I was visiting some good friends from out of town and we saw that Spar had gluten free hamburger buns so off we went. We came here on Friday night and we were able to find a table pretty quickly. We had good service and our food was delivered pretty quickly. Â The tater tots here are amazing! I could have eaten an entire serving on my own. I was able to get a gluten free burger that was pretty tasty and gluten-free beer. Overall, had a good experience and if I visit again in the future I will definately come back.
Review Source:I have been to this restaurant multiple times. Overall it is a good restaurant. But, the serving time is often delay or very slow. They come to take your order a good timely manner, but it takes sometimes a half hour until  you get your food and you didn't order anything very complicated. For example, my husband took me for a breakfast and it wasn't crowded at all (many empty seats). And, they took order which was speedy and good manner, but after that...... it takes them a half hour to bring our food. I ordered pancakes and egg Benedict. I know other restaurant can bring up within 15 min or so. Parking is only on street and you must pay (2hr max) except weekends. I have better experiences with their dinner. They do have variety of alcoholic beverages, which is awesome! Recommended for dinner/drinking/snack than breakfast.
OH! 2 "Special" pancakes cost $6+!!!!! I have no idea what was special about this pancakes!!!Just regular buttermilk pancakes with butter and syrup. LOL! Egg benedict  are cost about $12+. It is very expensive breakfast and very slow service.... I will give just 2 stars... They can do much better than this!
I was torn between a 3 star and a 4 star rating....too bad there isn't a 3 1/2....
Ok I decided on a 3 and this is why....
I have had more good experiences at McMenamins than bad ones, the food here is good and the service is decent.
I came here on Mothers day, so take into account the brunch insanity and we got seated immediately despite how crowded the place was, the server was polite and honest and let us know about how long it would take to get our food which I appreciated.
Good food, servers are polite, but block out a good portion of your day if you decide to eat here.
This is a fun place to eat, whether you are bringing the family, on a business lunch or on a date. Â The curtained booths provide privacy if you need it, or you can enjoy the old fashioned lunch counter. Â The food is full of flavor and unique. Â I highly recommend this unique experience!
Review Source:The atmosphere is great, service is excellent.
The food, its ok but could be better. This past time we went, the tatter tots were very salty. Their margarita pizza sadly lacks flavor.
Would we go back again yes, the burgers though have been excellent and would be nice if they more items on their menu which is alittle limited.
30 minutes for our food to come? Â For pancakes, a biscuit and egg and oatmeal? Â A little underwhelming.... They also wouldn't serve lunch until 12:00pm and it was only 11:40 but it was 12:10 by the time our food came out, so I feel like we should have been able to order off the lunch menu- which looked way better. Â
It wasn't horrible, it was just slow and not that great.
Sometimes, I just get a weird craving for crab cakes. For some reason they are hard to find in Oly, but the Spar makes great ones. Big with lots of crab and seasoned perfectly, served with spicy aioli, fresh yummy coleslaw and lots of lemon. Add a gin and tonic and combine with the awesome live music they often have here, or people watching on the front patio, win. :D Service is generally good, quick and attentive unless you are there on a Friday/Saturday night in which case it's understandably slower.
Simple but good happy hour menu too, with food and drink specials!
Stopped in for a quick pint and appetizers. My friends have given Spar mixed to mediocre reviews, so it actually exceeded my expectations. Location is obviously prime. I like the more subdued ambiance. The McMenamins beers are, as usual, consistently good without being great. The appetizers we tried (crab cakes and cajun tots) were both actually pretty tasty and not too heavy.
The obvious comparison here is Fish Tale. Spar is a fair bit pricier, but also far less crowded if you're feeling low key or need to actually have a conversation. The food at both places is about on par quality-wise, maybe a slight edge to Fish Tale for their hummus and solid fish tacos. Fish Tale wins hands down on the beers though. Better beers, more variety, dark&dry cider, and cheaper by the pint. Spar was a good first stop before wandering on, but if I'm picking one place and making a night of it, Fish Tale will win 9 times out of 10.
The food here is nothing to write home about, the service pretty bad. Â Our server had a hard time getting to us the whole night. Perhaps they are under-staffed? Olympia isn't known for having the best service but McMenamin's is a regional chain so I expected better.
We waited 20 minutes for our drinks and nearly an hour for our entree. We luckily got our appetizer the same time as our drinks. We had the crab cake appetizer, no complaints but not very amazing. The "spicy tartar" sauce wasn't very spicy, but okay nonetheless.
We waited 45 minutes for our server to notice that our drinks were empty, then had to wait another 10-15 minutes for our drinks, which came after the entrees we waited so long for. It was frustrating that we had to wait for so long-our server just kept saying they'll be right out.
For entree I had Wilbur's Deluxe Burger, essentially a bacon cheddar burger with a fried egg. Delicious. Greasy gourmet bar burger. The quality ingredients were over-shadowed by the grease but I was so starving after waiting an hour I wolfed it down and had a stomach ache later.
Seating was cool, they have what looks like a boxcar layout in the front and private booths with curtains in the back. We had a private booth and pulled the curtains closed so we could curse impatiently without causing a scene.
This is a breakfast review only.
That being said, the Spar has slowly turned into my go to place for breakfast when I go out, which is kind of often. You need to get there a little early to beat the rush and I suggest that you sit to the left of the front door along the windows or behind the bar for faster service.
Two things really stand out about breakfast here. First, the coffee. Full bodied and plenty of it. It'll definitely remove the cobwebs. And second, the hash browns. Always very crispy without needing to ask. They just are. My favorite breakfast is the Huevos Rancheros. Interesting choice since there is no meat on it and I am such a carnivore normally. I've tried many other items in there as well and each has treated me well.
The Spar is definitely a little piece of what makes downtown Oly cool. They have great background music too. Definitely some deep tracks get air time, even during breakfast.
PS-The Hammerhead Stout is a great beer (just not at breakfast). Just thought I'd throw that in.
Another exceptional meal! Â Two of us ordered steaks, one garden burger, and a grilled cheese for my 3 year old. Everything was perfect, including the beer :)
The hand cut homemade fries are awesome! Â The steaks were flavorful and cooked to the correct temperature, and the grilled cheese for my daughter was the best I ever ate. (she was having a finicky eating night, but that was unusually good for me because I got to finish her food :)
I'm told the clam chowder was great too. I wouldn't know because I'm not a chowder fan, but I'll take my wife's word for it.
Overall this was one of our best visits and was exceptional by all measures. The food is always good, but tonight was better than normal.
I especially like the high quality, largely local ingredients. This does make a big difference when the restaurant does not compromise quality.
We'll continue to return again and again.
Amaretto French Toast says it all when it comes to this place. Â We stopped by for some AM grub after a long night of drinks. Â The place is layed back and mellow. Â It's by far the largest Mcmenamins i've encountered. Â They have a damn long bar, lots of booths, and even a few booths that have a curtain for some privacy.
My wife, niece, and my self all got a mimosa to drink while waiting for our food to come out. Â The waitress poured some bubbley and proceeded to start squeezing fresh oranges. Â Never had the fresh squeezed OJ in my mimosa, but it was good and not over bearing like one may assume. Â They had about 5-6 specialty breakfast drinks. Â I like that. Â Booze in the AM!
My french toast was outstanding. Â First high point was that it was made with a Challah bread, which made for a larger breakfast that was filling. Â How they cooked it with a hint of amaretto is beyond me. Â There's few foods that you order off a menu and say, "Hey! That sounds awesome!" and it comes out tasting the way you would expect it to. Â This is one of the few dishes that is just that. Â French toast with a hint of amaretto!
Service wasn't the fastest in the world, but our server was really kind, and she thanked us for out patience. Â She was nice and would at least acknowledge when it was taking too long to get our drinks or our food. Â I can respect that.
What the...? We used to eat at the old Spar and loved it. And we had breakfast the this 'new' McMenamins version a few months ago and enjoyed that as well. Good food, snappy service, decent prices. So, being downtown yesterday - Labor Day - morning, we decided to give it another go. Big mistake.
First, there seemed to be only one server and he was obviously in a bad mood. He gave us menus, walked away, and didn't come back for a good 10 minutes. We ordered and he brought us our orange juice and water - silently - and disappeared into the kitchen for a while. When he came out he was slinging coffee pots and empty glasses around - at one point knocking things off the counter.
We waited, and waited, and waited for our food. At one point another couple approached him and asked where their food was. While I didn't hear his reply, he did return shortly with their orders.
We waited some more. Finally, my wife flagged him down and asked about our orders. He punched them up on the order monitor, turned to us and snottily replied, "It's only been 22 minutes." My wife said, "Don't you think that's a long time to wait for breakfast?" He said, "OK, I'll cancel them", and did. We left.
Hey, sorry you had to work Labor Day, dude. But taking it out on your customers is bad for business. We won't be back.
This place is cool. The food is solid, the music is never too loud, the bands they get are more "all age" folksy-americana-blues like, the staff has always been great and their beer selection is cool since they brew their own stuff.
In the summertime, they have outside seating which can be nice and in the winter time there was few other things I found while living in Oly that was more comfortable than walking in and enjoying their rustic/old fashioned decor and bar. The pictures they have on the walls are truly the history of that town and that restaurant.
It's family friendly - yet a great place to get a drink and enjoy some cool roots-y music.
I appreciate the Spar Cafe because I know what I am getting. Â As a McMenamins restaurant, I can count on McMenamins-brand foods and beers that are quite good. Â The food is always very good (love the blackberry cobbler with ice cream!), their beer is great (I'm a Ruby fan), and there is always ample seating. Â I also appreciate that they offer "local" favorites, which may not be available in other McMenamins, such as Olympia beer. Â The prices are high, but I have come to expect that with McMenamins.
However, in all three of my experiences at the Spar, the service is always poor. Â On my first visit earlier this year, my bartender was just downright unfriendly. Â No smile, no energy, and just uninterested in helping us with our order. Â Maybe she was having a bad day? Â But since then, my visits also left much to be desired. Â Hurried waitstaff that lack personality or a general sense of interest in helping customers. Â We also find ourselves waiting a long while to be waited on.
I will continue frequenting the Spar Cafe every now and then for a Ruby and a cobbler, but will do so with low expectations.
as i'm venturing away fromt he comforts of Bellevue and Seattle, i was a bit worried about the restaurant/food/bar scene of olympia. Â I heard from several sources that olympia shuts down at 9pm. Â
so post my first sailing class, i was famished and i didn't know where to go. After asking my fellow sailors, they suggested Spar, as it was close by with decent food.
I checked on yelp and saw taht it was part of mcmenamins and thought that it couldn't be too bad since i like other mcmenamins.
and i was right.
It was reasonably priced cocktails but their food is kinda pricey. Â
i liked that they sell cigars and you could take your drink outside to smoke a stogie. Â they had a dominican cohibo for 20 bux. not bad. Â I wasn't able to check out their whiskey menu, but i'm sure i'll be back to look at their selection.
for food, i have to say that their chicken club sandwich was tasty, and their tater tots were crispy. Â yum.
would i go back? Â yes!
Help help some one fix the stink of old beer this place has ! Mcmenamins can do things great but, this place needs real help. It is close to home but I would rather drive in my car to the crystal Hotel and have a beer where Mcmenamins has it off the hook right! Some one tell some one to fix Olympia's location please
Review Source:I'm feeling a bit bad about this rating because I would have given it a 3 about 1 year ago. Â But after the other night, the low quality of food has gotten out of hand. Â The menu is not big, and it's certainly not cheap. Â There are salads, appetizers, several pizzas, soups, burgers/sandwiches, and about 5 overpriced entrees. Â Service has never been bad for me, but it's not anything to write home about. Â Drinks are good, strong, fancy-- but very, very expensive (seeing a pattern here?).
I got a hankering to go this week and I deeply regretted it the second I sat down to eat. Â I should have ran out the door. Â The special, cod tacos, sounded appealing. Â But to be honest, I only picked them because everything on the menu was overpriced, boring and did not sound like what I wanted. Â
The cod tacos were, as advertised by the friendly server, on corn tortillas with cabbage, pico and sour cream. Â The corn tortillas were stale, and the fish was fried (I had no idea it was going to be, or else I would've gotten fish and chips & had more fish for a cheaper price). Â As usual, the salad was okay-- raspberry dressing is great there--, but the salad is made up of obvious hamburger fixings. Â I don't think I'm going back, because on top of everything else, my favorite sandwich (ahi ahi) seemed to have disappeared from the menu. Â Maybe it wasn't selling, which is just too bad. It was a flavorful sandwich with wasabi mayo-- much more inviting than what remains on the menu.
A plus is the fact that they seem to take customer feedback seriously there. Â they used to serve nachos that were atrocious (obviously cooked under a broiler-- scattered veggies and burned cheese atop way too many chips and little sour cream/salsa). Â They completely removed them from the menu. Â
Desserts are decadent. Â Coffee is great (lattes/mochas served here). Their burgers are pretty good. Â But as a vegetarian, I usually find them boring! Â i wish they were better because the spot is very cool with neat art and good service. Â Please improve!
I wish I could give this place a 3.5, but the interface won't let me do it. Â It's better than a 3, and I'm not willing to give it a 4. Â My youngest son, on the other hand, would give it a 5.
My wife and I ... and, sometimes my youngest, have eaten there for lunch, and several dinners. Â My wife and I enjoy it. Â My youngest LOVES it. Â When we told my youngest that we would take him anywhere he wanted for his high school graduation dinner, and I started listing places we liked, he interrupted me and said: "The Spar".
First, other reviewers have commented negatively on the service. Â I have NEVER had that experience. Â In fact, today, for my youngest son's high school grad, we ate there, and the young woman that waited on us was perfect. Â She gave us the right amount of attention. She answered our questions about the food in an informed way. Â She had the right amount of appreciation/interest in my son having graduated from high school.
As for the food, everything I have ever had there is worth going back for. Â The clam chowder was, at least, as good as the Oyster House's. My son's friend (a young "foodie") almost had an orgasm over his Oyster Po' Boy sandwich. Â The hummus plate, as always, was excellent. Â
If I want cooked oysters, in the Olympia area, I am going to go to the Oyster House. Â If I want Oyster Shooters, then I am going to The Spar. Â Every other place I have had an oyster shooter, the sauce needs some Tabasco, or something. Â At The Spar, I don't add anything to the shot. Â The two boys and I had a "Six-Pack" of oyster shooters, and they were AWESOME. Â ... Keep in mind, as I have stated in my other reviews, I have a pretty limited tolerance for seafood. Â If I am not "in the mood" for seafood, the "fishy" taste will overwhelm me pretty quick and make me nauseous, no matter how good the food is. Â I was not "in a seafood mood", and had two oyster shooters, today.
One of today's seasonal beers was the "Workman's Red", and it was really nice. Â
in general, I like the McMenamins' beer. Â It has less carbonation than I normally prefer. Â My wife likes the Porter, the Terminator Stout, and the Hammerhead Ale. Â I like the "Ruby", the "Hammerhead", the IPA (if I am in an "IPA mood"), and the Workman's Red, that I had today.
I have to say, though, if I am going to go to a brew pub in downtown Olympia for the beer, primarily, (as opposed for a combined food/beer experience) then, I am going to Fish Tail.
Good enough.
Food is yummy, service is good, but I'm never "wowed" by a visit there. Everything just seems like something you could get done just as easily elsewhere. There isn't a "pull" item I've found there yet.
I like their mac and cheese, and the ambiance is definitely beautiful. If you need to lip-read, though, don't go there at night. It's dark!
This place is very typical of a McMenamins establishment. It truly reminds me of a bar right out of the 1920's!!
Their happy hour is okay... but limited. I suggest trying their hummus with pita bread as it's really good! Their fries here are good too, especially late at night after hanging out at Jakes. Their beer is okay. I really like their Rubinator! It goes down well with the fries! The Communication Breakdown burger not only has an awesome name, but is very tasty too! I suggest sticking to their burgers or happy hour menu as some of the other food items are pricey and not worth the plate they're served on!
My favorite thing here though, by far, is the black and tan brownie with bourbon caramel and vanilla ice cream! It's AMAZING! The last time we came here I had to fend off my friends before they inhaled it! In fact, one person in my party debated whether or not she should order one for herself as half of mine was not enough! Yes, it's that good!
If you're looking for old school charm and a bar as long as a school bus, this is the place to go! If you're looking for an updated place with music and a cool atmosphere, you might want to look elsewhere.
The first time that I went to Spar I loved it.
The last time I went to Spar I had the worst experience I quite possibly have ever had in a restaurant. The waitress who sat us brought out our drinks, and then proceeded to spill three waters and a beer over two out of the three of us. The person who had ordered a beer walked away unscathed. However, she then received a new beer, free of charge. Which is great customer service, except  my friend and I smelt like a keg for the next few hours until we could go home and change and we paid for each of our entire meals!
I haven't been back since and don't plan to go back anytime soon.
The message that Spar sent was, "If we mess up and spill all over you, we'll first laugh. Then, take forever to grab a dry towel, continue to make jokes for the duration of the meal, and stick you with the entire bill, BUT we'll give your friend her beer for free even though the beer ended up on you and not your friend."
I'm not impressed.
I take this place over the 4th Ave Tav and the other numerous bars within 4 block radius.
Drinks are stiff and decently priced if not slightly over - which is okay as long as its stiff. Live bands are great and entertaining but hard to have a good conversation.
Place is well lit, pretty clean, well stocked with liquor with the exception of the first time I came here and they were out of Sailor Jerry's.
Service is hit and miss, but all you really need to do is be assertive and ask. Once you get out of your shy shell, things are a lot smoother and efficient.
At my last outing, I had the Wilbur. Wilbur's Jumbo Deluxe Burger bacon, Tillamook® cheddar, & a fried egg. This was very delish. Meat was juicy and well seasoned. The egg was nicely cooked over medium - not too runny - excellent for having it in a burger.
Cajun tater tots were yummy too, although I believe they post seasoned the tots which were pre-frozen and not home made. All good, takes me back to elementary school age.
Fresh cut fries were good, average amongst fresh cuts.
Again I find myself downgrading The Spar.  What was once an old favorite is now a place that I won't recommend to anyone.  Since acquired by McMenamin's the service has gotten worse, the prices higher (considerably!!) and the overall experience is  sadly lacking the old local ambiance that once imbued The Spar with the particular "branding" that made it a desirable acquisition for McMenamin's.  Sadly all the old help is also gone, and it appears that the customers are leaving as well.  Every time I have gone in there since the acquisition there have been fewer and fewer customers and I will not be surprised if in the future we will see the Spar closed for good.
The food was mediocre at best for the prices charged, I had the 4th Ave Mess with an egg on top and while it was indeed palatable, hash browns, and gravy with cheese are not a $9.00 item on anyone's menu!! Â Top that with coffee not served in mugs as in days of yore but in small coffee cups irregularly warmed (twice only both times after having to be requested), warm cream in a open pitcher and jam so sugared from being kept at room temperature that the lid had to be pried open with a knife to get at the jam to slather on the LIMP english muffin served with the Mess. Â The reason I went with the Mess in the first place was because my perennial favorite has now gone to $12.25 Â up from 8.99 when The Spar changed hands. Â Now I know that things have gone up but not 40% they haven't!!
My son had Egg's Benedict which he finished with alacrity but without any raves either. Â With the tariff for two breakfasts, one with coffee and one with grapefruit juice at over thirty dollars before tip this is not a breakfast choice for us in the future. Â I'm guessing it won't be for the two parties shown the door because they wanted breakfast and not lunch after 11:00 also, and with the way business looked at The Spar, that is not a decision that should just be shrugged off which was indeed that attitude of the server and his supervisor after both parties exited the building without eating. Â
Too bad, another favorite has gone too far downhill to go there anymore.
A group of us went for dinner here. I was a little concerned that the reviews were all saying the service was less than adequate. Fortunately for us, this was not the case. Our server was attentive, seemed to show up when we needed him and certainly made the evening enjoyable. Now if I only knew his name he could get the props duly earned.
As for the food, I had a great meal. I had the chicken burger with a salad and side of the cajun tater tots. I could sit and eat those tater tots all night long, they were really good. As for the chicken sandwich, equally as good, juicy and full of flavor! I really enjoyed the house-made blue cheese dressing on a very fresh salad.
I would recommend this place, the atmosphere is kitschy and fun and the food is of equal pleasure.
Expensive! Wilted spinach salad with chicken was good but definitely not worth the $15 (before tax + tip).
The older waitress was funny and sweet. I get the feeling it was because the place was empty since we came on a Thursday at 2 pm. On the other hand, my Olympian friends say this good service is very rare! :(
McMenamins kicks out a pretty decent product. Whether it be their Cajun Tots w/ Ranch Dressing, their selection of beers or the late night happy hour - this place can be a gold mine on a Friday night post-ten o'clock. They're like the cool sibling in the '90s who listened to Phish, smoked cloves and would buy you and your buddies beer without being asked twice. Everyone adores the cool older sibling.
Then something goes awry in the gene pool and a sibling is kicked out who isn't quite right - in more ways than one. People are left to wonder, "Well, Johnny's such a great kid... why is Matt such an A-HOLE!"
This is where the Spar Cafe comes into play - and my only explanation is that McMenamins must have been drinking when Spar was in a key developmental stage. Granted, they have everything the other McMenamins have (tots, happy hour, beer...) but they lack any semblance of competent service.
Last night myself and a handful of others stopped in after viewing our friend's play just down the street at the State Theatre. We asked our server "Teddy" for the happy hour menu because when you're at McMenamins post-ten you get HAPPY HOUR. We then ordered food off of the HAPPY HOUR menu because it was HAPPY HOUR. We got our bills at the end of the night and we were slammed with non-HAPPY HOUR prices. This isn't an issue as long as it's taken care of. The problem is when "Teddy" puts the blame on us saying we didn't specify we wanted HAPPY HOUR food. I'm sorry "Teddy" - it's after ten, it's HAPPY HOUR and we asked for the HAPPY HOUR menu... sorry if we weren't more clear. The screw up was fixed - only after about 15 minutes of "Teddy" disappearing into some black void in the back but I'm still beyond frustration with our server blaming us for his mistake.
Like I said, this experience in no way deters me from hanging with the other siblings in the McMenamins family - but I think I've had my fill of the Spar.
My husband, my 7 year old daugher and I came to The Spar for lunch around 1pm on a Sunday. We arrived hungry. Not starving. Just hungry...it was time for lunch. I ordered the hamburger, hubby ordered the bacon cheese burger, daughter ordered the mini corndogs from the kiddie menu.
The atmosphere was fantastic. I give it a 9/10-10/10. The historic photos were also a plus.I was super excited about this restaurant when we arrived. It looked totally awesome. I hoped this would be a new family favorite. But now the review changes....
What a disappointment! Service was poor. We barely saw our waitress. Soda was FLAT.Zero carbonation. Very surupy. Â When our food arrived my daughter's corn dogs looked over cooked. The fries my daughter and husband had were really soggy. (How can you screw up corn dogs and french fries?) The burgers? They were highly over priced poor quality even for fast food. They tasted like the burgers you get at an amsement park. Dry. Tasted like frozen pre packaged patties. No flavor. The menu said something about a special sauce on the burgers. It was there, but barely. The burger was really DRY. Not to mention the super flat patty and just a handful of tater tots that came with my burger. The tots were good. The only good thing food wise that I can report.
My daughter wasn't thrilled with the corn dogs. Didn't finish them, because they were "yucky." this is coming from a kid that will eat anything you put in front of her.
My husband didn't like his burger either, but we cleaned our plates. We left about as hungry as we came.
Our bill was about 30 dollars. For 30 dollars I expect to have better quality burgers. At least a significant step up from fast food. (There is a reason I don't eat fast food after all.) and I expect to be reasonably satisfied. Its not like we arrived famished or anything. Just "its lunchtime" hungry.
As soon as we got into the car my daughter complained about being hungry.Hubby and I were still hungry after eating So we had to pick up some sandwiches on the way home. After spending over 30 dollars at The Spar.
Sorry Spar....I really wanted to like you.
Although good for what it is, it's just really not all that great. Â The food is okay -- a little overpriced, and the beer is fairly standard. Â I've had a few seasonal brews that have been tasty, but the regular selection is not unique enough to draw me into their dark interior.
Despite the drawbacks, The Spar does have some unique features:
- You can go in at any time and drink a small beer and mooch the free wireless for hours at a time without so much as a raised eyebrow;
and
- It's one of the few places downtown that's open for breakfast at 7am on a Sunday.
Morning times seem chronically understaffed, so don't expect a quick breakfast or preemptive coffee refills.
After giving the spar two years to get its act together, I finally made a return trip. Turns out that if anything has changed, it has gotten worse.
Flash back a few years and I was excited that there was a McMenamins coming to town. I had been to one of their places in both Seattle and Portland and enjoyed it. I also liked The Spar pre-renovation. I figured that it was bound to be great.
Once they opened I made a couple trips. Once I went for breakfast and the food didn't arrive until an hour and a half after we were seated. Next time I went to the bar once and got weak yet overpriced drinks. Finally, I came for lunch and had to apologize at work for arriving back so late due to the mean, slow, and begrudging service. At this point The Spar and I were done with each other for a while.
Present day and I was hesitant to go back, but curious to see if things had improved. First impression upon entering is that the place kind of smells. It's a little warm and pretty full, so perhaps it's the people? The place is also carpeted though, so perhaps it's years of spilled food and beer? Just lots of onions? Anyways, it was bearable so we sat down.
Ordered some beers and waited 5 or so minutes for a pitcher + a pint to come to the table. Once our glasses were totally empty we waited 5 minutes before seeing the waitress and even then had to flag her down. Upon learning that we're not ordering food she's very obviously put off. We ordered a few more beers and they came quickly... but they were also not what we ordered. Pointing this out, the waitress is seemingly mad at us for ... receiving the wrong beer? Anyways, the right beer comes the second time.
She pops by again and this time it has reached 10:00 PM, happy hour. If McMenamins does one thing wonderful, it's cajun tots, cajun tots that  are $2.00 for happy hour... so we thought. I asked the waitress, she informs me that the happy hour prices for drinks are still good, but they aren't doing a food happy hour. She's saying this while I hold the happy hour menu with prices and the fact that happy hour is 10:00 PM - close every night. I was slightly confused as why they decided to cancel the happy hour prices and the look on my face showed it. She then said the same sentence again and without letting me get a word in says with distinct anger and a passive aggressive tone in her voice "There's no food happy hour, just drinks...does that make sense to you!?"
She walked away before I could say anything back. We paid as quickly as possible (nothing happens faster than slow at the spar) and left.
All hyperbole aside, I would rather go anywhere else in downtown Olympia than return to The Spar.
When this was truley the Spar it rocked my world. It was my family's GO TO for breakfast, pre-Capital Theater show eatings, etc. Great Hot Cocoa, amazing french toast...Ahhh, heaven. BUT, ever since Mc Menamins took it over years ago I haven't had a decent meal or any type of service there and have simply quit going! Rude and slow wait staff, poor menu choices, and cold bland food.
No and thank you.
I consider myself very lucky to have started drinking BEFORE it became McMenamins. Â Sigh. Â I have fond, nostalgic memories of the old bar - and even of milkshakes and steak fries in the cafe, back when I was a higher-metabolizin' young fool. Â I didn't mind stinking of cigarettes and cigars because the ambiance was RIGHT, the drinks were well-made and cheap, and the bartenders knew all the quaint old cocktails that can be so hard to order elsewhere. Â
I also used to like McMenamins before their old-timey fingers went too far. Â I'm referring to coming to Oly and knocking out the wall separating the back bar at the Spar from the cafe. Â The Spar WAS excellently preserved in its more or less original, historical glory - its uniqueness was lost to the McMenamins touch. Â
Also, the food sucks. Â My friend and I ordered a crab dip, mac and cheese, and fish and chips. Â The dip was presented in a burnt-cheese-encrusted cup, suggesting this wasn't its first time in the microwave, and the toast was stale and obviously the cheapest bread available. Â The mac and cheese was so bland I suggested my friend add to it the rest of the crab dip to make it palatable - which she did. Â My fish's breading was so soggy and baking-soda-like in flavor that I went ahead and picked it apart to eat the fish inside - and I am a grease LOVER. Â How could comfort food go so wrong? Â
At least the server tried to be nice. Â He clearly was afraid of me by the end. Â My comment about the fish was met with no eye contact, nervous chatter and prompt assurance that we wouldn't be charged for it.
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