Well. This restaurant has always looked cool from the outside since I was a young lad. The water mill spinning makes it an attraction. There is generally seating outside close to Big Tex and the large Fletcher's be it real seats or on the wall. I have eaten more than a few dozen corn dogs on those walls over 50 plus years and surprised the soil and concrete is not yellow from all of the mustard I've spilled. The Insides don't remind you of the rest of the Fair, except being old.. The interior contains the original fire place and hand carved beams from the 1936 Centennial opening and they are wood pinned in place. The Mill is no longer grinding flour but it does still turn. This place does need a make over. The food reminds me of an old Texas cafe off a beaten path except those are generally pretty tasty as the locals would not allow them to stay in business. This place does not have that incentive and it shows and tastes that way. I really wish they could find someone to turn this spot into a destination with some fine Dallas cuisine. I think it would be cool if a Dean Fearing type person would adopt it. Thus a star for being a neat building, another star for the outdoor seating areas and the final star for being reasonably priced food in AIR CONDITIONING plus they accept cash (not coupons). Seriously, if you are having a long hot day at the fair and tired of the fair food, stop in here for a while. read more

Place stinks and run down. Super cheap if you can handle staying in a dump then it's worth it

The atmosphere is so relaxing, the food is southern and I always enjoy it. Service has never been a problem. Please form your own opinions and try them out! Looking forward to my next visit! read more

It's the place to be during red river rivalry. IYKYN. There's AC, seats, drinks, food.

Went during the fair. Ordered the featured drink and I did not like it at all. 18 dollars for a dunk I was not able to drink is disappointing. No offer to replace so I will not return read more

Gramps and I have eaten here in the past. It's been a while, but I don't recall being off-put by either the food or the service. Nevertheless, what seems to be most important to us at this moment is the proper functioning of the Water Wheel. read more

Enjoy My visit too State Fair 2023 specially the new decorations on patio at Old Mill very beautiful. Good food for good price..

I would come back in 2 instances. Texas heat ( it has air conditioning). Texas rain it has a roof. The meal was good and reasonable for fair park. The worn out dirty tables and chairs make it hard to push the rating higher. All in all decent sized portions reasonable meal in a climate controlled space make it a better option than midway food. Also they take credit cards with a full bar. read more

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It as closed. They were serving prepackaged fair food inside the building. Ugh!

We recently attended the murder mystery event the place puts on occassionally. It is definitely a fun event and encourages milling about and getting to know your "neighbor." The actors do a good job putting on the show and it is very well produced. You'll have fun. Not sure if the food they serve for this event is the same they serve on regular nights. The food is good but not 5 star. I'm sure serving 50-60 people all at once is a bit of a challenge but they handled it well. Everyone seemed to get their food at the same time. The chicken-fried steak was delicious and the vegetables were cooked perfectly. The dessert cobbler is especially delightful. The atmosphere inside is a bit dated and looks like it hasn't been updated since last time we went 15 years ago. Could use a remodel. It's not dirty, just old. Highly recommend you check out the murder mystery event at the Old Mill Inn. It's a fun time out. read more

I get it, it's hard to have a great and affordable place in the middle of fair park, your clientele demographics are all over the place. With a little work the Mill could be a great add on destination for the area. Also please note this review is for normal business hours, not the murder mystery dinner! Went there this past weekend. Burgers for most, soup and salad for some. The fix your own burger is kinda like a Fuddruckers, just with less options. The salads were fine, the tater soup was reported to be good by my companions. The Old Mill Inn could aptly be called "The Old Tired Mill Inn", it's just dated and worn out. The greeter/order taker and food runner/buss guy were great, they were both friendly, happy, and up beat. The decor is ran down, the food is just OK. With a little paint and clean up and some work with the kitchen talent this place could be much better. If the folks from the old Mill read this review can I make a few suggestions? You gotta up your burger game - You may not have noticed that burgers are undergoing a great revolution right now. Go to a Smashburger, or if you can visit an upscale burger place like Flip in Atlanta, or one of the great Gastropubs in Fort Worth, or Addison. A little more spice in the meat and variety and bun options would go a long way. Sweet Potato Fries and/or Tots! Maybe some great sprinkle options to go on top of those. Some rosemary oil for regular fries? The collard greens need some work, you can't just boil them, there are great sauteed green recipes out there. If you do boil them, offer some chow chow, maybe throw in a little ham. Next time I'm in the area and hungry I will give the Mill another try. read more

Went here instead of trying to brave the food court at the fair. The good... -Immediate seating -AC -Nice, appreciative folks -Fresh salad bar/fixings -Reasonable pricing (fed six for $85) The meh... -The food -Atmosphere of a nursing home -Selection -Did I mention the food? The "whatever dude"... -Not letting me bring my purchased, half-drank bottle of water into the restaurant. We're at the fair, man. It wasn't like I was bringing in my own condiments. -Asking me for a tip when I pay at the counter read more

Well I know at the state fair it's state fair food but the old mill inn accepts cash and when you work at the state fair it's different. Haven't been to old mill in two years wow that was a horrible grilled chicken plate. Chicken was chewy and no seasoning, mash potatoes bland. $3 for a drink really ! Boy this place has taken a downward turn read more

Awful food ! Great if you like frozen meat ! Just not good food at all ! I left my meal on the table an walked out ! I know I am picky but you can't have a sit down place with awful food ! Better food out side in the tents an I want even eat that food but I would at least try before coming here ! You are paying for the A/C not the food I think !! read more

The service was prompt and courteous. 4 stars for sure. The food was good. 3 stars. (The green beans and the mashed potatoes were a surprising 5 stars!) But the overall feel is sort of a hole-in-the-wall. The outside of it looks promising, but the inside -- though clean -- feels old and dated (not in the cute sort of "quaint eatery" kind of way). When we visited, it was practically deserted. Only one other table of customers. But being the only restaurant in the Fair Park area, they fall under the "better than nothing" category. read more

Me and a friend came here a while back (probably a year ago now) - we were going to go to a murder mystery dinner while she was visiting. It was pretty awesome, and the food wasn't too bad. I will say though... it was hard to really enjoy the food because the whole time we were just trying to figure out who did it and look for additional clues! What we got was salmon, as well as chicken inside of a puff pastry, which kind of made it taste like chicken pot pie - pretty yummy! It came with rice and asparagus, everything was good, but like I said... very rushed. Those that did take their time with dinner fell behind in finding more clues... but then again, I couldn't figure it out in the end anyway! haha. Not sure if they still have the murder mystery night here, but it was fun - I recommend something like it to everyone if you haven't tried it yet. Entertainment - 4 stars Food - 3 stars read more

Completely worth it! Nice people, good food, awesome prices. Did not expect low price, kids loved it. Not 5 stars because not awesome food, but heck of a lot better than you would think for 5 bucks. read more

As other reviewer's have noted the building is old and tired. I gave them two stars only because I didn't pay for the meal or the murder mystery. It was a company function. The meal served was cold bland chicken fried steak with cold bland, undercooked steamed vegetables. Think of 1970s elementary school food. The service was bad. It was clear everyone there was simply working through the same paces they have done 400 times before. The murder mystery was interesting but could have been so much more. It is by far the most rundown restaurant I've ever paid $12 for a drink at. read more

Went here for murder mystery dinner. That part was awesome. The food was bland, the rolls were cold, the salad sparse, no blue or yellow sweeteners, the drinks were way over priced. The service was unbelievably lacking considering everyone was eating one of two options and eating at the same time. They took half of my unused silverware between courses. They served the people at our table at different times and we had to flag them more than once to get everyone a plate. We weren't asked to leave gratuity at the end so there's that. read more

I love this place as it reminds me of a hideaway. I personally love the food and salad bar.

Staff was extremely nice, but the place had a moldy smell, not exactly appetizing. The chicken strips were very good and crispy, but the fries were under cooked and soggy. read more

Apparently, they were understaffed. At least, that's what I assume from the unbussed dirty tables, nasty floor, and the excruciatingly slow food service. We bussed our own table in the bar area and sat down to wait...and wait. Though we were not near the restrooms, I constantly smelled urine, which didn't enhance the experience. Food was not worth the wait, and extremely underwhelming. Over 45 minutes for a corn dog, chicken salad plate, and a chicken sandwich. Won't be visiting again, but I may suggest the health department pay a visit, just for the cleanliness. read more

I can only call it elementary school lunchroom food. It's not bad. Just nothing to write home about. There is a sparse salad bar. Very few choices. It's a good place to take the kids after some time at the fairgrounds. Too bad we didn't have any kids with us. There is a full bar. The drinks are very expensive there. I had a Coke. Service was polite. It's just ok. read more

Not good food or drinks. Workers are very sweet and kind. Food quality is horrendous, even the bread was awful. Not worth a penny!!!

The food is inedible. It's a small miracle the place is even operational. I don't know precisely what kind of witchery is at work here, but it assuredly involves a questionably ethical contract. read more

I was working an event at Fair park. We went here because it was ridiculously close, and from the outside it looks like a great place for a burger, chicken fried steak, and booze. Upon entering I spoke with Elvis. The entire place reminded me of, get this...Good Eats/church/black eyed pea. Well, all of the decor, at least. Good Eats and Black Eyed Pea are the same company so whatever. For a place that is open year round, I was really disappointed. After you walk in and have a blinking contest with Elvis, you can use your non-blinking eyes to stare at a fair like hanging sign. After you figure out which item you want, you tell the cashier, pay, and sit anywhere you want. I just wanted a small salad. Well, a "house salad", was 4.50. After I paid, the cashier verbally told, and pointed me to the "salad bar". BAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA Even Shoneys in the late 80s had a better salad bar than this. It was mostly burger toppings, and your dressing choices were, white, yellow, and "your guess is as good as mine". The lettuce was brownish. At my same table three people ordered burgers. One person was extremely happy with his burger. The other two were comfortably satisfied. Or they didn't want to tell the happy man, that their burger sucked. TLDR; order the chili cheese burger, I guess. read more

A friend and I went to eat at Old Mill on October 13, 2012 while we were at the State Fair, We never ate there so the white girl that was taking our order. We asked her if the chicken fried steak for $10.95(not sure on the cent) but I asked her if the mash potato were instant or not her answer was I don't know, I said can we get fries? She said No. My friend said well can I just get chicken fried steak with nothing else just the steak she said well do you want the green beans? He said no. I just want to know if I can just get the steak. She just stood there like she was lost. At that point we just told her just forget it. So we left. I can't believe Old Mills has a employee that doesn't know about the food. The employee made no effort to find out. She is not a people person for sure. It was about 2:30 when we went in there. The girl should be in the back maybe washing dishes where she doesn't have to know anything. read more