CONESTOGA'S RESTAURANT
14920 Main St.
Alachua, FL
386.462.1294
14920 Main St.
Alachua, FL
386.462.1294
Conestogas is located off US-441 in Downtown Alachua, which is an area I'd never been to. Main Street looks like a traditional downtown area, with one lane going each way, older brick buildings along the way, shops and restaurants, and lights wrapped around the trees; it was, as my travel companion Kristin described it, "super cute." (Note: there were a bunch of other places I'd heard of on Main St., such as Restaurante Deneno's and Bev's Better Burgers, so I'm certain I'll be back in the area sometime). Parking was no problem despite what looked to be a long line outside the restaurant. We had a party of 6 and were given a huge playing card from a deck (which is how they call you, rather than announcing your name) and quoted a 15-20 minute wait. It ended up being closer to 10 minutes, which was not bad at all for a Friday night at 7:30 PM.
The inside of the restaurant has brick walls with photos and random southwestern decor. The table had two bowls of peanuts waiting for us and our drink orders were taken promptly. After giving our orders a loaf of pumpernickel bread with honey butter was brought out; it was good, but the one loaf wasn't really a good size for 6 people. Our food came about 20 minutes later. I ordered the Stogie Burger, which is their signature of sorts. At $8.59, the 16 ounce patty was big enough to, as the menu described, hang slightly off the bun. I will note that having eaten a one pound burger before, I'm almost certain that the 16 ounce weight is the pre-cooked weight. I added cheddar cheese, which cost $1 more, a little pricey for a drop of cheddar melted on (Swiss and American cheese cost 75 cents, by comparison). The burger was tasty and was quite obviously fresh. I ordered my burger well and it came cooked as such, but not to the point of being burnt; it was still juicy when I ate it. It didn't taste like a chain restaurant burger, but more like home cooking. I got sweet potato sticks, which are simply crinkle cut fries made from sweet potatoes. They were good and served with "Swamp Sauce," which as far as I could tell was mustard with a little bit of mayonnaise. I opted for ketchup. The three girls with us ordered Stogie Jr. burgers (an 8 ounce version of their burger) and they were all cooked properly to order. One of the other manly men with us also ordered a Stogie, and the other ordered a chop steak, which I didn't try but looked very good. Conestoga's also has an ice cream shop connected to it. We were too stuffed to venture in there, though.
Overall, the food was very good and it was a great departure from the norm. I'm not sure I'd trek up there regularly, but it was definitely worth the trip and could see myself going back in the future.
Food quality: 9/10 (27)
Service: 8/10 (20)
Ambiance: 8.5/10 (17)
Pricing: 7.5/10 (11.25)
Menu selection: 10/10 (10)
Composite score: 85.25
(p.s. - a note about the picture: my iPhone, like most iPhones, tend to take somewhat blurry pictures. I'll work on trying to get better shots.)
visit: conestogasalachua.com
The inside of the restaurant has brick walls with photos and random southwestern decor. The table had two bowls of peanuts waiting for us and our drink orders were taken promptly. After giving our orders a loaf of pumpernickel bread with honey butter was brought out; it was good, but the one loaf wasn't really a good size for 6 people. Our food came about 20 minutes later. I ordered the Stogie Burger, which is their signature of sorts. At $8.59, the 16 ounce patty was big enough to, as the menu described, hang slightly off the bun. I will note that having eaten a one pound burger before, I'm almost certain that the 16 ounce weight is the pre-cooked weight. I added cheddar cheese, which cost $1 more, a little pricey for a drop of cheddar melted on (Swiss and American cheese cost 75 cents, by comparison). The burger was tasty and was quite obviously fresh. I ordered my burger well and it came cooked as such, but not to the point of being burnt; it was still juicy when I ate it. It didn't taste like a chain restaurant burger, but more like home cooking. I got sweet potato sticks, which are simply crinkle cut fries made from sweet potatoes. They were good and served with "Swamp Sauce," which as far as I could tell was mustard with a little bit of mayonnaise. I opted for ketchup. The three girls with us ordered Stogie Jr. burgers (an 8 ounce version of their burger) and they were all cooked properly to order. One of the other manly men with us also ordered a Stogie, and the other ordered a chop steak, which I didn't try but looked very good. Conestoga's also has an ice cream shop connected to it. We were too stuffed to venture in there, though.
Overall, the food was very good and it was a great departure from the norm. I'm not sure I'd trek up there regularly, but it was definitely worth the trip and could see myself going back in the future.
Food quality: 9/10 (27)
Service: 8/10 (20)
Ambiance: 8.5/10 (17)
Pricing: 7.5/10 (11.25)
Menu selection: 10/10 (10)
Composite score: 85.25
(p.s. - a note about the picture: my iPhone, like most iPhones, tend to take somewhat blurry pictures. I'll work on trying to get better shots.)
visit: conestogasalachua.com
2 comments:
Thanks for the review; I used to work in Alachua and I need to go back there just for a burger. To anyone with any doubts - this place is worth the 15 minute drive from Gainesville!
Just went there a few nights ago for the first time & was pretty impressed by the burger I had. Also, any place that has fried pickles has my heart.
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