Was Worth the Trip!
- May 13, 2009
- Rated 4 of 5 by
missi_t from vidalia, Georgia
I'm from Vidalia, GA and came up for vacation this year. Our friends had previously only been to Spondivits once, but an unexpected event didn't lend them the opportunity to actually get a true Spondivit meal... So last night we were eating Chili's when she says we should go to Spondivits! She did warn us that we should expect to not have lunch because its a two meal price for the food... So I went expecting to spend about $25/plate regardless of what I ate. There was a bit of a wait and the hostess seemed a little spacey when it came to seating people. But we met some interesting people while waiting outside.. A vet from Auburn and this homeless guy who asked for some quarters...
anyway, It kind of looks like a bar that you go sit down and eat seafood at Very laid back and loud at the same time. By the time we got comfortable in our seats I had forgotten what a long wait we had to be seated... You honestly can get a decent sized basket of fries and seafood for around $13-$15. I ddn't want fried food, though... So I opted for some kind of ultimate platter with crab legs, oysters, shrimp, tuna salad and coleslaw. At first glance I didn't think it was worth $25... I got 4 steamed oysters and about 6 shrimp oh and i forgot to mention the small lobster tail... the shrimp were HUGE! and the crab legs were plentiful! Once I really got started on everything i felt like it really was worth the money, especially as fresh as it tasted. We all agreed that next time we come up we have to come back to Spondivits and each of us order a bucket of something and all of us share. The only thing I felt was really missing after the great food and beach party atmosphere was no beach with crashing waves outside!! That was all that was missing! It was a GREAT overall experience.
Editor Pick
Spondivits
- August 24, 2006
- Rated 5 of 5 by
brianestadt from McKeesport, Pennsylvania
When you hear “wooden floors,” do images of polished, gleaming pine or maple come to mind? If so, clear your head of that nonsense immediately. At Spondivits, the atmosphere is what I like to call “genuine Southern shack.” In not trying to create ambiance, Spondivits (est. 1979) has acquired it the hard way — it’s earned it. The wooden floors (and walls and tables, for that matter) are the type you’d expect to find in shack in the bayou — old, distressed, and obviously witness to lots of living. The “windows” have the same personality — unscreened rectangles of space that allow the breeze to pass through unimpeded. When it rains, sheets of rolled plastic are lowered to keep you dry.
But enough about its character. You want to know about the food, right? Well, when we got there, there was a waiting list for tables. The bar was full, so a lot of people were standing outside with drinks in hand. A waitress came outside to take drink orders, and the missus and I were thirst for Long Island ice teas. When we both ordered one, the waitress recommended splitting a $20 30-ounce LIIT. When the giant goblet arrived with two straws, we realized we’d made the right choice. But as we sucked down the delicious drink, the clouds overhead let loose a heavy downpour. Flattening ourselves against the wall of the building kept us mostly dry, but eventually we squeezed our way inside and hung out until our table was ready.
Curious as to just how good clam chowder from the South could be, I decided to test the menu’s boast of quality. Given how good the restaurant smelled, I shouldn’t have doubted. The New England clam chowder, my wife and I agreed, was the absolute best we’ve ever had. It’s easy to see why the recipe twice won first prize in a chowder contest in Cape Cod. The rest of dinner was almost as good. I got a bucket of lobster tails and snow-crab legs, my wife got a bucket of the crab legs. With two mammoth drinks, two soups and the buckets, our bill came to around $120 ($40 in alcohol), if I recall correctly.
The restaurant was recommended to me by a flight attendant who would often stay at a hotel around the corner. Flight attendants always know the best airport-area places to stay and eat, and this was a prime example. Spondivits is an absolute must if you’re overnighting in Atlanta on a layover.
From journal Atlanta, as Seen During an Overnight Layover