We discovered this Cafe a year ago as we were driving through Kansas. We loved it so much we made a note of it so that on our next drive through Kansas. Today was the day and our lunch did NOT disappoint! I order the hot toast beef dinner. At most diners you get flat almost processed pieces of meat. Not here. I got two heaping mounds of delicious roast! And the mashed potatoes were amazing!!! Our waitress was super friendly and gave me a to go cup of soda. It was Mother's Day and they offered every mom a red rose. I will definitely be stopping here again next time I pass through Kansas. read more

I went there last weekend for the first time in over a year. I ordered the chicken fried steak, expecting what I have become used to for the last 40+ years. What I got what an oval piece or fried something. The menu said with green beans but they were out. No subs offered. The floors were really sticky. Not sure what happened to this icon of a restaurant. read more

So disappointed!!!! I have been frequenting this restaurant for over 10 years. Recently it has taken a turn for the worse. I ordered 4 meals to go and was disappointed in all of them. The Chicken Fried Chicken was about half the size that it used to be, a minimal scoop of potatoes and the bread just sitting in the gravy. (not good for a TO GO meal) One meal said green beans were included, we did not get those. Went to make our salads to go with what I USED to consider one of the best salad bars around......not anymore! The lettuce was wilted; cauliflower was brown and there were about half of the items offered that used to be on the salad. Not to mention the $3+ increase of what the meals used to cost! I understand inflation...but this was beyond that! How sad for Holton to have had such an amazing restaurant go so far downhill! **side note** I should have taken it as a sign that it wasn't as good as before when I showed up at lunch time (noon) and there were only 3 cars when the lot used to always be full! read more

Great food and service! Had the Salisbury steak and and hubby had chicken fried steak. Loved the brown and cream gravy!! Even the baked potato was yummy. Perfect country cafe experience! read more

Absolutely stellar place! Our waitress was TOP NOTCH! Food was great, atmosphere was great, and the decor was unique with a bunch of history hanging on the walls! read more

Trails Cafe & Cafe Catering - Cheeseburger Local Cheeseburger American Fries - Cafes Near Me - Holton, Kansas

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We have visited Trails many times over the years and have to say it is one of our favorites! It is a cool little restaurant that is well kept by a great staff. They are attentive and friendly and the food is second to none. read more

The food is always great and super tasty. The Staff has always been friendly. I definitely recommend coming here.

Waiting for service and a waitress said she wasn't our waitress but the manager was and we would have to wait for her. When we finally got our food, I got little bitty pieces of french fries and under cooked burger. We asked waitress if this was the normal size french fries, she said yes. Really? She then said she would check, she then brought us out 6 really long french fries, really 6? Don't waste your money or time here! We always wanted to stop, not again. 6 long fries, really? read more

Used to be good, and used to be my favorite restaurant (about 6 months ago), The last time I was there it changed, and the food quality degraded greatly. The french fries were horrible, they used to have nice french fries, but the onion rings were bad, they tasted old and dry. Another time I had gone I got a mushroom Swiss burger I had asked for well done and got an almost raw and extremely rare burger. The service was also very bad, we sat for nearly 15 minutes before getting our drinks. Now the only thing good about this place is the atmosphere. I've lived in Holton for my whole life after this restaurant has gone under new management it went downhill. read more

Trails Cafe & Cafe Catering - Raw mushroom Swiss burger - Cafes Near Me - Holton, Kansas

When Cindy and John ran Trails, it was top notch. There have been so many negative comments regarding the new owners. One or two, eh, but numerous? Need to see for yourself? Check out Facebook. I hate even giving a 1 star read more

We stopped in on our way home from vacation and we're glad we did. The burgers came out hot and fast and the menu selection was awesome! Our waitress took great care of us and I wish I would have taken more photos as the decors was fun and we felt right at home. A must stop if you're in the area. read more

Everything is great! Service and food! They have the best salad bar and the best broccoli salad!

Food was disappointing and the service was worse. Not the same under new management. Would not recommend

Foods are great and reasonable prices. And it is always clean and the people are friendly.

Great food and good customer service and we like the atmosphere because it is very nostalgic.

Good breakfast! Hot coffee! Great service - she made sure our drinks were refilled, we had hot sauce, ketchup, plenty of butter & syrup... Pancakes were HUGE! Omelette was delicious! read more

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There was something very comforting about this place. It markets itself as a family dining restaurant and I can see why. It seems like for the most part it's comfort food in a small town. I got the Lil' Richard. The chicken wasn't delicious and very hot in temperature. The chips were very good, as well read more

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Best pie we have found in our travels!! We are pie snobs. Lemon meringue was fantastic! Tart like I like it. Chocolate meringue passed spouses approval. Meal was great! Good presentation Staff friendly and attentive Clean and neat local place. read more

My and my wife have been in multiple times and it's great each time. most recently i had the chicken fried steak which was great. our server Finley was incredible as well. Food was good, service was even better! we will def be back read more

This place is a hidden gem. Even with the Covid 19 going on we did an order online and it was quick and easy. I have never been here before I'm from Iowa I love these hole in the walls. I ordered broccoli salad and sadly they where out but we choose the pea salad in stead. I ordered an oz and got what felt like a pound. But it is amazing pea salad. I had the woobie by Alex with homemade chips so so good. I could only eat half the sandwich. My boyfriend got the cheese Burger and onion rings it was amazing and cooked it order! Brought back memories for him as his grandma that just passed use to love to come here. Thank you for the amazing food and making this a good moment in a hard time we are all in. Keep up the good Work we will definitely be back. read more

Trails Cafe & Cafe Catering - Woobie by Alex and homemade chips with ranch dressing - Cafes Near Me - Holton, Kansas

Excellent! Salad was fresh, fried pickles were delicious, entree was very tasty, beer was cold, staff was friendly, atmosphere was cool, & parking was easy in a 43' motor home. They even had a cute gift shop with not-so-average items. Couldn't ask for more. read more

Trails Cafe & Cafe Catering - Bar area has an old garage theme. Really cool! - Cafes Near Me - Holton, Kansas

Oh man, this place has the BEST fried chicken I have ever tasted!!! Wow. Crispy, light, flavorful crust with a juicy, tender meat, steaming hot, tucked inside. I'm officially addicted. In fact, remembering it to write this review has me wanting to go back for more. And, our meal included one-trip through the salad bar. Everything was fresh, it was clean and I tried to taste a little of everything - it was all very good. We went on a Sunday afternoon. It was busy, but not too crazy - we didn't have to wait very long. We got seated right smack dab in front of a very chilly air conditioner. We mentioned to the waitress - and they actually turned it down! (Thanks!) So, the food is good, the staff was good, and the prices are reasonable. Unfortunately (or maybe it's a blessing in disguise?) they aren't in Topeka. It's about a 40 minute drive to Holton to get this amazing fried chicken... Ah well, at least I know where to get it! read more

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Always been fond of Trails Cafe. Just down the road. Run into people I know, either working there or just enjoying a meal with their family. I'm rarely fond of giving restaurants five stars. I'm logical and I know they are run by humans. Not that it truly effected the rating, but I was slightly saddened by them not having salmon. However, the Grilled Pork Chop special worked quite well as substitute. The family ate well, as expected. read more

Stopped by on Labor Day weekend for a late lunch. Waitress was nice. We both had Pork tenderloin sandwiches. Both of us were pleased with our food. Menu was full of great sounding comfort food. Need more of these family ran small businesses. Would eat here again read more

picked up two pieces of pie to go on 10/8/23. pumpkin and coconut, I think we paid 6$ a slice, the cocunut slice may have been a 1inch wide piece of pie. little preturbed, tried to call to ask if all servings were this size, no one would answer the phone during business hours. read more

This is a great home town cafe: burgers, pasta, family style dinners, fried chicken, some seafood, omelettes, salad bar. Imagine a Cracker Barrel Steakhouse and you will get the idea. 10:30-9 7 days a week. I had a great chargrilled hamburger and lightly battered French fries. The wait staff was pleasant, prompt and friendly. read more

Trails Cafe & Cafe Catering - Cafes Near Me - Holton, Kansas

Great country cooking food. I was just passing through and stumbled upon this gem! Great friendly service. The salad bar was perfect. I had the salisbury steak and it was perfect. Make a point to stop here. I will again. read more

We were in town for a football game and decided to stop in for a meal. I can't even begin to express how amazing this place is from the food to the people. It was so wonderful to see the young teenagers take pride in their work from seating us to making sure everything was perfect for us. You don't see this much anymore so it was great to experience it. The homemade food was delicious also! read more

Don't waste your time or money stopping here! The food was cold and the service was horrible! The mashed potatoes were cold and we sent them back twice and they still couldn't get it right. Asked for the hamburger steak to be cooked medium well and it was literally still mooing when they brought it back on my plate. I sent it back and then they brought it back burnt and it was so greasy I soaked it up with several napkins due to the grease. I was told "they are naturally juicy and they come that way" and I have raised livestock all my life, so I know what grease is!!!!! The server and manager were both rude for that matter. I won't bother going back again!! Hopefully I have saved you the time and money to not deal with the hassle!!! read more

On the way to Omaha, we stopped in for a good Southern meal. I had the fried catfish with a salad. Let me tell you that the one large cat fish is well more than enough....very good read more

Trails Cafe & Cafe Catering - Look at this - Cafes Near Me - Holton, Kansas

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Best catfish I've ever had! The spaghetti and meatballs were good too. Great apple pie. Nice atmosphere and decor! Service was excellent. Reasonable prices. Clean restroom. read more

Cant help but get the chicken fried chicken everytime we come because it's just so good, but got out of my safe zone and had a Salisbury Steak! Delicious! read more

I had a mushroom Swiss burger. I was asked how I'd like it - nice! But this place gets 4 stars because their strawberry rhubarb pie is the best I've ever had, except my mom's. And that's saying something ... read more

Great hometown diner. We love their steak and salad bar! Have to try if you are passing through.

I got the lunch special of meat loaf and it was really good. Also they served it to me in less than 2 minutes after ordering. Very good green beans and high quality Texas toast. Mashed potatoes and gravy were good. A quality place to eat read more

The person who did the salad bar on Sunday did really welll and they were kind and deserve a raise

The breaded pork tenderloin, not so good, gristle in several bites and that does me in. (GAG, GAG). Getting a breaded pork tenderloin in Kansas is kind of like getting country fried steak in Indiana, I should have known better. Average but nice atmosphere for a small town. Cherry cheesecake so drowned in cherry sauce that it was sickeningly too sweet. Waitresses were good though, and friendly. Hubby said the apple pie was great.. read more

Stopped here driving back to Austin from Omaha after Christmas. It was amazing. We stopped randomly as it was open and looked as though it were a place that might cook eggs (our only requirements). We both ordered omelettes with "american" (thick, circular, cut width-wise) fries. The omelettes were very good. The fries were better. The really amazing thing was the toast. Sourdough Texas toast. Slightly crispy but soft on the inside and buttered. Holy hell. I have never been passionate about toast or even bread but this was so good it kind of blew our minds. Strange that after living in Texas my whole life that I would come to find the perfect Texas toast in Kansas. Anyhow, the service was friendly, the prices reasonable. The salsa was referred to as "picante" and was definitely out of a jar which was kind of a bummer but it is Kansas after all. On the whole, I could not have asked for more from a small town cafe picked at random. Truly a great meal. ... we literally talked about that toast and the potatoes at least 3 more times during the following 11 hour drive back to Texas. read more

The staff is soo sweet! Prices are fair and average for a good chicken fried steak. Salad bar is a little disappointing but the attitude of the staff makes up for anything it lacks. read more

Glad we stopped here. Definitely better than fast food. A little pricier but completely worth it. Dad enjoyed the steak, mom and I each had tuna croissant sandwiches and realized we could've shared an order it was generous. Good onion rings also. Gramps devoured his spaghetti and meatballs. Decent looking salad bar though I didn't partake. Do your best to save room for dessert or find a willing party to share with. One of us had the apple pie, and the other two shared a piece of the strawberry rhubarb. I had a bit of both, excellent! read more