Anvil Restaurant & Saloon — Restaurant in Sainte Genevieve

I went in at 4:30pm on a Wednesday for dinner. There was 1 person at the bar and 1 table occupied by 2 people. I was asked if I wanted to sit at the bar. I said I’d prefer a table. I was pointed to two undesirable two top tables. I asked if I could sit at the four top against the wall and was told they like to keep those for four people. I finished my food and was gone within 40 minutes. I could’ve sat at the table and not displaced any other patrons. Very unaccommodating. I ordered the grilled chicken breast, smothered with a baked potato and steamed broccoli. The food was good. If the girl working the bar had been accommodating, I would return. If you’re not dining solo, you might get treated better.

EDIT after the owner’s response: I went to 2 different restaurants the following day and was offered to sit anywhere I liked. I had no need to ask. Some customers don’t like to sit in the middle of a room where other customers and wait staff would need to constantly walk by or be stuck in a corner with limited space. I am one of those customers. Also, I am short and sitting at a bar (or high tops) is very uncomfortable since my legs swing while sitting and getting off the stool is never dignified. If the restaurant had been busy, I never would have asked for different seating, I would have endured what was available. The restaurant was empty. Instead of being interested in customer service and adapting to a particular customers’ preference, the response was their policy and deference to other non-existent (at the time) customers. My comment of ‘unaccommodating’ stands. I would ask the owner to think of their most uncomfortable situation (which could easily be remedied) but someone else decides that they just need to be uncomfortable and then they’re dismissed and told it’s a matter of perspective whether it was a good experience or a bad one. It was a bad experience but the good part is that I now know I don’t want to return to your restaurant.

There is a big segment of the population that finds dining solo a daunting and almost insurmountable event. Years ago, I did too. I decided I needed to get used to it so my travel experiences would be enriched by dining in restaurants instead of getting take out. I started that journey going at off times when restaurants wouldn’t be full. If your restaurant would have been my first foray into solo dining, I would have been put off by the experience. Thankfully almost all of my experiences have been the opposite and all I needed to do was focus getting comfortable being by myself in a place where the majority of people are coupled or in groups. While it’s not your responsibility to help people, having consideration for solo diners goes a long way. Solo diners are not distracted by their dining partners so they see more, hear more and notice more if the service is...

We ordered take out from here. I ordered the toasted ravioli with marinara sauce, a side of fries and the chocolate cake dessert. My colleague ordered the mushroom burger and fries and the same dessert. The order was placed and we were told the order would be ready in 10-15 minutes, here is where the good news ended. Once the food was received and brought back to the hotel we were instantly disappointed to find one of the desserts, for which we had paid, was missing and the one that did arrive was WRONG!!!! The burger was soggy, the fries were drowning in oil and the portion of fries constituted about 10 fries. The toasted ravioli were adequate at best and the marinara sauce was in fact a pot of lumpy tomato sauce with little to no flavor. Again the portion of fries was tiny and also drowning in oil. Suffice to say we will NOT be ordering from here again and severely disappointed given the other reviews on here. Service was average, the food terrible and the missing food but full price cost have left us both with nothing good to say about the place. Sorry guys but as a restaurant offering take out during the covid pandemic you have let down two hungry front...

Atmosphere is weird as all get out, but the catfish I had was flavorful and crispy. The bar area is decorated with clown memorabilia (that's right, clowns) while the rest of the restaurant is gorgeous, with old, exposed brick and historical pictures of the area. So if you can sit facing away from the bar area, it's almost like you're in a nice little restaurant with a good theme. Service is mediocre, don't expect to receive any items you ask for besides your main course, and you might not receive all of the main course items, either. The owner has reportedly/repeatedly scammed customers out of money, and will often overcharge you for a drink at the bar (like I said, avoid the bar). Overall, the food is acceptable. Onion rings are meh, like all of the onion rings in this town. I'm mostly disappointed that all of the restaurants here have such good prospects and opportunities to be fantastic with wonderful atmospheres, but each restaurant has let me down in a different yet disappointing way. I will probably return, if only for the fact that the only place in town that hasn't disappointed me yet is McDonald's, and a girl can't live off...