Last week was Bernardi’s 25th anniversary week. So I thought it only fitting to stop by and wish them a happy 25th birthday last Saturday night and have them be our 173rd bar of this 365 bar tour.

And so that’s exactly what I did!

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Bar Number 173: Bernardi’s, Saturday, July 25, 2026

Here we are at Bernardi’s in Washington, Illinois!

It’s their 25th birthday week, Happy Birthday, Bernardi’s!

I went in and the bar looked packed, I almost left, but decided to check out the other end of the bar…

And there was a couple of empty seats down there! I snagged one and settled in for the evening!

Braden was the friendly bartender on duty and he delivered me a bottle of Budweiser and took my dinner order.

Everything is moving along nicely on this Saturday evening in Washington, Illinois!

There’s the back of the bar and the half dozen beers on tap back there.

There’s tables and a Bernardi’s inscribed mirror opposite the bar.

The daily specials are listed on this board and Emma was the pretty hostess on duty for this Saturday evening.

This is the main dining room up in the front of the restaurant.

And there’s another dining area in the back over here.

There’s gaming machines opposite the bar up in the front and I love the sax next to the jukebox on the wall over here.

Meanwhile, back at the bar, it looks like our Saturday night dinner is just about to arrive!

And here it is, I got an order of the baked Mac-n-Cheese and an order of the Buffalo Wings. Everything looks and smells fantastic, time to dig in!

Wow, the Mac-n-Cheese was so delicious! It’s baked and topped with bread crumbs and it was a rich and tasty treat!

The Buffalo Wings were also a tasty treat.

They were breaded wings and seasoned with just the right amount of zing. This was a fabulous Saturday night dinner at Bernardi’s!

A band was playing on the front patio in honor of their 25th anniversary celebration and as you can see, there was a good crowd to cheer them on.

The band was The Nobodies from the Lake of the Ozarks and they were a fabulous band and entertained the crowd out here!

Stephanie, who owns Bernardi’s gave a nice talk and thanked all the employees who came out for this heartfelt toast. This was a nice moment in time!