Reboot Social - Eau Claire, WI

Sunday, October 12, 2025

Reboot Social - Eau Claire, WI

A MUST HIT Arcade Restaurant in Eau Claire . . . BONUS Downtown Cinema at the end

The kid LOVES Can Can Wonderland in Saint Paul, so we had to stop in on our way back from Bonduel. Turns out the food was worth stopping in for too

An expansive signboard greets you outside with specials and events, then you'll walk in to find a bright clean bar area, and a slightly cavernous austere IKEA-ish dining area with nary a videogame in site

A well stocked game bookcase hangs on an astroturf wall with something for every one

Venture further you'll finally find some pinball machines in front of four lanes of duckpin bowling (have never played)

Downstairs is where the magic happens . . .

Videogames, more pinball, skeeball, bubble dome hockey, rod soccer, pool tables. I'd say a tidge skimpy on videogames, but you'll find enough to keep you interested

As for paying for said games . . . while it IS annoying that you have to pop in a quarters instead of paying admission for "all you can play", I just checked Can Can Wonderland's site, and it would have been $16 a piece for us. $48 / .25cents = 192 games we would have had to play to get our $16 each . . . which seems kind of crazy. So, I begrudginly admit that popping in quarters was a better value. And at least you don't have to buy tokens

How was the food? I'd come eat here even if there weren't arcade games. Yeah

Nashville Hot Chicken and Korean BBQ have passed trendy to become ubiquitous, and Reboot does a nice NHC. Excellent crunchy fried battered chicken overflowing a quality brioche bun. I loved the contrast with the house pickles and wish there were more. I asked the server to ask the kitchen to try to kill me with heat. Can't say they did, but a valient effort. Fantastic sandwich

The lady had the Walleye sandwich, and the taste I had was top notch

All the Kid's Menu items come with fries, fruit cup, and beverage. For only $8, which is a bargain. But it was half price for kids on Sundays, so this whole tray along with a Kiddie Cocktail was only $4! No wonder there were a number of people there with rugrats. And I truly appreciate an actual fresh cut fruit cup. If we lived in town? Trust me, we'd find ourselves here a bunch on Sundays

If I had to pick nits, I'd say that kiddos in general appear to hate crust (sadly mine included), and a large portion of the pizza is puffy crust that she didn't eat (not that I minded scoring the crust)

That leaves us lastly with excellent salad and an encouraging story . . .

I generally try to order us three a salad of some kind to share. Gotta get those greens in, right? And why not order a CBR Salad with bacon? "House greens, cucumbers, tomatoes, bacon, cheddar jack cheese, and grilled or crispy chicken. Served with our house-made ranch". Nicely presented, crisp veg, some beautiful bacon, and like the Nashville Hot, excellent crunchy fried battered chicken on top. A complete all around WINNER, except . . . lettuce butt as Gordon says . . .

I found the "dirt trap" bottom of the romaine heart. When the server came round, I didn't make a stink. Just asked her to pass on to the kitchen that this should always be tossed because it's nigh on impossible to clean. She returned shortly and said the manager agreed, said he'd talk with the kitchen, and took 20% off the salad. An absolutely perfect response. I didn't want it comped. We devoured that salad. But the gesture was appreciated. That's good management

A nice beer list, and a sizeable NA Beer selection, which was nice. And check out those prices. Those aren't happy hour prices, those are super reasonable for beverages out. All around a good value, and I hope to be back soon. Wish it wasn't an hour and a half away, because I think we'd go a handful of times a year

BONUS!

Across the street and down the block is the Downtown Cinema. As we were passing, they were in the midst of a summer long showing of eleven Star Wars movies AND an Anima Fest of nine movies. Heads up, they'll be showing all five Twilight movis from 10/29-11/2