Decades ago, we ate at Mary's when hunting nearby - and loved the huge Chicken Fried Steaks! I took a trip back in time today! The CFS's are still monstrous, but they come in 3 sizes - a small filled up my hungry 220# appetite. The meat is tender and good, and not over-battered; perfect! Gravy was served on the side. Our Mashed Potatoes had the skin on (), and my beans were tasty. Mary's Iced Tea is good, but I had to add my own sugar or sweetener. Prices are fair, given the food's premium taste. And yes, Mary was still working! This Time Machine works!! read more

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Everything you use to score a restaurant puts this place at a 0. The food, the atmosphere, the price, the entire experience is a waste of time and money. I don't think the owner or employees have ever eaten anywhere other than a school cafeteria. read more

Numerous people have told me this was the best chicken fry ever, so we gave it a shot. I'll start off by saying when you order sweet tea in Texas, and they tell you "we dont have that," it's already starting bad. We all had the chicken fry, which is not a normal chicken fry. It was seasoned pretty good, but really thin. The gravy was really good, just like homemade. 2 had mashed potatoes and said they were good. The fries were good. 2 of us had red beans as a side, they wrre seasoned really well. Now is where they lost me. The water they use for everything tastes like dirt. The tea did, the water certainly did, and the beans did. I drank the water in Odessa when I lived there, this was worse. With tip, it cost the 5 of us, 120.00. Definately not the best chicken fry, but, at least we gave it a shot. I'll continue to go to my other place for a chicken fry. read more

Amazing chicken fried steak!!! Order the large and feed a family of 3-4 easily!!! This is a must stop if in the area!!!!!!

Don't understand the popularity of this place. Overpriced and underwhelming food. Service and portion size is outstanding but if the taste is just meh then why do I want more of it. Tried it once and then have it a second chance. My opinion remains the same. Not for me. read more

This was my second visit to Mary's and I will continue to return. We ordered chicken fried steak.....of course, but we had someone at our table order the enchiladas and I was SO happy. I have heard very good things about the enchiladas, but can't bring myself to order anything but the chicken fried steak. It's the best!! Enchiladas were very good a great portion and served HOT. Temperature hot. They are not spicy. They were served with chips and salsa. Chips were freshly cooked and salsa was a little bland, but overall very good. Overall our 2nd visit was just as good as our first, minus the company that joined us last time. Good food, great people/service and the best chicken fried steak in the universe. If you haven't been to Mary's......go ASAP. It's about a little over an hour from downtown Fort Worth and totally worth the drive. Also, get a shirt. They have a great selection. read more

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Made the trip from Dallas to eat chicken fried steak at Mary's. Haven't been there in a year. Wait staff said they were "out of salad" when in fact there is a sign posted at checkout that says that they refuse to purchase lettuce because of the cost. Rather silly since they could still offer a salad for an additional charge. Especially since the menu says the medium CFS is $23 but you are charged $28. And you are not informed before ordering that there's been a price increase. Why not make a real stand and stop ordering beef? You didn't have a problem raising the cost of CFS substantially. There's also that illogical sign you see about people don't want to work because of "government handouts" so be patient with staff that showed up. Someone tell me how all these people stretched a few thousand dollars over 2 years to be able to stop working? Not to mention that over 1 million have died of Covid, many worked in the restaurant industry. Does she call her forgiven PPP loan a government handout? I have eaten there for the last time. The CFS is not worth $28! read more

Mary is such a wonderful person. She took the time to make my boyfriend's birthday lunch extra special with a delicious slice of pie. I would have posted pictures but we ate everything before I thought to! Really great food and huge portions!! read more

Great fried food in enormous quantities. This is small town Texas at it's best. You will meet "salt of the earth" employees, loyal customers, and your iced tea will never drop below half-full. Walk around the parking lot to see a better variety of trucks than you will find at any dealership--most with modifications. We drive out here from Fort Worth because my wife and I were both raised in small towns. read more

The waitress was slow, didn't come around for refills drinks, and didn't acknowledge us to let us know if there was a problem... everyone came in after us ... were already have there food an eating, more like they were racist, bias it cause were brown, we wouldn't treated any people like this place did, until we let other waitress know, she came over.... i wouldn't recommend this place at all. The wait time is over 40 minutes after u have an order read more

Good: 1. You get a lot of food when you order 2. Waitress are kind Bad: 1: People have to wait while others get there food several minutes ahead of time 2. Over priced We got to seat ourselves when we walked in, and not long after sitting down we got waited on. When we went to order we found the prices on the menu to be pretty high compared to other restaurants. Chick-fil-A has 3 chicken strips, waffle fries and a medium drink for $9.19, Raising Canes has a Box Combo which is 4 chicken strips with crinkle fries and regular drink are $10.99, while you can get 3 chicken strips and French fries for $15 here. Another comparison is Texas Roadhouse, they have a 6oz sirloin steak with two sides for $16.54 after taxes, compared to a 5oz steak with sides for $21.50. They even charged for crackers on the menu, which I have never seen at a restaurant before as well as a plate share fee. When we got the food, mine came out first without any sides and no one else got their food. My steak was supposed to be medium rare, but when I got it the steak was around medium well. The steak's size took up the whole plate, but it was very thin. At first I thought I was brought the wrong steak due to the size until I realized it was due to it being very thin it must still be a 5oz steak, it just looks bigger since it took up more room. From the time I started, I finished 1/3 of the steak before anyone else got their food and by the time I was 2/3s done with the steak my fries came. Even though my steak wasn't cooked the way I wanted, I ate it all and it wasn't bad food. I think it could have been pretty good if it had been cooked medium rare. I tasted my fries which had no salt on them, but once throwing salt on they tasted good as well. The other people at the table ordered chicken fried chicken and popcorn chicken. They said the chicken tasted pretty good and they were in agreement over the prices being high, but in my opinion this place gives off a small town diner vibe. They have a good atmosphere and pretty good food. In fact I tried my first chicken fried steak at this restaurant and it was good, I have also heard that the strange items under the Favorites section on the menu are actually pretty good as well. If you like big portions and good food I'd give them a shot but I wouldn't eat here often due to price. Although the other places are cheaper, due to the location of Mary's the previous options that I mentioned are not in the vicinity and this is one of the few places around here that has decent quality food. read more

Mary's Cafe - Popcorn Chicken with Smiley Fries - American Near Me - Strawn, Texas

Nope! So, there was an article claiming that Mary's had the best chicken fried steak in the state... Not even close! I will post an abridged review and a detailed review for those interested. The short and sweet of it is, this CFS would not have ranked in my top 20! There was very little breading and almost no seasoning. On the positive side, I ordered the small option and it was plenty enough for me. It was also fairly tender and little gristle. However for $20, I expected far better. Now, for the more detailed review including the other food items we had there. So, as mentioned an article touted Mary's as having the best CFS in Texas. Since Strawn is just off of I-20 it was on my way back to Ft. Worth from West Texas so decided to go check them out. The restaurant itself was run down and dirty bathrooms. As long as the place is clean, I really don't care what it looks like inside... this needs to be addressed. Ok... The CFS was such a disappointment. I usually try to post positive reviews for family owned restaurants, but in good conscience I cannot with Mary's. Part of it is I had such high expectations, but with that said it did not come anywhere close to being a "good" CFS. Now, my other family members had different dishes. Wife: Had the Mexican Dinner. She said the taco was ok... (but really, how do you mess up a taco) The refried beans appeared to be right out of a can along with the Mexican rice (terrible). Son 1: Bean and cheese nachos... Again, what seemed to be beans right out of a can, still "thick and crusty" Son 2: Frog legs... He said they were "pretty good", but it was his first time having them, therefore nothing to compare them to, but they did look pretty decent. Oh... BTW, it also took almost 45 minutes to get our food... I truly do not like leaving negative reviews, but there was just too much to overlook with Mary's. read more

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The chicken fried steak was lightly breaded, well seasoned and the best I've had after a lifetime of loving CFS. The gravy tastes like someone's grandma made it in a cast iron skillet. read more

We were in Texas visiting friends and relatives. Everyone said we had to eat at Mary's. We were not disappointed. All of us got the chicken fried steak and loved it. read more

So, yes we watched The Texas Six, however my husband had eaten here years ago while at a deer lease nearby. Did it feel like a tourist trap, no, not at all. It was a small town, emphasizing small, local cafe with good ole southern service and home cooking! We came here because we drove out to Santos to pick up some sausage from Kennedy's and were craving some good ole CFS! Mary's did not disappoint and we were happy we went the extra 1/2 hour. We both ordered the CFS, with mashed potatoes. It comes with a very small side salad which neither of us tried because it didn't look good. However, we loved the homemade gravy and mashed potatoes. The CFS was good, not overly breaded and fork tender. We also ordered a side of fried green tomatoes and okra both excellent and we were glad we did!! The cafe itself has that small town local homey feel and could use a little updating. The soap dispenser in the women's was watered down and barely had any soap in it and the paper towels roll was just sitting on the back of the toilet. It was clean for the most part but definitely needs some actual soap. Would we make the trip out here again just for Mary's? Probably not, but if we are passing through and hungry we'd definitely give them a shout. No regrets. read more

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[review by native Texan] Best COUNTRY (Hell...It's NOT Chicken!) FRIED Steak. Steak crust DOES NOT Texas standards, needs to look, taste like a TEXAS! FRIED CHICKEN Crust! (Only positive) Portion size HUGE! Brown Gravy on mashed potatoes a TRAVESTY! Rest of meal (salad, Iced Tea) ok. Here in Texas older relative's restaurant served REAL Chicken Fried Steak for many years, they would laugh seeing this BS, think of it as being very Un-Texan. This steak does meet way-dumbed down "Country" Fried standards east and north of Texas (including God forbid) ...Yankee ones. Laughable 'Re-Elect ABBOTT FOR GOVERNOR" sign outside, supporting Republican Conformist Communism...it's as bad, laughable as fake "best in Texas' Country (Chicken) Fried I ate. read more

This spot was on the wife's bucket list due to the many YouTube reviews and tv shows about how great it is. So we drove 2hrs Saturday to experience the greatness, but It is NOT! I had the CFS and wife the fried chicken. Her fried chicken was burnt and there was more breading than dry chicken. CFS had no seasoning and gravy had a burnt after taste. Then to top it off, the menu had CFS for $19 and fried chicken for $16, but they charge you $23 and $22.50 respectively. The worst part is they don't tell you until they hand you the check! Looks like the food shows and YouTube foodies made a mistake here. The people were very nice is the only good thing we can say about it. read more

Our son has been here a couple of times and thought the chicken fried steak was awesome...as he never has tried one elsewhere....well we went and it was soggy and not close to any we've ever had. We waited for way too long as they were crowded on a Sunday however not worth the wait. Daughter got the 2 pound burger which was overcooked....and not tasty at all. Tea tasted old... read more

Mary's Cafe - 2 pound burger and sweat tea - American Near Me - Strawn, Texas

I was somewhat nearby to Mary's for a fishing tournament on the lake and everyone kept saying we had to go to Mary's for a chicken fried steak. Well, this is Texas, where CFS is life. So yeah, we definitely had to partake. After a 30 minute drive, we arrived on Sunday around noon and were able to be seated almost immediately with 4 people. Our drink orders were taken quickly, followed by food orders. That is when things took a turn. After about 20 minutes I notice, that nearly the whole dinning room is waiting on food. I ask our waitress what's up. She said they were down 2 cooks, but had people coming in. I asked for our side salads while we waited. They were not given to us until our meals arrived, about 50 minutes after being seated. The salad consisted of a small bowl of shredded lettuce and a teaspoon of diced tomatoes. The mashed potatoes were decent, but dry and the CFS was just average to me. Other than Mary's offering huge sizes of CFS if you choose them, I didn't find it appealing. read more

Mary's Cafe - Small CFS and sides, just OK to me. - American Near Me - Strawn, Texas

Used to drive 90 miles one way for their CFS. It has slowly gone downhill to the point that won't stop if I'm driving past. First the gravy seemed to suffer first. It tasted like a mix instead of freshly made. Probably Pioneer Mix which isn't bad. Next time the breading was thicker than the steak (which was as thick as deli cut meat). Decided that surely it couldn't be that bad THREE times in a row....well it was and service was horrible as well. What once was one of the best CFS in Texas isn't any better than a chicken sandwich from Sonic. Surprised they are still in business. Go to Babe's in Roanoke for better, still not as good as they once were either. Save your gas and don't get gas. Gave two stars simply out of courtesy. read more

67 years old and finally made it to Mary's.. One more thing off the bucket list. I had the "Medium" Chicken Fried Steak with Mashed Potatoes. Wife and Daughter had Loaded Potatoes and teen aged Granddaughter had Chicken Strips with Fries........ Everything was exactly as advertised! Fantastic, Friendly service.....Large helpings and a simple, small time feel inside. As a native Texan, I'm embarrassed I haven't been to Mary's sooner, but it will not be the last! Just want to add that I did look at a lot of the poor reviews and can hardly believe some are legit. 1. We also stopped by on a Sunday. About 3:00. It was not crowded nor noisy. 2. Service was fine. One girl handled drinks and the waitress handled the order. Took no more than 5 min. 3. The salad is a small bowl of lettuce with a spoonful of tomatoes. 4. Mashed potatoes do have a tint to them but that is due to way they are prepared and they are delicious 5. My wife can make a better CFS also but so what? We go out so she doesn't have to cook. 6. If there are folks saying they got small portions, we'll the review is not legit. 7. And, if folks are coming from DFW, Austin or any other city and expecting this to be Morton's, Ruth Chris or Del Frisco's..... just don't come! It's a small town cafe whether it's famous or not. Get over yourself.... Enjoy the perfect imperfections! read more

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If you like chicken fried steak, with taters and okra then go no further than Mary's Cafe in Strawn, Texas. Meat is so tender you do not need a knife and unless you're Paul Bunyan do not order anything larger than medium or you'll never walk again or have a heart attack on the spot! Seriously this is the best CFS in Texas by far. Friendly staff, no frills just good eats are on the fare. If your brave think about desert but better yet plan for another visit. read more

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It's expensive. Prices on menu are not what the prices are right now. A small chicken fry steak with French fries and what they call a salad (lettuce and carrots ) was $26.00. A medium chicken fry was almost $31.00. We shared so there was an addition $2 charge. We got 2 teas. Not bad at $2 each. Cheese enchilada to go with rice and beans $17.00. 3 plates. $81.00. Plus tip. Almost $100 for 3 plates. read more

Great home cooking had small order of the gizzards the first time to much to eat but very good then the burger was awesome. My friends had the chicken fried steak and was larger than the plate and cook to perfection. read more

Love Mary's Great food, service. Don't get to go as much as I would like too but really look forward on my next visit. Hopefully it will be soon read more

Friendly staff, great food, and fair prices...what more could you want?!! The chicken fried steak perfectly seasoned and is so tender you can cut it with a fork. The mashed potatoes are REAL POTATOES, not made from that weird powdered stuff. They are soft and flavorful and are begging to be covered in some of Mary's delicious gravy! Put on your stretchy pants, get in your truck and head to Strawn for a great meal! read more

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Without a doubt, the best chicken fried steak in Texas. ...not to mention the biggest! Friendly staff, reasonable prices, and great food! What a perfect combination! read more

Out for Saturday drive! We made plans to take the hour trip from Granbury to Strawn to try out Mary's world famous Chicken Fried steak. It was WELL WORTH the drive. All and make reservations.... also, if you k ow what you want, call ahead and place your order as it's a wait for your food. But again, the food was worth it! It is difficult to hear- for their older guests they could add some tiles to the ceiling or something as it was impossible to visit with my dad due to the noise level. Over all: great place... yummy chicken fry ... and a nice drive. read more

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Like a lot of other people, we were told that we had to try this place. So we did and now I wanna slap the person who suggested it. No one staff member had a mask on. The place was packed and no social distancing enforced. It took almost 2 hours to order, eat and pay. So be sure you have plenty of time. On to the food. Of the nine people in our party not one person was impressed. Yes the portions are huge but so are the prices. We had the CFS and is was bland at best. Fries were good but cold and nothing else really stood out. Won't be back. This place is WAY over hyped. read more

Mary's Cafe - a plate of fried chicken and mashed potatoes - American Near Me - Strawn, Texas

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Best chicken fried steak anywhere as far as I'm concerned look forward to it every time I'm in the area.

My husband has to eat here as often as I'll let him. It's good old fashioned southern home cooking.

Incredible food, good staff, long waits and very busy. Can feel rushed to get in and out for people waiting.

I would give her a 5 but it is good fantastic good but not the greatest chicken fry Gravy big bowl Serving size more than I could eat Basic salad which if your headed for chicken fry it is just a side item The service was quick as we arrived about 1 pm Family atmosphere with some cowboy clad fellers talking to us during our meal I am tempted to move it to a 5 but there are better chicken frys out in this big steak I will be back as it is worthy of the road trip read more

Today, I went to Mary's in Strawn TX with my boyfriend, but our experience was marred by uncomfortable stares and being served last, even though we ordered before others did. Sadly, it seems racism is alive and well in 2024. I couldn't even eat my food in peace, we got out to go plates and left IMMEDIATELY! read more

Much better!! Food came out hot & quick! Waitress was on top of things...I'll be back as always...didn't see the other waitress around so maybe she got the boot!!! read more

I just love this place! Mary's is literally the Home of the World Famous Chicken Fried Steak! I don't know how your momma did it... and we don't care... until she's been written up by literally everyone who writes professionally about Chicken Fry's... this is the undisputed winner! Guess what? It takes a while to cook a pound of beef! Press it into a ball, and it's gonna have some differences in seasoning! Guess what' else... it's HUGE! Deal with it, or don't order it! It's a fav... ask em to squish it, and tell em you're from the city! Sit down... take some time... your order will be here quick enough! Talk to the waitress, or your neighbors. Put your phone down! Enjoy this experience! 5 STARS for being Legend---ary! read more

If you are from the city (whIch I am)this is different! Great food Huge portions country service. We love it! Make sure someone gets the chicken fried steak! read more

Waited thirty minutes for some tea, still waiting for food while writing. Waiter came five minutes after seated. But it is worth the wait, Food 5/5 but -1 for the wait read more

This place doesn't deserve a star. 1. Waitstaff was terrible. Took forever for someone to take our drink order and then another 30 minutes to order food. 2. For appetizers we thought we'd try a couple of options. a: the stuffed cheddar jalapeños: so gross. It's shredded cheese on a sliced jalapeño and soggy crust. b: the loaded tater tots: the tater tots are out of a frozen bag. Ours were freezer burned. Half weren't even hot. Canned chili was plopped in the middle. c: the queso and salsa: now this takes the cake. The "queso" is that ballpark cheese out of a huge gallon bucket you buy at Sam's for high school football games. So nasty. The salsa.. is the reason for the one star. It was amazing. 3. We ordered the following for the table: a: the seafood platter: the fried stuff was all soggy and chewy; not to mention cold. b: the rest of the table got the chicken fried steak since it's what we were told we had to come here for. The batter... again, soggy. Now this is meant to be like grandma's southern fried chicken fried steak. D for effort since it was soggy and cold. The mashed potatoes were okay, but again cold. The gravy... it's tasted like someone took a packaged mix gravy and added some flower to it so it would look homemade. All-in-all, I heard about it. I went... I saw... I tasted.. and that's all for me. Not real sure why I believed all these city folk when they said how amazing this "home cooking" was. It's all canned or freezer food. read more

It ain't what it was. Busy, expensive and s-l-o-w. The fame done got to them I suppose. They've got more rules posted on the walls than the IRS has agents. I'll pass on by. read more