We were in Waco for a family gathering and stopped by Cotton Patch Cafe to try something local. The restaurant was pretty busy, but we were greeted quickly and seated without much wait. Our server, Jordan, was outstanding from start to finish. She welcomed us right away, gave us time to look over the menu, and was happy to answer questions and make recommendations. I went with the Chuckwagon Chicken and it was excellent -- hot, fresh, and exactly as described. Jordan checked on us regularly, kept our drinks filled, and made sure everything was correct after the food arrived. Even with a full section, she stayed friendly, attentive, and professional the entire time. You could tell she genuinely cared that we had a good experience. Service like that really makes a difference, especially when you're traveling and just hoping for a nice meal. She made us feel welcome and well taken care of. We'll definitely be back next time we're in town. read more

We ordered the fried green tomatoes, fried mushrooms, TEX MEX Salad, Fried Chicken sandwich, Broccoli rice casserole, French fries and chicken fried steak! BEST MEAL IVE HAD IN A WHILE, COTTON PATCH always does it for me! the service is perfect and have never had any issues. Quiet and easy to talk with people read more

Our server, Sue'riah, was AWESOME! She was very attentive and polite. She made our experience delightful.

Towit: ... we've only lived here for a few years in Waco, and have seen Cotton Patch Cafe/ "CPC" quite often as we drove up and down Bosque ... finally, this was the first time we decided to try COC... And it was a real delight. The atmosphere was amiable, pleasant, and calm ... and very clean.... Hillary was our very efficient and pleasant server. The food was absolutely delicious. Even I took half of my mushroom burger sandwich home ... another day later, warmed it up a little bit in the microwave and it was absolutely delicious. Kudos to Cotton Patch Café.. CPC! read more

I go here to specifically get the fried green tomatoes not too many places serve them. I live in Gatesville so every few trips I get the fried green tomatoes read more

Heard great things about this place, had an OK experience here. No wait for a table, service was fine but we had to ask for things like utensils/napkins, side plates. Food was hot and tasty, love those fried green tomatoes! Reasonably priced; cleanliness could be improved at the tables and in the bathroom. Would return read more

See all

Good food in house but not the best when ordering on Doordash. They've forgotten items twice.

Came here not too long ago, and had to come back. Luckily I got the same server. Ms. Lesley was so attentive and made sure my table and my family were taken care of the entire time. No dirty dishes were left at our table while eating and she also made amazing food recommendations from the menu since we were new. I'll definitely be back soon thank you for such a memorable and relaxing dinner experience read more

My first time ordering via delivery. I was given the wrong kind of salad, the food was sloppy and very cold. I threw it out after reporting it to UberEats. UberEats was the delivery service. I received a $5 credit, not a full refund as I deserved. read more

Delivery gave us a TOTALLY DIF experience than in house, cake prime example .. Not able to serve in house.. Food was COLD, no chz on Mac n chz.. Just GARBAGE ! In house was good.. Delivery ..is the trash they can't sell. read more

Cotton Patch Cafe - Cake they can't sell in house - American Near Me - Waco, Texas

See all

This evening my bride and I went out for the first time in a while. We hadn't been out in a while so we wanted something fresh and filling. After looking at our choices the wife suggested Cotton Patch in Waco. Upon walking in the lobby we were greeted by a young lady we knew from before as Ashley. She escorted us to a booth taking our order. Her smile could melt your heart and her overall hospitality and performance of her job, speaks volumes of why we absolutely love returning here. I just love the Southern Comfort style of the cafe. Both my wife and I were in the mood for a fresh cold salad. We ordered the Cobb Salad and added some Grilled Salmon. Now I gotta tell you this was my first experience trying anything with Bleu Cheese. Much to my surprise, I liked it and probably wouldn't have tried it, except Ashley told me it was sooo good with their salad. She was right! Thanks Ashley for getting me to try it. Normally I skip things I haven't tried before or just don't like. She was prompt in taking and bringing us our order and checked on us regularly, unlike some places where you have to pull teeth getting your waiter or waitress to check on you. It was also nice that the Manger On Duty, "CAT" stopped by to see if we needed anything and inquire how our meal and service was. We bragged on the meal and our server. Again, the overall experience made us feel very welcomed and right at home and boy howdy, it sure was filling! Thanks for the great meal and service. Trust me, we'll be back! Good job Cotton Patch! read more

The customer service was AMAZING. Definitely ask for Ms.misty she was very kind and helpful! The food was pretty good, it came out in a good amount of time.It was very clean and well keep! Over all was an amazing experience read more

Ok, so I received an email about All you can eat catfish today and every Friday. So we loaded up and headed to Waco about 15-20 miles away for catfish. We arrived and placed our orders. About 20 minutes later our waitress arrived and said that she had bad news. They were OUT of catfish today. She said that she was confused because she did see some at the window for service to another table. I asked to speak to the manager about the confusion and Megan, the manager came to our table and said they are all out of catfish. I asked if that seemed to be a problem on Good Friday. She said that no they sold out and they have to let it thaw and marinate for 11/2 hours. So I said this was a "kitchen management issue" and she rudely replied with an attitude they were busy today. I looked around the restaurant and counted 5 tables with people at them at 6:15 on a Friday night, when they had just email blasted everyone in the world mid-late afternoon today. They may have been busy at lunch but let's be honest, you have had 5+ hours to defrost catfish that three tables in my earshot were trying to order for dinner on Good Friday, it's lent Cotton Patch, Poor planning and poor managerial response Cotton Patch. Shouldn't you take notice of your one star rating on YELP??? read more

Cotton Patch Cafe - This is a lie... - American Near Me - Waco, Texas

Let me begin by saying my server was attentive and friendly. However, my Pecan Crusted Flounder was awful. Fish was mush - no way it was anywhere near fresh. . Really bummed cuz Cotten Patch is ususlly reliably good. Stick to meat and chicken - clearly seafood is NOT their forte. read more

My granddaughter and I had lunch here and we were happy with the service and the food. We ordered from the $7 menu. She had chicken fried steak with Mac n cheese and I had chicken Alfredo with the cinnamon apples. We were served rolls and our drinks, shortly afterwards our food arrived. My food could have been a little warmer but I like my food served hot. We even got to go boxes. It was a good experience for us. read more

Cotton Patch Cafe - Chicken Alfredo, cinnamon apples and rolls. - American Near Me - Waco, Texas

See all

I revisited after a conference for work a few years ago brought me here. Food was as I remembered, good. Service was off, think they were short-handed with the amount of empty tables for a 15-minute wait. Server checked on me once prior to my appetizer coming out and did not come around till after I finished my entree. The atmosphere reminds me of a chain, nothing extraordinary for being local. read more

Good food. Squash casserole is delicious. Love their meatloaf and chicken fried chicken. ​

Stay away from this place at all costs!! After being seated I looked around and saw that this place is filthy dirty. It hasn't been deep cleaned for years and the wear and tear must go back for at least 20 years. I then thought I'd take a look at the menu.... Damn near everything is fried. No f&€#+*g wonder 2/3 of McLennan county is overweight or obese. Needless to say I then walked out. Do the community a favor and make certain they aren't encouraged to remain in business, go elsewhere. read more

We came to celebrate my dad one of us did not get our food till everyone was finished ! No comp, no discount, nothing just apologize and went on about her work. Didn't keep our drinks filled. read more

This reviews a little tricky for me. I've had both five star service and one star service on many occasions. The one star usually means if I pick some thing up, they forgot an item or they gave me the wrong item and the food was cold and I had to wait a long time, when I got five star service everything was right everything was hot fresh and correct to my order lately. I've been having some good interactions with this place so I'm going to air on the side of positivity and give them a four overall I like their steak I like their food and the people there are friendly enough and attentive enough. At least that's been my experience for the most part. read more

This is a restaurant we used to frequent weekly. Since COVID it has been over a year since last visit. Went in for lunch and ordered grilled fish tacos. Service was poor, seemed like there were only 2 servers available and it was lunch time. When food did arrive it looked good but upon tasting it I was not happy. The fish tacos were supposed to have slaw on them and mine came out with lettuce and tomatoes. The quest tasted spoiled and looked like curdled milk. Service was lacking. I had to get up and go find server to pay my check. Probably not going back. To bad, really liked that place a year ago. read more

The first time I had been in years chicken fried steak two sides tea. nothing out of ordinary but the food came out too fast ! anyway I got very very sick after I got home. read more

Used to be great food, great service. Apparently you must greet and seat yourself, late afternoon and virtually no one in sight. One patron was walking out disgusted by lack of service, two in line walked out with me. Vary sad, is there any management on-site? ​ read more

Ordered online 20 minutes after 20 min checked on status of order and it wasn't even in the oven yet. Staff said there were orders still ahead. The stated thr pick up time. The dining area was practically empty. Curbside service is incredibly slow- staff is unfriendly - also takes three days to get a refund if you order online read more

I used to come here all the time when I was a kid, and I remember it was really good, but when I came for my first time in several years my food was over cooked and the service was not great. I ordered a steak I wanted it medium rare and it came out over cooked pretty well done and very dry. They ran out of one of my sides and didn't tell me until my food already came out. When they asked me what I wanted as my side I asked for bacon cheese fries and they never came out. I waited almost 30 minutes after my steak had come out. read more

We have been eating at Cotten Patch for years, both dine in & take out. In the past; Cotton Patch was one of the few restaurants that did to go very well. I dont know what's happened since COVID....but they have gone way down hill. Today I had the absolute WORST meal from them. It was the grilled chicken soft tacos. HORRIBLE! It had enough salt in the chicken to dry up Lake Waco. Ya'll need to do better. Lots of good restaurants have closed due to COVID. PLEASE GET YOUR ACT TOGETHER. read more

Great service, good Chicken and Dumplings, Chicken Fried Steak is very tender, Blackeyes are awesome, crispy fried okra. Cornbread is sweet, but really good. Open on Sunday in Waco! read more

The service was ok. They give you rolls and butter to start out with. I got the Chicken Fried Steak with fries and Mac n cheese. The fries here are very well seasoned! The CFS is HUGE and I was bloated before even eating 1/2 of it! Well worth the money! read more

Cotton Patch Cafe - Chicken Fried Steak - American Near Me - Waco, Texas

Every time I go here I am greeted with enthusiasm and great service. Even Management stops by to say hello and make sure everything is great. Oh- and the Chicken Dumpling soup is to die for!!!!! read more

Went to Cotton Patch last week to have a nice dinner with my wife. First of all, we went in and stood at the hostess desk for about 6 minutes... just waiting and watching. We were ok with waiting awhile but it would have been nice for one employee or a manager to say be with you in a minute... but all staff that were around and saw us never said a thing. Finally, someone came over and seated us in a booth and gave us a menu. Then, three waitresses walked by us from time to time waiting on other people, going to the computer/ register and cleaning a table or two. They all must have walked by us at least 6 or 7 times. No one said a word to us not hello, not be with you in a moment, no eye contact ... nothing... it was like we were not there. We were still patient and watched them check on customers at other tables and thought they will be with us soon. After almost 20 minutes on nothingness... we finally got up and walked out. We were just average senior citizens wanting to get something to eat and what seemed to be the worst customer service we have ever had at a Waco Restaurant! We ended up at Red Lobster that night and they treated us so well as soon as we walked in the door... Waco Red Lobster got it right, they care about customers... I will be giving them a rave review. Cotton Patch management needs a kick in the pants for allowing customers to be treated so badly!! Wont go there again! (Had been there many many times before and customer service was average ... so much worse now! read more

My family dined at this Cotton Patch Cafe quite frequently, before my mom was placed in a nursing home. We loved the homestyle food, yummy cornbread & rolls. We all got busy & got in the habit of trying out other restaurants. About 6 weeks ago, me & my spouse decided to go get a homestyle meal at this Cotton Patch Cafe. I was about 2:30 in the afternoon, so there were not many customers. However, as we were shown our table, we noticed about 5-6 tables, that had not been cleared & cleaned off after customers finished their meal & left the restaurant. We were seated at a booth across from one such table. Our table was sticky & while we waited for a waiter, we observed a waitress bring a fully loaded tray of fresh food, setting it on the unclean table, full of glassed, plates, etc, sliding the tray on that table, scooting the used items to the side, so she could served the fresh plates of food to a nearby table, Quite frankly, that was nauseating to observe & we looked at each other, having waited 10 minutes, with no waiter coming to our table, & decided to walk out. My spouse was going to call the health department; however, he forgot to do so. Quite frankly, I doubt we will ever dine at the Cotton Patch Cafe, unless they advertise: New management and restored cleanliness policy in the restaurant! read more

I wish I can give them ZERO stars honestly . Food was Nasty! The steak was dry, not seasoned and looked like a burger patty. Then I go for my strawberry lemonade, and it was nasty! Tasted like dirty water. Didn't taste like lemonade. Worst food I ever had! Then my sisters whole order was wrong . And it wasn't the best experience. Wish I seen the reviews before ordering because I will not be ordering here again read more

Food was pretty good but the atmosphere was not good. The room smelled like a sweaty locker room and cleanliness was out the window. Booths occupied by a couple were not sanitized before the next patrons. The crowd was yahoo-ish with kids running amoke and noisy. We probably won't be back. read more

The food was AMAZING couldn't say nothing less. But one thing I do got to say that the server/waiter Mr.Major was AMAZING one the best waiter I ever had. He was very attentive when we almost finished our drinks he would bring another with asking. Awesome on recommendation on food. Very sweet man couldn't ask for more or say less. Would definitely come back and eat here again. read more

Overall the service was great, specifically Major was fantastic. I want to thank him for being unapologetically him

We came at 2:30 on a sat. The place had several dirty tables and the lighting was awful. We ordered salads and fish and chips " our usual favorite. ". The server did not bring our bread or salads till we asked for them. She acted surprised. We think she forgot. They were not busy at all. She brought the salads, no bread! Our fish came one minute later and wow we looked at it and it was swimming in grease and did not have the usual good beer batter. Awful!!! Still no bread. Bread came five minutes later. In full disclosure, they did not charge us for the fish. But we will think twice before we chose this location again read more

I ordered fried green tomatoes, grilled pork chops, loaded baked potato, and the house salad. The fried green tomatoes weren't nasty; but, they lacked the bite of FGT, they were cut too thick, and the breading is too thick to be cooked through all the way. At $7.99 the FGT isn't something I would order again, but it's a reasonable price for this appetizer. My main course, on the other hand, was a rip off. The salad was a decent-sized salad. At smaller than the size of my palm, the baked potato was dry, not warm, and had no flavor. The pork chops were the biggest let down. The only thing salvageable about them was that they had decent flavor. But, the were cut very thin and were not prepared properly, so I had to pick pieces of bone meal out of my chop. This entree was a whopping $12.99. For the portion size, the price should've been cut to $8.99. I'm giving Cotton Patch 3 stars because the waitor was attentive and my food has not always been horrible at this restaurant. read more

Good food and good price. Quick and friendly staff, very clean restaurant, and relaxing ambiance. Fries topped with bacon and cheese: amazing! We ended up finishing these in less than 10 minutes; they're so good! The ranch side was a plus since it was made in house - really good! Catfish: creamy and perfectly seasoned Shrimp: well prepared with same seasoning as catfish Fries: gooooood! I love the creole seasoning they had on there Hush puppies: not my thing - they had a new take on them as they added jalapeños and I wasn't in the mood for spicy flavor Fried okra: good Macaroni: good, basic I might come back to this restaurant to try out other things. read more

See all

Go here if you don't want food!! Waited 45 minutes to be told they were out of our selections. No manager, no further discussions! We went home hungry! So many good selections in Waco to eat, avoid this place!!! read more

It took them forever to finish my order and my mashed potatoes were not mashed but the staff were very kind read more

Cotton Patch Cafe - American Near Me - Waco, Texas