For starters, the food was excellent. The old building could use a renovation but that had zero impact on the service and food. A lifelong Texan here so chicken fried steak and gravy can make or break a place. Without a doubt, best I have ever had. Not over seasoned,not greasy, just enough crunch and the meat was an actual tenderized cube steak. The salad bar was fresh and had good choices. The buffet had many meats, entrées and vegetables to choose from. The service was top notch, fast and on point. They serve breakfast all day with plenty to choose from there too. AND.... one of my big pet peeves is restaurants that buy pre grated cheese. At Johnny's, they grate their own cheese which was yummy. We will definitely stop there everytime we are driving through Clifton, TX. read more

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I had the haystack it was good. If you like a lot of pepper flour gravy , if not I'd suggest a half pour on that. Staff was good no issues. It's little country diner. I'd recommend for something different. read more

Second time here. Just a local relaxed small Texas town restaurant. Always friendly staff and the food has been good so far. read more

Food was AMAZING. Huge portions . Real chicken fried steak , yet soooo tender with a mouth watering batter and gravy. Salad was extra good . I took my leftovers home and ate for 2 more meals This was our first trip. Within a month we went back for buffet on second trip. Pleased with the salad bar. Everything I tried was good. . I would like to see pie on buffet Thinking about coming on third visit today and bringing a friend who has never been. read more

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Had the Haystack (my go to for breakfast) and it was ok. Not sure why, but seeing less of the old regulars and seems to have a Mexican vibe now (no morning news, loud Mexican music instead) Which is fine for a Mexican food restaurant, but not a country diner. read more

Great and friendly service. Home town feeling. Great buffet with a great selection of delicious food. It was worth the thirty minutes drive. We will go back.. read more

Excellent food and service!! awesome Prices very friendly waiters Best American Food Best breakfast food Serving breakfast all day!!!! read more

Breakfast was excellent. Eggs with chicken fried steak and grits. Perfect while on a road trip heading to our cruise out of Galveston.

Place needs to be torn down and rebuilt. Not set up for large groups. Restrooms were terrible: broken; tiny; filthy; huge hole in men's room floor with a plastic ceiling tile covering it which prevented the door from closing. Food was OK: B grade. Price was good. Understaffed for large groups. Needs thorough deep-cleaning. Not enough parking; needs repaving. Only the food raised this review to two stars read more

Everything was good, took my boyfriend there and he liked it wasn't use to food like that but he gave it a 3/5 stars.

We had a great time at Johnny's Place. The food is wonderful, service is accurate, the portions are huge, and the diner vibe is on point. read more

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The food was good, it was the best catfish I've ever had, and the service was good too.

The best place in town to get breakfast!!! Great waitstaff, great food and doesn't cost a fortune!!! read more

Johnny's Place - Cover of menu - American Near Me - Clifton, Texas

My husband ordered full chicken fried steak, full tater tots & 1/2 order of onion ring. Also came with a generous bowl of gravy & Texas toast. (Full order of chicken fried means 2-steaks) Same for full order of tater tots, those were a plate full. I ordered grilled chicken tenderloins with grilled peppers & onions, mashed potatoes & fried okra (fried to perfection I might add). Mine came with a bowl of gravy & Texas toast as well. Everything was absolutely delicious! Now we have our leftovers for another meal each to take home. (& we are big eaters) The server was quick & friendly. Price was plenty fair considering it was enough food for 4 meals! read more

Great food great price great service! Always fresh buffet! So glad we have this place near us!

Great lunch buffet. Good salad bar. Went on Thursday for Mexican food buffet. Great local place to eat

I ate here for the first time early on a Friday and opted to order the "favorites" Migas. A HUGE serving for $8! Bottomless coffee as well. Many customers were greeted by name, while others were politely seated and quickly served. All was excellent! Another big plus for me: Lots of peppers, onions, salsas, and everything was only lightly salted at best. Can't wait to try a buffet someday. read more

We attended a meeting here the service so incredibly slow. Took over an hour to get everyone served. They literally gave everyone their bill before the food came out. Guess they were worried we were going to walk out. The first time I tried to reserve the meeting room the person that answered the phone was rude. Basically told me she didn't have time to talk to me I would have to call back. I guess they have enough business they don't need mine. read more

Great Sunday brunch. Greens beans were fresh as well as the fried catfish. Brunch includes Bluebell ice cream.

Good service but my wife's bacon was so undercooked the dog got it. The pancakes were overcooked and dried out. Pretty much everything tasted like bought it at a convenience store. The staff was friendly but I only got 1 cup of coffee the whole meal. We won't be back. Not really upset about anything the prices were reasonable, the food just wasn't worth it. read more

The food was great for a late night stop. We had a large crowd and the service was good for overwhelming them with a big table.

Went for breakfast buffet today. If I could give it a zero I would. In previous years you could not get in the parking lot they were so full, today there were 5 cars. It has been a while since we have been there, new ownership a year or so ago and went there a 6 mos. or so back, it wasn't very good but thought we would give it another try. Big, Big mistake, when we got there at 8:15am there were no eggs, no bacon on the buffet so we waited, they brought out 10 pieces of bacon, 4 sausage links and a small amount of scrambled eggs. The bacon was cold, the biscuits were cold and hard, the eggs must have been sitting in the back because they were cold. We ate anyway, but when I told the person at the counter (very nicely) who claimed to be the manager, that she might want to let the kitchen know, she didn't offer any apology, she simply said "Sounds like a personal problem", I said "what"? I told her, I am trying to be nice and letting you know the buffet might need to be serviced. She said "well everyone else likes it, not my problem", I said OK then let me speak to the manager, she said I am the manager. I certainly see why they now only have 5 tables with customers on a Sunday morning that use to be packed to the point you had to wait for a table, not only was the food cold and not good, the "manager" is also the problem. I am sure she must be related to the owner, because if she wasn't I would fire her on the spot. What a shame it is still named "Johnny's" because it is nowhere near the standard Johnny's was, it makes me very sad. Don't go there or go and form your own opinion, just be sure not to tell the "manager" there is an issue. I intend to review them on every site I can fine. read more

Always see the parking lot full at Johnny's Place when passing thru Clifton. Had some time this trip and decided to check it out. There is a breakfast buffet which we had and was very good. Chicken fried chicken and chicken fried steak, bacon, ham, sausage, three styles of scrambled eggs, pancakes, French toast etc etc. Good ole Texas country breakfast. They have a good selection on the menu and from was being brought out looked good and plenty in the plate. Price is very reasonable as well. Will stop by again sometime maybe to see what's on lunch or supper buffet. read more

If you haven't tried the chicken tenders you are SO missing out!!! They are HUGE and battered perfectly. The Mac & cheese is also on point. It's a great small town home cooking place! read more

The restaurant is not following COVID guidelines at all. The tables are not spaced 6 feet apart. People are serving themselves from the buffet line. This is against State guidelines. Nobody is wearing any masks at all. Very dangerous. There is supposed to be an employee serving at a buffet line. Won't be back and reporting to DSHS. read more

Absolutely the best place in town for breakfast. Coffee is hot and flavorful. The omelets are huge and good !!! The full breakfast is under 7.00. Pancakes bigger than my head. Service is great. Inside the decor is a little dated but hey it's a local diner. All the locals eat here. Blue plate lunches every day too !! read more

Johnny's Place - American Near Me - Clifton, Texas

Jen was awesome service! The buffet was soooo good, especially on a cold day of baseball!! A must eat in Clifton.

Excellent service and food! Down home atmosphere and the buffet was great. The dessert at the end was absolutely delicious. I had the pineapple cobbler for the first time. read more

The food was really good and the atmosphere and service was very friendly and on the ball. I'd definitely eat here again. As an added note our waitress Kayla (I believe) was super awesome and made the experience from a 3 star to a 4 star. Nice work! The only down side was that they had Fox News on the TV and I had to listen to those idiots "report". read more

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Great service huge portions and reasonable prices the restaurant was clean and we didn't have a wait despite being a Friday before a football game read more

The food & service was great. They are NOT taking COVID precautions. A buffet that slowed customers to walk right up to it without masks and even talking on the phone etc. I won't go back as long as COVID is active. read more

First off- service was excellent- portions are huge and great value- planning on staying in Clifton this weekend and already planned on at least 2 visits to Johnnys Place read more

Friendly staff and good food. The buffet comes with drink, salad, soup, and a yummy dessert. The fried pickles are a must! The sampler had the biggest cheesesticks I've ever seen. The fried food wasn't greasy, and it wasn't overly salted. Good stop for some country eats. read more

Have you ever thought to yourself, "Man, I sure would like a baked potato that is actually just an excuse to cram 3 meals worth of goopy, delicious calories onto a single plate"? If you've never had this thought, I suspect you may be doing something wrong. But there IS hope. And it's just a little past Waco. I think. This little ole diner served some beef soup that really tasted like it was made with love. And my stuffed potato was less like a stuffed potato and more like an explosion of chicken-fried steak smothered in white gravy dancing around melty globs of cheddar cheese. The menu (and the back wall of the joint) is plastered with local business ads, all featuring really kitschy clip art. It's way small town, and awesome. You may also have meals for the next 3 days if you take home your leftovers. Johnny's place gives the gift of food that keeps on giving. And what, you may ask, would I do with a to-go box clotted with chicken fried steak, baked potato, and cheese? It's called a frittata, and you're welcome. read more

I am giving 4 stars... Mind you, I am NOT comparing Johnny's to a fine dining restaurant, that wouldn't be fair. Johnny's is a privately owned eatery in Clifton Texas, so let's be real here. I am a "fan", and I'll eat there again while visiting Clifton. The service is very down home friendly. The food was good! And honestly, I wasn't thrilled when we pulled up in the parking lot. And I wasn't excited when we first walked inside. One trip to the buffet and my mind was changed! We chose the buffet over the menu because it had MANY of the items listed in the menu, and I like to "sample". The salad was wet, cool and crispy, the fresh selection of veggies to add to my salad were perfect...and guess what. HOME MADE Ranch for the dressing snob. (yeah, that's me) I do NOT like to go to a restaurant to find they use bottled dressing. (I even make ALL of my own at home, I'm weird like that.) The other buffet selections were: chicken fried steak, chicken breast bites (with jalapeno, cheese and bacon-delish), cornmeal battered catfish, green beans, carrots, mashed potatoes, cornbread, biscuits (home made)...and so on....It really was good, so guess what. We went back for breakfast. LOL It's true. It is a great little joint located in a cool little town. Outside? Not much to look at. Inside? Your belly will find mooch-o satisfaction! Chow! read more

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My boss and I were passing through town and decided to stop here for lunch. At noon on a Monday, I thought it would be busier, but it was only about half full. The staff was very nice and very attentive. The prices were reasonable and the menu was extensive. There was even a buffet with the traditional southern cooked foods...fried and grilled chicken, mashed potatoes, cabbage, etc. my boss and I each ordered sandwiches, I had the BLT and he had a turkey Swiss. It didn't come with a side, so I chose home fries from the extensive list. The sandwiches were good, but nothing to write home about. They each came on standard white bread. I will say that my BLT was LOADED with bacon. The home fries were large and good, but nothing spectacular. What was nice was our plates came with a free serving of cobbler after. My boss had the peach and I chose the pineapple, since I'd never heard of pineapple cobbler before. The pineapple was definitely from a can, but the cobbler was warm and good. My entire meal was under $8, so that was nice. I give this place a 3-star just because it was good and filled my belly, but not someplace I would necessarily ever go back to when passing through the area. On that note, it's not a place that I would purposefully avoid either. read more

Our favorite place to go whenever we get done camping at meridian state park. The Sunday buffet is amazing

Friendly staff and residents and really great food at a Reasonable cost! Couldn't ask for better service!

Very clean. Staff friendly. Waitress smiled, great service but not overbearing. Checkedon us right amount of time. Food delicious. Down home cooking. Late afternoon and buffet did still fresh. From waco to meridian to west to Whitney, this is the best hometown cafe I have found in the 5 years have lived in the area. Will definitely return and bring company. read more

Great buffet or eat off the menu. They have a Senior discount and on Sunday, Seniors eat buffet style for $5.99. What a deal!! Friendly staff. We will be back. Thanks for a great dinner. read more