Spanky's Food & Spirits — Restaurant in Mattoon

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1st patronage notes:

1. beverages/food: not a huge selection on tap, I'm sure it's sufficient for most customers. I did find a good match for the food, though. As for the meal, we had the AYCE fried walleye. DANG!! Don't bring yo momma, 'cause you just might.....SLAP! The girls kept it coming. "How many more you want?" THAT'S how you serve AYCE!

2. atmosphere: its cozy. Not a huge noisy place sports bar. But the ceilings are rather low for my taste. Whoever was running the tunes was on-point as well!

3. service: prompt and very friendly! The place filled up not very long after we got our first plate and the gals busted tail to keep everyone well happy.

In summary, these guys have a really good thing going here. The service is really good, the food is really good, and the prices are the icing on the cake!! $30 for a pitcher of beers and 2 plates of AYCE WALLEYE with sides... yeah I'll be back!

Addendum: we came back the following Friday for more fish. This place is getting SERIOUSLY CLOSE to a 5 🌟 status!!

1-19-24. We went back for our 4th or so visit and it was not the same. Whole different wait staff, and much different service. We were greeted and had our order taken almost immediately. We got our food and drinks and then crickets for the next 30+change minutes. When we did have a server stop by, it was a walk-by to take my plate and not to ask if we wanted more AYCE fish (which we did). Nor did she inquire as to our preference regarding our empty beer pitcher (we preferred it full 1 more time). Once I asked, we were delivered an over-full basket of fish and fresh beer. This was good. The bar was kinda busy, but the dining area was sparsely seated. I will be back, but a repeat will probably result in the loss of a star.

3-8-24 We've been back a few times since the last report. Gotta say, it's been awesome every time! Harley and Cinnae? (sorry, just... sorry) are absolutely TOP NOTCH gals! Our arrival to "our table", is almost immediately greeted by our favorite drinks. Like, tonight they were decent busy at 5pm when we arrived, by the time we sat down, Harley was already pulling our pitcher!!! These folks are just the best! It...

Three of the four of us got their fish dinner while the last one got a chicken wrap. The food took about 45 minutes to come out while people who came in after us had already been served and left. When the food finally came out, the fish was cold and rubbery, the fries were barely above frozen and the chicken wrap was burnt on one side. Not overdone, burnt. It's pretty bad when one can say that the coleslaw was the best part of the meal. We went to pay for our meal and discovered that the waitress that was taking care of us had left for the night. And forget about trying to get anything to drink after you put your order in. The best part of the experience was being able to watch a ballgame. And, after we all had gotten settled in at home, the three of us who had the fish dinner all three had thrown up. Not a very good experience and I would recommend staying away from their food. The alcohol was good, but that can be...

Great food and specials thru the week. Mike, the owner is a great man. Great home town bar restaurant with great customer service evening bartenders can be entertainment. Natalie is the best "got it together " bartender! This bar raise money for St.Jude every year and Natalie even ran from Mattoon to Peoria a few times along with other people from the community. and has very special poker runs for benefits which includes Jeeps and motorcycles. There is an outstanding outdoors with seating an bag toss and live music. All in all this is great place for sports fans with several TV's. But not a noise burden. I do believe that this is the Number 1# bar restaurant in Mattoon! The customer service is #1 and fun. Meet n greet...