This is the best restaurant I have ever been to. AMAZING food. Sweet potato fries, burgers, salads, appetizers. 10/10. Down here for my bachelorette trip and a sweet man paid for all of our food! The waitress was so kind, honestly the best waitress any of us have ever had. We wanted to be best friends with her. We were sad to leave! Will definitely be back. read more

Small town dive bar with excellent food, friendly staff, and fun decor. It looked to me that they mostly serve locals, but I never felt unwelcome as the stranger from out of town. The phone was ringing constantly with people calling in to-go orders. The burger was tasty and reasonably priced. I'd stop here next time I'm in town. read more

Diver Down - Bbq burger and fries - Steakhouses Near Me - Golconda, Illinois

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My wife and I go up for the "all you can eat catfish" on Friday nights. The food is always good. The service is top notch. We go at least once a month. read more

The food was some of the best stuff I've ever had. I had the patty melt and it was to die for. We had the fried mushrooms. There were only 3, but they were large portobellos. They were amazing. The margaritas were hand made and excellent. I wasn't expecting such great food in a restaurant in a small river town. The service was great and the decor was appealing. read more

Friendly service! The pepper jack triangles were the star of the show, good flavor and amazing breading. I personally didn't enjoy the catfish. The cuts of fish were very small with bland breading. The slaw had an over-powering onion flavor, and the wedge potatoes didn't have any crunch. It was a very fun and vibrant restaurant with a bar on the other side. read more

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Giving it a 4/5 because there's nothing else in the area. Quaint, great local folks working. Bar seemed nice, had a pool table. Food was average & inexpensive, cheese triangles were great. read more

Diver Down - Burger - Steakhouses Near Me - Golconda, Illinois

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I was pretty excited to try this divey bar when we were in Southern IL. We had the fried pickles, steak sandwich and catfish fillet sandwich. The portion size of the fried pickles was huge, but unfortunately the seasoning was way too salty. It didn't help that the pickles were slices so that meant even more salty breading to pickle ratio. The steak sandwich was a bit greasy. The fish sandwich was just ok. I had it with cheddar cheese, and I don't think I've had to complain about this before, but there was too much cheese, lol. The fried okra was very good. The okra seemed fresh and the batter was much lighter. read more

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Cool bar/restaurant! I stopped in & ordered a mushroom Swiss burger with fries & a corona. Burger came out as a double smash burger style. Everything tasted good! Place has some cool decor. A fish tank & a pool table. Service was friendly & order was timely & prices were good. read more

Diver Down - The back wall of the bar - Steakhouses Near Me - Golconda, Illinois

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Service was great. Good burger, good Pati-melt. Excellent onion rings. Baked potato and veggie's were wonderful.

Camping in the Shawnee Nat'l Forest and due to water issues at the Garden of the Gods decided to eat out. Found this restaurant on Yelp. It is small but for a town of 700 a gem. Food was really good, hot and prepared fresh. The mozzarella sticks (immense) where surprisingly good. My farm burger was really good too. And a good selection of beers. If I was in the area again, I would go again. read more

My wife and I ate here twice while visiting the area. We had catfish (blackened once and garlic buttered sautéed another time) and coconut shrimp as entrees. They were all outstanding. And, we've never had sweet potato fries like their homemade ones with a crunchy crust surrounding soft sweet potato filling--Epic! Service was excellent and always with a smile. Great decor and drink selection. This place is worth traveling to. Highly recommended! read more

Great food, good service. I ordered the mushroom appetizer and I would reorder the next time a come. read more

Delicious and generous portions . We had the fried mushrooms- they are huge! I also had the farmhouse burger and sweet potato fries. All of it was amazing. Great service too! Highly recommend. read more

Diver Down - a plate of fried chicken on a table - Steakhouses Near Me - Golconda, Illinois

Food was good with nice portions. Service was hit or miss. We went twice for dinner. First time service was great. Second time our waitress disappeared after learning we weren't ordering alcohol. She did come back, but very sporadically and at least once I had to go to the bar for service. read more

By far the best bar food I've ever had. Unreal fried cheese, patty melt, and cheap beer

Best food ever !! The cooks bartenders and staff are phenomenal, not to mention the owner is amazing !!

Great food and laid back atmosphere! The staff was friendly accommodating. The owner took the time to chat with us and make sure the food was satisfying. We will definitely be back when we're in the area again! read more

Phenomenonal food!!! Fun and funky nautical bar vibes, incredible catfish and mustard sauce, the freshest salad, and amazing fried okra. Warm and friendly staff and a pool table, can't be beat! Road tripping from California, and found this gem hiking in the Shawnee National forest. read more

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We're back for the second night in a row after a day on the trails. Awesome catfish and all the fixings. Tasty fried mushrooms. Quaint atmosphere, delicious food, country music, and the friendliest folks around. As a native southern Illinoisan now residing in the city, I love coming back to discover gems like this. Just one more reason to visit sweet little Golconda! You won't be disappointed! read more

Diver Down - Yum! All you can eat on Friday night! - Steakhouses Near Me - Golconda, Illinois

Cute place sweet staff and there mix drinks are to die for. Door was good and loved the decore

That feeling when you're sitting on the couch thinking of something good to eat & you're surrounded by 100 different restaurants..but it's actually half hr away in Golconda at Diver Down. Oh yea, that's what I'm craving! Everything is soooo good! read more

The cook must have had an off night because everything including the vegetables were way over salted. Service was great though.

It's places like this that make the world go around!! Stopped in here after shooting video at nearby Garden of the Gods and it was literally a beacon of hope for my appetite! Not only was it the only place open past 9pm but it had a great and friendly staff, cold beer and some fine home cooked meals. Even if it was a bit after 9pm, my food came out hot, fresh and ready to be destroyed!!! I opted for the Catfish dinner. The tarter sauce which maybe was a house tarter was incredible. The sweet potato fries I got as my appetizer was also great!! All around satisfaction here you won't be disappointed here if you're hungry and ready to eat good southern cooking. read more

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The food and atmosphere are always amazing! I recommend Diver to anyone passing through Golconda. You can never go wrong with the catfish on Friday's or the ribeye sandwich! read more

Real nice folks in a small town restaurant. They have a good selection on the menu and a full bar. The smoked pork, catfish, and stuffed mushrooms were delicious. We will be back (and not just because it's the only restaurant within 20 miles of where we are staying). read more

Quote of the night: "Daddy likes!" But in all seriousness, we had a group of six from Indiana and this was a highlight meal of our stay in Shawnee National Forrest. Had grilled chicken, ribeye sandwich, fish dinner, BLT, pork burger and a hamburger. All meals were excellent! read more

We were staying at the Rose Hotel in Elizabethtown, and the proprietor very kindly recommended Diver Down. Nice drive, about 15 minutes west. Downtown Golconda is not exactly alive with action, but it's got a couple of places, and Diver Down was a nice, clean, quiet joint on the main drag. Service was really good. We got amazing stuffed mushrooms as an appetizer. I could have made a meal out of just those. Da wife had a great Caesar salad with grilled chicken and she killed it. I had what I would describe as gourmet chicken tenders. For dessert, we split a fantastic chocolate pie. The decor was interesting, a fish theme, very amusing. Local owned, non-chain little gem. After we stuffed ourselves, we tried walking off dinner by walking to the other side of the levee. More accurately, we tried waddling off dinner. If you're passing through Golconda, you have to stop at Diver Down. read more

Great food and service. Nice beer selection, including local brews. An oasis after a long drive!

After a whole morning of hiking, we were passing through hoping to find a place for a late lunch. This place caught our eye, so we decided to give it a try. Waitress was extremely friendly and kind, and the atmosphere of the restaurant is cute and welcoming. We stared with the mozzarella sticks and holy heck were they good. Finished our order with a steak sandwich and a ribeye sandwhich, both were excellent! 10/10 worth a stop! read more

All you can eat catfish Friday night. It's really packed. Great prices. Wonderful chocolate cream pie. Love that they serve onions with fried catfish. The mustard based tartar sauce is the real star. Golconda is also an adorable town of you haven't been. Service is with a smile. Can't beat. read more

Diver Down - Catfish - Steakhouses Near Me - Golconda, Illinois

Good food and great homemade pie! We ate here twice - the staff were super friendly, the decor is cute, and the food was excellent.

I was in the area visiting a buddy, and he wanted to get their Prime Rib special on the weekend. We pulled up a seat at the bar. Pleasant bar mates, good conversation. My buddy and I both had the Prime Rib special, ordered mine medium rare. Which started a long conversation with the barmaid/waitress on what I considered medium rare. It's as if nobody had ever ordered it that way before. The waitress was not only dragging out this conversation about "medium rare", but was rude and condescending. For the sake of my buddy, a local, I ignored her attitude. The prime rib took forever, came out RAW, and had a ton of gristle. Tried sending it back, waitress wouldn't go for it. Also took note of the fact that other locals seated at the bar were complaining about the length of the wait for their food. At one point, one of the locals asked about when the food would be ready, this incredibly ignorant barmaid/waitress snarkily replied "When it's cooked". Continued on my road trip and was passing back through on my way home, and once again my buddy wanted to give it another try, this time getting the Rib Eye sandwich. I agreed because he said he too was surprised by how poor the Prime Rib was. We go back in, this time on a weekday. Fairly empty, but it's the same off-putting young blond waitress. We ordered the Rib Eye sandwiches and proceeded to wait. And wait. When we ordered, my buddy requested steak sauce with his Rib Eye. When the food finally arrives, once again my steak is a gristle filled chunk of second rate beef. My buddy in the meantime is eating all his fries, waiting for steak sauce, which he has requested for the second time. After another 10 minutes, I remind the barmaid/waitress - who is standing around doing nothing, about his steak sauce, she makes a face and brings back a Heinz's bottle that is clearly about empty, and tells him, that's all we got. The only way I can imagine that this worthless woman has this job is that she is somehow related to the owners. It's the only explanation how this waste of space keeps her job. Do yourself a favor, eat ANYWHERE else in town. read more

Now I have been to some bad restaurants in my day, but this was by far the worst, food and service were horrible. Walked in, got a table for two and there were 4 other tables that had people seated for a total of maybe fourteen patrons. We were greeted quickly by a nice young gal who took our drink order and had to come back with menus. We ordered and had to order again because her tablet order form wasn't uploading correctly. Now a steady stream of diners started to come in. Five other tables were sat and they all ordered their food at least 15 minutes after us. Every single person had gotten their orders before us. We ordered a burger and catfish sandwich, both with fries, simple right? Apparently not. Our waitress and a possible manager came over and stated that the other people ordered Appetizers, which was clearly a lie because I could see their food; sandwiches, salads and some appetizers. We are now going on 40 minutes since we ordered and still no food. The manager came over and apologized and said that she wasn't going to charge us at all...for anything. The food comes, an order of fries is missing and to call this food mediocre would be a compliment. It was tasteless. Catfish was soggy and had zero flavor. Burger, ordered medium was over cooked. Then a guy comes over who was in the kitchen and tries to explain that they were busy, and apologized and said that he would comp our drinks...after we were told the entire bill would be comped....obviously because they had made a mistake and I believe our waitress wasn't familiar with how to use the electronic device for taking orders. I just paid the bill and got the heck out of there. Don't worry, I will never be back. This place doesn't even deserve a single star. read more

Great food and wonderful service. They take pride in what they do and it shows. Freshly prepared food done right. If you like that, you will like this place. Go there now. Spend money. Notice the very clean restrooms. Understand that means that the kitchen is immaculate and your food is safe to eat as well as delicious. read more

Very friendly service and super good fried food and burgers using good quality meat. A feast of fried stuff usually doesn't sit well with me afterward, but the mushrooms, pickles and okra were top-notch. Try em out! read more

This place is great! Food is really good!! I love the nachos and fish sandwich especially :-) I visited here twice over my visit to the Dam 51 houses. Drinks were also good and the bar side was fun. They took great care of our large group!!! Such nice people!!! read more

Diver Down - a group of people sitting at a bar - Steakhouses Near Me - Golconda, Illinois

We came to Golconda for the shrimp festival. We stopped in to get a few drinks and the drinks were great! The staff was very friendly and patient with the customers. The locals were also friendly. The bathrooms were so clean! They smelled nice, had hairspray, nice soap, AND good toilet paper. We will be here for the rest of the night! read more

This is a great place to eat and grab a drink along the Ohio River. The food is made to order, and the atmosphere is relaxing. Golconda is an unique location with some of the best scenery in southern Illinois. Divers Down makes the location even more enjoyable. read more

This place has the worst service I've ever experienced. We went for the first time 2 weeks ago and waited an hour for food. There was a class reunion so we gave them the benefit of the doubt. Food was good. Came back tonight and the service was worse than the first time. 20 min after our order we still didn't have our waters. Just finally got up and left. Won't give it a third try! read more

This is such a great find! The food is fantastic and the people are super friendly! Fabulous rib eye steak, beautiful salad, and delicious fried okra. Happy and colorful nautical decor. Definitely worth the trip! read more