One of the best places I have eaten at in a long time. Everything here is homemade, from the mashed potatoes to the chocolate pie. I try a lot of local meat n three cafes around middle TN and this is the best one. The women working make you feel welcome as if you're a regular. I will definitely be back any time I'm working in the area. read more

This is one of the very best spots for Southern comfort food! The Friday fish is absolutely delicious--crispy, flavorful, and always hits the spot. And you cannot skip the desserts... pies, cakes, cookies, pudding--there's something for every sweet tooth. My mouth is watering just thinking about it. Definitely a must-visit if you're craving a true home-cooked meal! read more

While in Manchester Dana and Steven remembered it the first Friday of the month and that means it Shrimp Boil time 5 pm till close with kielbasa, red potatoes and Fried Catfish with their fabulous fries. Be sure and come in, its worth stopping for. read more

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A local meat and three with amazing food! I personally love the chicken n dumplings, Friday fish, and poppyseed chicken casserole. They have two entree options and tons of sides to choose from as you go through the line cafeteria style, or you can order off the menu. The catering is always perfect and great to work with. A must if you are in Manchester and just a few minutes off I-24 if you are traveling through and want some southern cooking! read more

The Mercantile Cafe - Friday fish plate with 3 veggies and cornbread. - Cafes Near Me - Manchester, Tennessee

Great Food, Great Service, and the feeling of being part of the family from the first time you visit. We love the Shrimp Boils and the fried pies and other sweets are to die for. read more

Family owned which I always like. Good food, service and atmosphere. Friendly servers and will definitely go back if I am ever in the neighborhood. read more

The Mercantile Cafe - home cooking - Cafes Near Me - Manchester, Tennessee

Such an unassuming gem of a place. It's centrally located in their downtown area, with a simple sign. Walking in its part general store and part cafe. Their cafe is set up cafeteria style where their offering change daily. Today they had bbq chicken and fried fish as the main set along with a plethora of sides. You decide which one you want to try and then what sides you want. If that isn't your style you can also order from their made to order sandwiches and burgers. My husband decided to try their fried breaded fish with a side of mashed potatoes and gravy and green beans. Each of the offerings of the day also come with a choice of cornbread, Mexican corn bread or yeast roll. I went for their local sourced cheeseburger and fries along with a sweet tea. The made to order came out super fast. The burger meat was absolutely delicious. Great tasty and perfectly cooked the fries were crispy and hot. The fish was amazing. I wasn't expecting the great flavor or the flakiness of the fish. The potatoes were velvety and delicious and the green beans were tasty too. The portion sizes were more than enough. The tea was fresh and perfectly sweet. Everyone who worked there was super friendly and helpful. The owner took the time to stop by and talk to each table. She explained to me that everything was made from scratch nothing was canned or pre done. Their desserts were amazing looking, unfortunately we were a little full after our main that we didn't indulge. But we did buy a pecan pie square from their bakery case which was devoured later on. I love this place the homey welcoming feeling you get walking in. The amazing tasty fresh food and the people make this place somewhere to stop for. We left with plans to return some time soon before we head home from our vacation. If you are in the area definitely check this place out. read more

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Great local meat and three. They work very hard to provide great food at reasonable prices. Always clean, many choices and great specials. Love their fried chicken on Thursdays and often get their Asian chicken salad for lunch. Fun decor and treats you can buy on your way out. Oh and they have really good desserts too! read more

This review is for ice cream portion of the restaurant. Went in last week and got two single scoops in waffle cones and spent a bit over $9. Today, I ordered two waffle cones, a scoop in a cup and a fried pie.. $28 and some change. I questioned the price and was told the waffle cone option was a $4.50 up charge on top of the regular price. $4.50 for a store bought waffle cone!! I spoke to three different employees about the price and was told the price was correct. I won't be back. read more

Great Southern cooking! I don't usually post, but I had to post some pictures to give a sense of what this place is like! All kinds of great desserts, hot cooked dinners and made to order hot sandwiches. This is where all the locals eat! read more

The Mercantile Cafe - Today's menu (Sunday) - Cafes Near Me - Manchester, Tennessee

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Good food, friendly service! I'm too full for dessert, but they look delicious. Google maps tried to take us the wrong way. Make sure you put in N. Irwin read more

This is probably one of the best cafes in Manchester. I don't think I've ever been without leaving satisfied. If you want some good southern cooking, check them out. They have an awesome gift shop within to where you can buy desserts and other little items. I can't forget about their new addition....the ice cream shop! We went by and ordered a hot fudge sundae. The taste aligned with its presentation. You could even add some extra toppings (nuts, strawberries, cookie crumbles etc....) The owner and her sister are some of the sweetest people. Their employees are always so welcoming and ready to assist you with whatever you need. It's been amazing seeing their business flourish the way it has through the years. read more

I ate the fried fish, fried squash, and green beans. The fried fish is not overly breaded and tastes fresh. The squash is also good. The green beans are slightly salty, just the way I like them. The food is delicious and the women are exquisitely beautiful. read more

The food is amazing, we took the mom's in our family here for mothers day. Everything we ate was amazing including the dessert we took home. The only thing to be aware of is that the food is served cafeteria style so you have to be able to stand in line even if you have a reservation. That said we were there on Mother's day so I don't know if that would matter as much on a non-holiday. read more

Just found this little jewel on our way to Nashville. The food is country cooking and it was so good. We had to get two pieces of their cakes for later and we'll probably stop again on the way home later this week. Our kind of place read more

Great lunch and friendly excellent service! The chicken corn chowder soup was delicious. My husband had chicken fried steak and mashed potatoes. The hot fried apple pie was good and crunchy and sweet. Fun atmosphere. read more

Easy small town stop as you travel southeast on I24. Friendly service and fresh food..we had the BLT made with home grown tomatoes and crisp bacon, and chicken salad sandwich with house made chips and sweet tea.Fun gift shopping too. read more

This is the best food in town! I can't get im enough of their roast beef that they do on Thursdays and all their yummy desserts!!!

Good chicken salad sandwich! Friendly staff. Country vibe. Will definitely visit again.

Food was amazing, atmosphere was very cute and cozy, and their service was wonderful. It was our first time here and (if I remember correctly) Michelle was the one who answered all questions we had with a smile. If we lived closer than I have no doubts that we would be very frequent customers. Will definitely be coming back if I'm in the area again. read more

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My husband and I have wanted to try this place for a while. After reading all the great reviews we decided to give it a try. I really wanted to like this place. I ordered the fish fillets, white beans, oven potatoes and Nana's corn. Husband had the fried pork cutlet. Fish was in a thousand pieces (looked like garbage) and extremely cold. Potatoes were cooked uneven, Nana's corn had chunks of cream cheese and cold. White beans were delicious and hush puppies were so over cooked. Husband said pork cutlet breading was so hard. So very disappointed with meal. Now let's get to those fabulous dessert's. That brownie was the best thing ever!!! read more

The Mercantile Cafe - Supposed to be fillets.(?) - Cafes Near Me - Manchester, Tennessee

Absolutely the best food, deserts, and friendly atmosphere! Eat here and skip the fast food places for sure. Wish I lived closer.

The Merchantile Cafe is one of the hi-lites of Manchester, TN. Their food is absolutely delicious and the owners and staff are warm and inviting. Their food is fresh, hot, and homemade! I eat at the Merchantile at least once per week and the chicken and dressing is my favorite. Their desserts are fantastic! Especially the Coon Hunters cake! They also have a beautiful gift shop with a large variety of gifts for everyone! If you have not stopped by it is a must see. Experience the down home goodness that makes The Merchantile Cafe the #1 restaurant for good food and southern hospitality! read more

The Mercantile Cafe - a plate of food - Cafes Near Me - Manchester, Tennessee

This place is your traditional down home cooking, cafeteria style kinda place. We swung by after a walk around old stone fort state park where we had worked up quite an appetite! The food is hot, perfectly seasoned, and served with a smile! The front of the restaurant has a little shop and there is a bakery on your way out! No fuss. Just good food! read more

The Mercantile Cafe - Chicken and dressing with fried okra, green beans, and corn bread. - Cafes Near Me - Manchester, Tennessee

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Update... the food was GREAT! Try it out if you're in the area. Trouble is they have limited hours (which is why it took us 2 years to eat there) M-F 11-2 lunch and 5-8 dinner (but not always) meat &3 for dinner. I had pork chops with a spiced apple topping, string beans, creamed corn, roasted red potatoes, and corn bread. Wendy had the white fish with hush puppies, coleslaw, roasted red potatoes, and creamed corn. We didn't get a chance to try dessert this time since we were stuffed but everything looked amazing! read more

Holy cow!!!! This place was a throw back to the good ole days! Fried pork chop, mashed potatoes, gravy, green beans, and cornbread! Uuuummmmm....yes! I'll be back to this place when I go by Manchester! BTW...the strawberry cake was to die for! This is a must/can't miss! read more

The Mercantile Cafe - Cafes Near Me - Manchester, Tennessee

Delicious home cooked food with great friendly service. Everything is made in house. They also have a cute shop to take a lil something home with you. read more

Delicious desserts Hot fresh homemade food

I went to the Mercantile and got some great peanut butter cookies. They tasted great and were very large. I also got a pimento cheese tub too. It tastes great. I had regular but I understand they also have spicy and pecan. Lots of Christmas gifts available too! read more

Had a lovely lunch here. Enjoyed a veggie plate with jalapeño cornbread and sweet tea. Took a chess square home for later. Comfort food at its best! read more

Great food and great service. It is cafeteria style. Great options. Desserts are awesome too. All the employees were great seeing to your needs and that you were happy. . read more

The Mercantile Cafe - Cafes Near Me - Manchester, Tennessee

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Great food and great service. Excellent people. Tasty deserts and changing menu daily. I love the new spot.

There's absolutely nothing fancy about this place, but that's part of the charm, really. They were quick to help with some odd dietary restrictions and food allergy issues. I had cheeseburger with green beans. Burger had a nice flavor to it...obviously not out of a box from the freezer. Green beans were good. Nothing special there, but I had no complaints. The place has a certain charm that really is worth coming here to experience. Big tables invite you to join strangers for a meal. None of the furniture matches any of the other furniture. It's obviously a locally owned place run by people who care about the food they serve. read more

Fantastic place. Mom and pops like this restaurant need to be more prevalent. The food is fresh, so much of the menu will require cooking time; ~25mins. Simply delicious. read more

Love this place!!!! My husband always orders whatever they are cooking but I love their oriental chicken salad. Delicious!!!

We are trying to make a concerted effort to support local restaurants. We found this little gem while traveling through Manchester. Pretty busy. Waited about 15 minutes to get through the cafeteria style line. Had the Friday shrimp boil. It did not disappoint. Shrimp and sausage were very good. Hush puppies were good as well. Corn not so much but we didn't care. Portions were great! Keep up the great work. read more

I ordered hamburger minus bun with tomato and pickles and cheese. The flavor was good and hearty. I had sides of greens and green beans. These were also 'southern cooked' with good flavor. I liked the meal. I might react since it's not gluten free explicitly but I do like it. The atmosphere is fun. Cafeteria style and you might sit with strangers. Watch the open hours. They close at 2pm. Open again at 5pm. read more

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Amazing food, great service and great people. I recommend to anyone who happens to be in or near Manchester, TN

Great food and friendly staff. They strive to make your visit the best it can be, in addition to the great food. Definitely return worthy.

Adorable country cafe in the beautiful town of Manchester, TN. The staff was efficient and welcoming. The food was amazing! We had an appetizer of fried green tomatoes with homemade pimento cheese and tomato jam, so delicious! My husband had the blackened fish with rice, greens, and cheesy grits that were to die for! I had the oriental chicken salad, so yummy! I highly recommend this wonderful place anytime you stop into Manchester! read more