Bakers & Hale is a family favorite and an absolute must whenever I am in IL seeing family. The vibe…read moreis incredibly relaxed and very family friendly, ample space so you never feel crowded. The food is consistently good with generous portions, and the friendly service always makes the experience enjoyable. if your there during the live music, it's a really nice touch. Even though I come here all the time, for some reason I always forget the actual name and just refer to it as "Bangers and Mash." Luckily, my family always knows exactly whatI mean!

Bakers & Hale is probably one of the if not the most popular restaurants in the Riverbend area…read more They are know for their amazing bands on the patio, which is year round and a pretty decent Happy Hour. The other day I meet up with some of my cousins for Happy Hour. I cannot go wrong with one of the HH pizzas. Three of the six cousins, ordered pizza with different toppings. I went with the HH Taco's. I enjoyed Two Shrimp Taco's for only $7. The HH pizzas are $10. Three cousins went with the regular menu and enjoyed salads, chicken wings and chicken strips/tenders. Everyone was pleased with their food. The only thing keeping B&H from getting 5 Stars is the service. It's never consistent. One time it's over the top and the next time it's the bare minimum. It really depends on who you get as a server. The seasoned ones who have been for a long time, know how to work a table. The newer and younger ones, just don't get it. They don't hustle and as their station fills up, they get overwhelmed and everything goes downhill. When: January 7, 2026 Why: Happy Hour with the cousins

Everyone and everything I've ever eaten here was great food great service owners there if needed so…read moregreat family friendly staff and friends

We drove to Jerseyville early this afternoon to try Nick's. They close at 2pm on Sunday so we…read morewanted to arrive with plenty of time to eat. We arrived around 1pm, apparently their peak but we were quickly seated. Though busy, noise levels were moderate and ambiance was typical of a family restaurant. We both had the country fried steak and biscuits, Karla with scrambled eggs and American fries, basically seasoned fries cut into cubes. She didn't care for the seasoning but she's admitted picky with a very low tolerance for spicy food. I had mine with traditional hash browns and eggs over easy. I've had better country fried steak but it was decent and the meal was otherwise great. Everything was served on one plate, just the way I like it, allowing me to mix things up with my hash browns and biscuits. The biscuits are served on the side of the plate, not topped with gravy in case you'd rather have butter and/or jelly on your biscuits, and they were hot and fluffy with good flavor. It was a very filling meal. The wait staff were great, friendly and responsive. We'll be sure to return to try other items from their impressive menu.

We decided to stop in and try Gogo-Mays, and here is my honest opinion…read more Unfortunately, we will not be back. We walked in and were seated right away, which was great at first. However, two other tables were seated after us, and they were greeted immediately by their waitresses, given drink orders, and even asked for their food orders before anyone ever acknowledged us. Our experience was very different. The staff clearly saw our table, yet no one came over to greet us or even say, "I'll be right with you," for about 10 minutes. I finally had to raise my hand to get the attention of the young lady who seated us. Only then did someone come over to take our drink and food order. Customer service is very important to us, especially since I work in that field. In my opinion, if you don't want to be there, it shows--and unfortunately, that kind of service hurts the business. The restaurant was nothing fancy and just looks like a room/ diner.

What a fabulous breakfast. I was dining alone, so I sat at the bar. Oops, I mean counter. They…read morecall it a counter in a diner, not a bar. There's no liquor being served. When sitting at the counter, depending on your stool, you can see into the kitchen and guess when your plate is placed in the pass through window. I didn't win, I miss guessed. I enjoyed the, Loaded Country Plate. It included one Biscuit with White Pepper Gravy, 2 eggs (Scrambled for me), 2 slices of Bacon and 2 Silver Dollar Pancakes. My plate was full and all of it satisfied my cravings. My eggs were fluffy, the biscuit was huge and the white gravy was tasty. The bacon could have been crisper, but that is just my preference. The smaller pancakes were actually the perfect size for a side dish. The staff were super friendly and attentive. I had one main server, but all the other the team members checked on me, too. It was a true team effort, to make an enjoyable dining experience.

I am so proud of myself. Today, I went to The Pump House and I did not order chicken wings. It was…read morea struggle, but I forced myself to order something else off the menu and I am glad that I did. Instead of my typical order of wings and fries, I got the Pump Jack Burger. It's made with Angus beef topped with Pepper Jack cheese, Grilled Balsamic Onions, Mild Banana Pepper Rings with a Sweet and Spicy Sauce, all served on a Onion Roll. It was served with a side of Fries. I was impressed by the size of the burger and that it was hand pressed. A hand pressed burger always tastes better to me. I requested that it be prepared medium rare and it was done perfectly. The fries were soft, I'd prefer mine a little crispier, but they were seasoned well. I got a giggle from their ketchup bottle, it said it was "Fancy". They have an impressive variety of beers. They offer draft, bottle and canned. I personally always go with one of the many craft beers they have on the menu. When dining alone, I always sit at the bar. The bartenders are typically female and are friendly. I am fan of hooks under a bar and Pump House takes it even a step further. They also offer, outlets. If your phone needs a charge and you've got a cord, you are set to go. Offering outlets under a bar, is top notch customer service. Now that I know they have great burgers as well as their wings, I'll have to rotate between the two when coming to dine.

Update Haven't been back here too much but called in for an…read moreorder to go tonight. Pump House! You need new cooks! The ones you have don't know how to cook basic food. Like I said in my first review you need to learn low and slow for a pork steak. Oh we don't have that anymore. Thank goodness. Your pork steak was chewy and not done appropriately. Horrible to try and eat. Tonight one of us got the chipotle chicken sandwich. The chicken was cooked to death. Ugh. Came out like chicken powder, you know the kind they put in your dog's food? Way too dry. Hard to eat. All the menus online are out of date so just about everything we chose we were told oh we don't have that anymore. Not good business practice. Put out a new menu and delete the old ones!! You fit right in with the rest of the crap food we are served in this area. Not a bit better. We won't try again.

I had a fantastic Tuesday night dinner. They were offering a $30 3 Course Dinner, but I went with…read morethe $25 Pepperloin Steak. Before ordering, I enjoyed a Tito's Extra Dry Martini with a Lemon Twist. The bartenders here are masters of their mixologist skills. Trust me I know, they've made my a lot of cocktails. Once my entree arrived, I totally impressed with all three items. The asparagus was prepared perfectly. It wasn't too hard and not overly soft. It had just enough snap. The Loaded Baked Potato was the size of a fist, which is a perfect size. It was fluffy and was topped with butter, cheese and bacon. The steak was truly the piece of resistance. It was super tender and they served it a true medium rare. The kitchen truly knocked it out of the park with this meal. I was a happy diner. Good food and good service will have me returning to Gentelin's, time and time again.

Best restaurant in Alton to celebrate a special occasion. My husband got the peppered rib eye and…read moresaid it was the best steak he has ever had. I had the Chicken Piccata. Delicious. We both had side salads. They gave us a complimentary dessert to share since we were celebrating our anniversary. We chose the Carrot Cake Bread Pudding. Yum! Meghan was our server and she did an excellent job.

Place seems like a fun night place. For lunch, it's standard bar grille food. Not a huge standout…read more I had the cheesesteak. It was odd. Instead of pieces of thinly sliced steak mixed with cheese, it was a thin sliced piece of steak with cheese on top. More of a steak sandwich. It was ok. The fries were well seasoned. And the homemade ranch was a standout. Service was pretty good. We had a big group and they did very well. Biggest turnoff was the semi outdoor area that allows smoking. Not a big fan of eating with cigarette fumes throughout the building.

I've lived in the area five years and I am still bewildered how people can smoke on the patio at…read moreRoper's even when the all the sliding doors are closed. I just always hope no one who smokes is seated near me. Today I expanded my menu experience by trying something totally new and different. I went with a Foul Ball, which is a chicken breast on a Brioche Bun with garnishes. I choose hand battered. You can also do, grilled or blackened. My breast was super thick and batter was crispy and had good flavor. As a side, I went with Tater Tots instead of fries. I've done this at other places and I'm starting to favor Tots. My beer was cold and the service was attentive. My server was training a new person and I think you always get better service when they are training. They want to make sure the newbie gets it, so they overdo it sometimes. I live super close to Roper's, but don't think of them when I'm heading out to eat. The food is good, I need to train my brain to remember them. I'll be back, hopefully sooner then later.

Santino's is back under the ownership of the original owners. Unfortunately the ones who bought it…read moreabout a year ago did not succeed and the original owners came back to rescue the restaurant. They had a special grand re-opening last night, which I avoided. I knew the crowds would be insane, so I came for their first day serving lunch. I like how the ambiance is old school Italian. White linen table cloths and black linen napkins. The tables are protected it a sheet of butcher paper cut to the exact size. It protects that pretty white linen. As a centerpiece, they have tacky artificial flowers. Table would look better without it. My server was quick to greet me. I ordered a Pino Grigio as my adult beverage. When she delivered my wine, I said I needed more time to look the menu over. When she came back, I asked a couple of questions and went with the chalkboard special, Meat Cannelloni with Spinach Pink Vodka Sauce. It came with a side salad and a breadstick. I chose Bleu Cheese as my dressing. The dressing was thick, creamy and had chunks of Bleu Cheese. The lunch special had two cannelloni's filled with meat and overly covered in a rich pink vodka sauce blended with lots of sautéed spinach. The sauce had good flavor, they just over poured on top of the cannelloni. Luck for me it came with a breadstick to wipe up the extra sauce. My server was attentive. She checked on me a couple of times while I dined. Sonny the owner, was assisting servers and thanking guest for coming back. From what I have heard in the community, everyone is glad Sonny is back in charge. I think they'll be doing just fine.

So the old owners are back and we decided to give it another try today. We were so pleased. The…read moreinside was clean. The menu is back to only Italian food. And our server was so nice. We tried both of the lasagna options. Both were very delicious. The salads were fresh and the bread was very tasty. We will be eating there again. Thanks for bringing back the good food and service!

Kaden's Kickin Chicken is a great addition to the Alton Metro Area. We already have several…read moreindependent fried chicken restaurants and KKC is going to have some of them shaking in their fryers. The menu offerings are all chicken. You can enjoy a traditional chicken dinner, tenders, a sandwich or an order of wings. They also offer, chicken and waffle and you can also have gizzards and livers. The sides are true Southern sides. My first visit, I enjoyed a two piece all-white meal with a side of fries. The chicken was super crispy and the meat under the crunchy skin was juicy. Best of all, it was not greasy. The seasoning in the breading was simple, but full of flavor. I loved the fries, they were seasoned with salt and pepper. The blend of S&P was so good, I didn't need ketchup. KKC is one of those restaurants that you order at the counter and if you dine-in, they'll bring your food to you. The dining room is small and simple, it's just table and chairs. Only decor is their logo painted on one of the walls. In addition to the delicious food, the staff is professional and friendly. As a side note, Kaden's Kickin Chicken is owned by a female. So you're not only supporting a local business, you're supporting one owned by a woman, too.

Small and quaint upon entering, immediately greeted at the order window. I've tried type of chicken…read morethey have on the menu and none of them disappoint. Super crispy chicken, juicy tenders, and fantastic livers and gizzards. Plenty of options for sides, the fried potato salad stands out the most. Short wait time after ordering. Give this place a try if you are a fried chicken fan.