Trade Winds Pub & Eatery — Restaurant in Illinois

This place is a real gem in Springfield. They have a Chef, I know it is a bar but I am going to call the him a Chef because he is actually cooking real food from scratch with real ingredients and custom recipes. The prices are low, so low you might question the quality but the quality is outstanding.

This isn't your usual Springfield restaurant serving you reheated frozen food from Sysco or GFS. They hand batter the mushrooms (hard to find if you live fried mushrooms), and the chicken strip. The burgers are amazing and juicy, perfect ratios of fat to meat content. The bread is outstanding. The specialty breads like the jalapeños cornbread is a real interesting treat. The cheese sauce is a garlic cheese sauce that is different from the normal here and a real delight. The French fries are amazing. They coke with salt and pepper on them for that added special touch.

The servers are friendly and attentive. The draft drink specials are great.

They have plenty of outdoor seating and a window you can order from outside if you are so inclined.

The only downside is they stop taking food order at 8pm. Other than that this place is...

Girlfriend and I went for dinner around 8pm on a Friday night, and it was our first time at Tradewinds. Got the impression that it is more pub than eatery. Most of the patrons were there for drinks, rather than food and the music was quite loud.

We ordered a pork tenderloin and hamburger pony shoe. The food was great. Home style hand cut fries, or River fries as some call them. Tenderloin was massive, and tasty, though I could tell the oil it was fried in is due for a change. Horseshoe was also good, using what I suspect is a powdered cheese sauce mix that you find at a lot of places in town.

Service left a bit to be desired. The server/bartender appeared to be a little bit buzzed, and while he did check on us regularly, I could not call his demeanor friendly or welcoming by any means. The service was a bit short on hospitality, and is the only reason I would deduct any points...

I went there for the 4th of July. The place was packed the people we met there and been waiting over an hour for their food. We did not want to wait an hour for our food. They were serving hot dogs outside just before we left the bar area the people that we had met had received their food it was cold. I wasn't waiting for cold food I went out by the band and paid $7 for two hot dogs they were cold and nasty. I went up to the Bud Light trailer to get a beer they had no Bud Light. The food sucked the beer choices sucked. Which we went there to watch the fireworks. And of course they suck too. I probably won't go back. The only reason I gave it to Stars was because I had a good time with my friends and family. Next year will definitely go...