We recently tried Spokes over the lunch hour on a weekday, and it's difficult to find much to say that is positive. The place was relatively empty, save for a large group tucked away in the corner, yet the service was incredibly slow. We stood at the empty hostess stand for about 5 minutes before anyone showed up to seat us. We were then ushered to a table where we waited another 5 minutes for our server to arrive. The process began with the staff telling one of our group that they could not accommodate a simple request, which we almost thought was a joke until we realized that the staff was fairly humorless. We started off with some fried pickles, which were simply dreadful. The pickles themselves were thin, dry, and flavorless, and the equally bland batter simply dampened the flavor even more, giving them the slightest hint of freezer burn. It didn't help that the ranch that accompanied it was so thin that we were sure it had literally been watered down. A dud. I also tried the beer cheese soup, which had a nice flavor, but the texture was too creamy, as if process cheese had been used instead of the real thing. The big misstep here was the chef's decision to garnish the soup with about a quarter cup of extremely salty bacon bits. They simply brought an unwanted texture and flavor to the soup, killing almost all of the flavor offered by the beer. The entrees took forever to arrive. Again, this was surprising, since there was almost no one else there. It was obvious that we were on a schedule, but still, it took over 30 minutes to prepare our food. When we finally got our food, we were left with almost no time to eat it. I won't speak for everyone else, but I can discuss the burger. I ordered a bison burger, which was topped with swiss and cheddar. The patty itself was fantastic and flavorful. It was a little overcooked (ordered it medium, got it medium-well), but still was nice and tender in the middle, with just the right amount of crisp on the outside. Unfortunately, all that good meat was tarnished by the toppings. Like the soup, both of the cheeses on the burger appeared to be process cheese, based upon their melted consistency. Neither tasted like one would expect authentic cheese to taste... both had a tacky, plastic texture with a sickly sour flavor. But, the worst part were the strips of bacon. Like the cheese, these didn't seem to be authentic, either. They cooked completely flat, with no visible marbling. Despite appearing well-done, the bacon was not crisp but tough and chewy instead. And the flavor? Straight-up Jack Link's Teriyaki. Why they would trash a perfectly good piece of bison with such sub-standard and overpowering flavor is beyond me. All in all, the food was a masterclass in imbalance. Food either seems to be inexplicably devoid of flavor, or the dishes are a mismatch of overpowering flavors. The best thing I can say for Spokes is that it was clean and the tables were nicely spaced so that the ambient noise was kept to a minimum. The walls feature a few pieces of memorabilia from Al MacInnis and Stan Musial, two consummate professionals who always delivered the goods. However, in terms of both food and service, Spokes is purely amateur hour. Avoid.
(1)
Vanessa L.
I'm actually fairly stunned to read what the other reviews say. I had never been to Spokes up until a couple months ago after living in the area for 2 years but I can honestly say they must have been having a behind the scenes busy kind of day or something. I've never had to wait long for anything here. I take my daughter here for lunch sometimes after picking her up from daycare since it's practically right next door and she loves their penne with red sauce. She hardly eats mine! And I usually take the liberty of finishing off her dish for her (yummy!). I usually get the No. 9 burger, being the col slaw lover I am and all the flavors blended together so nicely! I almost always have such a problem getting my burger medium rare the way I like it anywhere else but they've gotten it perfect here every time! I even pulled the worst thing you can do as a regular customer one time and came in about 5 minutes before they closed and the bartender was still super nice about it and made me an order of onion rings (the batter is amazing! crisp and just the right amount of spice), potato skins and a mushroom swiss burger with bison. I'm a total cheese snob sometimes but the swiss here was really good on the burger, not "plasticky" at all. I'm a stickler for customer service and have been known to not leave tips should I think it is undeserved but I have never had a bad experience here. They're always so nice, personable and sweet to my daughter and I! I'd say the menu could have used a wipe down in the bottom left hand corner of the last page but then I'd just be trying to be a jerk :)
(5)
Mary C.
We were in town to tour the two major breweries/. wineries. Someone recommended Spokes because of the selection of beers. There was a lack of communication when seating us...but that got straightened out and it was fine. The police were there escorting someone out...which amazes me after what happened next. The service was good and friendly, although the waitress had no knowledge of the beers. But she tried really hard and would run back to get our questions answered. Then the show began. a loud mouthed guy and two equally loud women were at the bar. She and he was dropping the F bomb extremely loud. She was also basically giving him an anal probe throughout our entire dinner. She kept yelling out how he had the finest ass she had ever seen...guess she hadn't seen too many! I think the bartender finally told her to quiet down there was small children present to which she screamed "since when do I give a F%$# about somebodys small children. I never finished my food and this went on the entire hour we were there. Nobody had any complaints about service or food...but there were several tables with small children in the vicinity that were sitting there with their mouths open at the show. It was only 7pm...not closing time. I have been a restaurant mgr and bar mgr so this was unacceptable to me. I am no prude and if you are out late you expect this to some extent. The mgr did stop by...while this was still going on and asked if everything was ok...we were leaving anyway and just said yes...to which he stated - even is it isn't don't tell me! Really!!! I just wondered if this is acceptable, what must have happened before we got there with the guy the cops were hauling out. The beer selection was not as good as it was advertised either...expected more selection than was on the handwritten list the waitress let us see.
(1)
Andrew D.
I'm also kind of surprised by the negative reviews on the place. That being said, I've only been coming here since October, and they recently renovated the place. It's got a nice centrally located bar the is horseshoe shaped to provide plenty of seating, great views of the many TVs they have setup, and bar access. They used a lot of stone in the renovation, and it has an updated feel without being too modern for most of the local patrons. **** The place is smokey as mentioned before, but that is more about the patrons and less about the bar. This tends to be at night when the bar has live music, and people come here to party. During the day it's a great place to bring the family. The food and beer selection is great for the areas. First the food. The food is pretty good here. Nothing revolutionary for someone who isn't from a small town, but pretty flavorful for the area. **** The beer selection is probably the largest in the area with beers coming from both coasts of the country, as well as a large selection of Crown Valley Brewery's beers. I believe Spokes is owned by the Crown family that owns the Winery/Brewery/Distillery. That being said, they do tend to run out of certain beers quite often, and have issues with their beer lines freezing up during the winter. **** If the beers were always flowing I'd probably give the place 5 stars, but it's kind of a bummer when you have to go through two or three beer choices before you can order.
(4)
Amy S.
My husband and I came in for a beer, great selection! We haven't been here in a long time and the remodel job and the bar are very nice. Good happy hour prices as well. We had the fried pickles, they were hand battered in a very light batter, very good. Only negative is the smoking, I really wish this was non smoking, not very good ventilation. I am not a smoker, I always think twice about coming to a place and smelling like smoke when you leave. I really like this place though, I need to try more of their food. They should rename this bar Smokes.
(4)
Johnny D.
It's smokey - we call the place "Smokes" - we visit somewhat often but doesn't mean we love it. We're stuck in "Mediocre Ville" and while its' not the best they do offer Crown Beer (sometime). Case in point. They're continually out of Barnwood Blonde Ale - it's a Crown product so wouldn't they offer a comparable beer as part of their $2 draft night (Friday)? No, you get what they have or you don't get it - or an apology. What gives? Anyway - the fried mushrooms are out of this world! The Fried pickles are terrific too - BUT as always, slow service and people who don't seem to much care.
Delivery : No Take-out : Yes Accepts Credit Cards : Yes Good For : Lunch Parking : Private Lot Bike Parking : Yes Wheelchair Accessible : Yes Good for Kids : Yes Good for Groups : Yes Attire : Casual Ambience : Casual Noise Level : Loud Music : Live Good For Dancing : Yes Alcohol : Full Bar Happy Hour : Yes Best Nights : Thu, Fri, Sat Smoking : No Wi-Fi : Free Has TV : Yes Dogs Allowed : No Waiter Service : Yes
Brian B.
We recently tried Spokes over the lunch hour on a weekday, and it's difficult to find much to say that is positive. The place was relatively empty, save for a large group tucked away in the corner, yet the service was incredibly slow. We stood at the empty hostess stand for about 5 minutes before anyone showed up to seat us. We were then ushered to a table where we waited another 5 minutes for our server to arrive. The process began with the staff telling one of our group that they could not accommodate a simple request, which we almost thought was a joke until we realized that the staff was fairly humorless. We started off with some fried pickles, which were simply dreadful. The pickles themselves were thin, dry, and flavorless, and the equally bland batter simply dampened the flavor even more, giving them the slightest hint of freezer burn. It didn't help that the ranch that accompanied it was so thin that we were sure it had literally been watered down. A dud. I also tried the beer cheese soup, which had a nice flavor, but the texture was too creamy, as if process cheese had been used instead of the real thing. The big misstep here was the chef's decision to garnish the soup with about a quarter cup of extremely salty bacon bits. They simply brought an unwanted texture and flavor to the soup, killing almost all of the flavor offered by the beer. The entrees took forever to arrive. Again, this was surprising, since there was almost no one else there. It was obvious that we were on a schedule, but still, it took over 30 minutes to prepare our food. When we finally got our food, we were left with almost no time to eat it. I won't speak for everyone else, but I can discuss the burger. I ordered a bison burger, which was topped with swiss and cheddar. The patty itself was fantastic and flavorful. It was a little overcooked (ordered it medium, got it medium-well), but still was nice and tender in the middle, with just the right amount of crisp on the outside. Unfortunately, all that good meat was tarnished by the toppings. Like the soup, both of the cheeses on the burger appeared to be process cheese, based upon their melted consistency. Neither tasted like one would expect authentic cheese to taste... both had a tacky, plastic texture with a sickly sour flavor. But, the worst part were the strips of bacon. Like the cheese, these didn't seem to be authentic, either. They cooked completely flat, with no visible marbling. Despite appearing well-done, the bacon was not crisp but tough and chewy instead. And the flavor? Straight-up Jack Link's Teriyaki. Why they would trash a perfectly good piece of bison with such sub-standard and overpowering flavor is beyond me. All in all, the food was a masterclass in imbalance. Food either seems to be inexplicably devoid of flavor, or the dishes are a mismatch of overpowering flavors. The best thing I can say for Spokes is that it was clean and the tables were nicely spaced so that the ambient noise was kept to a minimum. The walls feature a few pieces of memorabilia from Al MacInnis and Stan Musial, two consummate professionals who always delivered the goods. However, in terms of both food and service, Spokes is purely amateur hour. Avoid.
(1)Vanessa L.
I'm actually fairly stunned to read what the other reviews say. I had never been to Spokes up until a couple months ago after living in the area for 2 years but I can honestly say they must have been having a behind the scenes busy kind of day or something. I've never had to wait long for anything here. I take my daughter here for lunch sometimes after picking her up from daycare since it's practically right next door and she loves their penne with red sauce. She hardly eats mine! And I usually take the liberty of finishing off her dish for her (yummy!). I usually get the No. 9 burger, being the col slaw lover I am and all the flavors blended together so nicely! I almost always have such a problem getting my burger medium rare the way I like it anywhere else but they've gotten it perfect here every time! I even pulled the worst thing you can do as a regular customer one time and came in about 5 minutes before they closed and the bartender was still super nice about it and made me an order of onion rings (the batter is amazing! crisp and just the right amount of spice), potato skins and a mushroom swiss burger with bison. I'm a total cheese snob sometimes but the swiss here was really good on the burger, not "plasticky" at all. I'm a stickler for customer service and have been known to not leave tips should I think it is undeserved but I have never had a bad experience here. They're always so nice, personable and sweet to my daughter and I! I'd say the menu could have used a wipe down in the bottom left hand corner of the last page but then I'd just be trying to be a jerk :)
(5)Mary C.
We were in town to tour the two major breweries/. wineries. Someone recommended Spokes because of the selection of beers. There was a lack of communication when seating us...but that got straightened out and it was fine. The police were there escorting someone out...which amazes me after what happened next. The service was good and friendly, although the waitress had no knowledge of the beers. But she tried really hard and would run back to get our questions answered. Then the show began. a loud mouthed guy and two equally loud women were at the bar. She and he was dropping the F bomb extremely loud. She was also basically giving him an anal probe throughout our entire dinner. She kept yelling out how he had the finest ass she had ever seen...guess she hadn't seen too many! I think the bartender finally told her to quiet down there was small children present to which she screamed "since when do I give a F%$# about somebodys small children. I never finished my food and this went on the entire hour we were there. Nobody had any complaints about service or food...but there were several tables with small children in the vicinity that were sitting there with their mouths open at the show. It was only 7pm...not closing time. I have been a restaurant mgr and bar mgr so this was unacceptable to me. I am no prude and if you are out late you expect this to some extent. The mgr did stop by...while this was still going on and asked if everything was ok...we were leaving anyway and just said yes...to which he stated - even is it isn't don't tell me! Really!!! I just wondered if this is acceptable, what must have happened before we got there with the guy the cops were hauling out. The beer selection was not as good as it was advertised either...expected more selection than was on the handwritten list the waitress let us see.
(1)Andrew D.
I'm also kind of surprised by the negative reviews on the place. That being said, I've only been coming here since October, and they recently renovated the place. It's got a nice centrally located bar the is horseshoe shaped to provide plenty of seating, great views of the many TVs they have setup, and bar access. They used a lot of stone in the renovation, and it has an updated feel without being too modern for most of the local patrons. **** The place is smokey as mentioned before, but that is more about the patrons and less about the bar. This tends to be at night when the bar has live music, and people come here to party. During the day it's a great place to bring the family. The food and beer selection is great for the areas. First the food. The food is pretty good here. Nothing revolutionary for someone who isn't from a small town, but pretty flavorful for the area. **** The beer selection is probably the largest in the area with beers coming from both coasts of the country, as well as a large selection of Crown Valley Brewery's beers. I believe Spokes is owned by the Crown family that owns the Winery/Brewery/Distillery. That being said, they do tend to run out of certain beers quite often, and have issues with their beer lines freezing up during the winter. **** If the beers were always flowing I'd probably give the place 5 stars, but it's kind of a bummer when you have to go through two or three beer choices before you can order.
(4)Amy S.
My husband and I came in for a beer, great selection! We haven't been here in a long time and the remodel job and the bar are very nice. Good happy hour prices as well. We had the fried pickles, they were hand battered in a very light batter, very good. Only negative is the smoking, I really wish this was non smoking, not very good ventilation. I am not a smoker, I always think twice about coming to a place and smelling like smoke when you leave. I really like this place though, I need to try more of their food. They should rename this bar Smokes.
(4)Johnny D.
It's smokey - we call the place "Smokes" - we visit somewhat often but doesn't mean we love it. We're stuck in "Mediocre Ville" and while its' not the best they do offer Crown Beer (sometime). Case in point. They're continually out of Barnwood Blonde Ale - it's a Crown product so wouldn't they offer a comparable beer as part of their $2 draft night (Friday)? No, you get what they have or you don't get it - or an apology. What gives? Anyway - the fried mushrooms are out of this world! The Fried pickles are terrific too - BUT as always, slow service and people who don't seem to much care.
(2)