Cracker Barrel Old Country Store

I love visiting this restaurant when I’m in the dells. Whether it’s for the food, shopping or just the experience with staff. I have never had a bad meal, the service has always been great and the shopping in retail is always a treat. I highly recommend.

I went to Cracker Barrel today to try their new menu item, the Butter Pecan French Toast Bake. Honestly, it was inedible—hard to chew, flavorless, and so disappointing that I couldn’t eat more than one bite. I went back to bring this up, and instead of handling the situation with care, the manager was completely rude and dismissive. No compassion, no empathy—just attitude. When he asked what I wanted to do, I requested a replacement and ordered the Daily Dish Chicken and Rice. The description says it comes with two sides, so I chose mashed potatoes. The manager then told me that the rice was a side. Really? Then why call it Chicken and Rice if the rice is just a side dish? Might as well rename it “Chicken with Sides.” When the food finally came, the portion size was ridiculously small—like something you’d serve a child. On top of that, the plating was a total mess, as if no one in the kitchen cared at all. Overall, this was one of the worst dining experiences I’ve had at Cracker Barrel. Between the inedible new menu item, the dismissive manager, and the sloppy food, it felt like the restaurant didn’t give a single thought to customer service or quality. Definitely not worth it.

Food was good, portions were decent, I'd say the price for quality was a great value. The little giftshop was nice and prices for items were fair. Only reason for 4 stars is the food came out to us at room temp. I'd still recommend and stop by again when in the area.

Long wait for food.

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 4

Service: 4

We always love cracker barrel

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Beware, you will never be seated if you check in online. The text clearly says to check in with the host when you arrive. She didn't take any action when I checked in and we never got seated. Clearly they don't understand how the online check-in system works. Many others waiting said they had a similar experience.

Service: 1

Food was good, service was very slow. Waited over 45 minutes for our order. They were not that busy. Others ordered after us and got their food before us.

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 5

Service: 2

Got me the chicken and dumplings and they are definitely good. My problem is they gave me it in the same bowl/plate as my sides so now it’s all mixed and basically a garbage plate and my Mac is soupy. Also I got the smallest amount of gravy on my potatoes… There was no Apple butter and the coffee machine was down… all around not a great experience.

Atmosphere: 2

Food: 1

Service: 1

As always, great food and great dining.

Atmosphere: 1

Food: 1

Service: 1

Another company gone woke.

Atmosphere: 1

Food: 1

Service: 1

Took forever for service. Took forever for food. Food was cold.

Atmosphere: 1

Food: 3

Service: 1

Hair in food cold food

After visiting the Kalahari, our family and I were dining at Cracker Barrel. Taylor, our waitress, was training a new hire. We ordered our food without any issues and made lighthearted remarks about someone’s food not being ready. Unfortunately, a few months ago, we experienced a similar situation. Approximately 15 minutes later, Taylor informed us that they were out of meatloaf. Consequently, two of our party members had to order additional food while the rest of us had already received their meals.

Meatloaf is a staple item at Cracker Barrel, and I am perplexed as to why it was not in stock during our visit. The meatloaf was part of their Monday special. Therefore, we are uncertain why they were out of meatloaf when we arrived at 5:00 PM. We politely requested to speak with a manager to address this issue.

Upon the manager’s arrival, he explained that he was assisting the kitchen staff due to a shortage of employees. While it is commendable that a manager is actively assisting, it is concerning that the wait staff has to bear the brunt of this communication breakdown. It appears that there is a lack of coordination between the front-of-house and the kitchen. He also stated that if they only make 5 meatloafs and they receive tickets after, they will not know until the tickets arrive.

As a result of the miscommunication, our two family members were not going to order food, as by the time they received their meals, the wait staff would have completed their orders. The manager offered to remove our meals from the bill, but we were not satisfied with this resolution, as we had not received the meals we had ordered.

Taylor went beyond this and apologized to us by taking out one lemonade out of bill. Since this has happened twice in less than a few months we probably won’t be returning

Ran out of food waited 20 minutes before they told us no meatloaf

They were very busy and our server was hoppin but he was excellent. This world needs more people like him. He was very nice and attentive. A true asset to Cracker Barrel. The food was wonderful as always and the coffee was perfect.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5