Boars Nest Bar & Grill

Great small town bar and restaurant love going there for fish on Friday nights, enjoy the bands and the friendly atmosphere

I don’t understand the poor reviews. I ate breakfast here and it was great. Heard that they have a very good steak too. I visited today and the restaurant was «clean as a pin!»

We went on Saturday and sat in the bar area. Early evening with college football on silent and noise from gambling machines. I played the juke box so they got drowned out. We both got Tenderloins and they are so good that I may repeat if I go again. I am not in the area often.

Great selection of appetizers the fried pickles and mini tacos are my favorites. Excellent burgers, and specialty sandwiches including delicious horseshoes. Very good thin crust pizza with a large selection of toppings.
Tasty salads here as well. Taco, buffalo chicken salads are especially good.
Nightly specials include Mexican, steaks and fish.
Fully stocked bar with lots of flat screens, and a wide selection of bottles beers. Live music on most weekends.
Great spot for a bite to eat and a night out.

Supposed to meet a friend for dinner. Photo doesn’t even come close to the huge amount of dead bugs in the doorway of the restaurant. Told my friend we are leaving. What does the kitchen look like???

Ok. I can say I’ve had a horseshoe. «Shoe» bring the operative word here, since shoe leather was the texture of the fried steak. The bread was just bread, the fries were just fries, and cool when I got to them since the sandwich came 3 minutes after the app, which I was enjoying more. (Not the servers’e fault, I’m sure.) The cheese was just cheese, nothing special. I should have stuck with the pony (half order) since I only ate about half, and I think I’m going to regret even that. The server was pleasant after I finally went in to ask if I needed to order inside (since no one told when they directed to what could loosely be called a patio so I could sit with my dog,) and she did bring the food out to me. The bottled apple cider was cold, so that’s good; none on tap (actually nothing on tap.) The homemade (elsewhere) blackberry pie was good. I wanted the cherry-​rhubarb but was talked out of it as being too old and «gross.» No atmosphere inside and especially not outside. The folks playing volleyball were having fun. Guess it’s something to do with their friends and it’s nice they have that option. Probably fun when they have live music.
Not recommended. Especially not if you drove from Petersburg as I did (and now have to drive back with this ball of carbs and cheese in my stomach.) Stay there and have the Mexican place instead; it sounded better.

My parents live nearby to this place and I can testify that it’s the place that most locals will recommend if you ask about good food near Athens.
Service, atmosphere and food is good and folksy. You can expect live entertainment from local bands on Saturday nights.

While visiting family in Springfield, IL we were told this was a «must stop» for lunch. We arrived just at the end of the lunch rush — REALLY popular — but by the time we ordered, we pretty much had the place to ourselves. Our waitress was friendly like everyone is in the Midwest (the kind who calls you «Hon») and had our drink orders on the table right away. Biggest plastic glass of iced tea I’ve ever seen!!! Nothing fancy: tables, booths, and a bar.
Be warned, this place serves LOTS OF FOOD, everything from sandwiches, salads, pizza, chili, soup, alligator bites for the more adventurous, and breakfast even, but they are most famous for their «Shoe Collection.»
As with the type you wear «shoes» come in various sizes: the «Shetlandshoe» & «Ponyshoe» are for beginners («sissies» some say). Veterans order the «Horseshoe» (my brother & nephew each ordered these) but only the most serious of eaters order the «Clydesdaleshoe.» There’s even a disclaimer at the bottom of the menu that states «The Clydesdale is a „single person“ item only. If the person can eat the shoe in full in less than 1 hour, shoe is free.»
A «shoe» consists of Texas toast — the larger the shoe, the more toast (2 slices on the Horseshoe), your choice of meat: chicken (grilled or buffaloed), pork (tenderloin), beef (ribeye, Philly or Italian), and a MOUNTAIN of french fries, all topped with their own homemade cheese sauce and I’m not talking about the canned orange nacho-​type either. I didn’t order any of the shoes but I did taste the cheese sauce and it was top-​notch.
I played it safe and ordered a much smaller Italian beef sandwich on a big fluffy french roll topped with sauteed onions & bell peppers. Instead of french fries I lived dangerously and ordered the tater tots (OMG remember tater tots, I HAD to order tater tots… deep-​fried!) The roll was huge and I ended up eating only half of it. After we left I imagined the waitress snickering about the food left on the plate and saying «Must have been from Cali» (why do they all say «Cali» in the Midwest?)
Anyway, this is a regional kind of place that serves food the locals like; nothing fancy at all, just good honest food. Something we don’t have much of in California anymore. It was a pleasant change. I’d go back and maybe even try the «sissie» Shetlandshoe…

Would have never found this place if weren’t for a lunch meeting with a client who has a location across the street from them. Yes, it’s in the middle of nowhere, but their food can compare to those in bigger cities. They have something called «The Horseshoe» on the menu which from what I understand originated from Springfield, IL (not too far from Athens). What it comprises of is a foundation of 2 pieces of Texas toast smeared with butter, topped with a thinly pounded fried tenderloin, with a mound of fries on top of that then the grand finale is nacho cheese! I personally did not order this dish, but was happy to have a few bites from my co-​workers plate. I have no words to describe this dish. It’s amazingly fattening and just utterly mind-​blowing when you see it. They also have a «Clydesdale» portion of this invention and it’s a whopping 7lbs!!! Maybe we should send Adam Richman there to conquer the Clydesdale.
Definitely an experience and why not stop by if you’re in the area.