I have been to Cowboy Cafe four times now and have enjoyed the food and service each time. I arrived with a bigger party and the server rearranged the tables for us. There aren't a whole lot of tables, but we have always managed to get one without waiting. The food is tasty and inexpensive. I especially like the burgers (my favorite is the LoJo) and the beer selection. The only negative I can think of has to do with the small parking lot. But there is a second location for parking just yards away (to the right if you are looking from the street). It seems like it could be a good happy hour spot, although I have never been there for that. All in all, a good place for a meal and a beer!!! read more

Brunch? Fantastic. All from scratch. Hash - so good. French toast was really yummy too. One small thing - the cook doesn't understand that a poached egg should be runny in the middle. Dinner? The Cowboy Reuben is WOW. The house smoked pastrami is unreal. Can't wait to order it again. But the real star? The homemade tater tots. I can't even find words for them. Just incredible. read more

This place has the greatest burgers! Staff is friendly and the food come quick and delicious! Great place to watch the games! Just finished a huge Reuben! My bad! I should have taken half of it home. Now I have to waddle out of here like a penguin! Great sandwich! read more

Great after work spot close to my brother's office.. Their wings are awesome with a pitcher. Always catch their happy hour specials when the timing is write burger night hits the spot. Trivia was fun last Monday. Live music really closes out the week. read more

Riding by my daughter wanted to stop in so it is definitely a dive bar and very small but such a great spot to hang out. If I didn't have my 15 year old daughter with me I probably would have hung out and go to know some of the people. At first when the bartender came in (shortly after we arrived) she didn't look like she was very happy to be there and didn't smile at all...but the waitress was great and friendly and the bar tender warmed up to us and I liked her. But she does need to smile when she comes in the door (but everyone has a bad day sometimes - I kind of wanted to give her a hug she looked so unhappy) But the food was what you would expect of a local dive bar, we ordered nachos and I had a cold beer and for the price and the food it was pretty darn good. Atmosphere was good too and really, truly a dive bar! read more

I ate here last Saturday, I got the chicken fried steak (white gravy the way I like it), mash potatoes, grilled veggies and Texas toast. First off it was a lot of food. It was passable, the gravy could have probably used more pepper, the meat should have been salted before applying the batter, but overall a great experience. What made it great,....the people. The waitress we had was nice, chatty and friendly. The place is clean, full or regulars. The menu was abundant and the beer cheap. I think my mistake was I should have gotten a burger. Oh and a extra bonus was they have their own, small, parking lot. read more

Love the Cowboy Cafe'. Since new ownership/management moved in over the past year, you get more home-made and creative menu items. I go hear about once a month and have been satisfied with all the specials from homeade Kielbasa to the Catfish tacos. Great draft beers too, ranging from PBR - Starr Hill - to Abita. Turbo Dog is the best! read more

I've been to cowboy several times with friends, family, and my boyfriend, and have had a great experience each time! They have a lot of good beers to choose from. They also have awesome deals during the week, like half off burgers, half of sandwiches, and a wing deal, just to name a few. I love their TNT hot sauce!!! Also, they have a great brunch on the weekends that's not too pricey compared to other places in Arlington. I'm a huge fan of brunch. There's two parking lots so it's generally easy to find a space. Also, they have live music there on weekend nights as well. It's a great hole-in-the-wall place, and since I recently moved to Arlington it has become one of my favorite places to go! read more

My favorite dive bar in Arlington. A true laid back atmosphere, wait-staff, and decent food at decent prices. Some times can get a bit boisterous, but hey, it's a bar and to be expected. Tuesday's half price burger deal can't be beat in terms of price or quality. Very good burgers and fries. read more

Half price burgers on Tuesday. Great staff! Loved this place since I was a kid. Great Food for a great price.

One of the best happy hours in town! It's a classic neighborhood bar with great homemade food and super prices on drinks. Perfect place to watch sports or hang out with friends. My kids are obsessed with the s'mores pie. read more

Updating again... New server is awesome, service is back to great - so 4 stars it is for 1/2 price burger tuesdays, ha.

This is our local bar and we love it. The food is good, drinks are strong and service is friendly. What more do we need?

Since my last post (years ago) they have had many changes, mostly for the better, and it's back to being a great local watering hole/dive bar (which is a dying breed in Arlington). Overall, good people, good food, good specials, and the best bartenders and wait staff in town! read more

I have been going here for ten years. I miss the old one, for sure. It had so much more charachter and the remodelled one feels alien and sterile....but i guess that's to be expected with some new owner. The food is great, though, and burger night can't be beat! read more

Great food, some of their specials are a great deal like the wings. The feel is a bit old and rustic, but it's ok for a local bar. The servers are nice too. read more

Nice little dive bar. It's a full bar, not just beer. It was mainly regulars, which it should be. They don't have food late at night. They atleast have something, chips and guacamole, which was good. The bartender was cute and effective. She gave the attention to the regulars that they deserve, but made sure I was services promptly. read more

Some of the best music anywhere. Good service. Friendly staff. Hoping to see THE ROCKITS there..... https://youtu.be/nQfC1AQZRts

You know those hole-in-the-wall joints that don't look impressive but end up blowing you away with their quality? Cowboy Cafe is one. I just moved to the DC area and was looking for Chicken Fried Steak. After reading some reviews here, my girlfriend and I went to the Cowboy Cafe for dinner, only to find CFS not on the menu. Matt, one of the owners, was also our waiter. He said that the CFS had been taken off the menu a while ago, but they made one anyway. Oh my God it was good! I hear it's hard enough to find a CFS in this part of the country, much less a good one. Everything at Cowboy Cafe is made from scratch and this steak was no exception - I haven't had a chicken-fried steak this good since Threadgill's in Austin, TX. The veggies were also perfect, and my girlfriend's pork/jalapeno/something was excellent as well. The staff was friendly, the music was great, and the margarita I had to top it off was surprisingly good. I can't say enough good things about this place. I will definitely be back. read more

Current owners have continued to de-dive bar it. It's brighter and they got rid of the old bar storage making it look more open. Decent bar food good beer choices and occasional live music. Monday trivia is well done and has a solid draw. The place still has some of the old characters but time has moved on and they've faded away except for mr mayor of arlington. 5 stars for the memories read more

Best local bar in Arlington , I grew up here and just returned ...my fav place. Good food and bartenders are the best

The reasons to come to the Cowboy Cafe are many: Its a classic neighborhood establishment where everyone know each other, the beer is good and they have plenty of live music. I don't usually come for the food, though, because this is a bit hit or miss. We liked our sampler appetizer platter--the tater tots were especially good, though the wings were only ok. My wife's California burger was excellent--I wish I had ordered that instead of the fried chicken, which was overcooked and a bit too crisp on the outside. read more

Perfect dive bar. Really great food, friendly staff, affordable. 1/2 price burger nights, wing nights, etc. It's exactly what you want! Reasonably priced food and drinks in cool place read more

We live in the area and it is almost the definition of a neighborhood bar. If you have a family there is seating with TVs away from the bar. The service is always good and so is the food. The wings are very good, I get them Edgar style, with the sauce on the side. The briskwich is also very good along with their burgers. Trivia night is also very fun. Overall, good food with a nice bar, good place to watch a game. Not as much space or TVs as thirsty bernies but if you're in the mood for better food, this is the place to go. read more

Don't judge this little hole in the wall by its cover. It has a small bar with a few good beers on tap, and surprisingly good food. Perfect spot to drop in and get a beer while sitting at the bar and watching a sports event. read more

No parking, no tables and an hour and a half wait for a cold Cubano and a dry Reuben. Very disappointed. They did proactively comp the bill 25% for the wait, but man was that a bad experience. Too many other options locally to roll the dice there again. read more

This is one of my old haunts from high school, and a staple for any Arlingtonian, but until this weekend I had never eaten brunch there. I always loved the burgers (especially on half priced burger Tuesdays) and was equally impressed by their Cowboy hash. The chorizo was delicious, the eggs well poached, and the whole combo was perfect. I'm not sure whether it was the heaviness of the dish, or the ridiculous amount of vodka in my bloody marys, but afterwards I was in a severe food coma. I wouldn't necessarily recommend the bloody Mary if you have to drive, but if you like 'em strong, these are definitely potent. read more

Nice relaxed place to hangout. Good food, they make the meat for the rubins in house. My friend got it and she said it was amazing. I had a bacon cheeseburger and it was really good. Everyone had a good time. read more

Great local spot. Always a lively and interesting crowd. Food is great, lots of character which is hard to find now a days. Definitely check out CC and ask for the Mayor! read more

Absolutely love Cowboy. Food is great. Buff chx sandwich is the goat. Pickles are next level. Brunch banged too. Plus they sell Natty Light in cans for $2. That's pretty chill. read more

Had some friends tell me about cowboy recently so I went out for some drinks and hanging out. Great atmosphere, yea its a small place, but its got lots of character. Great service from out waitress and bartenders, even though the place was packed, we never had to wait for anything. Service was outstanding. We weren't hungry when we went out, but everyone kept telling us to try the fried pickles and Edgar wings so we did. Great Choice for a late night snack, pickles were fried just right and not greasy at all. The wings were some of the best I have had in a while. Beer selection is good, not too many and not just crappy domestics. Full bar with all the liquor choices you could want. As other people have said in their reviews. Its a dive bar, but thats what makes it so great, sometimes you just need a low key, easy atmosphere place to hang thats not going to cost you a fortune. read more

The best local watering hole around. The staff is great, the locals are fun, and the atmosphere is welcoming in a warm and cozy sort of way. And if you can't finish the legendary Barnyard Burger, you need to get some training wheels for your eating habits. read more

Great service I go here for lunch during the school year. Good food, great service, and good atmosphere.

Cowboy Cafe is my favorite neighborhood hole-in-the-wall and serves up a great burger!

Good burgers and a surprisingly decent Sunday brunch. Atmosphere is nice enough for a hole in the wall pub. Seems like a more laid back crowd. I think it's owned by a couple of brothers. They smoke meat in the premises which is enough to put them a step above the typical dive bar. read more

I am not into writing long and spiteful reviews, so I will keep it short and to the point. The food is average at best, and the service is horrible. A lot better places to visit with my hard earned $. I will not be going back. read more

When you enter Cowboy Cafe, the first thing you notice are the deer heads mounted above you. And beside you. And in front of you. Along with Steeley Dan playing in the background and old-fashioned Juke Boxes, Cowboy Cafe sure has a lot going on. Although the decor might not be appropriate for a white-tablecloth meal, it suits the personality of this throwback to old, western cuisine. For the appetizer, I had chips with salsa and guacamole and shrimp gumbo. Nothing was particularly great about the chips, but they were alright, even if the guacamole was too smooth for my taste. However, the gumbo was excellent, and the shrimp was perfectly seasoned. The heat was not overpowering, and instead added to the overall taste of the dish. However, my main meal of Tilapia Fillet on a bed of baked beans was definitely not satisfactory. The flavor and texture were both very weird, and the meal just didn't connect. Overall, I would give the food a decent rating, but nothing to be excited about. The servers seemed to just be there for serving our food, and neither of them had any inclination to make friendly chatter. Overall, the experience was pleasant, and definitely worth the moderate amount we paid. I would go again, but not for the fish. Cleanliness: Fair Price: Low to Moderate Atmosphere: Good Food: Fair to Good Service: Fair Noise level: Changes based on the song being played. For most of the meal it was generally easy to here, but there were some pretty raucous songs. Overall Experience: Although Cowboy Cafe might not be suited for everyone, it delivers on its burgers and gives an authentic western experience. Would go again. read more

We've been going to this place for several years because it is the only one of its type in the area. Unfortunately, a recent visit made it clear that new management has really affected the Cowboy Cafe negatively. The service was unfriendly and actually downright rude to us repeatedly. Our food orders arrived one by one - several minutes apart. This meant we had to choose between eating completely cold eggs or eating five separate meals. When we asked about this - our server became even more beligerant. When we asked to speak to the manager - the server said they were the manager. This explained a lot unfortunately. The food was extremely mediocre and - based on the way our food came out - the kitchen doesn't seem to function effeciently. We would have probably overlooked all of that though - if there had been ANY type of apology for the insanity. It is sad to see an iconic North Arlington bar go downhill. read more

Great burger, wings, and service. A great arlington treasure. Great place to have a beer with friends.

Good neighborhood restaurant. There is a small dining area near the bar, which is where we sat. Family-friendly place for lunch. Buffalo chicken sandwich was good but not great. Excellent chili. Kids sliders and fries were ok. Very friendly service. We will certainly come here again. read more