I've been eating at Cracker Barrel for more than 40 years, and this was honestly the first disappointing experience I've ever had. The highlight of our visit was our waitress. She provided outstanding, five-star service and did everything she could to make our meal enjoyable. She deserves recognition for her professionalism and friendliness. Unfortunately, the rest of the experience fell short. The restaurant had numerous clean, empty tables, yet we still waited about 15 minutes to be seated because they were short-staffed. I certainly understand that staffing shortages happen, but it was frustrating to see so many available tables while waiting. Once seated, we were placed in a section where all of the guests were concentrated. There was a very upset, screaming baby at the table next to us. I don't blame the family or the restaurant for the baby, but because everyone was seated in the same small area while other sections sat empty, it made for a less enjoyable dining experience. The most frustrating part of our visit was that, for approximately 15 minutes while we were trying to eat, an employee continuously swept the floor all around our table. Every few seconds she would bang her broom against the dustpan to empty it, creating a constant clanging noise. It was distracting and made it difficult to enjoy our meal. It seems this type of cleaning could have waited until guests had finished eating or been done in another area first. I hope this was simply an off day. I've always enjoyed Cracker Barrel over the years, and I know they're capable of providing a much better dining experience. read more

Cracker Barrel Old Country Store - Sweeping around our tables - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Decatur, Alabama

Asked for a corner seat with multiple tables open in the corner and the server said they didn't have any open ‍ Not like the place was full of people read more

Good food as always. Love doing a little shopping there. Cant complain about the coffee either.

Food is not as good as it once was. Service kind of slow too. Biscuits seem canned. Gravy not delicious. Out of a bag?

The waitress we had tonight was absolutely wonderful. Her name was Brookelyn and she is wonderful!! She deserves to be recognized!

Update 8-6-2024 The service was so bad that I wrote to Crackle Barrel proper. I must say that they handled the issue very professionally. Albeit with the standard blah, blah, blah word salad saying how they will strive to improve etc... I am happy as they at least responded to my comments. Now if they do anything to improve the service, who knows. My review remains the uinchanged. read more

Skip delivery. Ordered to a hotel, asked for utensils and to omit items in the order. Of course they forgot everything. Could not eat, they knew it was an order to a hotel but still did not care. Threw this slop out. Pick someplace else. read more

Tried for a second time and still the same result cheap food charged at a higher rate!

Second time I gave them a chance, first time I walked out because I never got waited on, my service was horrible and by the time I got my food an hour later I was dried out from sitting in the window for probably 45 minutes. I won't give them a 3rd chance read more

It's Cracker Barrel folks, you know what to expect. This particular visit they were noticeably short staffed. Not new nowadays. But the young lady who was waiting on us did a good job of managing a lot of tables. The printed paper menu was a little odd, but nothing to get upset about. #postCovidprobs read more

Cracker Barrel Old Country Store - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Decatur, Alabama

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I've heard about how bad Cracker Barrel was in Decatur, but since I haven't been in a year, I thought I would give it another try. Bad decision. Meatloaf must have been many days old. Found something "guey " in the meatloaf. Sides were so bad, I had to throw it away after a few bites. Don't waste your money. read more

Came back for first time since last review. This visit was a little bit better. Our server was friendly and food was hot. I caught the last night of the campout meals and got the brisket potatoes and eggs. Very good except brisket was very small and limited. It was tasty and I'd get it again when offered with the hot, fluffy biscuits and blackberry jam. My daughter got kid's grilled tender plate and wife got grilled tender platter. All the food tasted good. Only complaint is it looks like tenders are grilled on a flat grill. That's not the problem but they look pressed and they come out very flat and thin. Makes it feel like less food. They tasted good though. I saw a couple managers walking around which was nice! I wonder if this led to us having a better experience this time? We'll be back based on this visit. read more

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Only reason this is 2 stars is because the server was really nice. The food was absolutely terrible. Okra was soggy, and the fried chicken was way over cooked and dry. They asked if I wanted onions with the pinto beans and they brought out half a raw onion in a bowl. Terrible. read more

I went for a late breakfast with my Mom recently. Since it was about 10:30 we didn't have any problem getting a table. We both had the old timer's breakfast with eggs and bacon and hash brown casserole. The eggs were kind of bland but salt helped. We also had the biscuits and gravy which were both very good. Basics done well. Service was friendly if a bit distracted. Decor was typically homey Cracker Barrel. If you want a good breakfast it is always a solid choice. read more

This week I had the luxury of getting dinner with my mother, who loves Cracker Barrel, so we decided to dine here before I went back home. The customer service was great! It didn't take long for us to receive our food, which was wonderful. I chose their southern fried chicken plate (bone-in), with my sides being turnip greens and Mac and cheese, along with a cornbread muffin. There were no COVID-19 regulations since many restaurants are returning to normal. Overall, the food was pretty good. read more

Another excellent meal was had this evening by my wife and myself at the Cracker Barrel Restaurant on the Beltline Rd. in Decatur, AL! I broke from my traditional meal there ( veggie plate ) and chose the "Tuesday Dinner Special", which is Grilled Rainbow Trout and I ordered Lima Beans ( Spoke with the manager before ordering and he confirmed that there was indeed a shortage of pinto beans at all stores. ) and Turnip Greens ( One of my favorites )and my two sides. * NOTE: We had earlier shopped at the Walmart Decatur Grocery section in Decatur, AL and found that there seemed to be less canned pinto beans than other types and good luck getting dried pintos. Found dried white beans and peas, but we bought the last few bags of pintos. I like my beans and especially pintos. LOL ** One special note, if you experience any issues when you are a guest at the Decatur, AL store, ask for the manager; Ty Jackson. We found him to be very pleasant and cordial and very easy to talk with. read more

Ridiculous wait for our food. We ordered simple food that is typically already cooked. Two tables received food before we did that were seated after we were. Staffing didn't seem to be an issue in the lobby or dining area, but I couldn't see in the kitchen. read more

My server/servers were nice, but I was treated like an afterthought. Like I was no more than a spec of a person that just happened to be eating there. My father was treated well at least, but I could tell I wasn't welcome. From the hostess to the guests to the other staff, it was obvious from the stares and the scoffs and the eye rolls that they didn't want me there. If you are transgender, I would highly recommend eating elsewhere. The only staff member that treated me like a human being was a person with rose gold hair that filled my tea and complimented my glasses with the biggest and warmest smile on their face. It's 2022. Bigotry is unacceptable and standards should be higher than ground level by now. read more

We had to wait almost an hour to be seated after it was supposed to be 15 minutes. Once seated, we had to ask for a waitress because no one ever came. If you visit, come full because you'll be hungry by the time you actually get to eat. read more

We stopped in on 3/19 and I wasn't hungry after judging a BBQ contest, but I had a hankering for some ice cream. I ordered the Mug Sundae with hot fudge and no almonds. The sundae was served in a large mug and looked great. The quickly devoured the sundae hit the spot. Matthew was a great server. read more

Food was tasty and economical as usual for Cracker Barrel's across the USA! Our server was new and she could have been proctored longer by her trainer since she didn't know the menu items or the routine. read more

Had to order to go on their (very non intuitive, poorly designed) app because I tried to call them over and over to place a phone order and no one picked up at all. Once I arrived at the estimated time my food was supposed to be ready, has to wait another 25 minutes. Order was mostly but not entirely right. Which is irritating. Food was the Cracker Barrel usual, meh. But mainly don't go inside there if you want to feel like staying healthy in the pandemic is actually important. There were only 2 staff people I saw wearing masks...and 1 customer. Total. In the whole place. Despite how high the Covid numbers are right now. Ugh. read more

The staff was nice and the grits were good. Scrambled eggs weren't cooked all the way. The sausage gravy was missing sausage and tasted bland. read more

Everybody food was amazing but my mother asked for eggs scrambled with American cheese but the first batch of eggs was regular but when the second reorder came out they had just slapped a piece of cheese onto the eggs so now we are waiting for the eggs to be corrected read more

Breakfast meeting at 7:00 AM, the parking lot was deserted. There was a very industrious young man to took his job seriously, sweeping the sidewalk the parking lot and taking care of the waste bins. Spent some time browsing in the store, greeted by a staff member who asked if I needed help finding anything. When I was ready to be seated, no one to be found. Not surprising as there was only one other couple in their 70's having coffee. The waitress was very polite and attentive. Took a little longer than expected to get oatmeal but it was hot and the coffee was good. read more

Cracker Barrel Old Country Store - Apple walnut oatmeal - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Decatur, Alabama

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I was appalled by how much this restaurant has declined. We waited almost one hour for a table. During our wait, a member of the staff told us we needed to stand somewhere else. Where should we move? The place is flooded with second-rate merchandise. Should we move into the racks stuffed with Panama hats and mee-maw clothing? Or should we knock over the crates full of pecan logs and Conway Twitty CDs? Then, we were seated about one hour into our visit and proceeded to wait another 30 minutes for food that was cold and bad. When the food arrived, the waitress served burned biscuits, among other things, and bowls of gravy in a basket that looked like the contents were about to spill over. When a member of our party commented on the awkwardness of all this, the waitress fired back with a rude reply. Bad service. Long wait. Cold and unsatisfactory food. Cracker Barrel of Decatur hit the terrible trifecta. We won't be back. read more

We live a block from this location and get take out very often. Mostly vegetable plates. The country veggies are so good and remind me of my grandmother's cooking. We also love the corn muffins. Try the cobblers- yum! read more

Save your time. Literally waited 2.5 hours for food and literally it was ridiculous. S L O W go somewhere else

Food is cold and old. Waitress did not bring me another plate when I told her that the food was cold. Also swept dust and debris toward our table from the floor. I think she should go back to Waitressing school. read more

I had the maple pecan fried chicken with mash potatoes and string beans. This is a limited special offered by Cracker Barrel. The chicken tasted good and the string beans were great. My wife had the chicken livers and cole slaw. She enjoyed the livers. The meal cost us $25 including drinks. The employees were friendly and helpful. The place was clean. read more

Recently our family visited the Cracker Barrell in Decatur,Al. We wanted to get the Famous Fireside meals before they left for the Summer. The last Day was as stated on menu was July 17th ,we were their 15th So anyway,we ordered the Pot Roast veggies and corn on the cob. The waitress came back said they were out of Pot Roast and Corn so we selected Chicken Campfire she came back said OUT of That.If they were OUT OF the Famous Campfire Meals What were they going to serve Customers the last 2 days of the Special. Is it possible that Cracker Barrell has a Limitey Quantity to Sell Each Day! REALLY!! WHEN A restaurant has Special that runs for 2-months they wouldn't Run Out. We were so Disappointed because we had come especially for the Famous Campfire Meal as most people look forward too Every Summer. We Love Love Cracker Barrel very Much and their Awesome Gift Shop! Note: I just hope Cooperate address this issue in the Decatur,Al. Location. read more

I have tortured myself by eating at this particular CB 3 or 4 times. The service is always slow and forgetful, and the food often comes out cold or in teeny tiny portions as if the kitchen staff is clueless. Actually, I think the entire staff is clueless. Save your time and money. Go to Waffle House. read more

The absolute worst dining experience I have ever had in several years. As I was seated (not for those with weak stomachs) I noticed someone lost their dinner on the floor. Waitresses and servers continued to ignore this gift from one of their diners for five minutes. One waitress walked thru it, looked down and continued to walk by area. After five minutes they decided to clean this up. This situation was very disgusting and handled very poorly by the staff. read more

Yeah so went there and we were seated. No waiter or waitress even came up to us the 10 minutes we were seated... they even fulfilled the drink orders of the party waiting after us. Never going back and you shouldn't either. read more

I have had a bad experience the last two times I've been to the one on belt line, Both times they took my order for pickup and when I get there to pick up the order they tell me that it's not available due to being out. I understand being out but tell people before you take the order. The bad part is it happend under two different managers. Will not be back. read more

Cracker Barrel food is pretty consistent no matter which location. One thing I can ALWAYS count on is their complete lack of ability to cook an egg over easy, but I am used to that, I know I am going to get over medium eggs whether I want them that way or not. This particular visit saw poor service with coffee refills, on a day I really needed the jolt. No matter tho, I went to Starbucks when I left and had tea. My friend arrived later and waited several minutes before someone showed to take her to go order, only to be told she would have to wait longer. Not sure they deserve my three stars. read more

I will never go back to this Cracker Barrel again, the server was terrible, we always order the grandmas pancake bfast which isn't on the regular menu but we know what it comes with, the server brought out something different than normal and when we asked her about it she turned around and stomped off without answering us, then we finally got to taste the food and it was horrible!!! We asked for a manager, we don't want free food we want to pay for everything we ordered, but we needed to let him know because she is training a new server while all this is happening, manager was no help, we paid and left and will never go back to this location. Horrific experience all around! read more

This location is simply terrible in terms of waiting. We were there for 40 minutes waiting for the food to come out. Threatened to leave. We showed up when the place was not that busy. Waited 10 minutes to be seated when there were plenty of tables open. Waitress or the checkout counter offered a discount for their slow service. They blamed my dad's catfish for holding up the order..are you serious? You're blaming us for your slow butts? In a nutshell, avoid Decatur. Way too much roadwork going on. read more

The food is good but the to go line never picks up and has hang up on me before too. Just inconvenient and upsetting when trying to order your food quickly and having to call multiple times to get ahold of someone. read more

Who doesn't like Cracker Barrel?? The Decatur location is conveniently located off the belt line. Nice clean restaurant