The food was delicious and delivered in a timely fashion and was hot…read more Clay our bartender was amazing ! So knowledgeable about the area and very friendly and entertaining!!! Loved the ambiance in the restaurant a little old world but yet so welcoming !! Thank you Clay for a great visit in Hays!!!!

Love the ambience of this tavern meets vintage supper club vibe. They have a bar with local beers…read moreon tap and rustic ranch style tables. Casual with the Kansas plains steakhouse feel and flavor. Service was great and so was my steak. They don't mess around. All we needed was a dart board.

05/14/2026 While…read moretraveling west on I-70 toward Colorado, my wife and I left Salina around 9 a.m. without eating breakfast, figuring we would stop for lunch in Hays, Kansas. My wife searched for a local place to try and picked Cattleman's Cafe III. We pulled into Hays around 11 a.m., only to realize the restaurant didn't open until 11:30, so we drove around town for a little while before heading back. Once we went in, we were greeted by a very nice young lady who seated us right away and took our drink order. We both had iced tea. My wife ordered the pot roast with a side salad, and I ordered the chicken fried steak with mashed potatoes and corn. When the food arrived, everything looked amazing. My wife said the pot roast was so tender it was falling apart while she cut it. My chicken fried steak was the same way -- honestly tender enough to cut with a fork. The first bite was excellent. The meat was very tender and full of flavor. The mashed potatoes and corn were also very good, and my wife really enjoyed her meal as well. This place was excellent, and we are very glad we decided to stop here. Even the local people sitting next to us were friendly and enjoyable to talk with, which made the experience even better. It's always nice to learn something new and meet good people while traveling. If we are ever back in the area, we will definitely stop in again for another meal.

Had the Neighbor Vern's chop'd Steak. It was very delicious and hit the spot. Also had the green…read morebeans and a side salad with Dorthy Lynch. The waitress did an awesome job checking on us and was very friendly The place was not what I was expecting but I enjoyed the decor and took a little time while waiting to read the aprons hanging from the wall Will eat again when I'm in Hays

The service is top notch, the staff works as a team to make sure everyone is taken care of. Food…read moreis fresh and flavorful and prices are very reasonable. It's a quiet little joint, soft music and Latin decor. Nice place for a date. We will continue to make a 30 min drive to enjoy the pace.

Incredible authentic, delicious food, kind and knowledgeable staff. Can accommodate vegan, gluten…read morefree, vegetarian. Great food for kids--my son loved the pupusa and platanos. We are just passing through town but would 100000% return next time we drive cross country!! Can't miss it whether you're a local or passing through. I am vegan and had such a yummy meal! Guac, salsa and chips were so fresh. Also loved the music that was playing.

We pass through Hayes on our way to and from Denver every summer and a trip to Hays is never…read morecomplete without a visit to Thristy's. It's one of the highlights during a long drive. Tonight. my wife again enjoyed the orange glazed salmon and I again had the big pig tail (aka a pork tenderloin smothered in a peppered gravy. As before, our meals were excellent (as good as we remembered from last summer). If you're in Hayes or passing thru Hayes, you gotta try Thristy's.

Thirstys was recommended to us by a local, and it is a local favorite. Wide variety from down home…read moreoptions like chicken fried steak, steaks, seafood, sandwiches, pasta etc. something for everyone it's family friendly in a fun atmosphere. Lots of TVs and sports paraphernalia for the sports fans. Service was great! We were greeted promptly, seated quickly and brought our food right away. Budget friendly too with lots of drink options. Plenty of parking for trailers, RVs etc.

The reviews on this place were deceiving. It's not a diner. You order at the counter and it's a…read moresmall old restaurant. We didn't like the feel of it so we walked out. Lettuce on the burger was extra. Wendy's is across the street.

We made a pit stop in Hayes on our roadtrip from Denver to Kansas City earlier this year. We found…read moreVernie's while looking for a lunch spot and were not disappointed. The restaurant has a very family oriented, retro vibe. The food was inexpensive and delicious. I would recommend the corn fritters!

We had gone here for dinner. It was right next-door to the Avid we stayed at. Our waitress was…read moretraining a new girl so we got twice the service. Friendly and helpful. Large dining with a bar with everything. Also outdoor dining but didn't see any umbrellas so we sat inside. I got the Apple, walnut salad with chicken also blue cheese and walnuts with a creamy herb dressing and it had a little spicy kick to it..Hubby got spaghetti pie -thin spaghetti Alfredo sauce, Italian cheeses, baked in a small loaf pan and topped with cheese and marinara sauce. It was bubbling hot when it came out. I got to eat the last couple of bites I think I will try to make this it was really good.

Stopped here to have a lunch meal before a large dinner was planned in the evening. We were greeted…read moreand seated immediately. The hostess was super customer service oriented and the server was also very much so as well. We saw that they had lunch specials for $9.99 and also Oktoberfest specials on beer: $4 pints & $5 tall steins. We ordered: Cheesy Sticks Starters, 2 Old Chicago Chopped Salads, 1 Oktoberfest Beer, and 1 Heineken 0% Alcohol Beer. Everything came out within a good amount if time: about 7 mins for the starter, and 10 mins after that for the salads. The cheesy bread was pretty good, hot and flavorful. It came with a marinara dipping sauce. The salads were tiny and served in small bowls. They definitely were not worth $10 each, but maybe $3 each, as they were side salad size, not lunch salad size. We had excellent customer service here so I kept it at 3 stars. The food quality and portion sizes was a bit off.

I got the KC strip steak with salad and asparagus. I had heard some complaints that the portions…read morewere getting small, but that was definitely not my experience. I thought the place could use a little cleaning up, but it definitely wasn't filthy.

Highly recommend! Understated but delicious REAL food, generously portioned, reasonably priced…read more Friendly and efficient staff!

We drove into town late (9:40) and were in search of places still open to grab some grub to eat at…read morethe hotel when we checked in. After reading the great reviews of their food and looking at the menu (and on their website) we were excited to get something that wasn't fast food. Told by a lovely barkeep that all they had were their late night menu - wings, cheese curds and fries. They had lost their cook, and hence no more fish tacos, chicken parm sandwich, etc. I ordered all 3 items, half wings with garlic parm and half boom boom, cheese curds and jazzed fries. Food came out very quickly and with a smile. The one star is for the friendly barkeep/cook. Food, very meh. Enough said. Perhaps inform the unsuspecting hungry customer that your menu isn't available- on Yelp or on your website. I mean, it's a bar after all, I suppose, and not a restaurant. And this'll teach me to read the dates on all those food reviews on Yelp! (It looked like a great place to hang and shoot some pool and listen to decent music. Just don't expect 90% of the food menu to be available.)

Again, short haired bartender tells the other staff not to serve me when I am just standing there…read moreafter everyone around the bar has been served twice around. Clearly doesn't have customer service. Otherwise great place