Sandrina's Review

I kept passing this old 2-story brick building with the Sandrina's sign on my way home from the Schnucks off of Arsenal wondering what in the world was inside. I knew I had to try it because I always saw cars parked nearby and it was so close to home that it would be a great spot to go when Joe and I get into our "what do you want for dinner, no, what do you want for dinner, I don't care, no, I don't care" type of conversations.

On a recent Wednesday night we stopped in Sandrina's around 6pm. You enter directly into the bar area with many beers on tap. To the left of the bar area is a large dining room with a black and white checkered floor. Don't let the Buck Hunter video game scare you from sitting in the dining room, it is very peaceful on a weekday night. We were 1 of 4 tables and we choose to sit in one of their booths. It took quite some time for the one waitress to come get our drink order, 2 Sam Adams Summer Seasonals on draft please! I was worried our service for the whole evening would be awful but I was proven wrong. The one waitress walked around quickly and everyone seemed to be well taken care of, including us.

I was in the mood for chicken fingers (go figure, it is my go-to bar food order) until I saw that they had a 3 cheese grilled cheese sandwich. AH DECISIONS! Luckily Joe was in the mood for both of those things so we ordered them both and shared. The chicken fingers are huge and are covered in panko bread crumbs before frying. I think I had 3 chicken breasts on my plate instead of tenders so it was a great choice to split this item. The meat was moist and not dry. The chicken fingers come with any dipping sauce you would like, we had ranch and honey mustard. I would highly recommend the ranch, it was very good, creamy and had a lot of seasoning in it. The only odd thing about the chicken fingers it that they do not come with a side of anything (probably because it is an appetizer). 

HUGE chicken tenders!

Luckily the grilled cheese does come with a side of your choosing. The fries were advertised as being homemade so we had to try those and they were a great choice. You could still see the potato skins on the cut fries and then they were all sprinkled with parmesan cheese, yum! The grilled cheese was also fabulous as it was stuffed with cheddar, swiss and smoked gouda.

This photo says it all!

Joe and I were extremely satisfied with our meals and definitely happy we split so we were able to try both items. Sandrina's is also very reasonably priced $4.95 grilled cheese w/ fries, $6.95 chicken tenders, $3.75/Sam Adams Draft.

When I told my sister I ate here she reminded me that she too had eaten there, although at a much later time than 6pm. She informed me that this bar becomes jam packed after midnight. She claimed that they served the best cheese fries she has ever eaten. We confirmed this report with our waitress who said it is standing room only after midnight in both the bar and dining room! The kitchen opens at 4pm (sorry no lunch) and closes at 2am with the bar staying open until 3am. 

I hope you try out Sandrina's in South City, if you do, give me a call because I'll be up there in 5 minutes to steal some bites of your food and join you in a beer!