Budget
Charlie Parker's
Extra tasty American diner food served in a quonset hut decorated with rock-n-roll memorabilia.
Cozy Dog Drive In
One of the original restaurants on historic Route 66. Their specialty is the Cozy Dog, a cornbread-encased wiener known elsewhere as a corn dog.
Feed Store
Known for their large selection of soups made fresh daily. Also serving sandwiches, salads and desserts.
Head West Sub Stop
Tasty submarine sandwiches and a jam-band soundtrack. These hippies can make a great sandwich.
Head West Sub Stop
Head West Sub Stop
Head West Sub Stop
Vic's Pizza
Thin crust pizza and a few basic pasta dishes.
Joe Roger's Chili
One of the classic Springfield chili parlors. Their chili is mixed to order with or without beans, with or without meat and available with six different levels of spiciness. Eat a bowl of the hottest style, the JR Special, and get your name on the wall. Yes, in Springfield it is proper to spell it with only one "l".
Maid-Rite Sandwich Shop
Classic fast food restaurant serving distinctive loose meat sandwiches of spiced ground beef. Claims to have the first drive-thru window in the country.
Midrange
Darcy's Pint
Typical Irish style pub with better than typical fare. They make a little extra effort with the food and it shows. Good place to try a horseshoe. Very busy at typical meal times.
Holy Land Diner
Vegetarian friendly restaurant offering Middle Eastern and Mediterranean food. Buffet served weekdays at lunch plus Friday and Saturday evenings. The Friday buffet contains some meat and the Saturday buffet is vegetarian. The hand made baklava is superb.
Incredibly Delicious
French inspired bakery and cafe with artisanal bread and tempting desserts located in a old Italianate house. Sandwiches, salads and quiches also served for lunch. All-butter croissants are a specialty.
Robbie's Restaurant
Frequented by businesspeople and politicians for great sandwiches and cocktails. Live Jazz during Friday evenings.
Saputo Twins Corner
Serving the same well-made basic Italian food that has remained a local favorite for decades.
Top end
Fritz's Wagon wheel
American style supper club serving steaks, seafood, ribs, etc.
Gateway to India
Indian Cuisine. The lunch buffet is tasty and economical.
Old Luxembourg Inn
Family owned steak house popular with locals and visiting politicians. In the 60+ years this restaurant has been open, the surrounding neighborhood has had ups and downs, but the Old Lux has remained consistently good.
One of the legendary food items that is part of the heritage of Springfield is the horseshoe sandwich. The horseshoe sandwich originated in Springfield, Illinois sometime in the early 20th century at the Leland Hotel. You can get horseshoe sandwiches at most Springfield restaurants, at some restaurants in central Illinois, and at a few restaurants in other parts of the state. Horseshoes are not generally served outside of Illinois.
A traditional horseshoe is two hamburgers each on a piece of toast with fries and cheese sauce over the top. Variations now include broiledor deep fried tenderloins, shaved ham, shaved chicken and even vegetarian variations. A pony shoe is half a horseshoe - a sufficient quantity for most people.