Two-Minute Review: The Repair Shop

Clinton bashin' and lasagna on East Kearney Street.

You can tell a lot about a restaurant by its location. Downtown eateries are hip, with a mish-mash of menu options. Southside restaurants are generally a bit more chilled out, if a bit more bland. And restaurants on East Kearney Street? They’re The Repair Shop and Saloon (2251 E. Kearney St., 417-866-8200). I mean, look at the size of that Keno sign!

But that’s not to say there’s something wrong with this mainstay bar and restaurant, far from it. Famous for its Walleye Wednesday fried fish special, The Repair Shop also offers sublime happy hour specials and karaoke.

The Thursday afternoon lunch crowd we shared the faintly smoke-scented dining room with was sparse. The sign at the door told us it was Thursday—lasagna day. My dining partner tried the special, and at $6.99 pronounced it a tasty (and spicy) bargain. I wish I had been as happy with my burger. $5.99 got me a cold patty with a barely melted slice of pepper jack. The service was a definite plus, however: our waitress was extremely pleasant and even caught a kitchen mistake (regular fries on my plate instead of curly ones) before she set down the plate. Good thing: the regular fries looked white and soggy; the curly ones were crispy and delicious.

With mixed opinions on the food, we left The Repair Shop’s vintage knick-knacks and working-class atmosphere as the deciding factors, and they’re winners. The colorful characters at the bar talked loudly about the evils of Bill Clinton and nepotism within B.B. King’s band (who knew?). Just think how much better those conversations would be during happy hour. Next time, that’s when we’ll go.