Catfish heaven!!! This restaurant on Route 66 is the best spot for local food and clearly popular…read moregiven the totally full parking lot. Friendly midwestern waitress big salad bar definite destination!!

Entering The Ariston Cafe is a trip back to an earlier time. The entire decor is vintage and it is…read morewell maintained. It's a simple cafe with delicious food and it's served as if it is a white linen restaurant. Yep, all tables have white linen tablecloths and napkins. All the wait staff are wearing black slacks, white shirts with black ties and looking mighty fine. I happened to be visiting on a Sunday during Brunch hours. I'm typically not a buffet kinda guy, but I was today. I thought by doing the buffet, I'd be able to experience many of their different menu items all in my initial visit. After saying I wanted the buffet, my server brought me a clear chilled plate for the salad and soup bar, which was included with the buffet. She also gave me a warm dinner plate for the buffet line. As I dined, she checked with me and when needed she gave me a clean plate for my next trip through the line. The variety of foods were impressive. They had a section with all the typical breakfast foods; scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, biscuits & gravy and potatoes. It all looked good, but I focused on lunch items. My first trip through the line was, a HUGE fried chicken breast, green beans and mashed potatoes with white gravy. It was some of the best chicken I have had in a while. The seasoning was great, it was super crispy and crunchy and the meat was juicy. Their green beans were made from scratch with bacon and onions. The salt and pepper seasoning was just enough flavor. Then real mashed potatoes and a true country white gravy. I was satisfied with that plate alone, but went back to try more. Second trip I had Mostaccioli that tasted as if an Italian grandma had made it. It was super cheesy and the right amount of Italian seasoning. Then I had a couple Catfish Nuggets, General Tso's Nuggets, Mac-n-Cheese and Roast Beef. I was getting so full, I didn't even get anything from the soup and salad bar. I was seated close, so I did take a peak and it had a good variety of offerings. I'll be sure to try it on my next visit. My server was stellar. She was very attentive and friendly. I liked that the entire staff were dressed as if they were in a 50's diner or perhaps an upscale restaurant being the black & white. It's the Centennial Celebration of Route 66 this year. That should give you reason to go eat at the oldest restaurant on Route 66, which is The Ariston.

Very clean friendly place. Took my parents there on recommendation of a friend. You must ask…read moreabout and watch how the 'tap' beer is served. Interestingly fills from the bottom up! Seals off with a small magnet that you may either take home with you, throw it up to the ventilation ducts or just throw it away. (Those are not washed / re -used). Sign on the wall says something like 'don't finger your hole' because obviously if you do, it will break the magnetic seal and you will loose your beer! My mother has never drank more than a few sips of beer, but enjoyed the Ciderboys Grand Mimosa they have on tap. It was even better with an added shot of amaretto. Have already returned with a group of friends. Enjoyed both some Butch's and TJ's pizzas this time. Everyone had a good time and are looking forward to going back again. They are less than 1 mile west from I-55 (Exit 80). 20 minutes south of Springfield.

Great vibe, fun place but not a lot of variety for food. We didn't have time to drink so I can't…read morecomment on the bar which is where i imagine most of the money comes from as it is a bar atmosphere. Pizza was ok but the service was so nice and made the experience worth it.

Great Wed night fried chicken special. Freshly prepared and comes to the table HOT. Includes 2…read moresides of your choice. $10 for all white meat. Friday night is all you can eat fish with side. Fish is freshly prepared and comes to the table HOT. Other specials every night except Sundays.

The food is good service is great the beer is cold and there open on Monday now . The atmosphere is…read morevery cool all the old signs is the icing on the cake

I'm into bourbon and golf, and this place delivers for me. Monster list of bourbons and two golf…read moresimulators too. What's not to like? Cocktails, wines and beers as well, if you're not into bourbon. Live music on occasion and 8 TV's all the time.

From the owner: Specialty Bourbon…read more Products: Domestic Beers, Domestic Bottles, High-End Bourbon, Imported Beers, Imported Bottles, IPAs, Local Brew, Non-Alcoholic Beer, Seltzers, Wine, Whiskey, Scotch, Rum, Flavored Vodka, Cordials, Cognac, Tequila, Gin, Irish Whiskey, Frozen Pizza, Pretzels, Candy. Services: Live Music, Poker, Gaming, Gambling, TVs, Televised Sports, Golf Simulator, Appetizers, Event Rentals Brands: Brick River Cider, Buffalo Trace, Butch's Pizza, Destihl, Eagle Rare, EH Taylor, J&J Gaming, Old Forester, Riggs Beer Company, Smokin' Aces, Triptych Brewing, W.L. Weller Special Reserve, WhistlePig, Woodford Reserve.

In central Illinois u have to check this out. Amazing dive bar but so clean and the bartenders…read morewelcome outsiders. In for some bar food snacks, try the poor boys sndwch or homemade pizza. Worth a stop off the hwy

Me and my girl have been going here for years but we didn't know it was owned this way until…read morerecently, me and my girl are out for drinks, we drink a little bit, not even 30 seconds later after us paying our bill, owner walks up to us instantly raising voice and being hostile "is there a problem because you hardly tipped anything" stopping us both in our tracks, being were both young twenties and one of us is in college we don't have a lot of money to do a lot of things so we have fun when we can. I tell him" gratuity is a option and I didn't have to leave anything if I didn't wanna" owner responded" well then we don't need service from people like you. Will never go back to a bar that has a owner that begs people for more money because that is illegal in the first place. Owner was drinking at own bar during work hours and managing a new bar tender. I'm telling you this now, do not bother coming here if you don't tip big I guess. Otherwise you may get told to leave to just over a few bucks. Will not be around a owner who lies about his own name as well to save his own skin. Because there is online so I don't get why he lied to my face about his name to save himself when I found it in 5 minutes. Win Lose or Draught is a great bar but a terrible terrible owner.

Great staff and drink prices. I usually go their on Thursday and I love the environmentread more

My iced tea was tasty. I got the fried brussels sprouts and the southwest chicken tacos. The…read morebrussels sprouts themselves didn't have any flavor unless I dipped them in the ranch. The southwest chicken tacos had lots of toppings, but looked like they were missing something. I mentioned to my companions that they were awful dry when I was eating them. Afterwards, I pulled up the menu on my phone and realized they were supposed to have salsa and ranch. I bet they would have tasted a lot better if they'd had everything they were supposed to have on them. It was surprisingly busy for a Tuesday night in a medium-size town, but there aren't a ton of food options there. The ambiance was kind of fun, with an outdoor seating area in addition to the inside.

Is it a brewery or a beer memorabilia museum? Tasty brews and an absolutely amazing collection of…read morebeer signs and more. An old Rt 66 classic.