It may well be one of the largest restaurants in this area. The Buffalo Tap Room & Grill divides its vast dining room into smaller sections to add a quasi-intimacy and cut down on noise, but it’s still plenty big. And the dining area is attached to a separate tap room that is not exactly what anyone might call dainty. Even though the Tap Room offers more than 20 beers, including microbrews concocted especially for the place, the restaurant has a family feel.

The clientele ranges from kids (there is a children’s menu) to oldsters. The adult menu is as varied as the clientele. Buffalo Tap Room offers plenty of what it describes as “All-American cuisine and more,” and “more” may well be the operative word. You can find wings and pizza; strip steak; pastas; and quesadillas. Most of the portions are enormous.

We began our meal with supreme nachos ($9.49), and all we could say was, “Wow!” Much too much for the two of us to even make a dent — but impressive to look at and darn good. Fresh, crisp chips, meat, tomatoes, cheese and about a gallon each of sour cream and guacamole, this must be what the menu means by “more.” We already were more than satiated by the time our entrees appeared — hardly contained in their platter-sized soup bowls. The Louisiana Style Gumbo ($12.99), for instance, could have fed the whole state. A blend of chicken chunks, andouille sausage and lots of rice, the dish was more stew than soup. A gentle broth here — the whole dish was mild. Even the sausage was tepid. Two large biscuits that tasted homemade accompanied the dish.

The Companion’s Pasta e Fagioli was a little too gentlemanly, too. Plenty of beans and pasta, but more garlic is needed in the broth. The fazool came with the restaurant’s pasta bread, flat and almost pizzalike, topped with garlic, herbs and cheese. All of this food was nourishing enough — it lacked only excitement.

Maybe we ordered wrong. In addition to a wide variety of pizza and wings, Buffalo Tap Room offers moderately priced dinners such as hearty beef stew with buttermilk mashed potatoes ($12.99), Southern fried chicken ($11.99) and Italian sausage cacciatore ($11.99). There’s a separate sheet in the menu for dinner specials like pasta primavera ($10.99) and citrus shrimp and spinach salad ($13.99).

But sometimes simple is best. Maybe we should have ordered a hamburger. Certainly, there were plenty of happy pizza and hamburger eaters seated around us.

There are even housemade desserts such as brownie sundaes — not to mention at least one unusual item: fried dough ($3.49). Now, you don’t find fried dough every place. And maybe, come to think of it, that’s a good thing. Served hot, the dough was crisp enough, but again there was that too gentle, almost bland, taste.

Bring on the hot fudge sundae.

BUFFALO TAP ROOM & GRILL

Two and a half stars

WHERE: 2309 Eggert Road, Tonawanda (832-6054; www.buffalotaproom.com). A large casual restaurant/bar that offers a big menu of “all-American cuisine and more.” Not to mention 21 beers on tap, many made specially for the restaurant.

Credit cards: American Express, MasterCard and Visa.

FAVORITE DISH: Supreme nachos

NEEDS WORK: Fried dough

PRICE RANGE:Dinner entrees with salad or soup from $11.99. Sandwiches with salad or fries from about $8.

SERVICE: Very good.

HOURS: 11:30 a. m. to midnight Monday through Thursday; 11:30 a. m. to 1 a. m. Friday and Saturday; 4 to 11 p. m. Sunday.

WHEELCHAIR ACCESS: Yes

PARKING: In the lot.

RATINGS:Stars reflect the overall dining experience at the time of The News’ visit — including service, ambience, innovation and cost — with greatest weight given to quality of the food.