If you are from the city (whIch I am)this is different! Great food Huge portions country service. We love it! Make sure someone gets the chicken fried steak! read more

This place doesn't deserve a star. 1. Waitstaff was terrible. Took forever for someone to take our drink order and then another 30 minutes to order food. 2. For appetizers we thought we'd try a couple of options. a: the stuffed cheddar jalapeños: so gross. It's shredded cheese on a sliced jalapeño and soggy crust. b: the loaded tater tots: the tater tots are out of a frozen bag. Ours were freezer burned. Half weren't even hot. Canned chili was plopped in the middle. c: the queso and salsa: now this takes the cake. The "queso" is that ballpark cheese out of a huge gallon bucket you buy at Sam's for high school football games. So nasty. The salsa.. is the reason for the one star. It was amazing. 3. We ordered the following for the table: a: the seafood platter: the fried stuff was all soggy and chewy; not to mention cold. b: the rest of the table got the chicken fried steak since it's what we were told we had to come here for. The batter... again, soggy. Now this is meant to be like grandma's southern fried chicken fried steak. D for effort since it was soggy and cold. The mashed potatoes were okay, but again cold. The gravy... it's tasted like someone took a packaged mix gravy and added some flower to it so it would look homemade. All-in-all, I heard about it. I went... I saw... I tasted.. and that's all for me. Not real sure why I believed all these city folk when they said how amazing this "home cooking" was. It's all canned or freezer food. read more

Waited thirty minutes for some tea, still waiting for food while writing. Waiter came five minutes after seated. But it is worth the wait, Food 5/5 but -1 for the wait read more

It ain't what it was. Busy, expensive and s-l-o-w. The fame done got to them I suppose. They've got more rules posted on the walls than the IRS has agents. I'll pass on by. read more

So never have eaten here till today . All I have heard is how great this place is and the chicken fried steak is so great . Wrong .... For one the noise in this place is so loud you can't enjoy your food and doesn't help when you have a big mouth wanting to be center of attention. Hell there was a table with 5 little kids that came in and you did not know they were there .I finally said enough out loud to where that guy heard me that he shut up ... The food is just average really , the steak is so thin and no flavor . Hell I make a better kick ass chicken fried steak than this .I ordered the small steak and about fell over when they bring this little steak out and I could have eaten 3 of them and I'm a small person . The salad was all wilted as well and the fries all greasy but what fries are not . You have to add salt and pepper to everything to get flavor. The staff is very friendly I will give them that and filled our drink glasses up all the time . I won't be back not worth the drive . read more

What happened to Mary's????!!! I was bragging to friends about how great the chicken fried steaks and burgers are.... SDADLY the chicken fried steak came out in breaded or very little. Looked like flattened hamburgers maybe 6 inches round and 1 bowl of gravy for 4 cfs!...service was good and same great hometown atmosphere... gotta fix the CFS!!! A real disappointment! I'd consider other places before making a drive out to Mary's read more

Chicken fried steak or chicken. Biggest hamburger you've ever seen. Mary is usually in the kitchen working her tail Off. That helps the food more consistent read more

I drove over an hour to visit here for the renowned chicken fried steak lunch. You can tell things are made from scratch, as the cream gravy and mashed potatoes were really tasty. The CFS was okay,, not bad or stellar.. Overall, I enjoyed the food and service was good. Since they open at 11am, its more a lunch and not breakfast type place. You will not leave here hungry! read more

Mary's Cafe - The "medium" plate, should've got the smaller one. Way too much food here! - American Near Me - Strawn, Texas

Had to wait 30 minutes when we ordered the quesadilla beef.Did not apologize for the wait or give a discount

Amazing food... especially the Mexican food. Possibly the best enchiladas and chips and hot sauce I've eaten.

We walked in at 5:00 and several people were ahead of us. We put our name on the list. The hostess/waitress couldn't tell us how long the wait was. She acted like we were disturbing her by being there. About 5 minutes later another lady started yelling out names on the list and telling people to go to this room or that room but not telling us what table to sit at. There are a ton of flies around our table and even more flies dead on the window sill. There was also a cigarette butt on the floor. If we hadn't drove 1.5 hours to get here we would have left. Our waitress (Cindy I think) was extremely nice. She had a very large group (20+ people) plus us. Now we've been waiting for our dinner for an hour. My husband's large chicken fried steak came out first. Then my small chicken fried steak came out. Missing our French fries. They finally came out 5 minutes later. It's now 6:21 and we are still waiting on my husbands salad dressing. My chicken fried steak came out lukewarm, soggy and no flavor. The fries were barely warm and had no flavor. I got tired of battling to keep the flies off my food so I stopped eating it after 5 bites. We left at 6:55. I doubt we will make the drive just to come eat here again. If we are in the area we might consider stopping to give it another try. Oh, my husband never did get his salad dressing. read more

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Great food and a friendly staff. This is a must try location if you are near Strawn Texas.

I went with the small Chicken fried steak which is the size of a normal chicken fried steak. It was excellent, quick friendly service. Good food it gets packed by noon get there early. read more

Small town diner that has great food and service! Went her after a day on the lake. Family had the famous chicken fried steak with mashed potatoes that was amazing. My wife tried the fried chicken and it was equally as good. Everything made fresh from scratch daily. Highly recommend! read more

"Home of the World's Famous Chicken Fried Steak" Incredibly fast service. We called in our order on our way passing through town on a family road trip. Upon arrival, we were met with quick service. We ordered 3 entrées for 4 people and left with leftovers. Definitely an awesome Texas/Southern home cookin'! So good. I had the chicken strips which were crisp, juicy and tender. The corn on the cob was also great and buttery too. Overall, my family loved the sit-down restaurant and would be happy to visit again. To top it all off, my dad got to enjoy one of his favorite dishes: chicken fried steak. read more

Mary's Cafe - Chicken tenders, corn on the cob, baked potato, chicken fried steak - American Near Me - Strawn, Texas

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My family and I have heard over and over about Mary's in Strawn Texas, how good, you've got to try it, Well We went and will not go back, the chicken fried steak is flat and the crust is really moushy. Needless to say a 63 mile trip wasted. Needless to say if it's on your bucket list mark it out!!! Atmosphere is run down , seating needs updated old , appearance not immaculate that's for sure. Take my advice you for sure won't go twice!!!! read more

This is THE chicken friend steak to get in Texas. I've never had any better. You get plenty of food and it's all fantastic. We took a detour that added almost 2 hours to our drive home but it was well worth it. The bad reviews must be from people who give 5 stars to restaurants that serve frozen chicken friend steak with gravy made from a pouch who don't know what real food tastes like. read more

Hands down best chicken fried steak The crust was fried to perfection crisp and not one trace of Burnt taste to it and not think The steak was fresh off the cow read more

Mary's Cafe - American Near Me - Strawn, Texas

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We came out from Fort Worth for a little day trip after reading about this place online. The food was plentiful but not the best. The chicken fried steak was ok, but definitely not the best I have ever had. The wait staff was pleasant and helpful, but they seemed like they were a little overwhelmed. There was a sign by the front door stating that they were understaffed because they couldn't get enough staff. The restaurant is a little disjointed. They have added on to the original building and though I appreciated the air conditioning, it was cold. I don't usually get cold easily. It was also loud. Overall, it was a good experience, but not worth a second trip. Also, it is expensive compared to what I was expecting. $19 for a small CFS is a little high. read more

For all this delicious, go to Marys. The Chicken livers are plentiful (get a small, it's all you and two other people will ever need) and the Chicken Fry is FABULOUS. Also, the apricot fried pie is yummy read more

Mary's Cafe - Chicken livers for days - American Near Me - Strawn, Texas

Talk about good food! It's fantastic. Stopped in after headed back home to Granbury from Abeline. First time visit. Ordered the medium chicken fried steak. Medium? It was as big as the huge plate it was on and piled high with crispy french fries. Wow! I am a big eater and I had leftovers. We plan on coming back soon even though it's an hour drive. Well worth the time. read more

We came for a late lunch on a Friday afternoon. We arrived at 1, and had to wait about 20 minutes to be seated, no big deal. Once seated we were offered drinks, but then the real wait began. We watched as other tables that came after us ordered and received food. It was evident that there was only ONE person taking orders and delivering food. We finally were able to order and then waited another 30 minutes for our food. We finished lunch at about 3 and got back into Ft. Worth about 4. The food itself was good. The baked potato and salad were nothing special, but the chicken fried steak was some of the best I've ever had. Even so, I don't know that it was worth the drive and the brutal wait. If your crave great chicken fried steak and have a ton of time to kill, go to Mary's. If not, tons of great chicken fried steaks in Fort Worth. read more

Great Food, and you better be hungry. It's a nice drive from weatherford, but the food is well worth it. Their specialty is chicken fried steak, but there are other items that are equally as good. Pork Chops, hamburgers, Chicken Livers ,Quail deep fried or grilled. It's all good. read more

Decent food with good service.. gotta stop by if you are driving down I-20 and looking for a decent spot in the middle of nowhere. However, the queso is terrible and the chicken fried steak gave the explosive diarrhea. Still get 3 stars just cause I'm nice read more

Mary's Cafe - Chicken fried steak ! - American Near Me - Strawn, Texas

We loved Mary's cafe. The food was awesome. I had the chicken fried chicken and my fiancé had the chicken fried chicken. He ordered a medium thinking it wouldn't be that big and it was huge. He even needed a to go box. We arrived as soon as they opened and by the time we were leaving they had a full house. It was well worth the drive read more

Mary's Cafe - Front of the menu - American Near Me - Strawn, Texas

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I feel like we went to the wrong place after hearing how good this is supposed to be. We showed up on Sunday a little after 2. It was so crowded that we had to wait about ten minutes to be seated, and we figured this was a good sign that the food was good. As others have said, it is very noisy, and the rooms are very full. The chairs, in particular, make an awful sound when they scrape across the floor. This would not have been a problem if the rest of the experience had not been so unfortunate. As such, it just added to the unpleasantness. We were seated, got our menus, and were asked our drinks almost immediately. Obviously, the chicken fried steak is what they are known for, but the menu is full of a bit of everything. We were asked if we were ready to order before we had a chance to really look over it at all; I guess they expect everyone to order the CFS, and while most everyone in the restaurant did order the CFS, we wanted to try a few of the other items. Then... we spent 10-15 minutes just waiting for our waitress to come back to take our food order. And you really cannot concentrate on anything other than the noise level when you have nothing to do but wait. One of us ordered the CFS, one of us ordered the porkchops, and one of us ordered the quail kabobs. And then we waited... and waited for well over an hour. And again, a wait would not be an issue if 1) the food is worth it and 2) we didn't see other people getting their orders 10-20 minutes after being seated. Those that get their food quickly are those that order only CFS, so make sure your entire party wants one, or be prepared for an hour-long wait. It seems they prioritize the CFS over anything else on the menu, so I don't know why there even is anything else on the menu. When we did finally get our food, it was evident what had been sitting out, and what had been the holdup on our order. In order of hottest to coldest: quail (hot), porkchops (warm), CFS (tepid). Also, our sides came first, then two of our meals, and then (about ten minutes later) the last plate. The sides were all room-temp. And the bowls the sides come in are so small you cannot even properly eat them. The food itself lacks seasoning, or any kind of real flavor at all. I don't think any of our meals were salted. The beans taste like they came straight from a can. The gravy has no taste. The pork chops were so tough they had the consistency of leather. The quail is decent, but a little on the dry side. The CFS is just amazingly bland. Unless you enjoy your food tasting of nothing but grease, you might find your meal lacking. The quail also comes wrapped in bacon, and while none of us have any dietary restrictions, there was no description at all on the menu. We were ignored by the staff for the majority of our stay. I felt like we were written off as a lost cause after the long wait and having to ask multiple staff for refills, as it seems like our waitress paid more attention to larger parties that quickly got their food as opposed to us (we still left a 20% tip anyway). It was a bit satisfying to imagine Gordon Ramsey's rage at trying this food, but seeing as this place attracts plenty of customers, it is unlikely he will be called in to save the business anytime soon. So, while we have definitely been here twice (the first and last time), plenty of other people seem to enjoy it. This place was just a real miss for us, and I do really wonder how this was voted the best CFS in Texas. read more

Service was ok .. I didn't care for the chicken fried steak was reasonable prices Chicken Fried Steak

A great jewel off the highway , I had chicken livers and was some best I've ever had, the gravy had the best flavor, my wife had chicken fried steak a medium was huge great flavor and tender. read more

I have been wanting to drive West to try their famous CFS. I will say that we got enough food to split for us (2). $2 for extra plate- worth it. We had the medium CFSteak, mashed , salad+tea ($23 total). The salad ( mediocre) consisted of shredded lettuce with a few small pieces of tomatoes. The bowl of white gravy was okay but needed pepper. The main plate was a decent size chicken fried steak that was not fried, but grilled on the kitchen grill just before serving. Our seemed like (2) different steaks, as one was great and this, the other more breading, thicker and a bit chewy. We had to use a knife to cut the thick one. Mary and staff friendly, helpful, but I suspect a bit over-worked due to staffing and Covid. I will be back and update if they get 4-5* which I fully expect next time. read more

We drove out of our way to eat here because someone recommended it as a great place with great food. Hardly! The food was overpriced and neither me nor my husband liked our food. He had a hamburger and tea. I had a chicken sandwich and water. Our check was $31.00. Not impressed at all. read more

Huge chicken fried steak and tastes good! Old fashioned restaurant with a homey feel. It draws a crowd so you will probably have to wait for a table, but it's worth the 3 hour round trip so it's worth the wait! read more

Totally disappointed, today was our first and last trip to Mary's. We have heard nothing but raves about their chicken fried steak from friends, and drove out of our way to eat lunch there today. We waited over an hour for our food, while folks who sat after us came and went. My oldest ordered the burger which we were told would take "awhile" and it came out first. The dinky little kids meals took longer than anything, and after spending over $80 for a chicken fried steak plate, a burger, and two kids meals we had to get it to go so my daughter wouldn't miss a birthday party. Definitely not worth the price no matter how much better it is warm (we wouldn't know) What a bummer read more

The food was basic and very over priced. We had 1 coffee, 1 can of soda, 1 BLT with 1/2 order of fries and 1 grilled chicken sandwich with 1/2 order of onion rings and the bill was $42. The service left a lot to be desired. Our waitress was nice but never around when needed. read more

We had a great experience dining here yesterday(Monday). Arrived around 2pm. No wait. We were actually served by Mary. Mary was so welcoming. The food was delicious. So much food. Cooked to order. If people are complaining about the cost in other reviews, they need to consider the amount of food they are serving you. Even the small orders are huge. We had the medium CFS and small order of Chicken Livers. We both took home over half the dish. When we are out that way again, we will stop by again. Thank you Mary for the conversation, hospitality and the wonderful food. read more

I've heard so much about the Chicken Fried Steak at Mary's Cafe in Strawn that once been wanting to try it for at least 3 years! About three years ago on one of our road trips around Texas we passed within a mile or two of it traveling East on I-20 toward Dallas-Ft.Worth. It was only right after this adventure that I heard that it was rated one off the best places, if not THE best place to get a Chicken Fried Steak in the State of Texas! That's a pretty powerful statement considering there are some really great places for CFS in Texas! We've been due for one of our days trips to explore Texas so we made the trek north to work our way toward Strawn, Texas home of Mary's Cafe from our home base in Galveston County. We took our time going to other stops and overnighting in Decatur, Texas. We left early Sunday morning with a couple of more stops on our way to Strawn. We arrived at Mary's right around 11:35am in time to beat the early crowd, I thought!!! The place already had a fairly decent bunch of cars parked around it for that time of day!!! So we made our way in and had to wait about 5 minutes to be seated. The waitress said they were just cleaning off a table for our little family of 3. Two younger guys came in right after us and were apparently locals as they walked in and went in and seated themselves at a table that was supposed to be ours!!! The waitress then comes in and says she's going to seat us at a bigger table for about 8 people!!! We told her we'd wait, but she said that it would be fine. So we placed our drink order for two Iced Teas and one Dr. Pepper which they brought out promptly!! They waitress took our order and my wife and I both ordered the Medium Chicken Fried Steaks. My wife ordered Mashed Potatoes with hers and I ordered Fries with mine. Both came with a side salad which we both ordered with Ranch Dressing. Easton just wanted Mac and Cheese, so that's what we ordered for him. Another girl apparently helping out the waitress brought three squeeze bottles to the table. One with Catsup, one with Ranch, and one with 1000 Island!?!?!? O.K. I guess you never know. Then the fun begins. We ordered at right at 11:45am-11:50am and we waited! And we waited, and waited, and waited. The Two young guys that got our original table ordered and got their order and ate, and were gone!!! We're still waiting!!! About 45 minutes later our waitress comes by and says our order is almost ready! Really!!! And we wait about 10 more minutes before our food finally comes out!!! Almost an hour after ordering!!! My iced tea glass was 2/3 empty from the wait, no one ever offered to refill my glass even after the food was placed on the table! I will say that after the wait the food was very food and we really did enjoy the CFS's! If you go for the CFS just be aware that the Medium is enough for two people!!! They come small, medium, and large!!! I think the large one would easily cover the entire plate!!! My FF's were good! My wife's Mashed Potatoes were very good and the portions were big! The salads were just so so with shredded lettuce and a few diced tomatoes! Easton's Mac and Cheese was only warm around the edges like it had been microwaved to warm it up!!! The Cream Gravy that came for both of our meals was in a big bowl that we shared, was plenty and was very good. My only after thought that I told my wife was, I wonder if they know all their local people and work to get them served first and just put the strangers on the back burner! I know of a few places that serve that many people at one time and never have we waited over 15-20 minutes for our food and they make theirs from scratch as well!!! Looking at the reviews before we went were really either hit or miss!!! Either they got 2 stars for lousy service, or they for 5 stars for great everything!!! I usually rate places 4-5 stars, mostly 5's. But Mary's I'm only giving 3 just because their food is good and their portions are big, but No One should have to wait an hour for their order!!! There are ways to improve your business so you can get people served at a decent time after ordering. With that said, We've experienced Mary's CFS and although it reminded me a lot of my mother's we probably won't go back. There are just other places that serve CFS around Texas that are just as good. read more

Mary's Cafe - Mary's in Strawn - American Near Me - Strawn, Texas

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After the 4th of July weekend, my wife and I took the long way back to Fort Worth from our place at beautiful Lake Possum Kingdom to give this place another try. Again, we were not disappointed. Once again, we both got the small CFS with fresh cut, skin on fries and salad, mine without the tomatoes. We really like that they cook their steaks on the flat top grill and that the creamy gravy comes in a large bowl on the side. The decor is pure Texas and our server was very good. We were pleased to see they are adhering to all Covid-19 protocols. All staff wearing masks and gloves, requiring diners to wear masks to enter and exit, social distancing seating and extra cleaning between diners. On our next visit, we're going to try other menu items, maybe. LOL! read more

First went here during a national disaster 2011 or 2012? Had to visit this lovely place, again! The food is still excellent and the chicken fried steak is still large, tasty and awesome gravy! The fries were hot, the mashed potatoes did not thrill my soul, but everything else was better than perfect! read more

Mary's Cafe - Chicken fried steak - American Near Me - Strawn, Texas

Overwhelmed by Labor Day traffic, this establishment didn't welcome visitors. My family waited for an hour to be seated which was fine, but an hour an a half after our order, we finally surrendered and left hungry. We were increasingly frustrated as locals were served well ahead of us. The final straw was the nice couple that sat down next to us and were stuffing their faces 10 minutes after being seated. We were not charged for our drinks and the owner offered us the meal for free. Too little too late. While I've had this place in my radar for several years for their "Word Famous Chicken Fried Steak", I'm afraid I'll never get to try it. read more

Good was great, not sure they are the best in Texas any longer but it was well above average. The service was ok, they seemed to spend more time with regulars and weren't very helpful in understanding the menu and what they had to offer. I have been a couple of time and the Atmosphere seems hectic and rushed. Not sure it was a place to just sit and enjoy a conversation and visit while eating. But, you would be a fool to not at least try it if you are Driving on I-20, it's only maybe 5 minutes off the highway. read more

Strawn, Texas known for 6 man football (Greyhounds) and now for me, Mary's Cafe. While traveling I - 20, about dinner time , I saw a sign for Mary's Cafe. After a quick call to make sure they were open, I was on my way. Just a couple miles North of I-20 , you'll arrive. Known for their Chicken Fried steak, I had to give it a try. Small, medium or large ? I can tell you the medium, is HUGE (see pic). The CFS comes with s green salad, Texas toast and your choice of fries, baked potato or mashed potatoes. I ate probably a fourth of the steak. I can't believe the portions they serve!! Yes, a to go box was needed ! You will not leave hungry!! For the road, I had a slice of coconut cream pie. The food was all good and the service was better. If you have read many of my Yelp reviews, you know it's the service that I appreciate over the food. My waitress was excellent! If it's time to eat and your around Strawn, Texas stop and give them a try. Go get Full read more

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