My husband and his cousin love the Mary's so I joined them even though I am a vegetarian. We waited 30 minutes to be seated but I was happy that they offered a cheese enchiladas along with beef and chicken enchiladas on the menu. When I got my plate, the cheese enchiladas had beef chili sauce on them. I notified my waitress and she took the plate but would not take the item off the bill. I ordered potato salad and coleslaw (both which were good) but thought it was poor form to make me pay for a meal I did not want, nor did their menu mention it had chili sauce on top. That's why I needed to write a poor review. My husband and cousin raved about their chicken fried steak meals they had though! read more

This place is one of our favorite and has been for over 30 years! There was a large crowd but they took care of their customers and got them in and out quickly! The food was exceptional tonight and our waitress, Katie, was awesome! read more

Absolutely the BEST chicken fried steak you will ever eat!!! We make the trip 2-3 times a year just for it. The gravy is the best, I dip my fries, steak and bread in it. But be warned, unless you have a huge appitite don't order the large. My husband and I usually get the small and it is plenty enough. On occasion he has gotten the medium and almost went into a food coma on the way home. So if you are hungry for CFS, Mary's place is where you need to go. Hmmmmmm just writting this makes me think it is time we made that trek again........... read more

Rode my Goldwing to Strawn today specifically to eat at Mary's. It is one of the 'Must' destinations in North Central Texas area for bikers to ride to eat lunch and I wanted not only to make the ride, but I wanted to see if it deserved it's reputation. I arrived only 30 minutes after Mary's had opened and it was already packed. This is an old building, it's been there for a while, but it was clean and in good repair. As I was by myself, my wait was only about 5 minutes to be seated. Know that they seat people everywhere and a table for 8 may be shared by more than one party. As said previously, they were already very busy, but the staff quickly took my order and it arrived 35 minutes later. I had ordered the medium Chicken Fried Steak with Mashed potatoes. Now this is a little incorrect as it is actually 'pan fried' in a skillet and not deep fried. This means the crust is not crispy but a little soft. It was about 1/2" thick, very tender, and huge. This medium steak will feed 3 people easily. These are real mashed potatoes, not creamed, so there are some lumps, but they were flavorful and like the steak, there was enough there for 3. The gravy was in a bowl on the side and was sufficient in quantity to cover the entire steak and still have some leftover for the mashed potatoes. The salad was of shredded lettuce and diced tomatoes and was the only item sized for one person. The meal also came with Texas toast. Was this the best CFS in Texas, probably not. Was it worth the ride, definitely! Nice scenery, flavorful food, huge portions, and great prices. Basically 3 meals in one for well less than $20 bucks. I can't wait to ride there again to see what a 'Large' CFS looks like! read more

A friend from work recommended this and I am delighted he did it is so great! You know when chicken fried steak is done right when the gravy is as good as the meat and this gravy was terrific. I will pull off of I 20 anytime for this place. read more

If you love everything deep fried, this is the place to be! The do it up right. Huge amounts of food, COLD beer! LOUD, LOUD, LOUD. Fun place, people come from miles around. Even have Calf fries if that's your "bag"! read more

The pics that are posted by everyone says it all. Big Texas portions and very tasty. Nuff said.

This place is in the COUNTRY and when you walk in you are hit in the face with cigarette smoke. As a former smoker I would have loved this back then, but hate it now. You know what though I got over it REALLY quick with the first bite of the Chicken Fried Steak. Love the griddle top frying vs the deep fryer. This place is what Texas is all about. Hard working people, making great food for their community. read more

Like my grandmother used to cook. I could eat bigger than the small cfs. Gravy is wonderful. Well worth the 4 mile trip off I20. Great French fries. Very noisy during lunch run. I could eat there everyday because it is so good. read more

famous for chicken fried steak and rightfully so but my favorite is the tacos, they taste like i made them myself.Delicious.

A special trip to Strawn is worth it if Mary's is open. My sons and I enjoyed a great-tasting chicken fried steak there.

CFS is as good as expected...no issues with service Will make the effort to come back read more

Best country fried steak outside of homemade I've ever had, as well as the best gravy. I could make a meal out of the gravy! Good grilled chicken breast too. Large portions...we took an entire meal home. Love the Texas toast! Fried pie was good, not greasy at all. It's well worth a stop! read more

The chicken fried steak is outstanding!!! How ever my phone in order took 45 minutes to get even though she said it would take 20. So in all it was an hour. Will this stop us from eating here? No will just call it in sooner then we are ready to eat. read more

This was the best I've ever . I had the large chicken fried steak the gravy is the best . I come every chance I get . One fajitas are huge enough for four people Same as chicken died steak . Love it!! read more

Mary's Cafe - American Near Me - Strawn, Texas

This is the best place to eat !!!!! Chicken fried steak is the house specialty , but there is nothing bad at Mary's. It's hopping but the wait staff is friendly and attentive. I am a personal fan of the calf fries. If you haven't beef fit,s worth a special trip to Strawn!!! read more

Great down home southern cooking, huge Pan fried chicken fried steak, delicious calf fries, huge burger. It is a great ride destination out west for a great meal. read more

Always been a huge fan of Mary's. However the last couple times I been there, the CFS seemed not as good. Could have just had a bad visit, they were busy and my food was cold. Will give it another try. read more

My family loves stopping at Mary's Cafe!! We are from Abilene and any time we go to Dallas, the last place we stop is Mary's. The people are nice and Mary is the sweetest lady! We have tried lots of different things and have loved everything we order. If your on I20 between Abilene and Dallas you MUST stop and eat at Mary's Cafe. read more

Heard about this place from lots of travel magazines. And from Bud Kennedy at the Ft.Worth Star- Telegram. Had the medium CFS with salad and fries was delicious and more than enough for one person. Good old country atmosphere. read more

Mary's Cafe - 1st Time here heard it's good. - American Near Me - Strawn, Texas

See all

My husband and I have wanted to try this for a while. Finally stopped in for lunch and we both ordered the chicken fried steak (small-portions are large). Food was all of "okay"! We were disappointed. The food was bland. Mashed potatoes were dry and had big lumps. Salad was pathetic. The toast was good! Waitress basically ran around us and paused to take our order. read more

We have heard for years how great this place is. Today we were close by on a road trip so we decided to stop. B if mistake. Upon entering we told a boy working there that there were 6 of us. He said we would have to wait for a big table. There was a group of 7 before us. One of the dining rooms had plenty of unoccupied tables that hadn't been cleaned. After about 20 minutes a girl working there looked in the room and asked the boy what he was doing. He replied he was cleaning tables. We were then seated and our drink order was taken. The drinks were brought promptly but they must never clean the tea machine it tasted dirty. Our order was taken and it wasn't anything unusual just the chicken fried steak and a burger. The table next to us ordered right before we did and they got their food ate and were leaving before we got our food. Even then they forgot to cook the French fries so our grandson had to wait on those. It took about 45 minutes to get our food. On the upside there was a lot of food. It was just OK. I'm have better food many other places. Not sure hie they have gotten so many great reviews. This was our first and last visit! read more

The chicken fried steak tastes good but we got there at 3:00 and ordered at 3:15 and got our food at 4:15 so if you want to wait eat here but if you are starving just pass by read more

I ordered the sirloin and shrimp and it was DELICIOUS. Very tender, juicy, and perfectly seasoned. I highly recommend it!

If you are a CFS lover and have time, take the brief detour off I-20 and check it out...I was really glad I did.

Arrived before 11:30 on Sunday morning in order to beat the church crowd and still found Mary's busy. Cars were waiting for our parking space when we left. Ordered the "small" serving of fried chicken gizzards having learned from a prior visit that helping was going to be more than enough. The time I ordered a large serving, I took 2/3 home and made two more meals out of it. The friendly waitress reminded me that it would take a while since the cooks start from scratch. I ate all the crunchy, chewy gizzards with delight but left a lot of French fries as there was just too many. My companion had the CFS and loved it but was smart enough to order its small version as we are on a road trip with no where to store left overs. read more

Great CFS! Appears to be pan fried and it was delicious! Small side salad and a baked potato with Texas toast on the side made for a kings meal. The CFS was fork cutting tender and I will be back. Wish there was something like this in the Dallas area. read more

Easy drive from DFW and scenic - which was a pleasant surprise. Loved the down home feel of Mary's. Make sure you get there early as it fills up fast. I dined by myself and had great service. Wonderful CFS (medium), hand-cut fries, and even got a courtesy piece of cake, I think they knew I meant business. Headed back there tomorrow and am preparing for the large CFS. Never mind the bad reviews - try it for yourself. And when you get there, remember to seat yourself or you'll look like a newbie. read more

This place was horrible. The service was very bad. The country fried steak was a pile of grease and flower. The pie was some prepackaged frozen piece of junk. Never again. read more

The "famous" CFS is underwhelming at best. Mine tasted of old grease. The steak was indeed fork tender, and my medium size easily could feed two adults. You are better off paying the $2 extra plate tax than getting two adult entrees. The side salad is nothing but finely chopped iceburg lettuce and a teaspoon dollop of diced tomatoes. The mashed potatoes were huge and could also feed two. A large bowl of gravy comes with the meal. They offer limited draft beers and some bottles, no mixed drinks or bar. The service was very quick and friendly on a busy Friday night. This is a roadside cafe complete with all the old smells and years of grime. I left full, belching old grease, and wishing I had ordered something besides the CFS. read more

Excellent every time with great customer service. On the occasions that you have to await for a table it is always well worth it!

Let me start by saying our waitress was rude and if u ask "what appetizer is better", "she asks how long do u want to wait" this must be the only place in Texas that don't have sweet tea, if u want a soda it's out of a can, really I can have that at home, my wife ordered a grilled cheese and frys, when she got her food the grilled cheese looked like it got soaked in oil, how can u mess up a grilled cheese lol, she asked for them to take it back and that she was just going to eat the frys and if she could have some bbq sauce so we had to ask two other people and ten minutes later to finely get it and when we did our waitress just looked at her, i had the chicken fried steak and it was good but the service and the drinks is enough for me not to go back, face it you can have the best food in the world but if your staff sucks who's going to want to go there. read more

First time at Mary's Cafe and it won't be the last. My husband and I had lunch there today and it was hoppin! The young man that found us a table was really nice, as was our waitress. The menu has a huge variety. We both ordered Mexican plates. Loved the tacos and enchiladas, beans and rice so so. Chips and hot sauce good! Our waitress let my husband sub his beans and rice for fries and coleslaw ...the fries were great. The town of Strawn is Lucky to have Mary's Cafe!! read more

G Good food, good service. Even though they were very busy, we were promptly waited on. We have eaten here several times and have never been disappointed. CFS is the primary offering, but the BBQ is quite good, and the hamburger is HUGE. Funny to watch a someone order one and watch their reaction when they bring it out. Get the small CFS unless you have a massive appetite. read more

We ate at Mary's about a week ago on the way back home from Lubbock, and I somehow neglected to write a review. That was an oversight, because the place is definitely deserving. I read many of the reviews before we arrived, so I was concerned about making the stop. We had seen the place on some of the TV shows and my in-laws said they had eaten there, and I did want to try it. The reviews made me wary because of complaints about service and that the chicken fried steak didn't live up to the reputation all of the TV segments gave it. First off, let me say that the service wasn't that bad. The place was packed, and loud. We had a very large party, so we called ahead and had a table ready when we arrived. Our waitress stayed busy and did have some trouble keeping up with drinks, but I've had worse. Especially given that this place cooks the food when it's ordered, not ahead of time. The building was loud with all the bikers eating, and we had to park around the corner. This isn't a place for a "quiet dinner," so if that's what you want you should keep driving. I had no problems with the crowd, the noise, or the building. Speaking of the drinks, sodas are sold by the can, which makes them a little pricey and a little more of a pain to refill. This was a complaint some other reviews mentioned. The tea was good and I went that route myself. Now, the chicken fried steak. You will either love it or hate it. One review I read mentioned that it was cooked the way it was when he was a kid-- pan fried instead of deep fried. That is a fair point. If you want a thick crusted CFS that has been deep fried, stick with a place like Babe's, which is good, but not the same. I, on the other hand, grew up eating chicken fried steak that had a thin crust fried in an old cast iron skillet, and the CFS at Mary's is the closest you can come to that anymore. My wife and I split the medium, she got a baked potato and I had the french fries. The big bowl of cream gravy was served on the side. The meat comes on top of two pieces of toast to soak up any grease. The meat I had was tender, was juicy, and was not at all tough. I thought it was fantastic. The gravy was also really good, not made from a mix like most fast food places. The french fries were homemade and well cooked as well. This place is so good, at least to me, because it reminds me of how my mom and my grandma cooked food like this when I was a kid, and it was well worth any wait. The down side, I tried the mashed potatoes and was not at all impressed. When it comes to mashed potatoes, I'm a bit of a purist for potatoes, cream, and butter. I'm not a fan of skin on potatoes (don't be lazy, peel the things) and I don't care for additions such as stock or ranch. They were the only downside of an otherwise good meal for me. I would recommend Mary's to anyone, and will gladly make a stop next time I'm in the area. read more

Read the mixed reviews but here's my take . . . We went on a Sunday afternoon, arriving about 4 pm. Mary's Cafe was doing a strong business but we were able to seat ourselves in the back room immediately. We were quickly greeted and our ice tea order taken (no sweet tea). The waitress was back shortly to get our food order. We ordered fried green tomatoes and hush puppies for appetizers. My wife thought the tomatoes were good and I enjoyed the hush puppies although they were slightly over fried. We both ordered the chicken fried steak (CFS) - a small portion for her and a medium for me. Well, as you increase from a small to medium or large serving, the sides are increased as well. When our steaks were brought out, I saw the size of the serving and immediately asked for a "to go" container and put half of my dinner in the container (I just finished the last of my leftovers . . . provided me with dinner for too more nights). People either love or hate the CFS. I loved it! Cooked very much like my mom cooked it although my mom used a little vinegar for extra zing. The mashed potatoes were lumpy mashed (I like 'em that way!) and a bit dry but the ample serving of white gravy took care of the dryness. The dinner was rounded out with a simple salad . . . basically shredded lettuce and some tomatoes. Ranch dressing came in a squeeze bottle on the table. Bottom line . . . I enjoyed the food and it made for a nice drive on a beautiful afternoon. The ambience was no frills but the food was plentiful and service was very good. We will be back if traveling west of the DFW Metroplex! read more

Outstanding CFS.......Have heard about this place for years, but a looooooong way from the house (80 miles)... it was well worth the trip and I will be making excuses to go back in the very near future!!! read more

Huge CFS. Long wait. Seemed a little disorganized. Took mine to go. Forgot the ranch for the salad NBD. Glad I stopped but don't know when I'll be back. read more

My wife and I visited Mary's Cafe for the first time at 3 o'clock on a Sunday afternoon. The place was packed. We had to park behind the building and traipse through mud to get to the entrance. We didn't have to wait for a table, likely because it was only the two of us. I was there for the trademark chicken fried steak, and it didn't disappoint. Flavorful, crispy, delicious. It was accompanied by a big bowl of gravy. Our waitress was busy, but still provided great service. In our opinion Mary's Cafe lived up to the hype. read more

Mary's Cafe - The large chicken fried steak. Huge bowl of gravy and plate of fries offset by the nutritious salad. - American Near Me - Strawn, Texas

I knew I was in the right place for good food when I saw the line of pick-ups and motorcycles parked outside right at opening time on a Sunday morning. Bragging about their Chicken Fried Steak had sent me on that off-the-beaten-path near the panhandle of Texas. Beware! The CFS comes in large, medium & small. I opted for the medium, mashed potatoes, salad and of course cream gravy. The "medium" just about covered a large dinner plate. Approximately 2 cups of amazing real mashed potatoes complete with a few lumps for authenticity and gravy in a large separate bowl. Heaven on a plate! The CFS was homestyle, lightly floured, not covered in a coating of batter so thick you can't find the steak. Tender, tender and sooo flavorful. Mary keeps her bragging rights because this is the way Texas country chicken fried steak should be done! I stopped halfway through and boxed the remainder. After all, I did have to save room for the fantastic chocolate pie. read more

Mary's Cafe - This is the medium Chicken Fried Steak! - American Near Me - Strawn, Texas

See all