St James Restaurant — Restaurant in Avilla

I wish I had a better experience with this place. We came for a large company party. (Party of 20) The meal was planned by someone else so we didn't get to order what we wanted. Everyone expected to be able to order what they wanted. We were seated upstairs. The main meal was served family style in large bowls you pass around the table.

So, for the planned meal:

Everyone had ice water at their seat.

Salad= we were given large bowls of ranch and french to share. The ranch dressing was very good. The salad was good mixed greens, not iceberg junk. Bread= nice and soft, got choice between white and wheat.

Mashed potatoes and gravy= very good, homestyle type I believe it was Turkey or chicken gravy. Chicken and noodles= gross, reminded me of the high school cafeteria. Green beans= tasted like green beans. Had pieces of onion and bacon I believe. Broasted chicken= VERY TASTY, crisp and flavorful. Best part of the meal with the potatoes. Pork chop= more like a thick slice of ham. Tough and cold, I had 1 bite and only swallowed out of politeness. Gave it to the boyfriend.

Apple pie= very basic. Obviously not homemade. Would've been better had it been warm with ice cream.

Drinks: Very inexpensive for what you are given. I saw many drink tabs of our group and they were NOT bad. People were getting drunk for under $20.

Service: Very good. The lady paid special attention to us. She was very patient with some of the men who'd had a little too much to drink.

I would like to come back under different circumstances to order what I want, and not have to have what someone else planned. I was looking forward to the German theme and had hoped there would be some native German speakers there but did not see anything.

Only reason they got 4 stars not 5 was because of the pork chop, chicken noodles and apple pie.

I do...

Not everyone is a customer at this place. I experienced a couple of situations with the older guy and the manager. I lived in this area for six years due to my husband’s job and quickly found out how clannish and imprudent a small town can be. The worst incident occurred when in the face of no other viable seating options I unknowingly sat next to the manager‘s friends one night at the end of the bar. Apparently, it inconvenienced him and his friends because when he decided to take a break and eat, he sat down on the other side of me and they proceeded to talk over me. Not once did anyone make any attempt to include me in on the conversation. I was trying to relax and was not at all angry until this happened and I called him out. The most egregious part about it was the unwelcoming and imprudent response I received from the manager afterward telling me that I needed to sit in the dining room and his mention that he discussed the incident with other patrons the following night, which is very obviously inappropriate. I never went back afterwards. Being a city person, I found many of my experiences living in Noble County followed suit. Ultimately, I decided I had enough, divorced, and moved away. I have no problems...

It's with a sad heart I have to share this. I was super excited to try this restaurant, as it was recommended to me. Sadly it was not good. I ordered the 12oz prime rib at 30$, it came out cold and absolutely flavorless. I got a salad and fries with it. The salad was the best part of the meal. The fries are the same fries I get from DG. My husband got the cod, and right off the bat it was all wrong. Cod is not a fish that gets breaded, it's battered, on top of that the pieces were tiny and thin. He had the mashed potatoes that tasted like flake potatoes with canned chicken gravy. Then we got the garlic bread which was white toast with hardly any garlic, and so hard that it could have been used as croutons. The best part of our meal was actually our waitress, who was kind, funny, and nothing short of amazing. Sadly my husband and I...