Stadia Sports Grill is quickly becoming a favorite hangout among many in Katy, and we have been there a few times ourselves. It is in the new Villagio Center in the Cinco Ranch area, which is full of cute shops, great restaurants, and even has live music on weekends. It’s a great place to make a whole evening of dinner, dessert, and chatting.

Stadia has everything that you would expect to find in a good Sports Bar, including a ton of TV’s, lots of beer, and gorgeous waitresses (prettier than Hooters girls, but with better outfits), but still maintains a very family friendly atmosphere. By our count, they have at least 25 TV’s, and every seat in the place has a good view of at least 4 of them.

Some of our favorite dishes are the stadium nachos, chicken wings, and the mushroom swiss burger.

The cheese, meet, and pico de gallo on the stadium nachos are of high enough quality that you don’t feel sick to your stomach, but not so high that they seem haughty and pretentious. Our favorite part about them is that it’s a pile of chips covered in meet and cheese, the way nachos ought to be done, rather than the “8 individual crafted nachos” that seem to populate most restaurants these days. At 6$/plain, 7$/chicken, and 8$/beef, the Stadia nachos are a great deal as an appetizer, and are enough to make a full meal.

The chicken wings are well cooked and very saucy, and not dry at all. They have enough choices to allow for some variety (our favorites are the medium and honey bar-b-q), but not so many choices that it becomes overwhelming. Make sure you stay away from the “boneless wings” though, which cost the same amount, but are just processed chicken meat mashed back together into a nugget shape. I’d prefer McDonald’s nuggets over Stadia’s boneless nuggets! It’s probably best to clarify that you would like the bone-in wings, because we’ve been brought the boneless on accident once or twice. The wings are a pretty good price, at 10/7$ or 25/16$.

The mushroom Swiss burger is very delicious, covered with nicely sautéed mushrooms and great Swiss cheese. The meat has a great flavor to it, although the burgers are sometimes more medium-well than medium rare like we like them. But the burger does come with a mountain of fries, and will surely leave you feeling stuffed.

Stadia also has a few more sophisticated choices than many sports bars, including grilled salmon, shrimp kabobs, calamari, and top-notch steaks. The tortilla soup is also great as a starter. Some of their entrees are a great deal, but some can be a little pricey.

The wait staff, besides being very attractive, is super friendly. They’re very attentive and are always checking in without being overbearing (unless, of course, you want them to be overbearing). They also do a very nice job of helping each other out, so it’s not like many restaurants where they’re so cut-throat for tips that they won’t get drinks for each others’ tables. We’ve been in a large group before (40+ people, including lots of small children), totally unannounced, and they handled it very well. Everyone’s food got out great, and everyone still got plenty of drink refills.

Stadia is definitely on my list of kid-friendly restaurants. The bar area is well separated from the non-smoking section, which is definitely a plus for a sports bar. They have a few video games, a solid kids menu, and every Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday, kids eat free with a sports uniform.

Stadia also has a ton of specials throughout the week. Besides kids eating free 3 days a week, medical professionals get ½ off Monday lunches, wings are only 35 cents on Tuesdays, Ladies Night on Thursdays, and happy hour from 4-7. Click here for a full calendar of their events.

We also appreciate restaurants that give back to their communities, and Stadia generously supports local youth sports teams.

Overall, we give Stadia an 8 out of 10. Positives: Kid AND adult friendly, excellent for bar food, hot waitresses, great atmosphere, lots of specials, good selection. Negatives: Inconsistent cooking on meat, boneless nuggets are terrible, a bit pricey without the specials.