Wagner’s Village Inn

The whole staff is a great group to talk to you. The food is awesome. Best chicken around

I want to know why everything in Oldenburg closes down at 9??? Here for a ballgame no one is open after 9, Losing business…

Great food, fun and quaint atmosphere. My wife and I had the pan fried chicken and loved it. And my wife is very selective, when it comes to fried chicken.

I’m a little surprised at how polarizing this places seems to be! Our experience was great. It seems folks either love it or hate it.
I’ll agree… there was a big of a wait for the food. But it was dinner hour on Saturday night, they were slammed, and didn’t think it was unreasonable given the circumstances.
Our server, Miss Pat, was capable, friendly, and professional and explained the menu completely to us.
We had an order of the Kraut balls for an appetizer, and, boy howdy, were they ever tasty! YUM!
I had the breaded tenderloin, and you could certainly tell the German influence on the breading and seasoning. It was an outstanding tenderloin, no doubt about it.
The potato pancakes were a perfect side.
I quite good experience, and we won’t hesitate to stop again!

Grilled chicken breast was tasteless and more like boiled than grilled. Canned green beans. Horrible service, no return of server… no drink refills, no check. Had to go to bar and ask for it.

We loved their chicken it was great. Loved the black pepper flour mixture the chicken is dipped in and Ms Betsy McCray took care of us and she was fun and informative. Took us into the kitchen to show us how it’s done. Glad we came we’ll be back.

Debbie is a fantastic waitress… chicken was just as good as we have been told. Salmon was very good healthy option. Refills on all sides with family style. Coleslaw is amazing. Grilled chicken breast is tender and juicy. The wings were reportedly good… he couldnt stop eating to give a comment. The guy who cooks wears a cool hat and beard net. Worth the drive from Cincinnati for a dinner… be ready to sit amd wait and enjoy the time.

One of the finest chicken joints in my world. I don’t recall having better anywhere. Atmosphere is cozy and country. City slickers in the wrong mood probably won’t like this place. Wear comfy clothes if you wanna fit in. I don’t see many people ordering Manhattans or Apple Martinis.
Order the chicken. Enjoy the calories.

This place salvaged two stars because their fried chicken was one of the most delicious I have ever had! That being said, I will never go there to dine again. Considering I’m not over age 70, probably not a good idea. The place is dirty and unkept. It is in a very cute area of town. It took about 25 minutes to get drinks. We had multiple staff waiting on us and one never seemed to know what the other was doing. Our appetizers were forgotten and people who had been seated after us were getting served before us. Very frustrating!!! I will return here, but only to pick up a to go order of chicken. It’s seriously delicious and not breaded. Love the seasoning!!!

The best fried chicken in southern Indiana, in an quaint little town? Sold.
A little over an hour from our house in Indianapolis, this has been a once a year pilgrimage for the husband and I for the last 4 years. He went with his family when he was little, and convinced me it was worth a stop on our way home from a weekend in Cincinnati. He was so right, and we’ve gone back ever since.
Really, the only way to eat here is to order the family style fried chicken dinner, which will get you unlimited cole slaw, dinner rolls, green beans, mashed potatoes, and gravy along with spicy, crispy, moist chicken. If that sounds indulgent, you’ll know why we make the trip only once a year — which also makes us appreciate it that much more!
Last weekend was our yearly trip; my in-​laws joined us this time. What else did we add? Peach cobbler and blackberry cobbler. We didn’t really have room for it (and you won’t, either), but we made room (and you should, too).
Mostly dining space, this place also has a large bar, serving Warsteiner on tap. Our servers have always been sweet and prompt, but know going in that wait times for food can be longer than normal. Perfect chicken takes time.

Positive first… the chicken was pretty good. Poor cuts, many without much meat but the breading had a pretty good taste.
The bad… The place is dirty and the the staff really didn’t seem to mind. The décor is best described as «dusty grandma’s house.» We got seated quickly and then proceeded to wait about 12 minutes to get menus or have our drink order taken. During our wait there was a server that cleared off the table next to ours and various staff made about 20 trips to the bathroom all the while standing and complaining about customers, management, etc. Nothing like priorities. The staff was hurried despite the place not being very busy and really seemed to be disinterested in making sure we had a good experience. Potatoes were cold and the gravy was pretty much just a big lump in a bowl.
The ugly… wait staff was dirty, poorly groomed and didn’t provide a feeling of high sanitary concerns.
Skip this place and try something different.

I should have known… we violated our OPJ Rule (OPJ = «Old People Joint» AKA «God’s Waiting Room»).
What’s that you ask?
If you walk into ANY establishment and the average patron is over 70, run away. Old people will tolerate lots of nonsense and wait forever — they don’t have anywhere to be. And usually their taste buds quit working a couple decades prior.
We walked into Wagner’s and saw a bar full of blue hairs. We looked at each other and both thought the same thing… but we waited because of the hype around the «BEST CHICKEN IN INDIANA» quote from Cincinnati Post (which has been gone now since December 31, 2007 LOL)
Wagner’s Village Inn was a terrible, terrible experience.
To start things off, the server argued with me over not being able to get sauerkraut as a side — even though the menu clearly states it comes as a side with a couple of entrée’s AND notwithstanding the fact I was willing to… get this… wait for it… PAY EXTRA!
The explanation I was given was the owner buys it locally from some old man who she pays in cash so there’s no taxes on it… mmmkay… I’m still scratching my head trying to figure out what the hell that had to do with the fact that you’ve got sauerkraut printed on the menu as a side with brats and metts and another entrée’ — but it’s not an option as a side with the chicken dinner?
Fine, I’ll pay extra at full price.
Then we proceeded to wait an hour for our food. No exaggeration, if anything I am being conservative. An hour… at least. Maybe more. The two tables who were seated after us were also delayed but they were also served before us!
I finally got up from the table and literally walked into the kitchen to see if they had to pluck the chickens. I kid you not, I walked right into the kitchen. I announced, «I need our check for the beers and appetizer, we’re done waiting.»
The server stopped me and said (with a full attitude) «It’s coming right now.»
Really? Okay. You people are unreal.
And when it finally came a few minutes later, the server tossed it down with an attitude and returned abruptly with the check — which she also tossed down in a huff.
Lady, you shouldn’t even BE in public, let alone be in the hospitality industry.
Wow.
It could be the best fried chicken on the planet. Paula Deen herself could be in the back and I will earnestly pass it up from now on.
Oh… the instant mashed potatoes take the cake. For «home cooked», you’d think they’d actually peel a real potato?
Naah… no need!
OPJ!!!
But for those with functional taste buds, that watery potato powder instant crap is easily recognized.
I don’t get the hype about this place. KFC is as good and a lot cheaper. There literally wasn’t a single thing we ordered that was higher quality than Kentucky Fried Chicken — all the way down to the OPJ instant mashed potatos.
No way.
I vote with my wallet and this place gets NADA, ZERO, ZIP, ZILCH.
If you’re pulling off I-​74 at the Batesville exit between Cincinnati and Indianapolis, and you really want fried chicken, there’s a KFC visible from the highway.
Go there.
Don’t bother driving 5 minutes off the beaten path, this one isn’t even remotely worth the effort.

It’s a very fun and friendly restaurant with deliciously homemade food. I heard it’s the best around town. And now I can see why! I highly recommend it to travelers hungry for something delicious and not counting calories.

I’m downgrading to 3 stars based on a second visit today, although it was just for a couple beers. Based on a second look around, atmosphere and service, and considering a similar restaurant literally around the block earned 4 stars today, I have to reduce this one.
It’s mystifying that this place was given the classification of nightlife in first position. There is a bar, but it is really neglected. There is no bartender keeping watch and I noticed that last time too (although last time we were having a meal so it didn’t affect us as much, but thinking back there was an effect). The hostess, who wears a dour expression, seems to be responsible for tending the bar when she’s not seating people (and you MUST wait to be seated), and then only when she either feels like it, or remembers that someone wants a drink, or if you stare at her long enough so that she looks up and thinks, «oh I remember them! They came in and said right to me ‘we’re just gonna have a beer’ and sat down at the otherwise empty bar 15 minutes ago! I guess I’ll make my way slowly over there and see what they want.»
Then I almost fell off my stool when she put out 2 pints of Shock Top and charged us 12 bucks! Good thing I didn’t fall off because the back of your stool is just inches away from dining tables squeezed side by side in the middle of the room.
The «bar» is really the bigger dining room. There is no background music to help drown out the conversation about tractors going on at the next table six inches away. The two TVs were on but sound was turned way down.
Whew! Now this is not to take away from the tasty fried chicken by any means. See my prior review. Just be prepared for way below average, and not really cordial, service as well as uncomfortable seating. You may want to reserve a booth in the «bar» to avoid feeling like you’re sharing a table with strangers. You may want to check out nearby Brau Haus instead.
But if you’re on a mission to do all the stops on the ‘Indiana Chicken Trail’ do include this one for the food. If you’re looking to just pop in for a cold one however, pass Wagner’s by. We won’t be back.

We rode our motorcycles to Oldenburg from Columbus to eat at Wagner’s Village Inn and it was an awesome day. The folks at Wagner’s had our tables ready, there were around 15 of us in the party, and we ordered our drinks, then our meals. The server seemed a little overwhelmed but was very nice. I don’t think the food took very long to prepare and I felt like the fried chicken was very tasty. The Cole Slaw was phenomenal but I felt the mashed potatoes were not seasoned at all. But after a little salt and pepper, they tasted fine.
After we ate, we waited for the server to bring our checks but she never did so we all went to the cash register to pay. They were still adding up the tickets so we had to wait on them to do that. Once they did that, the bartender had to explain why a Tenderloin and fries came to $ 18.00 and she said they add a 20% Gratuity on parties that large. I didn’t have an issue with that but some of the people thought that we didn’t see our server enough to warrant a 20% tip. I have to agree although I always tip 20% or more.
The overall experience was good, but the service was poor, and the food was too expensive. It was good, but too expensive. I will be back though.

If you want to eat good, and don’t care if it’s healthy or not, this is the place! I live about 10 minutes away, and don’t go here nearly often enough. The fried chicken, served family style, is heavily peppered and pan-​fried in an iron skillet, not greasy at all; mashed potatoes are topped with sinfully delicious homemade gravy, and a huge pat of butter tops the green beans. I’m not a fan of coleslaw, but I can’t get enough of theirs, it’s so creamy. Of course, it all goes good with beer!
I can’t speak for their other menu items, I’ve only had the chicken, gizzards and livers, and their yummy desserts.
And if you tell your server it’s your birthday, you get free dessert-​on one condition-​you have your picture taken to be hung in the entryway for all to see!

This is old school fried chicken served family style with all the fixins. The chicken is lightly breaded and heavily peppered then pan fried. The green beans are like grandma used to make. The mashed potatoes are creamy and the chicken gravy is peppery since it’s made with the same seasoning as the chicken.
We call in orders to go on our way home from Reds games, but if you have the chance, eat in the restaurant. The atmosphere is quaint and mugs of Warsteiner are the perfect compliment to the spicy chicken. It reheats great so order a second chicken to go while you eat your meal.

My parents/​grandparents have been going to Wagner’s since I was little and still tonight on our way home from Cincy, OH my wife and I stopped in. For fried chicken, there is no better.

Once you eat the chicken, it becomes the gold standard to compare it to. Exceptional service and food, well worth the drive to visit.

This is by far the best Fried Chicken… I now live in Chicago and cannot find any better. It is of course fried in a cast iron skillet in lard. The livers are very good too! If they had biscuits I would move in.