Country cooking and a huge selection of yummy desserts! Walked through the petting zoo section afterwards with the grandkids. An old favorite of ours and we will definitely be back. read more

First time atet e Cookie Jar Cafe while visiting our daughter in East Tennessee. At the time we visited I was on a low carb diet but there were plenty of options and I did not leave hungry. Personally, I enjoyed my wife's grilled catfish. The service was excellent and there is a huge display case of homemade cakes and whatnot which looked delicious. We will be back! read more

Just had lunch there. Absolutely the best homemade food in Dunlap TN. Had the chicken and dumplings and oh so delicious. Husband had meatloaf his was excellent too. Had no room for desert but man did it look good too. If you are in the area highly recommended going there. read more

everything is frozen or canned, desserts are attractive but tasteless, pinto beans are properly cooked, cornbread is dry and tasteless restrooms are filthy read more

Really wanted to give this place a 3.5 star. My husband and I were driving in from Nashville and called in a to go order. They informed us it would be about 15-25 mins, which was no problem. I ordered the chicken casserole with two sides and my husband the chicken livers and two sides, both were really good. We had ordered 2 pieces of cake to go as well. We arrived about 10 mins after calling in our order, so I walked in and paid and saw the deserts and could not wait to take home our food (especially the strawberry and coconut cake I saw when I paid for the food). We ended up waiting 45 minutes for our food and by the time we got our food, mine was lukewarm because it had been sitting there waiting while they fried my husband's fresh. We go to leave and they forgot the cake (the thing I was most excited about). I walked back in, two girls look through the receipts to make sure I had paid for the cake and then proceed to tell me, they ran out of cake. So, needless to say, we got whatever was left in the display case (chocolate cake, which was good), just disappointing that I had paid for something 45 mins prior and didn't end up receiving it. read more

Poor Service and RACIST!!!! Waited for 20 minutes to be seated and/or place a to go order and there was only one person in front of me. My granddaughter and I stood at the front entry and waited patiently to enjoy a nice meal from the popular Cookie Jar Restaurant. That did NOT happen. This was our first time there and now I can say it was our LAST. SHAME ON YOU!!! read more

When we walked in, we were not greeted by staff and then we stood waiting by the door for a table when there were plenty open. That sign that says "please wait to be seated" should be removed, we should be able to seat ourselves. Once we were seated, we had to ask for a menu. Then we the girl brought our drinks, I asked her could I get a straw and she said they are in the napkins... giving me that look that I should have known... um no first time ever being here. One thing about menu, when you order a burger or sandwich you would think fries or chips would come with it, but nope... you have to pay separate for a side. The potato salad was not fresh at all... tasted frozen. The sliced tomatoes were not fresh either, old/dry had a odd color to them. The flies in that place were horrible. I mean you shouldn't have to go to a restaurant and be shoeing flies away. read more

I haven't found anything that I dislike about this place. All the food and the best desserts. And I love the little farm they have to take the little ones around to see read more

Beautiful scenery. Terrible food. Good service. Canned vegetables & food was served lukewarm. The bread was cold & slightly stale. The desserts looked beautiful but we didn't try them because the other food was so bad we didn't want to take a chance on dessert. This review would have been one star except that the service was good and the mountain scenery was beautiful. read more

Don't try to find it without GPS or a map, it's in the middle of nowhere! But that is part of the charm, as the Cookie Jar is tucked away in the beautiful TN country mountains and offers tasty country cooking. The grilled meatloaf was unique and very tasty. The fried okra & other veggie sides were delicious and not too heavy or greasy. The strawberry cheesecake pie for dessert was great. Kids will love the outdoor playground area & animal pens adjacent to the restaurant. A great place to stop if you're in the Fall Creek Falls State Park area. We will be back! read more

Cookie Jar Cafe was recommended to us by a young lady at TN welcome center as we were traveling between Mtn Brk and Sparta, TN. Thank you, thank you, thank you! Wonderful country cooking with a beautiful view of the Sequatchie valley with cordial service--outstanding! Do not miss! read more

Great deserts, Destini was perfect and walked us through all of the desert options. Go visit as soon as possible and ask for her.

Was here only once but, I loved it. I had the catfish and fried okra and mack'n cheese. All were great. To finish it all off I had lemon pie which was fabulous! read more

I don't think I've enjoyed a meal anywhere any more than I did here. Food was amazing. Prices was more than reasonable and service was great. The scenery you look at while eating is awesome too. read more

Very cute spot in the hills. I wish it had been nice enough to sit outside. We got a high chair that was broken and had to ask twice for a different one which wasn't much better. We had a couple entrees and both our orders of catfish were very dry and overcooked. Mac n cheese came cold and the green beans were very under seasoned and obviously from a can. The yeast rolls were fantastic but served with fake butter (on a dairy farm?) I wasn't impressed by the service, nobody was rude but they also weren't very friendly or welcoming. I will definitely be back to give this place another shot and to try some different things before I make up my mind. Maybe we just caught them on an off day. read more

Just darn fine down home cooking.....The only downer I have is their grilled meat loaf. I would prefer regular meat loaf. Love this place and please please, save room for dessert. Any and all of it if from the Gods read more

I want to give this place five stars. I really do, but I have to go with four. Here's the breakdown: Location: Five stars - Out of the way, but one of the most beautiful settings in the US. You are right in a valley, surrounded by forest and mountains and on a farm. It does not get any prettier than this. Atmosphere: Five stars - a beautiful little restaurant. While we waited for a table we struck up conversations with two other families. Everyone was relaxed and kind. Food: Five stars - We both got the grilled catfish, which is not usually my favorite thing, but this was out of this world. Service - One star, or less. Some of the worst service I have ever experienced. Maybe they were just stressed out or something, but none of the workers that we dealt with were even remotely friendly. There was one waitress serving other tables who seemed very cheerful and friendly to her customers, but nobody else was. When we first walked in there was nobody at the counter to take our names. When someone finally came up my wife walked up to her and the woman said, "Is your name on the list already?" No greeting, no warmth. When we sat our server took our order, brought our food and drinks and that was it. She never checked on us again. All the tables were full when we sat down, but there were only four tables that had customers by the time we finished eating (more on that in a second). Our waitress only had one other table, but did not check on us at all. I said to my wife, "Well, I guess the lunch rush is over" since it had gotten pretty quiet in there, but then as we were leaving there was a huge line of parties waiting to be seated, remember there were only four tables full with plenty of free tables, but these folks were just waiting. When we went up to the counter to pay my wife told the woman, who we again had to wait for, "We want to order some cupcakes" the woman said, "Give me your receipt." That was it. No, "How was your meal?" No, "Okay, what kind of cupcakes would you like?" Nothing. Just, "give me your receipt." So, it is a great restaurant, but the staff was awful (again, they may have just been "off" today). read more

Call ahead seating will definitely save you some time at this crowded restaurant. Food was excellent as always. Desert was great as always. Love this place! read more

this restaurant has gone way down in the past year. poor service/attitudes, dirty and unkept. I'm done with that place.

The best comfort food "meat and three" around! Don't forget to get the desert! And take home some cupcakes.

A bit tough to find with GPS but well worth it. The food is very good and the desserts are awesome!

Gorgeous views and fantastic desserts. If you like a meat and 3 veg kind of place I would definitely suggest the cookie jar cafe. Take in the breathtaking views of the Sequatchie Valley while enjoying your cupcake read more

Great atmosphere. Great meat and potatoes style. Great price. Had chicken and dumplings.

Ok before I wrote this review I wanted to get my facts straight. I asked 2 different servers, one was a manager, if servers had to wear closed toe shoes. They do. In the state of Tennessee you must wear closed toe shoes. All the servers at the Cookie Jar Cafe had sandals on their feet. When I went through server training I was told you could only wear closed toed shoes. I'm not sure why we stayed after I kept seeing toes...oh wait, because everyone claimed this was a great place to eat. I will say the drive up is so beautiful, the farm is charming. The food isn't worth the money or the calories. You will read on this page tales of poor service and flies, do not be like me and ignore the warning signs. There are flies. Many many flies. The service appears to be all very young, high school/college age, and frankly couldn't care less about being a cheerful and friendly part of the experience. Our server asked if we wanted dessert, which I had wrongly assumed would make up for the food we had consumed for lunch. When I said yes she just started at me. They are known for a huge selections of cakes/pies/cupcakes. I asked to see a list and she rattled off the pies, no cake were offered. They had seasonal handheld pies, those delicious fruit pies you get a fairs and whatnot, she didn't tell us about those. We split a slice of apple pie, y'all it was cold, ice cold. As cold as our servers little toes will be Come winter, if she is still wearing her Birkenstocks. Cold pie!? Why cold apple pie? To follow our clearly out of some box sad premixed pulled pork, and the most bland greens I have ever had, it was one of the worst meals I have had in a very very very long time. I gather this place used to be really good, most older area people rave about it. It has a big local following, tons of old people were there. But it isn't worth your time or your money. They clearly do not make most of the food anymore and do not train the servers. It was truly disappointing. I had wished I had just listed to the all the yelp reviews before we went and saved us this unpleasant meal. read more

This place used to be quite good, but the quality of the food and service has gone way down. We actually quit going because we received poor service and cold, bland food. But today we decided to give it another try. Bad idea. We entered the restaurant and it wasn't busy, there were plenty of open tables, and plenty of staff. Yet we were made to stand at the door waiting to be seated for a very long time. My husband went to the restroom and returned to me still standing there, waiting. Several of their girls (this place has always been staffed with young kids), passed us by, but no one offered to seat us. Eventually one of them got sick of us staring I guess, and took us to a table. She plopped down the menus saying "she" would be with us, and took off. And there we sat, and sat, and sat. Not one person offered to tend to us. Not even a drink order. Meanwhile, other patrons entered the restaurant and one of the servers promptly seated them in her own section. She immediately took their drink orders, delivered their drinks, and started to take their orders. We continued to sit, closed menus in front of us, lots of girls giving us the side eye, but not one offer to wait on us. My husband, who is incredibly patient, actually got fed up and said, "Let's go"! Once we stood to leave one of the girls behind the counter said, "She's right there"...as she gestured to one of the other girls that was supposed to be our server. We had seen this girl by-pass us several times, just as everyone else in the place had, so it's not like she was unaware of having a table. Since we had so much time on our hands while we had been sitting there, we couldn't help but notice things... There were young kids working the kitchen, one of which had extremely long hair. It was pulled back in a pony tail that swung everywhere as she moved. As a long haired person myself, who has worked in food service, I happen to know that much hair requires a hairnet in a food prep area. We also noticed all the servers in flip flops and sandals, not one in proper closed toed shoes. Then there are the flies...flies EVERYWHERE! We didn't even have food in front of us and still had to swat the flies away. It is really unfortunate that this establishment has been left in the hands of inexperienced kids to run it. We won't make the mistake of returning. read more

Though "off the beaten path" near Dunlap TN in the Sequatchie valley, this restaurant is located on a family farm having the best 'home-baked' desserts at a very affordable price (go ahead & buy the entire pie!) Daily specials @ reasonable prices along with kids' farm zoo, etc. enables families to enjoy one of the valley's best kept secrets. Scenic views of farm life & surrounding mountains make for a very affordable outing accessible to much of the surrounding Chattanooga TN area. And yes, there are cookie jars & more distinct cookie jars lining the walls! Plus the meal will be worth the wait even if no reservations made. Service has always been great once seated! read more

Country cooking yes, just not very good. Grilled meatloaf had more filler than meat, mashed potatoes were so runny I had to use a spoon to eat them, canned grean beans. Upside, barbecue was excellent. Definitely not worth going out of the way for. If you are in the area and no where else to go give it a try just have low expectations. The view and country charm do not make up for poor food! read more

Extremely disappointed! I was excited to try this place. The setting is pastoral with a great view, but that is about it. When we first entered we were the only people waiting and it took 10 minutes for someone to greet us. They acted like the place was sold out and the owner told us she had to find us a table, but half the restaurant was empty. I had the bbq pork, turnip greens, and potato salad. I am guessing the pork was made in a crockpot because it was stringy. The potato salad was decent, but the turnip greens were lukewarm. All of it mediocre. The flies were horrible and it was only early April. I thought maybe dessert would be better as they are known for their pies, cakes, and cupcakes. But alas, the butterscotch pie was a bit runny, the crust was hard as a rock, and the meringue slithered off. Won't ever be back. read more

I tried this restaurant after some of my friends recommended it. I waited a few minutes to be seated since the staff was busy at the time. The restaurant was clean and the server was friendly and efficient. I ordered the grilled meatloaf with green beans and baked sweet potato. The meatloaf had a good flavor but was very mushy inside. I like it with a little texture myself. The beans were also soft with very little flavor. The sweet potato tasted good but was also overcooked. It seemed as though everything was cooked too long and was soft or mushy. I noticed most the customers were quite elderly so maybe that's the reason. I felt the price was a little high for the meal as well. I didn't try any dessert this trip. I plan to eat here again and try a cheeseburger and fries with dessert. Hopefully it will be better next time. read more

We had two pieces of delicious pie for $8. Very good pie! Nice place to walk around a bit. Kids would enjoy the petting zoo and playground.

The restaurant is located on a beautiful farm. Many times you have to wait for a table and what better way than to sit out on the porch overlooking the breathtaking view. The food is southern home cooking. I have always been pleased with the meals. They are especially known for their desserts read more

Great food! Home cooking at its best! Some of the best home made deserts I have ever tasted! A true hidden gem!

Enjoyed a wonderful Mother's Day meal with my wife and mother in law with a wonderful view of the mountain and some good food. These brownies are the best. read more

This is an out of the way place that everyone needs to know about and enjoy. The atmosphere is family friendly, there is even a petting zoo for the children when the weather permits. The food is outstanding with very good size portions, almost too much food. You will certainly be taking home a "doggie" bag of leftovers. The waitresses are very friendly and helpful in recommending dishes. But the best part of the place is their desserts. They are out of the world. The cupcakes, pies, cakes just unreal. You almost don't want to eat your meal so you know you have room for dessert. read more