So I don’t understand why this chicken got a James beard award? I’m a total foodie and have eaten at many michelon star restaurants all over the world so when I heard about a local chicken joint being recognized.. I had to try it. We just got the chicken takeout since most of the reviews complain about the service and the sides. Hmmmmm..chicken was good but not great. Not award worthy. It’s just average fried chicken with a good amount of spices but was lacking salt. I would say they must use organic non gmo chicken due to the small size which I appreciate but definitely NOT going out of your way for.
Recommended dishes: Pan Fried Chicken
Donald Scribner
Best chicken I've ever had.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Fried Chicken Dinner
Dave A.
So we haven't been here for a couple of months and once again we were pleased with the James Beard approved restaurant. They were very busy when we arrived but we were quickly seated in the German beer accented bar area. While the price has increased for a family style fried chicken dinner, we were once again treated to their award winning chicken along with all you can eat slaw, mashed potatoes w/gravy and green beans. If you haven't already tried Wagner's, what are you waiting for?
Nicole S.
Wagner's Village Inn is the recipient of a James Beard award. Wow! Once I heard that, of course I had to visit. How neat is it that a small Indiana restaurant receives such a prestigious food award? The fried chicken at Wagner's is possibly the best fried chicken I've eaten in Indiana. Them Jimmy Beard people know what they're talking about! The chicken is highly seasoned (lots and lots of pepper) and fried in hog fat. If you like crispy chicken skin like I do, you will like this chicken because there are lots of crackly bits to savor. The chicken is piled high on a plate if you get the family-style chicken meal. The family meals are 1/2 of a chicken per person, with mashed potatoes and gravy, green beans and coleslaw. The sides are all-you-can-eat, but for what it's worth, I felt like they gave me a lot with my first serving, so I never asked for a second. The coleslaw comes out first by itself, almost like an appetizer, and then the other sides are served with the chicken. The green beans tasted like they came from a can, so they were not my favorite. Kind of squishy and mealy. I did enjoy the mashed potatoes and gravy, though, and that side dish went really well with the slightly greasy fried chicken. They have a kids' menu, which my children insisted on ordering from. Kids' meals all come with apple sauce, inexplicably. My kids got fried mac-and-cheese bites, and chicken nuggets with wedge fries, and they were both just "meh" about their kids' meals. I really feel like Wagner's shines with one thing: fried chicken. Everything else just can't compare and is just fine. We visited on a weekend, late in the morning before the crowds. There weren't many people in the restaurant, but the service was incredibly slow, considering! I hope they pick up the pace when they are more busy. Wagner's definitely feels like an institution in Oldenburg -- lots of local-looking people pulled up to the booths, and many more walking in as we were exiting.
Cherie Brown
Delicious hot crispy chicken on a Sunday afternoon! Can't get any better! Highly recommend!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Pan Fried Chicken
Karen Zimmerman
Just had a late lunch here with family. A halfway point between most of us. We were welcomed and made to feel at home! The food was yummy, the atmosphere relaxing, and the service friendly and excellent. Thanks for making our gathering so enjoyable!!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Pan Fried Chicken, Family Style Chicken Dinner, Fries, Fried Chicken Dinner, Green Beans Mashed Potatoes, Mashed Potatoes and Gravy
Jay Fields
There were 6 adults a 5 month old and an 18 month old in our party. We were seated fairly quickly, we did have a reservation. We all ordered the family style fried chicken. You get a half chicken and unlimited sides. When our food came out the sides were decent and the chicken was excellent. We ordered 3 whole chickens between us and 6 of those pieces were backs that have virtually no meat on them. We were short on thighs and breast. After the meal we got our checks which were split between 3 couples. There was an automatic 20% gratuity added because of being a party of 8. They counted the 2 kids in party size even though they ate nothing and had nothing to drink. When asked the waitress said yeah that’s just the way it is here. She also said well at least you don’t have to worry about trying to figure up how much to leave on the table. The waitresses never really checked on us and if we needed something we had to flag them down every time. The bill for 2 people one drinking a tea and the other water was 48 dollars and change.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 3
Recommended dishes: Pan Fried Livers or Gizzards, Pan Fried Chicken
Ward En
Lots of solid food options that will surely make you feel satisfied. The friend chicken is my fave with how delicious favor is and how juicy the meat is.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Fried Chicken Dinner
terrence kiep
The Chicken was worth the hour drive, but the sides were cold and had to be re heated. The service was awful and will not bring us back a second time.
They add black pepper to the batter in their fried chicken. Food is always spot on (and so is the Warsteiner’s Dunkle ?) whenever we go!Can’t beat their prices or the quality of their food!
The chicken was very good, though too bad we had to each order a half chicken to get the renowned breading. Also,. there was a back included in the half chicken. There is no meat on a back. No choice of sides, you get what you get. The slaw was good, mashed potatoes were ok, may be the best gravy we have ever had! Green beans were horrid. Not worth the road trip we took to try the "best fried chicken in Indiana"
Susan A.
Honestly, hubby and I were not impressed. We appreciated the old time charm and legacy of the restaurant, but I guess with them being an award winner and all, we thought the food would be really good or even amazing. I think our expectations were set too high. My husband ordered the unbreaded chicken thighs. I ordered the Wagner salad, which my served said contained their famous chicken. Hubby said his thighs were good, but the green beans were canned, the slaw unremarkable. My salad was all bagged iceberg with some diced pink "grocery store" tomatoes, unappetizing chunks of strong white onion, a sprinkle of orange cheese, a little bit of bacon, and a half handful of fried chicken skin, cartilage, and breading. I didn't have more than one or two bites of actual chicken meat. The Lance Crackers brought to the table were stale and the small plastic pot of ranch dressing was warm. Looking around the room, we did see some people sharing big platters of fried chicken, but with the same green beans plus mashed potatoes. Couldn't tell if the potatoes were instant or not, but the people seemed to be enjoying the chicken...at least the quantity of it. The restaurant itself was definitely dated and kind of run down. We liked seeing some of the vintage items, but my husband noticed water stains on the ceiling, and general lack of attention and updating. Service Was fine. Our server did as expected and was pleasant. I'm not sure that we would have the desire to dine here again. Maybe we would consider takeout chicken only, but we wouldn't order sides, or any other menu item, other than the fried chicken. We have been to some pretty shabby hole in the wall places with outstanding food, but we just didn't find that here. We feel sad about that. Seems they held on to the fried chicken legacy but let everything else go.
Darlene Wright
Very pricey for the food. Waited forever for drink order to be taken. Drove 40 minutes to get livers only to be told they were out. Pretzel bites so over done they couldn't be torn apart. Won't waste my gas going back. 4 of us we'll over 100 dollars without desserts or alcohol.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 1
Service: 1
Kerry Lyons
Great place for pan fried chicken ? ?.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Fried Chicken Dinner
Richard Passey
Same cast iron pans for fifty years. Great fried chicken.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Family Style Chicken Dinner, Cobbler
So I don’t understand why this chicken got a James beard award? I’m a total foodie and have eaten at many michelon star restaurants all over the world so when I heard about a local chicken joint being recognized.. I had to try it. We just got the chicken takeout since most of the reviews complain about the service and the sides. Hmmmmm..chicken was good but not great. Not award worthy. It’s just average fried chicken with a good amount of spices but was lacking salt. I would say they must use organic non gmo chicken due to the small size which I appreciate but definitely NOT going out of your way for.
Recommended dishes: Pan Fried Chicken
Best chicken I've ever had.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Fried Chicken Dinner
So we haven't been here for a couple of months and once again we were pleased with the James Beard approved restaurant. They were very busy when we arrived but we were quickly seated in the German beer accented bar area. While the price has increased for a family style fried chicken dinner, we were once again treated to their award winning chicken along with all you can eat slaw, mashed potatoes w/gravy and green beans. If you haven't already tried Wagner's, what are you waiting for?
Wagner's Village Inn is the recipient of a James Beard award. Wow! Once I heard that, of course I had to visit. How neat is it that a small Indiana restaurant receives such a prestigious food award? The fried chicken at Wagner's is possibly the best fried chicken I've eaten in Indiana. Them Jimmy Beard people know what they're talking about! The chicken is highly seasoned (lots and lots of pepper) and fried in hog fat. If you like crispy chicken skin like I do, you will like this chicken because there are lots of crackly bits to savor. The chicken is piled high on a plate if you get the family-style chicken meal. The family meals are 1/2 of a chicken per person, with mashed potatoes and gravy, green beans and coleslaw. The sides are all-you-can-eat, but for what it's worth, I felt like they gave me a lot with my first serving, so I never asked for a second. The coleslaw comes out first by itself, almost like an appetizer, and then the other sides are served with the chicken. The green beans tasted like they came from a can, so they were not my favorite. Kind of squishy and mealy. I did enjoy the mashed potatoes and gravy, though, and that side dish went really well with the slightly greasy fried chicken. They have a kids' menu, which my children insisted on ordering from. Kids' meals all come with apple sauce, inexplicably. My kids got fried mac-and-cheese bites, and chicken nuggets with wedge fries, and they were both just "meh" about their kids' meals. I really feel like Wagner's shines with one thing: fried chicken. Everything else just can't compare and is just fine. We visited on a weekend, late in the morning before the crowds. There weren't many people in the restaurant, but the service was incredibly slow, considering! I hope they pick up the pace when they are more busy. Wagner's definitely feels like an institution in Oldenburg -- lots of local-looking people pulled up to the booths, and many more walking in as we were exiting.
Delicious hot crispy chicken on a Sunday afternoon! Can't get any better! Highly recommend!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Pan Fried Chicken
Just had a late lunch here with family. A halfway point between most of us. We were welcomed and made to feel at home! The food was yummy, the atmosphere relaxing, and the service friendly and excellent. Thanks for making our gathering so enjoyable!!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Pan Fried Chicken, Family Style Chicken Dinner, Fries, Fried Chicken Dinner, Green Beans Mashed Potatoes, Mashed Potatoes and Gravy
There were 6 adults a 5 month old and an 18 month old in our party. We were seated fairly quickly, we did have a reservation. We all ordered the family style fried chicken. You get a half chicken and unlimited sides. When our food came out the sides were decent and the chicken was excellent. We ordered 3 whole chickens between us and 6 of those pieces were backs that have virtually no meat on them. We were short on thighs and breast. After the meal we got our checks which were split between 3 couples. There was an automatic 20% gratuity added because of being a party of 8. They counted the 2 kids in party size even though they ate nothing and had nothing to drink. When asked the waitress said yeah that’s just the way it is here. She also said well at least you don’t have to worry about trying to figure up how much to leave on the table. The waitresses never really checked on us and if we needed something we had to flag them down every time. The bill for 2 people one drinking a tea and the other water was 48 dollars and change.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 3
Recommended dishes: Pan Fried Livers or Gizzards, Pan Fried Chicken
Lots of solid food options that will surely make you feel satisfied. The friend chicken is my fave with how delicious favor is and how juicy the meat is.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Fried Chicken Dinner
The Chicken was worth the hour drive, but the sides were cold and had to be re heated. The service was awful and will not bring us back a second time.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 3
Service: 1
Recommended dishes: Fried Chicken Mashed Potatoes and Gravy, Fried Chicken Dinner
They add black pepper to the batter in their fried chicken. Food is always spot on (and so is the Warsteiner’s Dunkle ?) whenever we go!Can’t beat their prices or the quality of their food!
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 3
Recommended dishes: Family Style Chicken Dinner
Restaurantji Recommends
The chicken was very good, though too bad we had to each order a half chicken to get the renowned breading. Also,. there was a back included in the half chicken. There is no meat on a back. No choice of sides, you get what you get. The slaw was good, mashed potatoes were ok, may be the best gravy we have ever had! Green beans were horrid. Not worth the road trip we took to try the "best fried chicken in Indiana"
Honestly, hubby and I were not impressed. We appreciated the old time charm and legacy of the restaurant, but I guess with them being an award winner and all, we thought the food would be really good or even amazing. I think our expectations were set too high. My husband ordered the unbreaded chicken thighs. I ordered the Wagner salad, which my served said contained their famous chicken. Hubby said his thighs were good, but the green beans were canned, the slaw unremarkable. My salad was all bagged iceberg with some diced pink "grocery store" tomatoes, unappetizing chunks of strong white onion, a sprinkle of orange cheese, a little bit of bacon, and a half handful of fried chicken skin, cartilage, and breading. I didn't have more than one or two bites of actual chicken meat. The Lance Crackers brought to the table were stale and the small plastic pot of ranch dressing was warm. Looking around the room, we did see some people sharing big platters of fried chicken, but with the same green beans plus mashed potatoes. Couldn't tell if the potatoes were instant or not, but the people seemed to be enjoying the chicken...at least the quantity of it. The restaurant itself was definitely dated and kind of run down. We liked seeing some of the vintage items, but my husband noticed water stains on the ceiling, and general lack of attention and updating. Service Was fine. Our server did as expected and was pleasant. I'm not sure that we would have the desire to dine here again. Maybe we would consider takeout chicken only, but we wouldn't order sides, or any other menu item, other than the fried chicken. We have been to some pretty shabby hole in the wall places with outstanding food, but we just didn't find that here. We feel sad about that. Seems they held on to the fried chicken legacy but let everything else go.
Very pricey for the food. Waited forever for drink order to be taken. Drove 40 minutes to get livers only to be told they were out. Pretzel bites so over done they couldn't be torn apart. Won't waste my gas going back. 4 of us we'll over 100 dollars without desserts or alcohol.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 1
Service: 1
Great place for pan fried chicken ? ?.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Fried Chicken Dinner
Same cast iron pans for fifty years. Great fried chicken.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Family Style Chicken Dinner, Cobbler