The Summer Salad is amazing! Friendly, fast service and delicious homecooked food…read more Love Circle T now that it is SMOKE FREE!

I have always felt at home in Eastern Kentucky, specifically in Hazard, KY. Many generations of my…read morefamily are from and still many more are still living. The Circle T Restaurant in Hazard, KY delivers the kind of hospitality that stays with you long after the meal is finished. From the moment you walk through the door, the warm greeting and attentive service set the tone for an experience that feels both welcoming and polished. The menu stands out for its hearty, well-prepared comfort food, with portions that make you feel like you're getting genuine value. Whether it's their perfectly seasoned steaks, crisp country-style sides, or generously stacked sandwiches, each dish reflects care in both preparation and presentation. The freshness of the ingredients shows, and the kitchen consistently delivers meals that are flavorful, balanced, and satisfying. Service is where Circle T truly shines. Staff members are quick to refill drinks, check in at the right moments, and offer thoughtful recommendations. There's a clear sense of pride in their work--servers treat every table as if it's the most important one in the room. Even during busy hours, meals arrive promptly, and the team maintains a friendly, upbeat atmosphere. The cleanliness, comfort, and consistency of this place rounds out a truly wonderful experience. The dining room is always well-kept, the environment relaxed, and the overall feel is that of a place that genuinely cares about its guests. Circle T Restaurant is an outstanding example of small-town hospitality paired with quality cooking. It's easy to recommend to anyone looking for great food, excellent service, and a reliably enjoyable dining experience in Hazard, KY.

It looks like a cafeteria but this is one of the best meals we had in Red River Gorge. The service…read morewas great. The catfish fried perfectly crispy. The salmon was tasty and the boneless wings were like whole tenders. Everything was great!

One of our favorite places. I always get the hot brown, which is excellent. My wife changes things…read moreup but we are always happy and service is very friendly.

We didn't have a ton of options in this area, but we could have done worse than 145 Roadhouse. My…read moretop-tier chum who literally went to the school of hospitality and I stopped by here for dinner last Wednesday on a pretty muggy, rainy evening on our way from the SE Appalachia section of KY to Irvine, KY. It was conveniently located right off 15, and despite the meh weather, the place was easy to spot largely because there were a lot of cars in the parking lot - a compliment to the restaurant and its food, or the only game in town? Based on our experience, probably a little bit of both. Definitely does have the roadhouse vibes; it's very spacious and kind of dark in there, with a bar to the right of the entrance and the vast majority of the acreage dedicated to a large dining area on the left. We were seated immediately and after the meal took advantage of the cool map situation by the bathrooms where, if you requested a pushpin from one of the employees, you placed it on the map to show where you came from. Already oodles of NJ representatives on there, which is unsurprising. The random North Dakota pushpin was a bit of a shock, but I guess they travel too. The menu was pretty large but I was immediately drawn to the Fried Catfish w/ Hush Puppies entree, along with the tater skins app, which our waitress went out of her way to compliment. The Catfish was decent; as you can see from the accompanying picture, it was a huge portion and I took a sizeable chunk of it to go (where I think I eventually threw it out because it's not really road trip friendly). Coincidentally (or not, given where we were in the country) I'd had some hush puppies the night before at a hotel in Blacksburg, VA, and these were better. Those others were over-fried but also had mac and cheese stuffed in them, so these basically had better texture but not as much flavor. The mac and cheese was a real low point, unfortunately. Not dissimilar to the hush puppies, they were super tasteless and a bit watery. They had a bit of breading/crumb topping, but it really didn't do anything to improve the situation - definitely something for them to work on. The taters were just okay; usually the issue with them is that they're in the deep fryer for too long (which is not an issue for a lot of people, I suspect), but these I thought actually weren't cooked enough. The interiors were a little tough so the potatoes could have used a little more time in the oven or fryer. Service was solid. Our waitress was very nice and happily contributed her thoughts/opinions on different items of the menu, which my chum loves to seek out when we're in a new, unfamiliar place. I was starting to get a little tired by this point in the day so it was nice to have efficient, quick turnaround times for everything. The prices were decent as well, which probably isn't too surprising given that we were still pretty far away from Lexington and other, more populated areas. This was fine for what it is, and my preference is always to go local when you're traveling through small town USA in lieu of the chains. This wasn't incredible, but we enjoyed our time here and left a literal physical reminder of our time here with the aforementioned pushpin.

The food was delicious. The service was outstanding. The prices were fair. The best meal we had in…read morethe Red River Gorge area. We kept driving further out and this was less than a half mile from where we stayed. Drinks were delicious as well. I would recommend this establishment to anyone.

we love hops. the food is great! try the beer cheese and pretzel. the owner is very gracious and…read morefun to talk to. definitely one of our favorite places.

I had the meat loaf and it was great. Everything was very fresh. People were very friendly and…read morewelcoming. Great place!

This place had the flurry before the blizzard came along, And when you need a good Burger and a…read moremilkshake Or pepper poppers, And chicken strips, This is a place for you. Locally owned For as long as I can remember. If it's pretty out Grab a seat at a picnic table and enjoy the sunshine!

I am always a sucker for these vintage 1950s restaurants ( culinary survivors). When I stopped by…read morethey had the usual selections all of which was acceptable. The problem my wife and I encountered was that they were out of a lot of their selections. The soft serve icecream machine was broken which was a big disappointment. This place would be a lot better if they were open more hours and maybe scaled back their menu to focus on the basics. When we were last there we enjoyed a car show that had over 50 old cars. The ambiance went well with this 1950s restaurant survivor of a bygone era. I hope they can get the kinks worked out post Covid and rejuvenate this place. I think it has a lot of potential. I look forward to the day I can update my review and give them 5 Stars!

Love coming here! We came here 2 years ago when we got engaged and I had the hillbilly quesadilla…read morethen. I haven't shut up about it since and when we planned this trip for our 1 year wedding anniversary, this is the food I was looking forward to the most! The ambiance is super inviting, the vibes are fun. Service was fast and friendly and the food was delicious! Can't wait to come back!

Sooooo good. By far my favorite place i've eaten at so far. Place was cute and staff was friendly!read more

The Food and service was amazing! loved the peaceful…read moresetting for the outdoor seating area! Off the beaten path, but worth the drive.

This is the other barbecue joint near Red River Gorge. The one not in all the tourist literature…read more The one not on the main road but crazy out of the way, up a long very steep gravel road, marked only by a small leaning wood sign at the last junction where the road got even worse. It was worth the effort! I finally found the place and parked in the almost full gravel lot. I was surprised by how busy it was given the location. The barn-like building was on the top of a hill overlooking grassy fields. Inside it was freezing cold from the AC, noisy from conversation and classic rock on the sound system echoing off the concrete floor. I found a table as advised and my waitress soon appeared. The bbq choices, all wood-smoked in house of course, were brisket, pulled pork, and pork ribs. Some of the non-bbq mains were fried chicken, blackened catfish, grilled portabello, and shrimp&grits. So a wide selection. The mains included choice of 2 sides. The only flaw in the menu was the ribs. It's only sold as a full rack a la carte. Not a single-serving portion with sides. I got the brisket with baked beans and cornbread. The brisket was excellent, lots of smoky flavor, good color, and exceptionally tender. So good it didn't really need anything else but the sauce, intensely spicy, tangy, and not too sweet, made it even better. Only one flavor of sauce was provided. The baked beans, a mix of red and white, were tangy and sweet with lots of bacon bits that somehow stayed crispy in the sauce. The cornbread was as it should be: dense yet it also felt light and airy, some texture from the grits, pronounced corn flavor, and hardly any sweetness. There was also a small garnish of pickles and pickled onions. Also on the menu: Pork Belly Kabobs in the appetizer section. Served with blackened bell pepper and drizzled in apricot glaze. I was intrigued so I got an order for the next day. I was pretty impressed, though I'm sure they would have been even better fresh rather than reheated over my improvised camping cookstove setup. Very unusual and surprisingly sophisticated for what I expected of a bbq joint in the middle of nowhere. Speaking of sophisticated, the drinks menu was also more eclectic than I expected. A large number of specialty cocktails, most with top-shelf liquor brands, most priced around $9 (cheap). Many bourbon brands. A large selection of beers including many local craft brands. All served in real glass glasses. Sadly I wasn't drinking and only had a Coke that evening. And my waitress, dressed "urban chic" in a short ruffled black skirt and stylish boots, also seemed out of place for what I was expecting. I couldn't wish for a better waitress. She was cordial, got everything right, checked with me occasionally, and paced things correctly, for example waiting for me to finish dessert before bringing the kabobs which I had requested earlier as to-go. For dessert I had a Bourbon Peach Cobbler with vanilla ice cream. The cobbler was great, the peaches obviously fresh not canned, the cake part airy and the very slight trace of sweetness a nice balance from the sugary bourbon syrup and sweet ice cream. The cake part was actually quite large and I ended up eating half, all the ice cream, and took 1/2 the cake home. A really outstanding barbecue, for the food quality, the variety, service, and ambience. Just two small flaws: the ice cream in the cobbler was a bit grainy, and one piece of the brisket was all fat. Brisket can be a fatty meat but this one piece was excessive and shouldn't have been served. Nevertheless I had enough to eat and didn't say anything. I'll give them the benefit of doubt on both of these trivial flaws. Thinking back I mostly remember a great meal, not these minor, probably just honest mistakes, seldom to be repeated.

Excellent food! Great service and the staff is amazing, this jamaicano definitely recommends this…read morerestaurant.

The best Mexican restaurant ever. Friendly, fast and great food. Luis is the best server too.read more