Willie's in Columbia, Missouri: Great for a Night Out Drinking and a Game of Pool

It is not always easy to find a place to play pool, eat good food, and have a few drinks all in the same place, but you can if you go to Willie's in Columbia, Missouri. Two visits to Willie's can produce two very different experiences.

One visit, on a Wednesday night, was excellent. A pool table is almost always open because Willie's has so many, yet you do not feel as if you are playing on top of the next table. Benches and tables set along the wall give you a nice place to relax while you are waiting for your turn or eat some of Willie's excellent food. The server was very attentive and lively and had no problem keeping up with our table on a night with several other customers. Chicken Strips with Cottage Fries we're shared by our group. There is nothing special about Willie's chicken strips, their hot wings are what is talked about, but they were still very good, especially when washed down with a couple of beers. What is distinctive about the meal were the Cottage Fries, a part of the Willie's experience that I cannot do without.

The Cottage Fries were the only item on my second trip the next week that produced as good a feeling as the first. Willie's seemed like a good place for a lunch with friends. We arrived around noon on a Thursday. It was my friends first time and she loved the pub-like atmosphere of Willie's.

The tables are small and intimate. This was even more important on this visit because the music was up so loud that we had trouble having a conversation for the first few minutes until it was turned down.

There were four other tables with customers and a customer at the bar when we arrived. Our server promptly took our drink order. She was not unfriendly but she didn't chat and was not as near as lively as our server the previous week.

This visit I ordered a Club sandwich with the Cottage Fries I had been thinking about since the week before. I asked for the cheese to be taken off the sandwich due to a milk allergy and my meal arrived just as I asked. The sandwich was, once again, nothing spectacular, but good nonetheless.

Our server did everything as she was supposed to but a place like Willie's should have more upbeat servers. Both visits were good and for a night out of drinking and a game of pool, Willie's may be the best place in Columbia, Missouri but next time our lunch date may be elsewhere.