I wrote a review on my blog and was quickly prompted to post it on Yelp, since it will be of more help to people here. My wife (April) and I decided to give Trolley's a try since Maria's was full to bursting.
--Pros--
The hostess was very kind and anxious to get us a good seat. We had to wait a few minutes with no reservation (amusingly, there were three small groups of people all dawdling over glasses of ice water when we arrived), but I appreciated her attentiveness.
The food came out hot and relatively quickly, which was nice since we were a bit short on time.
The sides (mashed potatoes and green beans for me, and sweet potato fries and green beans for April) were excellent.
--Cons--
April and I both ordered the sirloin steak-she asked for medium well, and I asked for medium rare. The steak was burned on the outside, April's was medium rare, and mine was medium well. My guess is that their grill was too hot, which caused uneven cooking and the external burning.
The steaks were particularly bad cuts of beef, not tender and laden with fat and gristle. April couldn't eat about 1/4 of hers, which considering it was only an 8 oz. steak is pretty terrible.
My beer wasn't cold.
The waitress kept trying to push more alcohol on us, and seemed a bit mocking (laughing at us) when we didn't want to order more.
The price was ridiculous, considering how bad the main course was and how small the portions were. We ended up spending $50 on a meal that was of poorer quality and lesser quantity than a $30 meal at a better steakhouse. We could have spent less at ReRico (two meals are $42 total there), which is far superior.
---
For my part, I won't be returning to Trolley's. Overall, it was pretty terrible, and I'd recommend you steer away from it if you're in downtown Springfield. Next time we'll either wait at Maria's or just go to St. Michael's. It may not be as classy, but at least the food is good and the prices are reasonable.
Trolley's is a really great place to hang out downtown. Tuesday nights they have amazing drink specials and the place is ALWAYS packed. They also have no cover on Tuesdays - which is a huge plus! There are 2 bars - one downstairs & one upstairs at Level 2. The bathrooms here are always crowded with people just standing around. The atmosphere of the whole place is really chill - even when it's packed. Sometimes it's super hard to get a table and other times it's not a problem. They have a full bar & LOTS of specials going all the time, so there's pretty much something for everyone. The food is pretty good too, although i haven't had it in a while. Every time i have eaten at Trolley's it's been delicious.
Review Source:I stopped by during a work trip for dinner. Â We were there on $1 bottle night so there were plenty of college kids enjoying the price discount and the place got busy... which made for an interesting dining experience. Â But hey... when your in a college town, you have to expect that.
I ordered the talapia and it was great. Â The beer was good, but not icy cold. Â My workmate ordered a chicken sandwich and enjoyed it.
Honestly, I would have never gone to Trolley's if the places we wanted to go were w/in walking distance of our hotel or rumored closed/out of biznass. We were hungry. VERY thirsty. Unfortunately, it was sort of late and knowing Springfield pretty well (I went to college there), I knew that there weren't a lot of restaurants still serving food.
I also knew of Trolley's and know that tool from The Bachelor opened it and seeing the crowd it attracted, I knew it really just wasn't my style.
Things that redeemed Trolley's-- Our waitress nice and attentive . Even late on a Friday night, our waters were consistently filled and we always had drinks. I also appreciated the non-smoking section, which was well divided from the smoking section. We sat at a high-seated table in the window that made for some great co-ed people watching. (Soo many girls who can't walk in their shoooess!!!)
Not that I'm ever surprised or that shocked when there are few vegetarian options, they had very few on their late-night menu. There was nothing really substantial and I was famished. I know it's a little unfair to judge a place with my limited diet choice, but I can't help but let it effect my opinion of a place.
The spinach artiCHOKE dip was really, really nasty. And I was left to poke at its gelatinous, oily greeness while everyone else chowed down on their fried sandwich goodness. The other thing that bothered me was the draft beer list. They had the draft beer selection of a dive bar. In fact, we left Trolley's for a dive bar on Kimbarough that had the same beer for much cheaper.
I can't say that I really liked college-ie Trolley's that much, but I'll choke down my inner-bar-snob and say, it really wasn't as bad as I assumed.
I've been to Trolley's several times, mostly for the bar, but I have had lunch here too. Â When it's warm out, this place is nice to sit outside and have a few drinks. Â I'm constantly amazed at the prices here (but then again I'm just to prices in the Bay). Â My only complaint is that you can smoke here, which I'm not partial to enjoying.
Normally, I would have given this place 4 stars, but Shane, our bartender last night, gave it the extra zing I needed. Â I'm the type of guy that likes to give my bartender a few directions (i.e. rum, whiskey, bourbon, earthy, mildly sweet) and have him whip me up something. Â Amidst all the bar tricks and flare he was throwing around, he made a rum and coke (which I decided to start with) followed by his creations of a washington apple, manhattan, and a couple other drinks. Â All of them were on point. Â Close to closing, he made Maegan and I a free hornet shot which we did with him. Â I definitely tipped him well. Â In fact, I'm thinking of going back tonight since he said he'd be there.
The food here is pretty on par--nothing too over-the-top, which includes the lunch menu. Â The late night menu was cheap and seemed pretty good. Â We ended up ordering the fried stuff olives, which were tasty, although I was wanting more olive and less cheese. Â You certainly can't beat that for $5.
If you do find yourself in Springfield, then definitely hit up Trolley's.
It's funny, I've been up to Trolley's several times, but it was always for a beer, still haven't ate there. Â The ambiance is really cool and Tuesday nights they have dollar bottle nights. Our server Tuesday night was "Johnny on the spot" with our every request. If it's a nice night like last Tuesday the patio is the place to be. I'll try to make it up to eat there soon so I can add to this.
Review Source:I had wanted to try Trolley's for sometime. Remember the Bachelor, Aaron Buerge on ABC? He is one of the owners of this restaurant and bar. Parking is a nightmare but once you get inside the food is terrific and the service spectacular. They had a great martini menu so we started out with martinis and the Thai lettuce wraps. My friend Jezebeth and I shared two entrees-the BBQ chicken chopped salad and the grilled portobella mushroom & grilled pepper sandwich. Our server heard us say we were sharing and came out with our food already split for us. The food was great and they serve you large, very generous portions so we were barely able to put a dent in our food. My daughter loved the chicken nachos she ordered but could not finish hers either. Our server quickly came and packed it all up for us. Our server was sweet and very attentive. We had an awesome dining experiance, but remember this is a bar atmosphere. Very casual.
Review Source:I can't help but complain about the bathrooms on the weekend nights. I know it's packed and people are crazy, but puleeaze, provide enough staff to maintain the bathrooms. That is my only complaint. Other than that - it is a great place to end up when downtown. Although Ernie Biggs draws a similar crowd, I find Trolley's a little more classy (minuse those b-rooms, but hey, Ernie Biggs' brooms are 10x worse) with better lighting, better bartenders and drinks and ... above all else... ART BENTLEY. (Man i hope i spelled that right.) This guy will not be around for much longer - he is so talented and such a great entertainer - catch him while you can (before he moves on to bigger and better things). And sometimes the bachelor emerges from his cave to make an appearance, for those who are interested in that attraction.
Review Source:They carry La Crema wine - at only $6 a glass! (It is Springfied, MO, I must keep in mind). And they have sweet potato fries that compare with Zebulon in SF - minus the sauce, but still. Unfortunately, there are no veggie burger substitutions for the beef burgers, but again, it IS Springfield, MO.
So, overall: reliable choice for a laid-back dinner in the quaint town of Springfield. The bar seems pretty cool too.
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