Even though I've driven by Cheddar's for the past seven years, I've never stopped in. After this visit, I'm pretty sure it won't happen again and I should have followed my initial instinct when I walked through the doors. The faint stale, musty odor was one I've always found off-putting and would normally have sent me backing up in the same direction I had come in. However, I was hungry. I didn't want drive thru food. There weren't a lot of other options. And it was my first experience with the restaurant. It was after the lunch hour so seating wasn't an issue. In spite of the initial odor, the place looked clean. I was greeted right away by my server, Rein, who was young, cute and bouncy. When I asked what he would recommend, based not on price but what he himself would like, he quickly made a couple of suggestions and from those it was understandable why he was so slim. White fish, grilled skinless chicken breast, no fats, with the exception of ranch dressing on the baked potato, and nothing breaded or fried. So I naturally ordered just the opposite. Baby back ribs with grilled shrimp, baked potato and green beans, which Rein assured me was a great choice as the beans were fresh and cooked in bacon grease. Cut to the chase ... the ribs were so overcooked and dry they were more like jerky than actual jerky (I did manage to find two small bites which were fatty and moist); the green beans were definitely not fresh beans but rather canned and if they had been cooked in bacon grease, it was bacon grease with a very healthy dose of sugar added; the baked potato was extremely dry (even with the addition of the aforementioned ranch dressing) and I'm sure it was leftover from at least the previous day if not two days before. The four small grilled shrimp were okay but certainly nothing outstanding. They were served on a small pile of plain white rice which was sweetened by the overflow of sweet bacon grease green beans. When I questioned Rein why the beans were sweet, he replied he wasn't sure because he had never tried them. He didn't like green beans. I can guarantee I would have said the same about these beans. So, all in all, the only positives I can give Cheddar's, in my opinion, are the ice tea (half and half - half sweet, half plain), the bread which was two small fresh yeast rolls drizzled with honey butter (what IS their obsession with sweet?!) and Rein, my server, who really was the only deserving sweet point. Next time I'll opt for the fast food drive thru and bypass this restaurant. read more

Well this location came in clutch during a dance competition. It had been a long day and everything around the convention center was packed, and we showed up and were pleasantly surprised. We got a booth right away. Our server took fantastic care of us. Our food was hot, fresh and tasty. If we are at in the area at a competition or at the outlets we will definitely be back. read more

Cheddar's Scratch Kitchen - Chips and salsa - American Near Me - San Marcos, Texas

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Chedder' Scratch Kitchen is a good place to go for a bite to eat. The prices are reasonable. The menu has a good selection for all. The staff is very friendly. Service was good. The restaurant has a good selection of tables for meal there. read more

It was really good I ate the queso fries it was really good also ate a little bit of it with ranch chefs kiss would go back if I had nowhere else to eat read more

Cheddar's Scratch Kitchen - Strawberry lemonade - American Near Me - San Marcos, Texas

The food was satisfactory and relaxed ambience. Service is okay. Sometimes food quality varies from good to great. read more

I like starting off here with their "Trio Sampler", but be aware that it punches thousands of calories! It comes with queso and chips, chicken tenders, and spinach dip. I got the grilled whitefish, which came with lots of fish, but fewer calories than the fried food I already had on my appetizer. I got the fish blackened, which came out really good. The entree comes with two sides, which makes it tailored to your taste. read more

Located by the outlets. Despite being pretty busy, we were seated right away. It was near the end of the lunch shift so there were maybe two empty tables with dishes but overall establishment was considered clean. Service was good, our waiter was very attentive. When I found a piece of hair on my monte cristo sandwich, the manager immediately removed the dish from our bill and came by to apologize. Overall a good experience despite the hair in my food. read more

Cheddar's Scratch Kitchen - Monte Cristo - American Near Me - San Marcos, Texas

Our server, Christy, was fantastic. She checked up on us periodically and gave us more time as needed since we were way too chatty and weren't focused on the menu. My one pet peeve, which is completely out of the control of the venue, are other people coughing up a lung. The saving grace is that the booths have high backs so I couldn't see where it was happening, it's just really gross and rude and makes it hard to enjoy a meal. Off my soapbox. The menu offers a lot of variety and very reasonable prices. I ordered the Key West Chicken and Shrimp. It's was a nice grilled chicken with four or five pieces of grilled shrimp over rice with a pineapple pico plus two sides. I opted for the baked potato and steamed broccoli. The food was tasty, the portion was very generous. The baked potato was on point and the broccoli had a nice bite and wasn't overly cooked. Everything was seasoned nicely and cooked well. I'm not generally a fan of casual chain dining, but this was pretty good and I would come back. I'm a sucker for a great baked potato. Plus the service was great! read more

Soooo sooo goood My first time visiting Austin (San Marcos) and my uncle took us here Jessica was our server and she's fantastic beyond! Kudos to her for a superstar job! Very welcoming!! Place is cozy and clean! Note: Not sure why my photos didn't show up I had so many - darn Food is exceptional!! read more

The service (Sydney) was great from the onion rings to the chicken pot pie to the chicken fried steak.. It was very delicious.. read more

Strawberry lemonade was so refreshing! Buffalo chicken wrapper with fries was just ok. The entire wrap fell apart because it was too hard of a tortilla. I ended up just eating the chicken on its own, which was spicy (which I like) read more

Cheddar's Scratch Kitchen - American Near Me - San Marcos, Texas

Good stop for a quick dinner and drinks. Service is always great, fast and food is ok. Will always return when looking for a quick dinner and drinks. read more

The food was great, for a great price! Better than across the freeway aCracker Barrell, and for a much better price. read more

Cheddar's Scratch Kitchen - Their lightly frosted, buttery croissants! - American Near Me - San Marcos, Texas

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Our bartender was great! I wish we got her name but she kept us entertained during the end of her bar shift. Cheddars is always a classic and you can't go wrong with the queso or croissants. Quick service and good food. read more

Cheddar's Scratch Kitchen - Grilled Chicken Alfredo - American Near Me - San Marcos, Texas

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Staff were friendly , pretty slow. Only 2 other People inside. Drive thru had a few cars. Ordered a Double Big Bacon Classic. Don't think that's what I got. Should have checked there but was just ready to leave read more

Cheddar's Scratch Kitchen - Wrong burger - American Near Me - San Marcos, Texas

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Ate lunch at Cheddars in San Marcos today and was very disappointed. The Chicken Sandwich was over cooked and the bun was so hard i couldn't eat it. My wife Han red beans and rice, the rice was undercooked. The waitress checked on us once and when she as told the issues with the food she said "Oh sorry " read more

So we stopped by here on the way home from a volleyball tournament. The hostess was friendly and sat us quickly and our waitress was amazing!! My only disdain is the section we were seated in was dirty there was stuff all over the floor. Secondly, I understand that closing duties must be performed but we were the only table in our section when this employee started vacuuming while constantly being on her phone. We could barely hear each other. We didn't get a chance to eat due to it storming so we opted for Togo boxes and again our server was amazing and brought out to go containers quickly. Even though we didn't get to eat on location our food was still delicious once we made it home and warmed it back up. read more

Cheddar's Scratch Kitchen - American Near Me - San Marcos, Texas

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Tired of texmex and burgers? I highly recommend this place! Food fresh, hot. Staff very friendly. Great location near big HEB. Great pricing too! read more

Cheddar's Scratch Kitchen - Falafel wrap - American Near Me - San Marcos, Texas

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I had signed up for their E-Club expecting a free chips and queso coupon, as advertised online. I received the email prior to arriving to the restaurant where it said that my next email would receive the coupon, so I didn't think anything of it. When I ordered it, I mentioned the E-Club, and they brought it out--but I was never asked to show a coupon before ordering or before the appetizer came out and we started eating, which I thought was weird to begin with. Later, I was told I had to pay since I didn't have a coupon. I was frustrated because I wouldn't have ordered or eaten the appetizer if I had known I needed to present a coupon. I was a bit inconvenienced and only offered feedback to improve this process, but I was willing to pay regardless. Unfortunately, the manager acted like she couldn't care less about what I was saying. She seemed like my confusion and disappointment were just too inconvenient to bother with. I was also told that the coupon could take weeks to come in, something that is not communicated online. It was ridiculous. The food and service were good, but the manager's attitude was disappointing. read more

Writing this in real time. This is my first and last time eating at Cheddar's. If I could give negative stars I would. Don't eat here! Between the slow/no existent service, the forgotten food and the filthy silverware (see pic ), don't waste your money. It took 15 minutes to order drinks and another 10 before they arrived. We ordered spinach dip. It came out lukewarm. We never received our croissants, though we asked for them multiple times, including asking the manager. Our kids meal never came out. When our food finally arrived I went to eat my pot pie and the silverware was used!! Literally covered in someone's leftover food . The spoon that came out with the pot pie had food on it, my friend scraped it off with her nail and showed our server. I want to vomit. We sent everything back. Now I've gotta find somewhere else to eat. read more

Cheddar's Scratch Kitchen - Used silverware I received with my food - American Near Me - San Marcos, Texas

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I haven't had cheddar's for a while! Had a gift card from Christmas and glad we chose to come here ! I got on the waitlist on website . Only sat for like 2 minutes while they checked in the line that line of people that were walking in behind me and clearing some tables. The vibes were great! Our server Alexis was amazing! Very helpful in decision making with the fish I wanted and very attentive! Food was delicious as usual and the croissants very phenomenal!!! read more

Cheddar's Scratch Kitchen - American Near Me - San Marcos, Texas

12/7/25 at 1:22pm. We and another couple had lunch. Waitress was nice but maybe not trained well or had to many customers to handle. When she brought our lunch, my baked potato was between cool and warm and basically no butter in it. I asked for more butter but was halfways through eating by the time she brought the butter. The butter was in a small bowl but was so cold it would not have melted in the potato. She also brought the Cream gravy in a bowl which that was ok, but it was water thin. That is on the cooks not her. She never came back till we were all finished with our food. Never refilled drinks or ask how it was. I was hoping the manager would come by, but they never did . We have had problems before at the location. South Austin and Schertz seem to have better management and have always been happy in those two location. However San Marcos is just so so. read more

The only reason I'm giving this place any stars is because of our waitress who was also working at the bar making drinks, and was running the to go orders. She was absolutely top notch, on top of everything, and made sure we were decently happy and had refills when time came. Food - horrible. Tasteless. Seasonless and absolutely horrid. Our waitress knew we were no where near satisfied or pleased with anything that came out except for my daughters noodles with Alfredo sauce and extremely burnt garlic bread. My daughter will eat anything especially whenever she's hungry and that's exactly what happened. I would never recommend this chain to anyone. It has also made us realize that we are over eating at chains, even "state" chain restaurants and will be eating at mom and pop shops from here on out. read more

Cheddar's Scratch Kitchen - New Orleans Pasta - American Near Me - San Marcos, Texas

gave free delicious buttery croissants, 5 stars, the service was fast, and the atmosphere was homey

This is a well run restaurant and the servers are super nice! The food and drinks are reasonably priced and the service is quick! My favorite thing about Cheddar's is they give you a warm buttered crescent right after you sit down! read more

Food as always is amazing. Service has to be a little better. Came on my birthday about afew days ago, service could be better. Not checking on our table as much. Took too long to get us our food. I'll cut a little bit of slack but have to be better read more

I love Cheddars, there is truly something for everybody on the menu. And it is affordable. We visited on a Saturday night and while it was busy, the service was great and the food delicious. read more

Cheddar's Scratch Kitchen - Creamy Garlic Tilapia & Shrimp-soooo good! - American Near Me - San Marcos, Texas

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The service was excellent. Temperature of the food was perfect. Had shrimp and cheese bites appetizers. Both tasted great. Great also was the country fried chicken and the bacon cheeseburger. The ribs, however, were completely inedible. Dry, crusty, and chewy. So disappointing. read more

Visiting this place if it was interesting, read to find out. First, the place is very cozy. Second, unfortunately I did not take photos of the Croissants, they just came with three of them and Considering the hunger with which we arrived at the place and how delicious they looked, I really forgot the photo. Third we ordered some Cheddar's Cheese Fries that I tell you come with a delicious ranch sauce. Fourth, my wife ordered the Grilled Salmon with a bourbon-glaze, which was delicious, I ordered the classic Half Baby Back Ribs which were perfectly cooked for my palate. Fifth, the very good companions and Sixth, to the hirs to pay nothing of unpleasant surprise. Many thanks to the waitress Elizabeth L. for her attention. Remember this is my palate, you are free to come and have your own experience. read more

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The waitress was attentive and she was checking to see if we needed additional drinks etc. the food was average. Had baked potato was warm not hot. The ribs were tender, but have had better at other chain restaurants. read more

Absolutely the butter croissants alone will do The food was great and the service as well read more

It's been years since my wife and I ate at Cheddars (perhaps in Louisville when we used to live in Kentucky) but we generally thought we liked our dining experience there. So when a Cheddars nearby opened recently, we checked it out for a late lunch on a Monday. Upon entering the premises, we were immediately seated in a booth and provided menus. We waited a bit...waited some more...then we finally checked out the electronic box on our table thinking we were supposed to place our orders with it. In the end, after perhaps 10 minutes of waiting, we pressed the button to summon the waitress who finally came...profusely apologizing for the wait. We were ready to place our orders when she finally came to our table. My wife ordered the Country Fried Chicken and I had the New Orleans pasta. We were going to order some honey butter croissants until our server informed us two of those came with our meal. Those croissants were good...warm, flaky, buttery, sweet and downright addicting...easily the best part of the meal. My wife liked her country fried chicken although it's not quite the thin, breaded chicken fried chicken with peppery gravy that she prefers. My pasta was just OK. I had high hopes that it would be just as good as 54th Street's Rattlesnake pasta but it wasn't. The shrimp was tender although a bit over-seasoned for my taste. All in all, not bad. We'll have to try other dishes when we come back next time. Hope the service is more efficient and attentive for that one. Lunch for 2 came out to just under $33 with tip. read more

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My wife and I walked over from our hotel to have a drink after a long day seeing the sites. My wife likes spicy margaritas, but they don't offer one. We asked our bartender Kaitlyn about this and she immediately suggested she could make it spicy with some pickled jalapenos. It was awesome. She did an awesome job attending to our wants and a very personable sunny disposition. Chedders is lucky to have her. Definitely a 5 Star employee. read more

Cheddar's Scratch Kitchen - American Near Me - San Marcos, Texas

Celebrating my husband's birthday today and daughters boyfriend gave him a gift card for Christmas so that's where we went. He always starts with desert first, so he started with the Cookie Monster. After he ate every bit of it, he had the buttermilk chicken sandwich and fries. I started with their croissant and the 6 oz sirloin with broccoli and corn. The steak was ok, I've had better. The corn was really good. We will be back to try more items off the menu. read more

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Lemon pepper chicken was great and well cooked. Our servers were attentive and apologetic when one of the items was a bit overcooked.

1st to this location was short. I walked in to take a seat at the bar. There was no bartender present for about 3-4 minutes. While sitting I notices gnats flying around the drafter beers. I then notice gnats sitting on the entire stack or stirring straws. Regular straws and napkins. When the bartender came I told them and stated I would not eat nor drink in this restaurant. While leaving I reported this to the manager and stated the bar should be shutdown. Horrible experience! read more

Cheddar's food tastes great but when your server sees food still on our plates, give us time to eat. Server kept bothering us. Can I take your plate? Can I take your plate? If you quit interrupting us, we can finish. Why didn't you ask us if we needed to-go boxes? You gave us the check before we were done too. You didn't need the table. Scratch that. You had empty tables. OK, fine, go bother some other paying customers while they are eating. Will we come back? We won't let one strange server stop us from coming back unless that turns out to be your new training program. What did you gain from rushing us? read more

UPDATE 7/13/23: Cheddars corporate customer care team reached out and were fabulous. I emphasized that I wanted to ensure the server was protected, and that the manager received coaching. They're going to have the regional director ensure this happens, and they offered me a gift card for future visits even though I said we really hadn't sought any compensation throughout this. I'm really happy with how they handled it, and am updating my review and * rating. WAS, 7/8/23: I let the server know my BBQ burger was bad, completely flooding the plate with grease and had a terrible greasy rancid texture, and she was awesome removing it and sending the FOH manager to our table. The FOH then proceeded not once but twice to argue with me that he "100% guarantees that there's nothing wrong with that burger", which he hadn't even seen. Dude, don't argue with your customer over NINE DOLLARS of food. We are now paying and walking out, not ordering anything else, not even waiting for you to comp the plate. THAT WASNT THE POINT. I am letting Cheddars and Yelp know that while the server was incredible, the FOH is terrible at his job. read more

The crescent rolls melt in your mouth! The chicken pot pie was hot and filling. My only wish would be to have the crust on the bottom as well as the top. The service was quick and friendly read more

Did not like the ribs, fact is they were horrible. Seems like they had been cooked for a couple of days, smothered in Bar-BQ sauce, heated in an oven or Microwave and served. Took them home in a doggy bag and ended up throwing the entire mess out. The atmosphere was also bad, the service good, but the place was noisy and overcrowded. read more