The burger was 5 Star! And the onion rings were spot on! Very friendly service'. It was a great surprise to find on our jeep trip! read more

We're so thankful they serve breakfast all day! The food was excellent !! Service was excellent! This is a very casual and relaxed place with great folks. Eggs were perfect, excellent bacon, everything was great. read more

Great stop for a reasonable price. I love their breakfasts !!! Their biscuits and gravy are the best !!!

This was renamed Eagle's Nest after Carlene passed away. The big Carlene sign is still up but they added the Eagle's Nest sign and the menu says Eagle's Nest. Seems like they still offer all the same choices. I was hungry when I went in and even though I'd read all the other reviews and knew the portions were huge, we got an appetizer of boudin balls and I upgraded my chicken fried steak to include a loaded baked potato! It was a ridiculous amount of food and we ended up taking enough leftovers to feed us for at least another meal. We went in at around 4:15 and there were a few other tables filled with diners. Like others mentioned, the place is pretty clean for how old it is. The food and service were great! read more

Carlene's Place - The boudin balls after we each ate one! - Seafood Near Me - Zavalla, Texas

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Big plate of cat fish and good service even as the last customers on Sunday night. Roof my son that if we don't catch any gish. We are coming back here. Can't wait to try the Burger. read more

Carlene's Place - Erick with a mountain of Catfish - Seafood Near Me - Zavalla, Texas

I love this little cafe in my home town! It's called the Eagle's Nest now. Delicious comfort food, huge portions. We love the Friday night seafood buffet! Extra friendly staff too! read more

Not sure what name it goes by (eagles nest?) but regardless has good food. Love to call in orders and they are always hot and ready.

Great little country restaurant. Staff is friendly and the food is great. If you're a out of towner this is a place to go

We stopped at Carlene's Place when we saw a full parking lot on a Sunday afternoon. Apparently, there were a lot of locals dining since the staff was greetng them by name. Despite a nearly full dining room, service was polite and fast. There was a buffet that looked good, but I wanted a sandwich. My bacon cheeseburger was one of the best I have ever had. My girlfriend had a cheeseburger and said it was very delicious. There was a nice relaxed homey atmosphere. I highly recommend Carlene's Place and will be back soon. read more

Great burgers and some of the best fried catfish in the whole area. Terrific seafood buffet on Friday and Saturday

We enjoyed Carlenes place. Good food, good atmosphere. The ladies were very nice and helpful. Good restaurant.

Today my wacky work travels brought me to Zavalla, Texas. For those of you not familiar with this megametropolis, it's a town about the size of a postage stamp about halfway between Jasper and Lufkin. (Those of you who don't know where Jasper or Lufkin are... you're on your own.) Luckily for me, Zavalla has a little cafe where the waitress is super friendly and they have Diet Dr Pepper on tap. Carlene's Place has the typical tiny town issues of rather limited supplies of ingredients and indoor smoking permitted. That said, Carlene makes a delicious corn bread muffin. Healthy food isn't exactly popular in this small town, but Carlene fixed me up a vegetable plate without batting an eye. It was creamed corn, mashed potatoes and steamed carrots. Nothing special, but I appreciated that they were so accommodating. My coworkers had quesadillas and patty melts with onion rings. Everyone enjoyed their food. I can't recommend driving to Zavalla for the food, but if you ever find yourself in wandering in the woods, you could do a lot worse. read more

This is a good spot to grab a bite if you are passing through. They serve a good country-style buffet on Friday/Saturday evenings.

First thing you should know is that the ladies room is spotless. Why is this important? Because it's an old building that I'm sure is very difficult to clean. But there is none of the ancient embedded grime one usually sees- indicating a very long history of spotlessness. This is indicative of the whole restaurant. An older facility that is well taken care of by caring employees. Which leads me to the food. Simple southern cooking done with care and done right. The chicken fried steak had been beaten within an inch of its life and was really tender, crusted with a true fried chicken coating. I bet their chicken fried chicken is just as good. I got it with a baked potato, big and stuffed with butter and cheese, and big ol' chunks of bacon and sour cream if you request it. The salad bar was minimal but fresh (most important) but there's also small plates of banana pudding and red velvet cake! Who doesn't like red velvet cake on their salad bar? Hubby had the buffet with pork chops in an oniony gravy (tender, juicy, and flavorful), and some darn good collards. Creamy potatoes, corn cobbets, and pinto beans rounded it out (yeah, plenty of food for the money). Overall, it's a good place with homey tasty food and I would certainly eat here again. Maybe tomorrow? read more

Without a doubt the best fried catfish I've ever had !! Found this place last xmas when visiting from Indiana and now that I've relocated its a weekly stop !! Friendliest little mom and pop place your gonna find !!! read more

Date night at the lake. Seafood special good. Excellent service! We know they have steam table lunches but we have never been there at lunchtime. This place is a favorite with the locals and the visiting fishermen. Open for breakfast, lunch and dinner. read more

My wife and I are CA "foodies" who are staying in Zavalla while birding in the Big Thicket area. Which means that a lot of you locals reading this, at least the previous reviewers, as nice as y'all have been to us, probably won't believe me when I say we have been VERY pleasantly surprised by the good food and always excellent service we have received. The food is all "home style" and the ingredients are fresh and high quality. The weekend breakfast and dinner (supper?) buffets are a good deal, with a wide varity of choices. The shrimp, stuffed crab, ribs, beef stew, and southern-style cooked veggies and potatoes were just some of the great choices. I had a veggie omelette for breakfast that was great, and we were very happy with the huge burgers we ordered to go for lunch. Not one disappointing meal (unlike so many others we have had on this trip)! Who knew? read more