Wings, beer, and sports; Clay's Sports Cafe

When it's game day and you aren't planning on eating an overpriced hot dog at the stadium, having a local spot to go watch the game, have a beer, and enjoy some traditional bar food is the next best thing.  Actually, it's better than the stadium.  No traffic, no expensive beer and food, no lines for the toilet, no uncomfortable stadium seats... seems like a win/win to me.  For the casual night out to have a good time, cheer on your team, and make it home before 1 a.m., then Clay's Sports Cafe is a local gem.  If you don't know where Clay's is, you will probably drive right by it the first time you are looking for it.  It's in Sandy Springs off of Roswell Road, across the street from Pep Boys and next to Sandy Spring Lamp and Shade Center.  The entire restaurant seats about 60 people, tops and there is no official bar area, although they do serve alcohol.  The big screen TV 15 years old, their computer where they ring up to-go orders runs on MS-DOS, and there is typically one server working at a time.

That being said...

There are TV's mounted in every corner of the restaurant so that even if you aren't facing the big screen, you can still follow the game and most likely another game as well.  The person taking to-go orders is so freaking awesome on that DOS computer that they will never need to update because they get your order ready in 15 minutes no matter how busy it is, even on Super Bowl Sunday.  That's right.  I called in a to-go order on Super Bowl Sunday, 30 minutes before kick-off and they had it ready in 12 minutes.  They are bad ass.  And that one server waiting on the 60 people in the restaurant, she's awesome.  It's usually the same girl every night, and she doesn't have to write down a single thing but can keep all those middle-age men's drink and wing orders straight without missing a beat and talk baseball/football/hockey/soccer with the best of them.

The best part about Clay's is unassuming environment.  When you walk in, the decor has obviously been up since the early 90s, the paint is too dark, the place is too small, but its like that cozy La-Z-Boy recliner that people have been have been begging you to throw out but once they sit in it, they realize it's the best seat in the house.  Clay's is worn in just right so that it's a perfect mix of shabby comfort.  And for the food...

The wings are great.  They have a huge selection of flavors.  Just about every flavor has a hot option as well and you can opt for all flats or all drums if you so choose.  My personal fav is the hot honey mustard.  To go along with their unassuming decor, they serve their wings on a metal pizza tray so they can stack them up high so it's the same size tray for 10 wings or 50.  By the way, it's only $7 for 10 wings and fries!  I am also a big fan of the subs.  I can never finish them so I end up turning them into two meals by eating half of the sandwich and half of the heap of fries.  They have all the traditional bar fare that you would expect; onion rings, cheese sticks, pizza, jalapeno poppers, etc.  And they also deliver if you live within the area.  Great food, check.  Great value, check.  Great service, check.    Next time you are looking to get some friends together for a great time and you don't want to fight the crowd at Taco Mac and deal with the noise at Buffalo Wild Wings or pay the prices at Dantanna's, check out Clay's Sports Cafe.

Clay's Sports Cafe
6518 Roswell Rd
Atlanta, GA 30328
404-843-1233
http://www.clayssportscafe.com