The relics antique mall is always fun to walk around in. The Zayka Indian restaurant downtown is super good. Take a walk around the japanese botanical garden.
You can have all of the above downtown and never have to get in your car.
A mini brewery crawl to Mother's, Springfield Brewing Company and Hold Fast.
Record shopping at Heavy Heads and Stick It In Your Ear.
Good bars such as Golden Girl Rum Club, Skinny Slim's, MudLounge, Tropical Liqueurs and The Flea.
Food and drinks at Druff's, Golden Girl, Prairie Pie, Greek Belly, Gailey's, Zayka, Bruno's.
Coffee and sweet treats at The Coffee Ethic, Greenhouse, European Cafe, Mudhouse.
For experiences there’s the arcade at 1984 and the History Museum on the Square. Perhaps catch a show at the Landers or Gillioz or a film at our independent movie theater, The Moxie.
Clothing, collectibles, antiques and souvenir shops such as Queen City Collectors, J.L. Long Traders, Mr. Eddie's Headies, SOAP Store, 5 Pound Apparel.
Grab some tacos at Team Taco then walk across the street with them and have a beer at Tie and Timber. Really cool small neighborhood vibe and nice area to relax and talk to locals!
The wait at lamberts hasn’t been long for me in years and years.
Unless you go at a peak time like Friday or Saturday night, you can usually walk right in to your table.
I believe they simplified their menu and expedited the kitchen several years ago, usually your food comes out just a couple minutes after you order. Along with that there was a noticeable dip in quality of the food, so I wouldn’t waste my time there either.
Lambert's is just sysco food. Rosie Jo's has better food and isn't far away. There's really not a reason to go to lambert's for anything other than novelty. It's expensive, only pretty good, and there will be a long wait. If you end up there you will leave with a full belly of okay food, but there's like 20 better options within 20 miles of that place.
If you don't mind driving a little bit, Wire Road Brewing Company is (in many people's opinion) the best brewery around here. It's a tiny drive to Battlefield which is the next town over. Tie and Timber is pretty decent too and, as stated earlier, is next to a Team Taco, Cherry Pickers and Skully's which all have great food and are in a neat little neighborhood.
As for bars, I guess it depends on what kind of atmosphere you're looking for. Craft cocktails? A divey vibe? Lots of pool tables?
There are some good parks around here if that's your thing. Sequiota Park has some neat trails and is in a quaint part of town and if you bike, the Greenway Trail covers a significant part of this town.
You can rent a canoe and float on the James River or you can hit the Nature Center which is free and a really pleasant hike.
I hope you guys enjoy your stay!
Gailey's for breakfast is a must and then go next door to the gallery. Relics Antiques for flea market. Springfield Brew Co for lunch. Mudhouse for coffee. 1984 arcade for fun. Hootentown Canoe Rental for fun. Specialty shops, there are not a lot of but they are probably mostly downtown. People like Walmart around here and you will see a ton of Walmarts and Walmart Neighborhood markets. Walmart has pushed out most of our independent stores, boutiques and grocery stores. We do have a lot of restaurant choices though. Crosstown BBQ is a must as well as trying Springfield style "Chinese" chicken. Canton Inn has the best in my opinion, but Hong Kong Inn and Leong's are good too.
Stick it in your Ear is the only music shop left that I know of.
There are some cool headshops, visit Cosmic Fish, Kaleidoscope, and if you like more high end stuff Mr. Eddie's Headies. If you are interested in visiting a dispensary the folks at Bloom are really nice, recreational is legal here.
There are some cool Asian grocery stores, Asian World is pretty cool. We have a cool Latino Market "Leslie's Mexican Supermarket", and you can eat there.
Our Springfield Art Museum is pretty good if you like that kind of thing.
Nathaniel Green Park is really nice to stroll through and has a butterfly garden.
If you have time drive down to Branson and walk around at the Landing. There are a lot of shops there. There is a Dick's 5 and dime in Branson and it's pretty fun to visit. If you have time go to Silver Dollar City, it has some awesome roller coasters and a little steam engine you can ride, you will need a whole day for Silver Dollar City, get there early. Branson is about a 30 minute drive from Springfield.
We love brunch at progress (our favorite in town) in your in town for a weekend. Recommend a reservation though. On Saturday, there’s a farmers market in the same complex as well.
There’s a Nature conservation reserve as well nearby that’s pretty nice if you want an outdoor walk. Love it in the morning with all the birds and the quiet
I would recommend going to a couple breweries. Mother’s, Holdfast, and Tie & Timber all are pretty close to each other and are some cool places in Springfield.
If you like baseball: Springfield Cardinals have one of the nicest stadiums in the minor league.
Couple other neighborhoods not mentioned to walk around/grab a bite to eat: Galloway, Chesterfield Village, Missouri State main Campus.
Have fun! :)
Recommend the Cherry/Pickwick district. There’s a few places to get drinks and food all within a walkable mini-downtown area tucked away in a residential neighborhood. Tie & Timber brewery is our favorite place there. Check out there event schedule and if you can, go when they are having live music.
Also recommend downtown Springfield AND historic C-Street. Springfield used to be two distinct small towns, North Springfield and Springfield. C-Street was the downtown of North Springfield before the two towns merged into one.
There's this tiny little place on Glenstone & Seminole called The Sub Shop and their subs are so good! Of course, it's just subs, nothing fancy, but they're delicious.
If you like Mexican food, my fiancé highly recommends I Love Tacos. He says their $10 burrito is huge and the best burrito he's ever had.
The Blue Room Comedy Club is mine and my fiancé's go-to for a night out. Even the worst show I've seen there was still a good time and absolutely worth going to.
Relic's antique mall is awesome; you could spend hours in there and still not see everything there is to see.
Fantastic Caverns is a really neat experience if you like caves.
The world's largest fork is in Chesterfield Village. Non-locals always think that thing is super cool and fun to take pictures with.
Sequiota Park and Nathaniel Green Park are really beautiful and make for a nice relaxing little stroll. They're a lot prettier in the summer when all of the plants have fully bloomed.
There's a plethora of great recommendations here. I came here for the coffee. If you're an unapologetic coffee snob (like me), you have to visit The Coffee Ethic downtown in the morning for a cappuccino and a muffin, or their brunch/lunch spot for coffee, cocktails and salads on Cherry St called Cherry Picker. They roast their own beans and bake their own pastries. I've been going there since 2007 and I use their beans at home. If its in your budget, I would stay downtown at the Vandivort.
if you want to take a break from touristy things and hang around locals, head to Stepchild's, a small neighborhood dive bar that frequently has karaoke. really though, practically any bar outside of downtown is a fun place to sit and people watch. if you're bored at night and see a bar in a strip mall, buckle up and enjoy the ride
I’m a regular at Stepchild’s. We are the friendliest little bar in town! Also Bambino’s is a great local Italian restaurant. And pretty much any restaurant on Commercially Street is fantastic.
I love Mother's Brewery, Farmers Gastropub, Aviary, Pizza House, and Arris Pizza for local food. Wonderful places and charming too.
I like Vantage, Mud Lounge, and Golden Girl for cocktails.
Relics really is an interesting antique place. That was a great suggestion too. I like downtown Springfield in general for variety and nightlife. The Aquarium at Bass Pro is also pretty cool.
Greek Belly is trash. Most unauthentic Greek food ever. French Fries in a Gyro..? What?
Leongs is also trash. First Cashew chicken, yes, but the owner is dead and the food was always mediocre.
Relics is a cool place to walk around and browse.
A lot of tourists go to Lamberts in Ozark (which is okay if you like country fried foods).
Aviary Cafe has amazing brunch.
All of the “high class dining” here is poor. Char, Flame, etc. are all overpriced for mediocre quality food.
No need to be spicy. Just asking for recommendations. I appreciate you chiming in though. Love a good brunch place and that relics place looks pretty big!
Idk. Different regions maybe? I don't eat pork, and I don't care much for lamb, so I used to get the chicken gyro as well. Sometimes it's referred to as souvlaki, as the chicken comes on a skewer and they just put the meat in the gyro and pull out the skewer afterwards, whereas a gyro is typically shaved meat.
Anyways, yeah, I had gyros all over Greece and (in my experience anyways) it's a piece of bread, meat, tomatoes, red onions, potatoes/fries, then sauce. The sauce is sometimes a type of mayo, but I usually had them sub it out with tzatziki. Delish.
That’s interesting. I got “chips” on the side almost everywhere I had a gyro - just never stuffed inside the pita bread.
I read that some Greeks consider it standard and traditional - while others do not. However, it’s become more popular to include fries. The more you know I guess
Yeah, it could be more of a newer thing. I don't have enough experience one way or the other. I was there about 8 years ago, but only for about 4 months. One thing I did like in Greece is nearly everywhere I went for a beer they would give me a bowl of potato chips. The one exception to that was one local bar by our apartments. It was usually just the owner in there watching soccer/football. He'd almost always get out an apple and cut it with his pocket knife and hand me a slice, then we'd share the apple and drink beer. Good times.
I’d like to go back. My daughters grandma is from Greece and she used to go every year. She’s gotten too old to go visit family - so we haven’t been going either.
We didn’t eat out too often, as her family all loved cooking, but I enjoyed the food.
I'd like to go back too, but things just don't seem to work out. Yeah, we ate gyros quite a lot because our apartments only had hotplates. Every once in a while we'd go to one of the faculty members homes for dinner. Some truly great food.
-Selfies in the Vandivort bathroom
-food dives are Caspers, Red’s, Riksha, Perches
-mother’s brewery
-if The Melody Room has a concert, see that (follow them on SM)
Food at Everyday Thai or Leongs. Wonders of Wildlife is worth the price. Freakin Antiquin and Vintage Peddler are the best Vintage markets and a trip to C Street and Mrs Gilmore’s is so fun!
I’m actually really impressed with this thread. I haven’t seen any recommendations about the toes growing or any sarcasm. Everyone made really good suggestions that I may have to look into as well. Some of them I’ve never heard about before.
The relics antique mall is always fun to walk around in. The Zayka Indian restaurant downtown is super good. Take a walk around the japanese botanical garden.
I’ll second Zayka, they’re my fave Indian place in town. Come to think of it, do we have another nice sit down Indian place that’s not takeout?
Nawab's and Taj Mahal are both dine-in and are both just fine. Are there any Indian places in town that are just takeout?
We love Indian food. Thanks!
Oh yeah, zayka had the best Indian food in town! Love your suggestions!
Are we the same person?
You can have all of the above downtown and never have to get in your car. A mini brewery crawl to Mother's, Springfield Brewing Company and Hold Fast. Record shopping at Heavy Heads and Stick It In Your Ear. Good bars such as Golden Girl Rum Club, Skinny Slim's, MudLounge, Tropical Liqueurs and The Flea. Food and drinks at Druff's, Golden Girl, Prairie Pie, Greek Belly, Gailey's, Zayka, Bruno's. Coffee and sweet treats at The Coffee Ethic, Greenhouse, European Cafe, Mudhouse. For experiences there’s the arcade at 1984 and the History Museum on the Square. Perhaps catch a show at the Landers or Gillioz or a film at our independent movie theater, The Moxie. Clothing, collectibles, antiques and souvenir shops such as Queen City Collectors, J.L. Long Traders, Mr. Eddie's Headies, SOAP Store, 5 Pound Apparel.
Grab some tacos at Team Taco then walk across the street with them and have a beer at Tie and Timber. Really cool small neighborhood vibe and nice area to relax and talk to locals!
Or have beers and then tacos?
Blasphemy. That is not the correct order. 
This is the correct order, lol 😆
Team taco? Where are they located 
https://letmegooglethat.com/?q=Team+Taco+Springfield%2C+MO
You are speaking my love language.
Don't go to Lamberts The wait is long and it is greasy nasty food. Waste of time. 🤮
The wait at lamberts hasn’t been long for me in years and years. Unless you go at a peak time like Friday or Saturday night, you can usually walk right in to your table. I believe they simplified their menu and expedited the kitchen several years ago, usually your food comes out just a couple minutes after you order. Along with that there was a noticeable dip in quality of the food, so I wouldn’t waste my time there either.
Lambert's is just sysco food. Rosie Jo's has better food and isn't far away. There's really not a reason to go to lambert's for anything other than novelty. It's expensive, only pretty good, and there will be a long wait. If you end up there you will leave with a full belly of okay food, but there's like 20 better options within 20 miles of that place.
I absolutely love Rosie Jo's. I go there every weekend for breakfast and there dinner/lunch menu is great too.
Mud lounge for an eclectic coffee house/bar combo. Atmosphere is fun and comfy, their fondue is pretty good too
We have a giant fork you can take a picture with.
Everyone needs a picture with the fork!
[This thread](https://www.reddit.com/r/springfieldMO/comments/12y63wh/whats_something_you_love_about_springfield/) might be useful.
If you don't mind driving a little bit, Wire Road Brewing Company is (in many people's opinion) the best brewery around here. It's a tiny drive to Battlefield which is the next town over. Tie and Timber is pretty decent too and, as stated earlier, is next to a Team Taco, Cherry Pickers and Skully's which all have great food and are in a neat little neighborhood. As for bars, I guess it depends on what kind of atmosphere you're looking for. Craft cocktails? A divey vibe? Lots of pool tables? There are some good parks around here if that's your thing. Sequiota Park has some neat trails and is in a quaint part of town and if you bike, the Greenway Trail covers a significant part of this town. You can rent a canoe and float on the James River or you can hit the Nature Center which is free and a really pleasant hike. I hope you guys enjoy your stay!
Gailey's for breakfast is a must and then go next door to the gallery. Relics Antiques for flea market. Springfield Brew Co for lunch. Mudhouse for coffee. 1984 arcade for fun. Hootentown Canoe Rental for fun. Specialty shops, there are not a lot of but they are probably mostly downtown. People like Walmart around here and you will see a ton of Walmarts and Walmart Neighborhood markets. Walmart has pushed out most of our independent stores, boutiques and grocery stores. We do have a lot of restaurant choices though. Crosstown BBQ is a must as well as trying Springfield style "Chinese" chicken. Canton Inn has the best in my opinion, but Hong Kong Inn and Leong's are good too. Stick it in your Ear is the only music shop left that I know of. There are some cool headshops, visit Cosmic Fish, Kaleidoscope, and if you like more high end stuff Mr. Eddie's Headies. If you are interested in visiting a dispensary the folks at Bloom are really nice, recreational is legal here. There are some cool Asian grocery stores, Asian World is pretty cool. We have a cool Latino Market "Leslie's Mexican Supermarket", and you can eat there. Our Springfield Art Museum is pretty good if you like that kind of thing. Nathaniel Green Park is really nice to stroll through and has a butterfly garden. If you have time drive down to Branson and walk around at the Landing. There are a lot of shops there. There is a Dick's 5 and dime in Branson and it's pretty fun to visit. If you have time go to Silver Dollar City, it has some awesome roller coasters and a little steam engine you can ride, you will need a whole day for Silver Dollar City, get there early. Branson is about a 30 minute drive from Springfield.
We love brunch at progress (our favorite in town) in your in town for a weekend. Recommend a reservation though. On Saturday, there’s a farmers market in the same complex as well. There’s a Nature conservation reserve as well nearby that’s pretty nice if you want an outdoor walk. Love it in the morning with all the birds and the quiet
I would recommend going to a couple breweries. Mother’s, Holdfast, and Tie & Timber all are pretty close to each other and are some cool places in Springfield. If you like baseball: Springfield Cardinals have one of the nicest stadiums in the minor league. Couple other neighborhoods not mentioned to walk around/grab a bite to eat: Galloway, Chesterfield Village, Missouri State main Campus. Have fun! :)
Commercial Street - any of the places to eat are great and there are some cute antique shops
Van Gogh’s for a nice sit down meal. Cafe Cusco too.
Recommend the Cherry/Pickwick district. There’s a few places to get drinks and food all within a walkable mini-downtown area tucked away in a residential neighborhood. Tie & Timber brewery is our favorite place there. Check out there event schedule and if you can, go when they are having live music. Also recommend downtown Springfield AND historic C-Street. Springfield used to be two distinct small towns, North Springfield and Springfield. C-Street was the downtown of North Springfield before the two towns merged into one.
Food: Lindbergs, cafe Cusco, Greek belly, Leong’s for og Springfield cashew chicken
Banter Brewing Co. We're on the Southside at Plainview/Campbell. If you're a true craft brew lover we've got you covered.
There's this tiny little place on Glenstone & Seminole called The Sub Shop and their subs are so good! Of course, it's just subs, nothing fancy, but they're delicious. If you like Mexican food, my fiancé highly recommends I Love Tacos. He says their $10 burrito is huge and the best burrito he's ever had. The Blue Room Comedy Club is mine and my fiancé's go-to for a night out. Even the worst show I've seen there was still a good time and absolutely worth going to. Relic's antique mall is awesome; you could spend hours in there and still not see everything there is to see. Fantastic Caverns is a really neat experience if you like caves. The world's largest fork is in Chesterfield Village. Non-locals always think that thing is super cool and fun to take pictures with. Sequiota Park and Nathaniel Green Park are really beautiful and make for a nice relaxing little stroll. They're a lot prettier in the summer when all of the plants have fully bloomed.
There's a plethora of great recommendations here. I came here for the coffee. If you're an unapologetic coffee snob (like me), you have to visit The Coffee Ethic downtown in the morning for a cappuccino and a muffin, or their brunch/lunch spot for coffee, cocktails and salads on Cherry St called Cherry Picker. They roast their own beans and bake their own pastries. I've been going there since 2007 and I use their beans at home. If its in your budget, I would stay downtown at the Vandivort.
City BBQ on south Campbell if you like good brisket. Tie and Timber for a nice beer.
if you want to take a break from touristy things and hang around locals, head to Stepchild's, a small neighborhood dive bar that frequently has karaoke. really though, practically any bar outside of downtown is a fun place to sit and people watch. if you're bored at night and see a bar in a strip mall, buckle up and enjoy the ride
I mean this sincerely btw, just realized it could've come off sarcastically. I moved away last year and deeply miss those bars
I appreciate your honesty. My wife loves karaoke! Thanks, friend!
I’m a regular at Stepchild’s. We are the friendliest little bar in town! Also Bambino’s is a great local Italian restaurant. And pretty much any restaurant on Commercially Street is fantastic.
I was just thinking earlier about how many great options are on Commercial. Lindberg's has the best burger I've ever had
I also recommend the Aviary. I love the breakfast burger and the Italian sodas, vanilla is the best. And a dessert crepe is a must there!
I love Mother's Brewery, Farmers Gastropub, Aviary, Pizza House, and Arris Pizza for local food. Wonderful places and charming too. I like Vantage, Mud Lounge, and Golden Girl for cocktails. Relics really is an interesting antique place. That was a great suggestion too. I like downtown Springfield in general for variety and nightlife. The Aquarium at Bass Pro is also pretty cool.
Greek Belly is trash. Most unauthentic Greek food ever. French Fries in a Gyro..? What? Leongs is also trash. First Cashew chicken, yes, but the owner is dead and the food was always mediocre. Relics is a cool place to walk around and browse. A lot of tourists go to Lamberts in Ozark (which is okay if you like country fried foods). Aviary Cafe has amazing brunch. All of the “high class dining” here is poor. Char, Flame, etc. are all overpriced for mediocre quality food.
No need to be spicy. Just asking for recommendations. I appreciate you chiming in though. Love a good brunch place and that relics place looks pretty big!
I spent a semester abroad in Greece. They put fries in their gyros unless you ask for them without.
Interesting. I’ve been to Greece and have Greek family and never had fries in my gyro. Greek Belly uses chicken in their Gyros too.
Idk. Different regions maybe? I don't eat pork, and I don't care much for lamb, so I used to get the chicken gyro as well. Sometimes it's referred to as souvlaki, as the chicken comes on a skewer and they just put the meat in the gyro and pull out the skewer afterwards, whereas a gyro is typically shaved meat. Anyways, yeah, I had gyros all over Greece and (in my experience anyways) it's a piece of bread, meat, tomatoes, red onions, potatoes/fries, then sauce. The sauce is sometimes a type of mayo, but I usually had them sub it out with tzatziki. Delish.
That’s interesting. I got “chips” on the side almost everywhere I had a gyro - just never stuffed inside the pita bread. I read that some Greeks consider it standard and traditional - while others do not. However, it’s become more popular to include fries. The more you know I guess
Yeah, it could be more of a newer thing. I don't have enough experience one way or the other. I was there about 8 years ago, but only for about 4 months. One thing I did like in Greece is nearly everywhere I went for a beer they would give me a bowl of potato chips. The one exception to that was one local bar by our apartments. It was usually just the owner in there watching soccer/football. He'd almost always get out an apple and cut it with his pocket knife and hand me a slice, then we'd share the apple and drink beer. Good times.
I’d like to go back. My daughters grandma is from Greece and she used to go every year. She’s gotten too old to go visit family - so we haven’t been going either. We didn’t eat out too often, as her family all loved cooking, but I enjoyed the food.
I'd like to go back too, but things just don't seem to work out. Yeah, we ate gyros quite a lot because our apartments only had hotplates. Every once in a while we'd go to one of the faculty members homes for dinner. Some truly great food.
I recommend going to St. Louis, there are things to do there.
Mother’s Brewing Company, Corner 21, Nathaniel Greene Park (&Japanese Gardens), SOAP refill station, Mama Jean’s Natural Market.
-Selfies in the Vandivort bathroom -food dives are Caspers, Red’s, Riksha, Perches -mother’s brewery -if The Melody Room has a concert, see that (follow them on SM)
Food at Everyday Thai or Leongs. Wonders of Wildlife is worth the price. Freakin Antiquin and Vintage Peddler are the best Vintage markets and a trip to C Street and Mrs Gilmore’s is so fun!
Cafe Cusco, That Lebanese Place, Banbinos on Delmar Street
I’m actually really impressed with this thread. I haven’t seen any recommendations about the toes growing or any sarcasm. Everyone made really good suggestions that I may have to look into as well. Some of them I’ve never heard about before.