Steak ’n Shake

Daughter and I needed a quick bite on a road trip. We love Steak n Shake so this stop was an easy decision. We were surprised to find out 2 things:
1. This is the OG spot! It's a historic stop on route 66 and has a unique old school vibe. LOVE IT!
2. They still offer dine in service with a waiter (no longer offered in our local area.

We grabbed a booth, ordered our go-tos: 444 for me w/ double cheeseburger and fries and steak frank combo for her. They do have a paired down menu so you won't see chili 5 ways of orange freezes on the menu.

Shout out to the employees of this location. They appeared to be short staffed with only 3 employees working - 1 on grill, 1 waiting tables and 1 doing everything in the middle with a lot of shake making. They were still helpful and friendly. When we left there were at least 12 tables of people dining in. That's a lot for a staff of 3 PLUS takeout orders. Our food came out super fast and our service was quick.

The OG... the spot... the start of it all! This is the place to come for the original steak burger.

My boys and I were up visiting my mom in Springfield and saw this location. It is the original old time Steak and Shake. Being that SnS is a new found love of my boys we decided that we had to stop here before leaving town.

I wanted them to have the full experience so we went inside and sat down to soak up the ambiance, history and nostalgia.

They actually give you menus at this location... they have waitresses, waiters, bus boys and all. There is a chrome counter you can sit at or you can opt for the tables or booths. I wanted to sit at the counter but my boys wanted a table... next time... we got a table.

We looked over the menu and ordered a double for my oldest, the grilled cheese for my youngest and the double royal for me. My boys got shakes and all of us got fries. NOTE: one large fry is a big plate of fries!! It easily would have been enough for all of us no issue. We ended up OD'ing on fries.

The royal came out piping hot, fresh and the sunny side up eggs oozed all over on my first bite... IT WAS AMAZING! my son loved his double but the grilled cheese was less of a hit. 2nd NOTE: don't order a grilled cheese at a famous burger place son! Lessen learned.

The service was fantastic; the place was a hoot! My boys and I had a blast... we would definitely come again!

Well, I absolutely love SnS but they've really struggled since covid but I think we're far enough past that to be an excuse.

I ordered a burger (with egg), onion rings and a soda to go. They were cooked pretty well but they cooked food sat for several minutes before it got wrapped and put in a bag for me to take.

They will not put condiments in a togo or even ask if you'd like any unless you ask. Nothing worse than getting where you're going with your food the. Realize you don't have what you want.

They just seemed to be struggling with experienced help. I'll close with my pet peeve complaint. Asking for a tip on a carry out. I spent many years behind a bar and serving food. I get so mad when people ask for handouts. Show me a good dining experience and then I might tip you.

Rylee, our server was very sweet and knowledgeable. The food was hot and fresh when delivered. Love the "old school" decor. Would eat here again when in Springfield.

Came in for some quick eats last week at Steak n Shake. I noticed they've really shrunk their menu as of late.

I was really craving a chili cheese hotdog, but it wasn't at all on the menu. They serve chili, they have hot dogs, cheese, and onions, so I don't know why it wasn't an option.

I asked the waitress if I could get a chili cheese dog and she said no. I was super bummed and just ordered onion rings. She came back and said she would try and get me what I originally wanted. So I ordered a hot dog and a bowl of chili. When I asked for chili, she asked me if I wanted crackers with my chili (at this point, I didn't know if she knew what a chili dog was). Suffice it to say, I didn't ask for onions or cheese.

But the hot dog and chili were great. My husband's meal of cheeseburger and milkshake were great. Onion rings were nice and crisp.

Overall, it would have been a 3/5 experience, but I bumped it up to 4/5 for the waitress who really did her best in the end to make up for it.

I was in Springfield for a convention and stayed not too far from this location. I always thought Steak 'n Shakes were only in malls. I'm dating myself, I know. But, to my surprise, this one was very old school. One of the few remaining "old style" designs for this chain of drive-in restaurants, opened in 1962. It's an awesome historical spot along Route 66. The service.....our server was Lacey S. who was awesome. She was very attentive and helpful. The decor, black and white checkered flooring, old photos, and red tables and booths. Very cool! The food was phenomenal and came out quickly. It was perfect. The burgers and fries were seasoned perfectly. We have 8 in Las Vegas, and none of them are old school, and none of them are as tasty as this one. Next time I'm in Springfield, I will be coming back to this location.

I haven't been here for literally years. I was never a huge fan of the smashed patty burger, so I never made it a point to come here. The shakes are good, and so are the fries usually, but this last experience was just awful.
I understand they are extremely short staffed, but when we went in it wasn't very busy. The waitress was nice, but she messed up the orders "didn't write anything down." She didn't bring the two shakes till we were almost done with our meals. The fries were hot but the burgers were cold. And I mean colder than I ever had before. There were people getting food before us who arrived way after us. Not going back ever. Don't have memories of S&S so no reason for me to roll the dice.

Rude waitress flipped us off on the way out, slammed things, argued with us about what we wanted to order, and was yelling in the back about us while we were waiting a longgggggg time for our order. do not recommend ever. One star just because I had to

As most of us know, Steak 'n Shake is a company that has had more than its share of struggles in the last 10 years - not just during the pandemic. I worked for the company for 13 years and while most of it was the best years of my life, I've seen plenty of bad/poor decisions made by the company's leaders (using that word loosely). But enough about me, this is about the only SnS location listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It's for the right reasons, as this is one of the few that still holds on to its "old-school" values. The format for the store is outdated, which is fine in this case as there have been more "modernized" locations built in recent years. This still has curbside service (even before the pandemic). No "Sardar Biglari" signs or anything related to the dude here. (I don't want to call him a man or gentleman)

The wait was a bit long as it was 20 minutes so I had to go outside and wait for a text. I understand it's all limited capacity as we were still in a pandemic. But it was worth it...at least I crossed off something to my Route 66 bucket list. The menu was very limited as SnS used to offer so many selections. Not sure if this is the 'new thing' or just for a limited time. But I had my favorite non-sandwich item: the Chili Mac Supreme, and regular fries. Washed down with Iced Tea and a vanilla shake. Service was fine.

Steak 'n Shake's roots and Route 66 go hand-in-hand quite well on the eastern portion of the road. The first SnS location was literally on Route 66 in Bloomington (it is now a Monical's Pizza). I'm not really sure what made this place to be the classic location that it is, but it's all there for the nostalgia.

Our fave Steak and Shake in the USA!

We love the 1950s Route 66 vibe at this historic restaurant, plus all the great service, fresh steakburgers and handmade shakes that Steak & Shake is known for.

We recommend anyone who is into Route 66 make the drive into Springfield and stop here :)

5 nostalgic stars