Our review of Conestogas, pros and cons: Our server was amazing! Her name was Alicia and she was one of the highlights of our evening. Food- Burger was fresh, juicy and loaded with flavor, good fries also. The Wrangler II was delicious and perfectly prepared, (italian-flat) green beans delicious and perfectly seasoned, small caesar salad was very generous in size and delicious. The coconut shrimp were cooked perfectly, but seemed like the frozen from a box kind you can get at Publix. Certainly not Bonefish Coconut Shrimp quality, but didn't really expect them to be. They were adequate, in any case. The pina colada sauce they came with had a sour flavor to it. Was a little afraid to eat it. May have been made with sour cream, and not yogurt. The baked potato was large and delicious, the broccoli was fresh not frozen (yay!!!) and perfectly streamed!! Delicious! Now on to the Cons that could be changed easily (and need to be!) 1) when the burger was brought out, mayo was brought out in the bottle (Hellmann's) which had previously been opened. It was room temperature, not chilled at all. Didnt even consider using it, obviously. Had it been chilled, or had never been opened, no problem. Room temp and opened, nope. A much better idea, and safer, would be to squeeze a dollop of mayo from refridge, into a small container, and serve if they ask for mayo. 2) please change this: they offer many pie options and one of them happened to be my all time favorite!!! French Silk Pie! I was thrilled and couldnt wait for my light and creamy first bite!!! I offered my daughter a taste and she when to touch the whipped cream to steal a lick and it was ROCK hard. Yes, the whipped cream-rock hard. She said "gross, frozen whipped cream/french silk pie, no thanks!!" I was shocked, and proceeded to pick the pie up using only the chocolate part and dropped it back down , solid as a rock. Now, if you've EVER had French Silk Pie, you already know, this is in fact, gross. Creamy, no. Hard, dried out, freezer burn had even changed to color of the chocolate on the outside of the slice so it was dark chocolate, and the inside only slightly lighter. We had ordered it to go, so it was already in a container when she brought it. We didn't want to wait, take it off the bill, etc etc. threw it in trash when we got home. Surely this isn't an isolated incident, I think they may think its ok like this. Its not. We may go back, for steak next time, but definitely wont be ordering dessert. read more

Jodi was our waitress very good on on the money keeping your drink up the food was great Chicken Cesar salad ... GREAT! read more

First time eating there and it was ok. I asked for my steak medium well and got it very well done to the point I had for drown it with A-1 sauce to eat (I was too hungry to wait for another). The mashed potatoes w/o gravy was good I added the butter they give you for the steamed broccoli. read more

I absolutely LOVE this place!! We drive from Jacksonville (90 min) just to get a "Stogie" burger at this quaint restaurant in Alachua (Ok... we go shopping in Gainesville too, but the main reason is the restaurant). TERRIFIC burgers, great steak fries, and the "Garden of Eden" salad is fresh and a great side. I never get anything other than a burger here, however I have been with other people who have gotten various things such as Crab cakes, pork chops, Liver & Onions, etc. and have always had good reviews on their food choices also. Cute ice cream parlor and candy store by the exit. I love the overall atmosphere and the setting in downtown Alachua - a great "get away" from city life for a while. read more

Don't appreciate the business tactic. Basket of burger and fries for lunch advertised at $6.99 After adding ONE slice of cheese at $1.5 and fountain soda at $2.5, tax and tip it came to $14.0 This Cheeseburger was not worth the cost not to mention it came with 8 pieces of French Fries only. Don't want to even think about if they had no burger special and the burgers on the menu start around $10-12 before the added items, how much it would have come to!!!!!! read more

My husband and I came and checked out this place while on vacation. We were camping at Ginnie springs and wanted to go out and get a nice dinner that wasn't at the camp. The restaurant is cute. Our server was very sweet and told us about her life and how she has a b&b and to check it out next time we are on vacation! So we definitely will! I ordered the country fried steak. It wasn't the best I had ever had, but it was still good. My husband ordered their steak and it was awful. They cooked it the right way (medium) but it was just chewy and you couldn't swallow it. The texture of it, I don't even know how to explain it, but it was just weird and didn't taste very good. So that was a little disappointing. But just because the steak wasn't the best, I'm not going to say avoid this place at all costs! Every restaurant has little blips! We didn't try out the dessert because the pie we had wanted, they were out. But they have some awesome looking pies on their menu. The complimentary bread was different, but I loved it. The fried pickles were AMAZING! I love fried pickles especially when restaurants cut the pickles themselves so that they are a little thicker chip. read more

Conestoga's has a great steak and there's definitely a reason they are always busy. I would recommend giving them a try.

I was passing through Alachua for work, and I decided to give this place a try as I have heard about it (due to their infamous burgers). There were a lot of people waiting to get in (but this is probably one of the only places to eat in the town,so I guess that doesn't mean a whole lot). The food was good, but nothing to be too excited about. I doubt I will drive from Gainesville especially to eat there. read more

I received a note from the disgruntled manager I mentioned in the review telling me that I am a miserable person with too much time on my hands and that it is good that I will not return to the establishment. It is absurd that someone would create a fake profile to harass a customer for posting an honest review. I believe that is why Yelp was created in the first place. Very disappointing. read more

The experience was so memorable I wrote a Haiku: I ate there once on the premise they had good steak. I ordered a ribeye rare. I got something over spiced and well done. I won't be dining there again. read more

I will never understand why this place is so popular. The food is OK, the prices can be OK or high depending on what you get, the salads are made with (often wilted) iceberg lettuce, the steak is usually overcooked because it's so thin, and I wonder sometimes if they ever clean the floor! We used to come here weekly because we only live 6 miles away, but now it's only if we happen to be in downtown Alachua at meal time. read more

I used to live in Alachua and ate here up to 3x per week. They have one of my favorite caesar salads and the staff knows the customers by name. Prices are good and the atmosphere is great. The menu isn't that extensive, especially for non-meat eaters, but there should be something for everyone. read more

We just moved from California to Alachua. We live close to downtown. We were so hungry looking for a place to eat. So decide to give it a try. I am sorry but the steak is the worst. It taste like pure gas yuck! No going back. Not matter how hungry I am. Costumer service was good. read more

The sweet potato fries saved the meal. I ordered their 1/2 lb. cheese burger medium rare and it arrived medium/well. This is a constant problem at this Resteraunt, be it a steak or burger..... The kitchen can turn out only rare or mid/well meat of Dubois grade.( flavor) I used to truly enjoy this place, but it has been sliding into ?... It was the fries and service ( lunch) that got The stars read more

Very good food with on time service. Had the ceasar salad and chili baked potato, tasty food to say the least. Will be going back for more read more

Conestoga is kind of an institution in Alachua and everyone should be able to find something that they enjoy on the menu. Most recently I discovered their Buffalo chicken sandwich and would definitely have that again on my next visit. If you are concerned about high cholesterol because of the frying process, just pop another Lipitor and enjoy the dinner. read more

This place is the perfect small town burger joint. Their sweet potato fries are fantastic, ranch is homemade, and their burgers....so good! The staff is super friendly and attentive. My hubby gets the stogie jr and lovesssss it! read more

Best burgers in a 50 mile radius. They ground their own beef. Everything is good. The meat is even safe for a person who is gluten-free. Working in a local alachua hotel, I recommend this place all the time. Time and time again people have come back raving of the great food they had. If you haven't been, you gotta go!!!!!! read more

Love the burgers here! I just moved back to town and haven't been here in years....everything i remember it! Nice friendly staff and the cajun fries were delicious also! read more

This place is about half way between Orlando and Tallahassee, and pretty convenient to I-75. Had a really excellent dinner here, and was impressed by their late hours -- walked in at 9:30pm and they were still open and happy to serve. Can't speak to the steaks, since I tried the ground chuck and my husband had an excellent burger, but those were great, the bread was hot and delicious, the salad was standard, and the snickers pie ... oooooooooooooh yum ^_____^ They were depressingly out of their famous key lime pie, but I hope to get to try that out next time I'm between Orlando and Tallahassee. read more

The way I heard the managers speak to the staff and the language they where using is absolutely unacceptable they will never see me and my family there again it's sad to say this after eating there for so long. read more

Overpriced for lunch unless the special board has something good on it. Conestogas needs a consistent under 10$ lunch menu. On the bright side they have monster potatoes and great salad and tea. Wait staff is friendly and the wait is never long. read more

I've been to Conestoga's three times over the last two years. It's out of my way so I don't visit as often as I do my local restautants. It has never been that impressive to me but my last visit sealed the deal. About a month ago a friend and I drove out to Conestoga's to eat somewhere different. It was a waste of $50. I ordered their special for the day which was a steak and shrimp dinner. I asked for the steak medium and it was delivered well done and VERY dry and I could only eat half of it. The shrimp were ok but nothing to write about. I doubt I will waste my time or money again. read more

In a word, ugh. In another word, yuck. Ate lunch here with my wife and everything seemed greasy and old...the place and the food. They have this country store thing as you leave that's like Cracker Barrel, but even less appealing. Based solely on their commercials, I should have known better than to stop here, but I gave it a try because a friend said she went and liked it. She is no longer my friend. read more

HUGE portions and friendly service. My steak was cooked to perfection!. Will come back again!

I wouldn't know how the food is, only because we were ignored as soon as we sat down. My wife and I went in for dinner on March 19, were seated (the host was nice!) and then ... that was it. We saw people seated after us get service. We also saw several servers just standing around. And there were plenty of empty tables, so it's not like the place was packed. Busy, but not packed. Ate a couple peanuts, waited a bit, and then left. It's a shame. The food looked good. read more

My last trip to Conestoga will be just that. It was absolutely awful. I ordered a soup to start, it was cold and tasted of aluminum can. Then my "salad" consisted of lettuce, just lettuce. My mother's chilli was cold and tasteless and her wings were clearly refried wings from the day before. We will never go again and will never recommend this place again. Sad I use to love this place. read more

What can I say. The hamburgers were Awesome. Great flavor and very juicy. The sweet potato fries were good. I would highly recommend this place. Great staff. read more

Great, Home-Town Restaurant We were traveling south and were near Alachua at lunchtime. We didn't want the typical highway exit restaurant and we had heard about the Conestoga. It is located on the very pretty main street of town. Conestoga has been around and family owned for many years. And they are obviously supporters of a lot of small-town charities and groups. That is so nice to see. Food was plentiful and tasty. The Stogie burger was huge and delicious. The only problem was that the heavy patty overwhelmed the soft bun and the bottom of the bun turned flat and a bit soggy. A salad entrée was also huge and very good. My only critique would be with the service. It is a little unclear when you wander in if you are supposed to seat yourself or wait. A small sign would have helped avoid uncomfortable confusion. Also, the service was way too rushed. I felt like I was in a diner with everyone on the run. We were given barely a few seconds to place our order and it took a very long time for anyone to check on us and refill waters and such. And the young lady at the cash register barely recognized me or expressed any appreciation for our visit as she spoke through her scowl. Sheesh! I would definitely go back for one of the steaks at dinner. Maybe the servers will be less rushed then. read more

I asked my coworkers where the best burger they ever had was and they all said one place: Conestoga's Restaurant in Alachua. Haven't found a good one in Gainesville but I've tried a lot out there. My top burgers were from Chili's and Fuddruckers prior to my encounter with "The Stogie" burger. It was 1 lb of meat on a huge bun with lettuce, tomato and cheese. The burger was incredibly tender. It was almost falling apart but remained intact the entire time. I ordered it medium and it was slightly pink but fully cooked all the way through. After my visit, I told everyone it was the best burger ever. It was only $9 with fries too. The sweet potato fries were the biggest cuts of sweet potato I'd ever seen although the sauce was strange. Even with strange sauce aside, this place gets 5 stars with me just because of the burger. For you Spongebob Squarepants fans: I often wonder what eating a Krabby Patty would be like. I now imagine its like this. Its a whole new level that they bring to the world of burger. read more

I've been to conestogas quite a few times for lunch and twice now for dinner. It seems when I order off their specials menu, the food is good. The fried (grilled is tough) buffalo bird and sweet potato fries are also good. However, other meals don't impress me. Their food is greasy and the grilled meat is always overcooked and tough, with a nasty grill flavor. This visit tonight was the most disappointing. I paid about $18 for a steak, the connestoga junior, that was terrible flavor and incredibly tough. I asked for medium but it was more well done. I will say that the servers are always really sweet and the service is excellent when they're not incredibly busy. They have about 16 tables in just one of their rooms, probably the same amount in the other. Every time we go, we can expect to get okay food with a long wait and spend a little bit more than normal. read more

Real country restaurant in historic Alachua. Nice touch with candy store attached and self serve peanuts. Food always good. Nice salads, burgers and steaks with friendly service. read more

I really love this place. The first time I ever went I had the main street monster burger which actually consists of 3 one pound patties. I ate every bit of it. I was hooked. Their burgers are so good. I've been there near 30 times and I get the burger 98% of the time. I really love their muddy water sweet tea. It's what I call it. I've always had good service and have only had my burger over done once. That's not bad. I like the ambiance. It's country and has lots of things hanging everywhere. Feels nostalgic. When I have friends come in town I try to take them there. Go and enjoy! read more

I really have no idea where all of the bad reviews are coming from! My husband grew up here, but I'm a transplant and have only been here for about 5 years. I think Conestoga's has a cozy feel to it, even though the rooms are fairly large and there are several tables in each of the two sides of the restaurant. There are buckets of peanuts and loaves of bread to tide you over while your order is taken and food is being served. On any given night you'll see the owner going around to many of the tables. He's constantly checking to make sure that everyone's happy with their meals and that the steak's were cooked correctly. On several occasions my husband's entire family has gone here as a group. Whenever his mother or father are in town, this is the place to go. We've never really had any of the typical issues you have when going out in a large group...cold dishes or dishes that take much longer than the others. The servers are always excellent! I've never eaten bad food here. Like any other restaurant, they do seem to have their specialties. Steak and fried foods are their strongest points. Their sweet potato fries are amazing! Their kids meals have always been very well received by my children. They also enjoy the fact that they get to take home leftovers on the occasion that they aren't hungry enough for everything. Overall, I would say...Conestoga's is a steak place...IE: Those people complaining about the price of the meals, it isn't any more expensive than any other mid range steak places I have gone to. And in our experience, the steaks are cooked to perfection! Hubby always orders MR, and they always get it right. read more

Conestoga's is the place to go for a steak -- the restaurant is a stable of downtown and for good reason (great food and service!)

I've eaten at Conestogas at least a hundred times during the past 5 years and overall it's a very decent, family oriented steak restaurant. The steaks REALLY DO taste different than anything you'll find in the chain restaurants, and for what they give you, it's an excellent price: bread, salad and side dishes are all included with a 11oz sirloin for only 11.99 -- not bad if you ask me. The service is almost always top-notch and the managers are more than willing to help you out. If your steak isn't what you expected, just tell them and they'll give you another for free and put the one you don't like in a box for your dog :-) Highly recommended. read more

I work in Alachua, so they are a handy place to eat lunch. The food is usually fairly good, but it depends what you order. I've been warned not to eat their steaks and have followed the the advise. Their liver and onions is very good, and I also like thier bar-b-que chicken. Their burgers beat fast food, but still can't top backyard burgers in Nashville, TN. read more

This is one of MY FAVORITE restaurants. When I have out-of-town clients here, I always recommend that they have dinner at Conestoga's in Alachua. read more

Was taken here by friends. Had possibly the worst meal ever. The steak could not be cut with a steak knife -not exaggerating! Waitress never came by the table until the end when she asked if I want a box for my meal. I told her about the steak and she said I should have said something earlier. With everyone else eating I didn't want to wait for another meal. Will not go back -needless to say. read more

I had been recovering from a two week battle with the flu and was finally feeling like food again. Craving a burger and owed my Godson a birthday dinner. We decided to go to Conestogas and both had a burger, he a Stogie, me a Jr. We were not disappointed. Since it was his birthday he got a free dessert and I joined him. The burger with a side of home fries is pretty much my go to when dining there. Service was exceptional last night which is not always the case. read more