Ariston Cafe

Judy and I want to thank you for opening up your establishment and your hearts by allowing us to celebrate, what turned out to be, a very memorable birthday celebration. Your staff, the food, the atmosphere could not have been any more perfect for our little get together. As importantly… what other establishment in the US can you go into and be made to feel like family?

Enjoyed the food and service. Wife was very pleased with the blackened salmon and my quesadilla was better than some at Mexican restaurants. Lemon dessert was outstanding.

Hadn’t been here for years and lunch was a very nice experience. I ordered the pork tenderloin because it is a favorite sandwich and I wanted to see how it compared to my hometown variety. It was great, not too thick and very tender with an excellent breading. I’ve never had a better one! The four of us were all very happy with our orders and the setting and service were exceptional. I think a bit of formality in the wait staff and cloth napkins make a real nice touch for a café these days.

This place was a cross between a diner and supper club. I had an extremely friendly and attentive staff. I was quickly seated and always had full cups of water and ice tea. Dinner came with a salad bar. The salad bar was average some greens and common vegetables nothing out of the ordinary. I ordered the fried chicken dinner that came with toast, chicken, your choice of daily vegetables and soup. It seemed every time I turned around something was being taken away and more food was being served. The portions were small but good because they bring you lots of items. Salad, followed by soup and a roll, followed by your main course. Then they brought out the dessert tray. I was already full but when a pile of sugar is sitting in front of you, I choose the italian cake. It was extremely good, and then I was officially stuffed. Nice friendly staff, good food, historical atmosphere. If you are in the area and want some diner food, check this place out.

Route 66!
First time!
Good salad bar and amazing deserts.
Fun to take a photo behind the counter with 90 year old sign.
Truly authentic experience.

Had been told by so many people to stop here and SO glad I did. Salad bar items fresh and great variety– soups delicious, and extensive choices on the menu. Decided on fried chicken and was glad I did — amazing meal for the price. Could not pass up the tantalizing dessert tray and chose an amazing chocolate lava cake. Linen tablecloths and napkins, historic atmosphere and attentive service. Will make this a regular stop.
Dave — Chicago

This place is overpriced for what it is. The food quality is decent but I had a few complaints. First the salad bar didn’t have the standard items you would expect such as tomatoes or ham. The pieces of meat that look like ham bits actually taste like hot dog. Hmm.
The soup was decent.
The steak was a decent cut but they didn’t cook it the way I asked (medium well) and I thought the price was high.
The kids meals were ok, but they brought the wrong thing. They did fix it however when we complained.
The dessert menu was extensive and the family liked all of their choices.
So this is a place to stop off if you want a little bit of Americana, but judging by the age of the clientele and the quality of the food, I bet this place will be gone in 5 years.
We will not be going back.

Just looking for a café and came across this great restaurant. The food was just great and our server friendly and helpful. Still run by the same family that had it in 1926. Don’t leave without getting desert.

Since 1924! Best fried chicken and salad bar! Amazing history with same family owning! Looks exactly like it did in 1970s when I first started coming with my grandparents!

Great food and service. First time there. Logan was our server and took great care of us. Food I’d give a 4. Service a 5. Rounding up to a 5.

We stopped on a Friday night. They had several specials that all sounded wonderful but my husband & I had the regular pork chops and hamburger steak (bacon wrapped). I had Brussel sprouts with my meal and it was delicious! The décor and stories are worth the trip! The dessert tray looked awesome but we didn’t have room left to try one! Next time!

Fantastic service and food. Felt like we went back in time with all the great food and servers that love their jobs. Had the fried chicken, was crispy and moist on the inside. The cheese cake with strawberries are to die for. Will return the next time we head out to Alton.

Service was a little on slow side, however the delightful staff more than made up for it. The head staff was attentive to our needs with 3 kids one who was being disruptive. Boys said the corn dogs were awesome. I had the fried chicken that was very good.

Have eaten at this restaurant a several times while working in the area. Did not have anything that was better than mediocre at best. The food was slow to come out of the kitchen on more than half of my visits, food taste is blah not very well seasoned and the management was not attentive at all to food wait times, happiness with food quality.
The salad bar lacks selection of common items you would find at most salad bars. The price for the quality of food does not create a good value.
the only bright side was the service staff was friendly and hard working.

Historic Route 66 the Ariston Café sine 1924 has had many years of practice and it shows! This sweet stop on Route 66 has many desserts and good home cooking. We ended up here in a Sunday and did the brunch Buffett. Great fried Chicken and green beans… They are famous for the baklava… But had already run out for the day… So I am making plans to come back again to try this famous dessert!!!

I am glade this a one time stop. There was nothing special about this place. It might have been a Route 66 classic back in the day, but it is far from being one today. We had the Steak Lamia and Mostaccioli (pasta) and they both lacked flavor. The meals where already expensive to begin with but charging extra for pasta sauce is crazy! As for desert we had sticky toffee pudding, surprisingly it was good flavor. Even though the food lacked taste, the staff was very warm and welcoming.

My Mom is originally from Hillsboro. We were in town to visit family and go to Old Settlers. In all the years I have been to Hillsboro I don’t think I have ever been to Ariston or if I had it was so long ago I don’t remember. We were a large party of 14 and I want to give our waitress Sam a shout out because she dealt with everything like a pro. There is a pretty wide variety of entrees available and on both visits I took advantage of the included soup and salad bar.
One visit I had the fried chicken which was pretty good and another visit I had the halibut.
The dessert tray is kind of insane so save room for that.
If you have time and are stopping in Litchfield I would definitely make a point of coming here definitely one of the nicer options in the area!

Oldest restaurant on Route 66… check! Nostalgic atmosphere… check! Great place for a family gathering and good ol’ American food with great service. Ask for Jimmy to serve you, he was great!

The best food I have had on I-​55 between Stl and Springfield!
Excellent cuisine, terrific service and a quaint, small town atmosphere.
The term «café» is oddly placed in the name. This is not a true «café» in my eyes. It is a full service restaurant where you can get anything from steak to blt’s.
They serve alcohol, appetizers, entrees, sandwiches, salads and deserts so you have much to choose from.
I’ll be back for sure!

This is most certainly the best place to stop for a meal between Springfield and St. Louis. Admittedly, that isn’t saying much but this place is truly a gem. They’ve been around for decades, have that old-​time feel and produce really good food if you order right. Hint — ordering Mexican food here does not constitute ordering right.
Over the years I’ve tried a good number of their offerings while traveling I-​55 but on this occasion I had their french dip sandwich. I enjoyed the shaved beef and au jus but the sandwich was nothing too special. On previous visits I’ve had some really good steaks (try the NY strip with whatever topping most appeals to you), coconut shrimp, reuben sandwich, etc.
One note: do not leave this place without having dessert. They make most of the stuff themselves and it is always amazing. I’m not a big fan of tres leches cake but the wife thinks their version is amazing.