C. Tea & Noodles, Kobay Japanese Restaurant. Hogan’s Hideaway is known for its soups, sandwiches, stir fry and beer. La-Tea-Da is a new lunch and tea room. If you crave a gyro, lentil soup or other Mediterranean dish, Sinbad’s is the place. Nathan’s Old-Fashioned Soups cooks up daily specials for takeout. And Park Avenue Pub has been a favorite destination for generations of Rochesterians in search of fine American food.

Main thoroughfare: Park Avenue
Parking: Free lot at Wilson Farms, free on-street on Park and alternating-sides parking on side streets

Bars

Café Cibon: Bistro fare, wine and martinis. 688 Park Ave.; 461-2960
Hogan’s Hideaway: Casual dining, bar. 197 Park Ave.; 442-4293
Martini Grille: Dinner and martinis. 176 S. Goodman St.; 244-6526
Park Avenue Pub: Fine dining, full bar. 650 Park Ave.; 461-4140
Park Bench: Neighborhood bar and restaurant. 725 Park Ave.; 244-3267
Prepps: Casual bar. 729 Park Ave.; 271-7925