Great Mexican food. With decent breakfast and secretly the best thing to get there is neither one of the two. Chicken fried chicken with their queso is to die for amazing stuff! read more

If we'd found this place on one of our earlier trips to Tyler, it would already be one of our favorite haunts! The accommodations are a bit...rustic?...definitely not a "jacket and tie" fine-dining establishment. Don't let that sway you, though; the food was great, and the portions were enormous. We love taking the occasional weekend trip to the Tyler area as an escape from Austin, and we've found some great places to eat here in Tyler. We arrived around 10:30 for breakfast and weren't disappointed! read more

This is a small homey restaurant, located in the old "Joe's Italian Grill" location on 5th Street, across from where Dwayne's used to be. Now Dwayne's is gone and Joe's has moved into his old place. But the friendliness and sunshine that you knew at Dwaynes has been transferred. Yep, ya'll, Mary and Donna are at Mama's! It's an apt name for a friendly little family-style restaurant which serves up simple home-cooked meals, both American and Mexican. Santos, the owner, is also the cook, and he does it well. You can find Chicken fried steak, mashed taters with gravy and green beans as easily as homemade enchiladas and quesadillas. Even better, breakfast is served ALL DAY for those that cannot eat first thing in the morning. Myself, I have no such problem. I was here just the other day, and will admit to digging into my favorite breakfast of chicken fried steak with gravy, 2 eggs over medium, hash browns, and biscuits. (With an iced tea, my total was $10+change.) In my defense, that was my ONLY meal of the day (and it had been months since I'd indulged). I've also tried their steak quesadilla which was absolutely awesome and I couldn't finish it. Fajita steak, onions, green peppers and loads of melty cheesy goodness bringing it all together. Chips and salsa are complimentary when you order a Mexican item, and the salsa is really flavorable with just enough kick to it to put a bite on your tongue and make your taste buds zing. This is your quintessential perfect little home style restaurant that doesn't take a bite out of your pocketbook and puts a smile on your face. If you go, tell Mary and Donna that Stevie sent ya! :-) read more

Food wasn't bad, but not to the level that one would go on and on about. I questioned a lot of it being instant or from a freezer....I could be wrong, and will own up to it if proven so. I don't think it's too much to expect (or difficult to make) freshly made. My biggest complaint is, though they weren't packed and had plenty of empty tables, we were sat next to a table with 5/6 rowdy and loud kids. The hostess asked a young man where to sit us and he told her where, so it wasn't her fault. I didn't complain about it or asked to be moved as I'm not going to make the parents feel bad about taking their kids out. They weren't bad kids, just young and ready to go as they'd probably been sitting still for awhile. The employees should probably be more aware of this sort of situation. If a couple without kids comes in, try to avoid sitting them right next to a table full of kids. It could be they were enjoying a night away from their own. The best thing about our visit was our waitress. She was wonderful, personable and friendly...though, it seemed like she was too busy and had too many tables. read more

Great food. The Omletts were enough for two to share. My wife enjoyed the Mexican lunch special as well

The exceptional service made this rating. The wait staff was attentive and asked all the right questions. First place in Texas that I was offered honey with my hot tea. read more

I really like this place. Strange variety, but oh so good food. My wife usually gets the breakfast items while. Consume large amounts of Mexican food. The put onions in everything and the salsa is subpar, but the food has a perfect taste. Go now, your search for dinner is over. read more

We had been wanting to try this place and heard good reviews. Unfortunately that was not the case for us. Walked in and our name was added to the list, waited a while and noticed people that walked in after us (we were a party of 2, same size and larger were being sat). Asked why we hadn't been called yet, the host just said that "we skipped over you" with no reason when I asked why we were skipped over. When I table became available, we were sat with menus. About 10 minutes later, the host came to us and said the waitress is too busy to take our drink or food orders. He got us some waters. A couple minutes later the waitress showed up when the host told her to go take our order, we told her we think we were just going to go somewhere else, she just said "ok!" Then turned around and left. No Sorry, or I apologize for the wait, etc. If the host can just choose to skip people on the list, and the waitress say she can't take your order, I don't know that I would ever try this place again. read more

When they first opened, the food was great! However, there have been some changes since then and the food has steadily gone downhill. In November, I ordered their chicken fried steak since it had been a very long time since I ordered it. It was the worst excuse for a cfs that I have ever had! The meat was what I'd consider a breakfast steak (small patty 1/4 inch thick at the most). Then it was heavily breaded to hide the pitiful meat. I ate my sides, and after letting my husband taste it, left the meat on my plate. When the waitress asked how the meal was, I told her and they wound up comping my entire meal. I only expected a discount since I did eat my sides and the salad I ordered, so they get kudos for that. All of the various main entrées have steadily gotten worse. Their best offering at this point is their breakfast menu! read more

Great food, great prices, friendly service! And the senior menu has ample servings. If you are looking for "atmosphere" and "ambience", then go elsewhere. This is the kind of wonderful restaurant that used to dot this town. read more

Disappointing. I have been sick to my stomach for 24hrs after leaving here. I have never had a more greasy breakfast, I could literally see and smell all the grease. I hate to be negative, but they couldn't get my egg order right, hash browns were mushy, bacon was thin and fatty, and I could make better pancakes myself. All though, my Husband's omelet was pretty good. Also service was slow, it took forever until they actually took our food order. In the end, I wouldn't go back. read more

Great breakfast and lunch. Try to go on meatloaf day which I think it Thursday or Friday. Breakfast is served all day and you can't go wrong there either. Lunch check specials are very fair priced. read more

The food was awesome, the place had amazing character, and the staff made me feel as comfortable as if I was with my own family. I'm super sad I don't live closer - I'd set my sights on becoming a 'regular!' read more

Very good mexican and breakfast.Excellent pancakes Full menu. Good service just what you want in a diner.

I'll go back! Food was good, plenty of it and no real wait to speak of. Place was a little crowded, after eating there, it was obvious why it was crowded. Great little mom n pop place to eat. read more

Fantastic breakfast!! We're from Austin and the Tex Mex in Tyler is great in comparison. We really loved the huge breakfast. Everything was perfect. Part of the fun of going out of town is enjoying breakfast. Just no time at home to do it right. Hope we can try Mama's lunch or dinner next time. read more

This is one of our favorite places to eat on Tyler. Food is good and the prices are great. We love their pancakes and the service is excellent. We love that you can get breakfast all day, and you can also get chips and salsa at breakfast! read more

Very good family restaurant, never have I been able to finish my breakfast plate! They give you lots of food for your money!

The service was really good for breakfast. I ordered the strawberry banana French toast but I also would recommend Joes omelette! It was excellent. Would recommend to friends most definitely. read more

Excellent! My chicken fried steak was perfect. Great service, great food, great waitress. ..don't miss this little gem in Tyler, Texas