The ambience is clearly a restaurant attached to a livestock Arena. I don't think you would necessarily aim to visit this restaurant for that reason it is however kept. The food, which in my case was a hamburger was absolutely wonderful. The french fries were equally well done. The portions are generous and given how busy the restaurant is it was very well prepared. Again, given how busy this particular restaurant is the service is amazingly efficient, and the staff is very nice. Although I would suggest it is not a place you would necessarily want to come to relative to its ambience on the other hand you would miss a wonderful meal if you did not. In my case I chose the meal over the ambience and it was well worth it and that is the reason I give it five stars. read more

We had occasion to have lunch in Gonzales with some family members as we all came for the Gonzales Memorial Museum. The sevice was great. The food was especially good with large portions and very reasonably priced. I understand there is a meat market next door (I assume the meat comes from there). My Philly Cheese Steak was excellent. The hamburgers are 1/2 pound (unless you want bigger) and very good. My wife had the BLT and was amazed at how much better than normal the bacon was. Our nephew, who is a big eater, couldn't even finish his chicken fried steak with mashed potatoes and country gravy and said he's never had better. We all had fries and they were fresh, house-made, and delicious. None of us could finish them all. We pass through Gonzales maybe a dozen times a year and since this place is a couple of block west of where we join Hwy 90A, we've never seen it. Other reviewers mentioned that it seems to be a favorite of the locals and now it one of ours too. The tables fill the room and if there were more I'm sure they would fill them, though that might mean the fast service could suffer, so to me it's fine as is. We will return and will start planning our trips to include lunch here. They close at 2 pm so will leave home with that in mind. read more

You have mixed expectations when eating at a place with "cow palace" as its moniker, However the establishment was surprisingly decent. Had the Melt Down with onion rings and the melt was not greasy at all, and included the grilled onion and a huge patty. It was a bit bland though which was the only thing I can say that could be improved upon. The onion rings were obligingly crunchy and tasty. read more

Cow Palace Restaurant - American Near Me - Gonzales, Texas

Delicious food great service and friendly I went on a non crowded day which is best in my opinion the eggs were over easy and everything was plentiful and satisfying. read more

This place is truly a hidden gem!!! The food was delicious and with a feel of homemade comfort! The service was excellent. We had the opportunity to meet and talk with Pati (owner). We could see the care and attention that she has for her establishment. We can see that the atmosphere was one that consisted of a very close knit community everyone knew everyone and if you were a new comer there was friendly smiles and hellos. Can't express how highly we recommend this eating establishment!!! We went twice in our 2 day stay! read more

Great home cooking! Had a wonderful breakfast of scrambled eggs, biscuits and gravy, and bacon. The server was fast and attentive, very accommodating. The restaurant was packed yet kept clean. Go earlier than you think. There was standing room only for the Sunday lunch hour. I guess everyone wanted the special: chicken fried chicken! read more

First time here, got breakfast, wow a very pleasant surprise! Have you ever had, or even heard of a steak and cheese omelet? I hadn't but they make it here, absolutely delicious, like a steak and cheese sub, only nice fluffy eggs in place of the bread! This came with hash brown potatoes which were a bit crunchy, also delicious and toast. Ate the whole thing. Also ordered biscuits and sausage gravy which were delicious, but too much to finish, took them home. I will definitely be back here again. read more

Cow Palace Restaurant - Steak and cheese omelet, hash browns and toast! Biscuits with sausage gravy in the background - American Near Me - Gonzales, Texas

With a name like cow Palace, you should already have an idea of what you're gonna get. This is a real country home-cooked breakfast place with a cow auction next-door, and the ambience is exactly what you'd expect. The food and prices are very good, and the bacon is no joke - it's thick cut just the way you like it. read more

Cow Palace Restaurant - The place is packed at 9:30a - American Near Me - Gonzales, Texas

Cow Palace was exactly what you would expect from down home cooking. Good, fresh and fast! They were fast to get our order (which was correct the first time), bring drinks (fresh yummy sweet tea), and as I sat there looking at the horses in the field across the street they made very good food. Friendly wait staff! Seems to be a local hang out for the people to go grab a quick bite and catch up too. When we walked in the ladies were super friendly, told us to sit where we wanted. The back table was full of a few of the local gentlemen who smiled and got back to their morning catching up. We sat down the lovely waitress got our orders. One of the sweetest things happened when we were there. A lovely lady came in and sat down. She was alone. The waitress spoke with her for a few minutes and they caught up on how everyone was doing like they were friends. I feel this place is just that. Very friendly, very busy, and the food was not overpriced. The restaurant is next to the sales barn. On sale days I bet you cannot find a parking spot and it is so very full of the workers and those selling livestock. Just a little tip that I bet they are super busy on the weekends! I need to go back again and take pictures of my food. Please forgive me for being remiss of that duty. read more

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This place is great! Comfortable ambiance, fast service and great food!!! They were super busy and we did not wait long at all. The special was chicken fried chicken and the plate was huge. The staff is very friendly and stayed in top of our refills. This is a must try when in town and the place to go for a great meal. read more

Any and All food here is excellent, and service is Great as well!!! Highly recommend as it is a Great Value!!!

Love this place! Hidden gem, where the locals go. The staff are on top of it, super nice, and welcoming. The food was delicious and the prices are great. We had breakfast, and plan to try dinner one night before leaving town. read more

We stopped here for breakfast as the place we originally went to was closed on Sunday. This was combined with a meat wholesale place I think. The other dooe lead there. A popular place, we got breakfast of course. Shana got French Toast with sausage patties I got eggs sunny side up, sausage patties, bacon, and bone in ham. That came with toast and hash browns. The sausage was great, bacon was good, ham was good. Eggs were alright. Shana says the French Toast was even better then it looked. Soda only comes bottles or cans. No refills. Everything was good to great. Right off the highway but parking is limited. The bill was low considering how much and how good the food was and how quickly it arrived. Staff was friendly and fast. They had a TV going with some news program with Chris Christie but that fits the area we were in. Shana used the bathroom. They were clean but small. They had several wall displays of foreign money near the register. It was neat. Overall a good place with good food especially for the cost and good service. Recommend if your in the area. read more

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Excellent Good home cooked meal is always hard to beat. The waitress was great. I had the hamburger steak (brown gravy & grilled onions ), french fries and a trip to the salad bar. Everything was just as it should be. The meat was cooked to perfection and the onions and gravy topped it off. When in Gonzales, Texas go to the Cow Palace restaurant. Go get Full read more

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Great food ! The staff is young but they are on point . They pay attention when you need something . A must try for home style food ...

The food was so so good ! Haven't been here before but my honey recommended since he's from this area and I took my parents there and we all loved it ! We had the fried shrimp, and chicken friend chickens with potato soup ! Did not disappoint ! Just ate my other half of my chicken and it was just as good ! The service was great the servers were sweet and very attentive ! The ambiance was great very chill ! Highly recommend it ! My step mom asked me after they drove back to south Tx, "what was the name where we ate? The food was so good !" We all were very satisfied:) read more

Good was great. Prices are wonderful. Servers need to be a little more aware of their customers. Other than that it was good.

We decided to eat here because it had good reviews. We pulled up and we're surprised because it's in the county livestock building. We were a little hesitant but decided to try it anyway. So glad we did! Our server, Antonio was AMAZING! He took great care of us and works so hard. I feel like he's going to do great things. Our food was delicious and they were huge portions. I got the enchiladas and my husband got the chicken fried chicken special. Everything had great flavors and it was so cheap! If I was local I'd be a regular. We will definitely be back if we are ever in town again. read more

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Food is amazing and big amounts. So make sure you go in hungry. It is a tight space though. So somthing to keep in mind. Customer service is okay not bad. read more

Great big breakfast taco and great service!!!! Would get this again!!!! Busy restaurant and no waiting line. Could not have expected any better for a hungry crowd on a Sunday morning! Clean by the way! read more

Cow Palace Restaurant - Cow Palace Breakfast Taco! Bacon, egg, cheese, potato. - American Near Me - Gonzales, Texas

Great home-style cooking if you're driving through Gonzales and looking for somewhere to grab a bite. It is not fancy by any means but they serve up some delicious food. The restaurant is full of regulars so if you're from out of town you may get a few stares across the room but the food and service are amazing. My burger was expertly prepared and so tasty. The kids loved the Mac n cheese. Overall, a solid restaurant for a great meal and delicious comfort food. read more

Cow Palace Restaurant - Burger and fries - American Near Me - Gonzales, Texas

Dayum! Tucked off away past the main highway, the Cow Palace Restaurant is at the old livestock sales arena. Awesome presentation of a couple of the Foundations of the Texas food pyramid... CFS (and fried chicken, fish, etc) and Tex Mex. It's crowded, but the kitchen and wait staff efficiently serve and get you in and out. I stop here too much on my regular run from Austin to Rockport and back. You should too. You won't be disappointed. read more

Cow Palace Restaurant - The perfect steak finger plate. Tender chicken fried steak fingers, Texas toast, hand cut fries, and an extra side of brown gravy. - American Near Me - Gonzales, Texas

Service was great !! Food was great . Small place with great food and decent prices. Chicken fried steak was hot tasty and had more meat than breading.. all you can eat salad bar comes with your order .Over all I enjoyed the food ,service, and surrounding of local folks . Chicken Fried Steak read more

Cow Palace Restaurant - Menu - American Near Me - Gonzales, Texas

It's a place out in the sticks. You can expect big portions of meat for most of the lunch dishes, but it tastes solid. The gravy is subpar however. Service was fast for the amount of people there, and they were very nice. The actual place itself is a pretty average country diner, fading walls and a couple small posters and farm tools on the walls. Good for a meal, don't come with high expectations, it's still country food. read more

Food was decent. Not the best I have had, but far from the worst. My chicken fried steak was obviously homemade, but the meat was unseasoned and slightly bland. The breading was crispy and the best part of the meal. My wife's chicken strips were straight from the freezer. Service was not as good as the food, but excusable, as the staff were all very busy. Ambiance was typical small-town diner. All of the locals k ew each other and gave out of towners the once over when they walk in. All in all, this is not a place that will let you starve. Portions were big, prices were good. Everything was edible. I would eat there again, but would try something different (my standards for CFS are extremely high, so may be biasing this review). read more

OK. It's a live cattle sales yard and the outside smells accordingly. I walked through the front door (1pm) to find Cow Palace absolutely packed with peeps dressed like cowboys and the biggest cowboy by the door belted out "come ooooon in". Good start. I ordered the Chicken Fried Steak with onion rings and salad bar. The CFS was house pounded to about 3/4 inch dredged in seasoned flour and stayed crispy to the last bite - AMAZING. The onion rings were tempura battered and also stayed crispy. The attentive waitress brought over a ramekin of house made Ranch dressing to try. The salad bar was compact , but all of the veggies were perfectly ripe, with some pickled jalapenos and thinly shredded cheddar to "Texas up" your salad. Bottom line:. A flat out great Texas country dining experience - PERIOD. read more

This was a cute little place we stopped along the way to Victoria for some good food to hold us over. It did not disappoint. The only thing I didn't like was that the chicken fried steak (listed on the board) was out and they didn't know while taking our orders. The salad bar was yummy and they made their own ranch dressing which is a HUGE dealbreaker for me considering I could survive on ranch dressing alone. During COVID it's kind of nerve wrecking leaving the house so when you're bunched in close to others you feel a little nervous and that was definitely a thought here in this tiny place. Keep that in mind. read more

Their ambiance and their atmosphere is extremely casual and severely outdated. So outdated that it will likely discourage out of towers, tourists and newcomers. But wait! Do not let that discourage you. Their fried shrimp is so fresh and amazing that it rivals the best seafood restaurants in Port Aransas! Their fried catfish is good if you like em really crispy and a little dry. Then their chicken fried steak are by far the best in Gonzales! My wife loves the chicken salad and gets that almost every time. It's extremely packed on Friday evenings. Gudsyup! And enjoy! read more

Comfortable environment, good service, large quality portions, at prices that will not break the bank. The chicken fried steak seems to be their most popular dish here but neither of us was in the mood for that. We were jonesing for big fat burgers and hand cut french fries. And boy-oh-boy we got em times 10. I ordered Big Jim's patty melt and it rivaled my favorite Whataburger Monterey Melt sandwich sans the jalapenos. Plus one ordered a plain old cheeseburger that, like mine, was a huge patty. The hand cut fries were awesome as well, nice touch. Their breakfast menu is very tempting as well and I can envision stopping by for breakfast on our next trip down south. There is a salad bar that comes included when you order an entree. I'm not a fan of salad bars but this one looked pretty good and they made an effort to keep it stocked. Cow Palace is a nice option if you are passing through historic Gonzales. read more

This is a no frills place with good food and standard service. I had the chicken fried steak with home fries. It tasted good nothing fancy, good sized portion. I think they put the gravy on cold and let the steak heat it. The gravy on the steak was warm but some on the plate was cold, not room temperature but actually cold. My wife got a burger it was just a burger. We left full and satisfied just not wowed by the experience. I'd go again but it wouldn't be my first choice. read more

Cow Palace Restaurant - Cheeseburger and fries - American Near Me - Gonzales, Texas

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We were traveling from Houston for a trip to Sons island, in our way home we found them on yelp and we were a pretty big party of 14 and they were all so kind and welcoming very attentive food was absolutely delicious very homey feeling !! This will become a new staple stop for us!! read more

Super good home town cooking and then some. Salad bar, nothing fancy but gives good choices. Fried catfish was awesome, all hot and fresh. Been wanting to try breakfast here, will let ya know. read more

Cow Palace Restaurant - Entrance - American Near Me - Gonzales, Texas

Food ok.. country food. Good. But place is junkie and just uncared for. Clean place up, make it nice., clean and standard come up, go to 4 stars or higher read more

Stopped at this restaurant while out geocaching with my son-in-law. It was before noon and the place was packed, which was a good sign. Entered the restaurant and barely found a place to sit. The food was excellent, and the service was speedy. As mentioned before in a previous review, the decor was outdated but it's the food and service that really counts. read more

Great food with a lot of menu options. One of the best salad bars in Gonzales. Highly recommend

Excellent food, great service, and unbeatable prices! It's not a fancy place just a good ole steakhouse attached to the auction barn. But I have not got a bad meal yet! Always hot, fresh, and delicious!! Also a small but well appointed little salad bar ( build your own). Very good sweet tea. Really just everything here is perfect! read more

Chicken fried steak did not disappointment. It came with a trip to the salad bar and homemade fries. Food and service were great and I left full and happy. I'd recommend this place to anyone in the area. read more

If you're expecting the most sanitary-looking place, don't stop here. But if you can look past that, they serve some of the best food around with very large portions. My chicken fried steak was wonderful, baked potato was a little small - but it didn't matter - I couldn't finish it anyway! Salad bar is not much to speak about, so don't set your standards too high on that. Service was very friendly and food was ready fast, even when they looked fairly busy. Overall, a great little hidden place. read more

Definitely what you would expect from a small town cafe. Good food, good prices. Not much in the way of decor but I would certainly go again. read more

Huge portions! Down to earth wait staff, delicious food, so much to choose from. The salad bar was the cleanest and freshest I think I've ever seen anywhere! The outside had me a little nervous because it doesn't appear to be a restaurant but rest assured you will not be disappointed. Will definitely stop by anytime I'm in town. read more

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