I used the Yelp app as I often do to find a place for lunch while in Effingham. Gopher Grill got great reviews so we decided to try it. We decided to split an appetizer and a meal. The appetizer we decided on was German egg rolls. Absolutely delicious! For the meal we decided on the schnitzel sandwich and brussels sprouts. I could have made a meal out of the brussels sprouts which they roast in blood orange vinaigrette. For those who are interested there are several virtual sports simulators there. The service was good as well. Can't wait to go back! read more

Gopher's Grill - Schnitzel sandwich with a side of Brussels sprouts - Bars Near Me - Effingham, Illinois

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We had family visiting and decided to reserve a spot at one of the simulator bays on a Sunday at 11. For a party of 9, our waitress kept up with everything nicely. We ordered a variety of apps and drinks. The appetizers were all ok. We tried the mild wings and the loaded fries. My husband liked the wings and the fries were decent, but there could have been more fries for the amount of toppings on them. My biggest complaint.... The place is very dirty. The wall next to our simulator bay had food splattered on it. There was a chicken wing bone among other crumbs and food under our table when we got there and the place had just opened. The couch at our bay was dated and crumbling, making it feel even more dirty. The bathroom was also disgusting. Toilets looked like they hadn't been cleaned in weeks, and again, the place had just opened for the day. Honestly I would have maybe ordered an entree and had more to eat but I had to keep ordering vodka tonics to make myself forget how unsanitary the place felt. read more

I had the Tuscan Chicken and a house salad. The house salad was premium lettuces with blue cheese and I had the honey mustard, it was fantastic. The bacon bits probably added the final touch of flavor. The Tuscan chicken was also excellent and I may have found my new favorite in Effingham. We arrived just before the noon rush and our server was quick and professional. read more

Very good place - stopped in for lunch on a Tuesday with a group of 6. We sat outside since it was a very nice day out. We started with a Bavarian pretzel appetizer and it came with a nice cheese sauce and a seedy mustard which was very good as well. I got a cubano, which you will know if you've read any of my review before I am a sucker for. This one was made on a plancha which was nice HOWEVER it didn't come with sliced pickles on it!!! Other people in the group had things like flank steak sammich, Nashville chicken sammich, basic b cheeseburger, jalapeño burger, career chicken wrap. Various sides were ordered such as pub chips, cole slaw, and potato salad. Everybody enjoyed their meals. Portions were quite good sized as well. Service was friendly and attentive. Definitely would eat here again!! read more

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The ambience: very nice. You (we) are at a sports bar, casual, fine dining place. It's a mixture.a golf game with real clubs, and an entire upstairs donated to gaming. But, not video poker tours of gambling machines. Golf, foosball, pool, etc. The downstairs is the restaurant. Very clean and very well spaced with a lot of room between the tables. TVs galore with a plethora of sports visible from every direction. The service is/was/and always has been fantastic. Our server was observant. He was able to see when we needed something and knew when we didn't. That's a talent. Wifey was most happy and that's always the most important thing. Wifey dined on sides tonight. That's unusual, but she was not actually feeling anything specific. Green beans, soup, potato salad and Cole slaw. All were quite good and did what was needed. They were tasty, and since nothing on the menu was jumping out at her tonight, that's what she went with. I had the pork chop sandwich. It had Tajin flavor and was scrumptious. I got the potato salad. Also good. Let's not forget dessert. We split the Toffee cake and lemon tart. Both were perfection! Overall, ANOTHER exceptional meal at Gopher's Grill. read more

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We are in Effingham for a few days and grabbed some lunch here. We sat outside on a warm day. Our waitress was friendly and helpful. We started with the Bavarian pretzel with cheese and mustard. It was fabulous and enough for our group of 6. I got the jalapeño burger. I normally wouldn't order a burger unless at a burger place. But it sounded good and it was, in fact, tasty. I washed it down with a beer. Great ambiance and good. read more

Passing through Effingham we needed dinner before checking into our hotel. A couple of years ago in a similar situation we had a very negative dinner experience at a nearby highly rated place so we were hoping for better luck this time. The space of this downtown restaurant is very nice, airy and feels newer. We got a table and ordered some drinks. They have a wide range of cocktails as low as $6 (I got the Bahama Mama which was good). You cannot find drinks this cheap anymore in most places. My wife ordered the Tex-Mex quinoa bowl with chicken that she liked a lot. I got the gopher side salad which was big and loaded with lots of good stuff. I was surprised how tasty it was. I also opted for the small order of boneless wings with the spicy honey sauce. It really wasn't spicy but they were good. The service was efficient. A good experience overall. read more

Gopher's Grill - Bar area - Bars Near Me - Effingham, Illinois

Absolutely incredible! This dish was a total home run. The steak was cooked just right, the shrimp were plump and seasoned beautifully, and the pasta brought everything together without being heavy. You can tell care goes into both the quality and presentation of the food. read more

Gopher's Grill - Steak & Shrimp for the win! - Bars Near Me - Effingham, Illinois

Good food. Great service. 5/5. Avery is awesome. Check this place out if you're coming thru town.

A nice, local sports bar in the Effingham downtown area. Plenty of TVs around, the tables are not too jammed together, and I would say the overall feel is industrial. They have indoor golf games which in the winter months get pretty busy. A decent menu selection and somewhat extensive drink options. I've had quite a few items from the menu and I can say I've never had a bad experience. My favorite is the blackened fish sandwich or the steak sandwich. Fries are good and even better if you get the beer cheese to dip them in. The wait staff is friendly and prompt. The only thing to be mindful of is they are closed on Monday's!. I would highly recommend if you are just passing through and looking for some place to eat, take the extra few minutes to drive here. read more

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disappointing after spending $300 for our group this past Wednesday late evening visit. appetizer for the price were very small street fries very little fries were soaking in sauce had small amount of pulled pork maybe a teaspoon of bbq sauce and a small scoop of cole slaw-crispy fries and more of them along with more topping would have been ok but not the $12 we payed. Pretzel was almost burnt. it was so over cooked we did not finish it the chix. quesadillas was also over cooked Our table ordered about 8 entrees not one person finished there food. Service was pretty good to bad the kitchen was not. Good Service, Cold Drinks but below average food. PS all the games for the younger group kids lost money when the games did not work read more

My husband and I stopped by again on way home from IL to eat here. Our waitress Macy was great and gave us some suggestions. I had the chicken cordon bleu sandwich and my husband had the SW chicken wrap. It was delicious. Love the potato salad. Atmosphere is very nice, music is not played to loud which is nice as you can carry a conversation and hear the person you are talking to. Definitely will keep stopping in when traveling through town. Thanks for the good food and great service. read more

Gopher's Grill - a view of the bar area - Bars Near Me - Effingham, Illinois

Passing through Effingham and wanted to find a sports bar with great food. Well, this is the place. Great food, superb service and plenty of TV screens. Arrived about 7:30 pm and immediately seated with great view of screen. Server greeted us promptly. Looking for something light after a long day on the road. Ordered Hummus platter and salmon BLT, both to share. Hummus platter was very large. Huge serving of hummus topped with olive tapenade and dressed with cucumbers and tomatoes. Warm sectioned peta bread adorned each corner of the plate. Would definitely order again. Salmon BLT came on toasted cracked wheat and a side of coke slaw. Salmon slab was generous and perfectly cooked. Lettuce, tomatoes and crispy bacon accompanied the salmon. Sandwich was delicious, we were hungry. Our sever was very attentive, frequently checking in us while projecting a friendly demeanor. Highly recommend without any reservations and look forward to returning. Can't miss with this choice. read more

The food was outstanding!! The service was very exceptional!! The ambience was like I haven't seen before, interesting and it works.

Great food! I had the smothered sirloin, and it was seasoned really well. My wife had the turkey club. She said it was good, but some of the turkey was a bit tough. The apple tart was one of the best things I've eaten at ANY restaurant. We got one tart and shared it, but we regretted only getting one. The hand shaken lemonade was yummy and tasted like a lemon drop. If we were in Effingham again, we would definitely eat here! read more

Gopher's Grill - Smothered sirloin - Bars Near Me - Effingham, Illinois

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Was really psyched to come here, but disappointed. Ordered the Nashville chicken. I think the cook must see no problem cooking chicken with salmon. Heavy taste of salmon in chicken. Very amateur and very disappointing. read more

We wanted someplace to meet our adult kids for a fun afternoon to eat, have a few beverages and visit. Gopher's Grill had good service, food and a great atmosphere. We played on Simulator #3 for 2 hours and then visited the arcade upstairs and the only thing we would suggest is they need someone monitoring the simulators to help people learn how to use them (we had to flag down our server everytime we had an issue). Also the arcade games upstairs need a little more TLC so they all work. It was a great experience overall and we will definitely be back. read more

AAMAZING! recently moved to the area from Chicago. I've been longing for a good beef sandwich. Today I found it! The beef was tender and perfectly prepared! Ordered a fried mushroom appetizer. It was enough for 4! Freshly prepared and the best batter! Had fries with beer cheese dip and they were great! Service was excellent! Atmosphere is very clean and not too loud! We've found our new favorite! read more

Get away from the interstate places and find the cute downtown of Effingham Illinois. Gophers had food served a little bit later in the evening which helped. The salmon BLT is really that good! The portions were generous. The beer selection was very good. We ate at the bar and had an attentive and friendly service. Menu has many choices to fit just about any pallet. We will definitely be back! read more

The food was very good. Service was excellent and ambiance was nice inside, however, we ate outside because we had a golden retriever with us. Recommended place to eat, if you're in the area. read more

Good service, good food, good fun, good time. Wanted to do something fun, have a few appetizers, and just hang out. This checked all the boxes. Was nice to be able to do something in the middle of winter besides just be inside and sit around. Great spot for family game night or date night. read more

How many times have you gone to a restaurant and had a great meal and service, and they still find ways to go the extra mile? Not much by my estimate but that is just what Gopher's Grill provided. I had several customers in for lunch recently and left without asking for an itemized receipt. I contacted their manager who kindly located this and emailed to me. As I live a couple of hours away, this was really helpful and their response was fast. As for the food and service, that was also spot on. The wraps, shoe and pulled pork were all great by my guests comments and Lori did a nice job taking care of us. Thanks Gopher's Grill for the experience. I'll be sure to be back next time around. read more

Had lunch with family today. Ordered sandwiches, a couple of appetizers. The chicken ranch wrap was very good; the Italian dip was good. We had the hummus with tapenade, a pretzel and spinach artichoke dip. Four stars on the hummus and pretzel; two stars on the artichoke dip. The service was excellent! Atmosphere was pleasing. read more

Very good cocktails, extensive menu, and great atmosphere. I ordered a regional dish called The Shoe which is basically an open faced burger drowned in queso so yummy! My salad was great too. Definitely coming back. read more

Gopher's Grill - Bars Near Me - Effingham, Illinois

We were in town visiting family. Nice place and decent food but could've been a lot better for the price. Things are priced at a level where expectations are high but not met. Ordered the full nachos for an appetizer. It came out and there was barely any queso or guac. It was a plate of nachos with a pile of ingredients on the top in the middle. So for $16 you also have to build the nacho plate and mix ingredients. So that's fun. The waitress graciously brought us more queso and we mixed everything up so we didn't get a plate of plain chips and 5 nachos with toppings. It was also not what most would consider a "full" plate but a normal sized one. Seriously, it's nachos....don't have to skimp to make money when charging $16. That to me says most things will be skimpy on other plates...and they were. The only plate that seemed to be portioned in size with the cost was the SW CHICKEN salad. Our other 3 orders, sandwiches were all skimpy on topping and ingredients for the price, which is probably higher than any other place in town. I ordered an $8 draft beer which I asked to have with my meal. It came midway through my meal, which was fine but it was in a can. Seriously!? They did graciously open it for me I'm not paying $8 for a can of beer at a restaurant. She said the drafts weren't working. That info would've been helpful when ordering. I declined. When I was nearly done eating she said they do have a dark draft that was similar that was working. At this point it was a beer after dinner which isn't what I wanted...so again I politely declined. Service was good and food was out quickly. 2 because I would try it again...but if it was the same as the first time it would be the last. Seems like things are priced high to make more in profits than to create food that's a cut above. read more

We went to Gophers for my son's 15th birthday party. He and 5 friends went and had a blast! We reserved the multi sports simulator and the kids had a blast! The waitress was very accommodating and she made sure that everything was just perfect for us! The good was delicious and the atmosphere was amazing! We will be back! read more

Gopher's Grill - Bars Near Me - Effingham, Illinois

LINDA! LINDA!! LINDA!!! She is awesome!!! So sweet, so nice, so accommodating and just all around wonderful!! Absolutely adore her and her personality!! read more

3 stars only because the waitstaff is very courteous. No lunch specials?‍ Maybe that is why the place isn't as busy during lunch as it's competitors. Serve the same stuff every day people will eventually venture out to find something new and or different. Food is subpar. The Mozza balls I had were just filled with what seemed to be water, the fries are a half step below the coated fries at Nemierg's and I believe the burgers are preformed and may come in frozen. There's no real pride coming from the kitchen it seems. But I digress, I have a few friends who swear by Gopher's Grill. Maybe I just caught them on a bad day. Try them out for yourself and form your own opinion. read more

Great food! Amazing amazing amazing. Love that blood orange dressing and the wings are fire. Go here and you will not be sorry. read more

Great place for beers with dinner on a Friday or Saturday evening! Upstairs gaming area sets up for good entertainment for the kids! Menu selection is pretty good... but mostly bar food (burgers, sandwiches, po boy's, etc)... lots of TVs have several different sports and a few have Chive TV (always fun to watch)...this is a great option for evening/weekend entertainment! read more

My sister and I had a great time here! We are appetizer people, so we ordered 3 to split for our meal, and it was all delicious. Our server was so kind, as well! Didn't forget about us, even though we were the only ones enjoying the patio. The patio itself was very nice, too! It was clean and comfortable, and a huge bonus that I got to have my puppy sit with me out there! read more

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Came in today for some lunch and so glad we did! Awesome as usual. My husband loved the salmon BLT and the mozzarella balls are amazing!! read more

Gopher's Grill - Salmon blt - Bars Near Me - Effingham, Illinois

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Ambiente muy juvenil, Lis precios son moderados pero la comida y la rapidez en el servicio debería mejorar. Very youthful atmosphere, the prices are moderate but the food and the speed of the service should improve. read more

Whether you are a local or just passing through, Gopher's Grill is more than worth checking out. This bar/restaurant is a great place for taking the family or just grabbing a beer with friends. The food selection has something for everybody, from appetizers to burgers to fancy pants entrees like steaks and salmon. We had the Bavarian Pretzel and Cheese along with the Steak Caesar Wrap. The pretzel was one the best I've had in my entire life and the Steak Caesar Wrap was EXCELLENT. The downstairs is your typical bar/restaurant. Big open space with plenty of seating and lots of TV's to catch the action. There is a separate room with a pool table and darts if you are in the mood for some bar games. But for the more adventurous, Gophers Grill also offers three golf/hunting/sports simulator bays with adjoining couches for everybody to relax, enjoy and hangout. Upstairs is a game room for the kids with video games, pop-a-shot, ski ball and other games of skill. However, there is also a ping pong table and a bags set for you to enjoy while waiting for your meal. Despite being very busy, our food came out fast and the service was "on par" (get it???!!). It took us under five minutes to get off and back on the highway so even if you are just passing through, you can grab some excellent food and have a relaxing respite from your travels without adding too much time to the trip. I can't recommend it enough! read more

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We were looking for a new spot for lunch on Saturday while in Effingham and YELP led us here. It was late for lunch...2-ish so they weren't crowded. The menu had several interesting possibilities but at the last minute, I chose the hamburger horseshoe. DH ordered the bacon burger. We ordered fried mushrooms as an appetizer. They were fabulous...obviously not frozen but fresh and battered there. Our meals came and the horseshoe, while tasty, was disappointing. The fries are similar to steak fries but much thinner. They were very skimpy on the cheese sauce. DH enjoyed his burger. They serve it on a pretzel bun...not my favorite but it was his sandwich. He likes crisp fries so he didn't mind the thin fries. We would go back but I'll order something different next time. Our server was great. read more

Good menu, good service and a few more healthier options than the talkative capra hircus down the street. Still the classic pub options and burgers that up the ante. read more

The Gopher is the new family spot for Effingham. And, that's about it. The renovated fitness center brings the family sports bar to an all round family hot spot. It offers arcade games, air hockey, pool, and a golf simulator for kids and the whole family. As far as the food goes, it's slightly above pub food. The burgers are huge and the portions are nice. **Disclaimer the SALMON IS PHENOMENAL** The servers are very young, causing people to ask if an adult even works here. However, bring your family in for a PUB-Tastic evening or afternoon. read more

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We stopped in in our way through on the interstate. It's a ways off the interstate , but was the perfect stop for our long road trip! The chicken and waffles were delish with just the right amount of spice! Mozzarella balls were yummy, too. We also had the patty melt, wings and Italian wrap. All were good! The arcade upstairs was a fun break for our kids who had been in the car all day. Service was on point! Fun vibe and I bet a favorite with locals to watch big games. Worth the stop! read more

Really cool place, stopped there on our way out of town and decided we will be back and bring our friends and adult kids.

We love bringing our young kids to Gopher Grill! Food is always excellent and the atmosphere is great! There aren't too many places in town where young kids can be kids, but this place is one of them! We visited recently and rented a simulator, which added fun to our night. read more