We were looking for a place to grab breakfast with the family on New Year's Day and decided on…read moreCracker Barrel since we've had positive experiences here in the past. It felt like a safe, familiar choice for a holiday morning.
When we arrived, we were told the wait would be about 30 minutes. To our surprise, we were called back closer to 10 minutes after signing in, which was a very welcome start. That said, once we were called, we ended up waiting a bit longer while our table was cleaned. Unfortunately, it wasn't fully ready when we were seated. There was still trash on the floor, which I nudged aside with my foot until someone eventually came by and picked it up.
Our server came over fairly quickly to ask for drink orders, and we were promptly served coffee and water, which we appreciated. After that, things slowed down. It seemed clear the restaurant was short-staffed. Our waiter was visibly running around, and it took quite a while for our food order to be taken even though we were ready.
When the food finally arrived, most of the plates were incomplete. I ordered the Country Boy Breakfast with three eggs, sirloin steak tips, a biscuit with gravy, and two breakfast sides. I chose grits and the fried sweet apples. What arrived initially was the eggs, steak tips, and grits. The biscuit and gravy didn't show up until another 15-20 minutes later.
The eggs were cooked sunny-side up as requested, but the steak tips were unfortunately very overcooked and, in my opinion, over-seasoned. The grits were honestly pretty bad. On the bright side, the fried sweet apples were amazing and easily the highlight of my meal.
Others in our party had similar issues. Some people received eggs but not their pancakes. One person in our group of five, who ordered only French toast and bacon, didn't receive any food at all until the rest of us finally got our missing pancakes and biscuits. We didn't want to start eating until everyone had something, and by the time everything arrived, much of the food was cold.
We also asked multiple times for basic accompaniments like jelly for the biscuits and salsa for the eggs and steak tips. These took a long time to arrive and required several reminders. I could sense our waiter's frustration, which I genuinely understand given the circumstances, but we were equally frustrated and disappointed with the service.
Overall, the food was mid. The steak was very bad, the grits were disappointing, while the pancakes and biscuits seemed to be solid for everyone else. The eggs were fine, and the apples really stood out in a good way. I'd recommend sticking to the basics here.
The prices were reasonable, but the service issues took away significantly from the experience. With better staffing, this location could likely do much better.
As it stands, I can't give it more than 3 stars for average food and poor service, and even that feels a bit generous, offered in the spirit of starting the new year with positive vibes.
