MeMaw's is a great place for dessert! They have so many different flavors and varieties of ice…read morecream that you can make into shakes, malts, cups, cones, sundaes, etc. It was hard to choose what flavor we wanted because they have such a large selection. The service was a little slow and it seemed like some customers were not happy with that. I think they could use some more training in customer service. There were multiple young people working but no one seemed to be a leader which made things difficult. Hope to visit again while at our lake house. The desserts were good and tasted great. We didn't try any food since we had already eaten.

We always go there when we are at the lake. Food is wonderful. Great hamburgers. Service is great…read more Place is usually busy in the summer. It is always clean and a maintained We always will go back

Waitress dropped off our food and never came back to refill drinks or ask if we needed anything…read more Then the girl that checked us out didn't give us our military discount. When we asked her about why we didn't get the discount she replied "My bad" and answered her cell phone that was ringing!! (This was on 2/26/26 from 12-12:40 pm) We will never return to this restaurant!

I grew up in Bolivar, and Smith's Restaurant was always one of my favorite places. My grandma used…read moreto take me here all the time, and I loved their food -- it was one of those hometown staples that felt comforting and special. Because of that history, I came in with high hopes, but I left incredibly disappointed. The service was awful. Our server, Christy, was friendly to me but noticeably rude to my husband, which felt unprofessional and uncomfortable. It was such a strange, almost hostile energy at the table, and it immediately soured the experience. Then the food came, and it was nothing like it used to be. What used to taste like good, home-style cooking now felt bland, poorly prepared, and honestly not worth eating. I could tell right away it wasn't the same standard Smith's used to be known for. What really stood out, though, was the atmosphere. Even though there were quite a few people inside, the restaurant was silent. At first, I thought it was odd, but after tasting the food and experiencing the service, it made sense. People weren't enjoying themselves. The silence said everything. It breaks my heart to write this, because Smith's used to mean so much to me growing up. But this visit left me disappointed, uncomfortable, and sad that a place once so loved has lost the warmth and quality it used to have.

The Hickory House has been around a long, long time. It still looks like the old road house it…read moreonce was and is clearly divided between 'the bar' and 'the buffet'. There is no menu at Hickory House and little decor and no ambience, you come for the buffet, that's what you get. For $10.99 plus a drink, you will get the most awesome ribs you will find around Pomme de Terre lake. The fried chicken is perfect and crisp and juicy without being greasy. Hot, spiced, boiled shrimp, which I hadn't seen done right in years. I was in heaven! There was also Catfish, but I'm not a fan, so I didn't have any although many diners were filling their plates with the filets. Also on the buffet were a couple of vegetables of the day, when I went it was corn on the cob and fried okra. I didn't understand why they would put out whole, foil wrapped baked potatoes and halved, 'twice baked' potatoes as the only two starch selections. That could have been thought out a bit better. But you can hardly go wrong with a baked potato, so that was okay. The twice baked were very, very dry, so I passed on that. Decent salad selection; green salad, a couple of mayonnaise based vegetable salads, some fresh fruit and for dessert, banana pudding or the sheet cake of the day. The cake of the day I went was a deep, dark chocolate with a cream cheese glaze. We got there early, so that cake was still warm from the oven when the put it out. I couldn't pass it up. On an interesting side note, about two years ago, Hickory House had "The Kentucky Headhunters" as part of a July 4th weekend celebration. For whatever reason, Mr. Man and I decided not to go at the last minute. All through dinner, we berated ourselves for passing that up. It's easy to see that when they can afford a live act in the bar side, everything on the buffet side gets pushed against the wall or carted off to make room. I'm sure they rocked it and to have heard "Dumas Walker" in that intimate setting would have been sweet! Ah, regrets... The vibe of the place is awesome, the food was very good, the service and friendliness of the staff was exceptional. We will definitely be going there again. The place opens around 4:00 p.m. Monday through Saturday.

Upon arrival Thursday May 14th 2026 at 3:30pm we were the only 3 human souls in the diner besides…read moreour server and the line cook. Food was everything I expected it to be, perfectly average. The server was friendly. Unfortunately the jukebox was out of order like a McDonald's ice cream machine. Better luck next year.

Food was terrible scrambled eggs had a spoiled smell potatoes burnt…read more Service was good but that was it Place was cold when we got there Would not even give it any stars but the review is requiring me leave a star Menu said chicken fried steak it was not chicken

1/2# Burger AMAZING! Candy fries (not on menu, but ask! It's AMAZING! My 1st visit, it will NOT…read morebe my last.... YUMMO!!!!

Food was awful. So greasy and a mess to eat. It is definitely a hole in the wall kind of place…read more I was sick the whole night and next day and I only eat a couple of bits of my meal.

Fun atmosphere friendly service and really good breakfast! Great place to stop if you're a tourist…read morewanting to feel like a local.

Love the home cooked food and pleasant service! Great value as well. The servers didn't get mad…read morewhen my hubby spilled his coffee and they even had French vanilla creamer!

The best restaurant around. Always hot food and great service. And the pies are delicious and the…read morecinnamon rolls are massive!! Great place to stop in.

What a hidden gem. If I hadn't been searching online ahead of our trip for unique stops we would…read morehave passed by this exit and missed this place entirely. When we arrived at 6pm on a Monday (they close at 7:30pm) the building looks pretty run down. Half the letters are missing on their sign! But the flowers were well tended and the parking lot had lots of vehicles... always a good indicator! We were greeted immediately and offered menus and water. We decided to try the tenderloin sandwich (a first for both of us). They were happy to cut it in half and prepare two sets of lettuce and toppings and give us a second plate. It was really good! There's no doubt this would have been too much food for just one of us. We split a side of fries. There's a reason this place hasn't changed much since the 1950s. It's great as it is.

Got a to go order. The tenderloin was very yummy! Will be back for more!…read moreCute little diner!

My MIL has wanted to try this place from photos on Facebook. We both had the pork tenderloin…read moresandwich and it was huge. The service was excellent.

My wife and I were up at the lake for a special event. We searched for a good place for breakfast…read more We found the Rusty Rooster. The place has limited parking because it always has customers. The people were friendly, the place was clean and bright. The service was fantastic, Thanks Hope! The best part was the food. I had the Spicy Rooster and my wife had the biscuits and gravy. The food was delicious and piping hot. If you are looking for a GREAT breakfast or brunch stop, this is it. Tell them Santa and Mrs Claus sent you!

Amazing for everything. Neat place decorated to perfection. Food was awesome. Recommend highly.read more

We had an appointment at the nearby medical facility and needed to order some takeout lunch…read more Fortunately, Springfield Avenue Cafe had an easy-to-use online ordering system that was a godsend for us, as we don't know anything about Bolivar and had to use Google during this whole coronavirus ordeal to find food. There were several good vegetarian options available to us. We ended up ordering: - Avocado toast: this is an interesting take on avocado toast, it includes pico de gallo, but was really, really tasty. It came with two eggs too. - Power Greens Breakfast Bowl: very good option! The flavor was great, the toppings were fresh, and the eggs were a nice protein addition. - Garden salad: a HUGE salad with plenty of chunky veggies. The portions are quite large. We ended up with leftovers, which worked out well for us. If we have to be back in Bolivar again, we'll definitely be repeat customers.

It's basically a diner in cafe style. The food was great and so was the dessert. Waiting staff was…read moreattentive and friendly.