This corner restaurant in the Black Rock neighborhood impressed us with its bright, springy decor, ranging from the light-yellow walls and orange tabletops to the vases of silk flowers on every table. Halfway through our brunch, two guys came and stood on the corners outside and sold flowers from white plastic buckets. Although it was chilly in an early-spring way, one of the guys wore shorts in sturdy defiance of the breeze.

So it was brunch and a streetside show at Emily’s, which is one of the advantages of choosing a restaurant in an urban neighborhood rather than one plopped in the middle of a parking lot. The downside, of course, is that if you drive you have to park on the street, but no worries there —there were plenty of spots near Hertel and Tonawanda on the day we stopped by.

The menu is eclectic, with breakfast all day (you have to love that) as well as some nicely priced combos listed on the specials board. A fish fry, drink and dessert was $10.99, for example, a great choice when fish fries themselves are hovering around the 10-buck mark in many places.

Emily’s serves a haddock fish fry everyday, as well as grape leaves, hummus and felafel, plus the usual assortment of burgers, sandwiches and an intriguing special of spare ribs and potatoes for $9.99.

We were actually on a mission, though. One of our co-workers eats here a lot and had tipped us off to the potato pancakes. We ordered them ($6.75 for three, served with sausage or bacon, applesauce or sour cream). They were three large, medium-thick cakes, soft rather than crunchy, with an excellent, slightly sweet flavor. Although we could see shredded potatoes on the top and bottom, the inner texture was more like mashed. I can see how these could be addictive! The sausage links were nicely browned and slightly spicy.

The sausage also appeared on the plate with a full stack of plain pancakes ($5.75 with sausage or bacon, short stack for $3.75, $4.95 with sausage or bacon). They had obviously made the trip from the griddle to the plate, and then to our table, within a minute, because they were steaming hot and soft, as well as tasty. They were larger than usual, cooked to a perfect golden brown and fluffy.

We also tried the homemade soup of the day, which was turkey noodle (cup for $2.25). It was the hottest soup ever made and full of wide noodles, vegetables and meat. Delicious.

—Anne Neville

Emily’s is open from 8 a. m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Fridays, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Saturdays, and 8 a.m. to 3 p. m. on Sundays. It is handicapped-accessible.