We live in East Texas, where there are plenty of restaurants to choose from, and we've eaten at…read moremost of the local spots and many in the surrounding towns. My husband challenged me to find somewhere new, and Yelp led us to Fat Boyzzz in Longview, TX. I'll be honest--I'm not usually a soul food fan, so I wasn't especially excited about trying it. But my husband had been craving some good soul food for a while, so we decided to give it a shot. The restaurant had excellent ratings and reviews, but I was still a little skeptical. When we arrived, the place was packed, which is usually a good sign. Thankfully, we were seated right away. Our waitress let us know upfront that there would be about a 30-minute wait for the food. Our first interaction with her was a little rough--she seemed stressed and was somewhat abrupt while taking our order. My husband was initially put off, but he was determined to get his soul food fix. Now, whenever I see grilled liver and onions with brown gravy on a menu, that's what I'm ordering. I'm a Luby's girl through and through, and until today, I would've said nobody does liver and onions better than Luby's. Fat Boyzzz changed my mind. The liver was sliced a little thinner and wasn't quite as tender, but the flavor more than made up for it. Every bite was absolutely delicious. And that's not even the best part. The mashed potatoes and brown gravy were phenomenal--rich, flavorful, and pure comfort food. My husband ordered the fried pork chops with mashed potatoes and cream gravy. The entire meal, all he could talk about was those mashed potatoes. Between bites, he'd keep saying, "These mashed potatoes are AWESOME! This gravy tastes just like my Naw-Naw's gravy!" My husband is a big, burly guy with a deep voice, and hearing him repeatedly praise the food while happily devouring his plate was entertaining all by itself. This was truly food for the soul. We left full, happy, and completely comforted by a fantastic meal. Fat Boyzzz has definitely earned repeat customers in us, and we'll absolutely be back. Highly recommended!

Awesome food and great customer service 3/13/26 I'll eat…read morethere every chance I can. You can not ask for any place better. All there food is delicious. Carol Sipes

Put this place on your Food Bucket list if you haven't tried it yet. The "specials" menu is…read morecreative and the standards are all delicious. Today we tried Hash n Smash which was a new take on Eggs Benedict, using a hashbrown patty as the base, add a sausage patty and top with poached egg. Beautiful!

So far, in the brunch menu, we've tried the Good Morning Burger and the Punjabi Benedict. I grew…read moreup behind the pine curtain and was suspicious of the curry hollandaise but oh, my, stars. It was SOOOO good. We've never had a bad meal here!

The staff was super friendly and helpful with suggesting. We had the homemade onion rings with…read moreBubba sauce and the patriot burger. Both so great! Burger was so big , we should have shared. The manager even came to our table to check on everything. Everything there is homemade and delicious! Great place to watch a game!

Longview is the world capital of chain restaurants, but that's not always a bad thing. I came here…read morewhile in town for a funeral because I knew I could count on a really good fish sandwich ... except corporate decided to remove it from the menu. Oh well. The atmosphere here is quasi-dark, in a Texas Roadhouse/Red Lobster sort of way, and the seating is comfy. Bathrooms are also clean. Service here on my handful of visits has been spectacular. All of that speaks to excellent management at this location. Though I think that pickles should be served cold and from a jar, the other people in my party insisted on the fried version here. They loved them. The fried mozzarella ('crooked fried cheese') was average. While there was nothing wrong with it, there was also nothing spectacular about it. The fish and chips, on the other hand, were pretty damn good -- crispy and hot with a nice thick fillet. If only they could've served it between two slices of toasted bread. Anyway, the fries were also nice and crispy, and the slaw was crunchy, cool and creamy. Someone else in my party ordered the mushroom burger, and they were quite pleased. Honestly, it looked divine. The draft beer menu here consists of major brews with nary an IPA, though there are some macro bottled selections. Still, everything was served quickly and cold. It's rare that I eat at chains, unless I'm on the road and need to swing through a drive-thru. This place, however, does a very good job.

Its a Cheddar's, so a slightly less sticky Chili's. Food was good, ordered a bourbon salmon with…read moreshrimp. It was all tasty. Service was satisfactory, the spirit offering was anemic, and the cocktails were unappealing as they were full of cheap wells and high fructose corn syrup. For some reason the water atrocious, i now know how Flint feels. I wouldn't want to cone back but if i dont feel like driving its here.

I love the salmon! It is simply delicious, especially when they prepare it with the glaze. That is…read morethe only thing I order. It's simply divine! I add some sauté veggies, that makes more than enough inwhich I have enough to take home for the next day.

I love old downtowns. It's nice to see old businesses repurposed. The food was very good as was the…read moreservice. I'll be back next time in town.

The food was pretty good! I got a burger and my partner got a sandwich for lunch…read more We enjoyed something different with the boudin egg rolls. Service was quick and friendly, our drinks stayed full, i would go again!

While traveling for work, I was looking for a place that felt uniquely Longview, and The Butcher…read moreShop & Bakery was exactly what I was hoping to find. The restaurant was busy with families enjoying dinner, and the back room was completely booked for what looked like a birthday party. It's the kind of place that immediately feels like a community staple. The menu is full of American classics, and I went with the spicy cheeseburger. Overall, it was really good. My only minor complaint was that the jalapeños were sliced a little thick, so they kept slipping out of the burger. One thing I loved was the old-school condiment bar where you can customize your burger just the way you like it. After dinner, I couldn't pass up the bakery case. The cookies, cakes, and pies all looked fantastic. The employee recommended the Heathen Cookie, so I grabbed one along with a lemon icebox cookie to enjoy later. I always appreciate finding local restaurants that are clearly supported by the community, and this is one of those places. If you find yourself in Longview, The Butcher Shop & Bakery is well worth a visit for both the food and the hometown atmosphere.

Dang!! Butcher Shop, you need to do better. Customer service matters, and paying customers…read moreshouldn't have to deal with rude, disrespectful employees. We stopped in on Thursday around 5:30 p.m. hoping to grab some salted caramel cookies, but they were sold out. So my husband ordered three Heath cookies and three white chocolate macadamia nut cookies instead. When the employee handed us our order, there was only one white chocolate macadamia nut cookie. My husband politely let her know that he had ordered three. Instead of simply saying, "Oops, let me fix that," she immediately argued that he had only asked for one. When he asked for the other two cookies, she gave us an obvious attitude. I honestly don't understand why. It's not like we were asking for free cookies--we paid for the other two. Maybe she was annoyed that she had to ring them up separately, but regardless, that isn't how customers should be treated. We stayed polite the entire time. We didn't raise our voices or give her any attitude back. It was disappointing to be treated that way over such a simple mistake. Experiences like this leave a bad impression, and my husband said that was the last time he'll shop at this location. The really disappointing part is that they make some damn good cookies. It's a shame that great products are being overshadowed by poor customer service.

We have been to Cargo a few times. The food is good. Love listening to live music!! Kate, our…read moreserver, is always awesome. We did recently go to hear live music and was moved inside due to weather. We joined some friends at their table which made 10 total. PSA, when you go to Cargo with a party of 10 or more they charge a 20% "autograt" which is for busboys and other staff. That gratuity does not include the server. This was verify by management. When paying out, it's on a small computer screen that shows subtotal and different options for tipping. They do not give an itemized ticket. We asked for a ticket to make sure we were charged for what we ordered. That's when we noticed the "autograt". They also will not give a receipt after payment. We asked for one and was told but management they can't give us one. So depending on your server tip add the extra 20% for the "autograt". If you tip the server 20% your tip for the whole ticket is 40%.

I went to Cargo because it was a nice day and I wanted a meal outside with my family, where the…read morekids could have stuff to do. When we arrived we walked through the gate to no idea what to do. No idea if we were to seat ourselves and no host station to provide guidance on the matter. As I stood there lost, I noticed QR codes placed on the end of the tables and noticed someone else walk straight in and to a table. Assuming that I was to seat myself, I continued on to the table, sat down, and scanned the code. Once in the menu, I ordered the food and drinks we wanted and began the long wait. During this wait I was looking around periodically trying to see if maybe we had done this wrong, but no servers were coming to the surrounding tables that had people seated. Immediately I believed this must be a place you order, they bring it, and then you order again if you need more (more hands off). As my kid ran off to play in the kids area, someone finally passed by (35 minutes in) and asked if we had been helped. I explained we had utilized the QR code to order and was informed it was no longer in use, due to orders being submitted incomplete. The server checked the system, verified the order (which was missing items), and eventually said he would get it in for us. After about another 15 minutes we finally had our drinks (mostly). One of the drinks required some mixing, but we got the first half, followed by the second half a while later. Now that I can add bartender at Cargo to my résumé, I went back to waiting on the food and watching the large screen on the stage. After about an hour of being seated, our food arrived (prior to the appetizer) and was pretty cold. The fries were cold on the outside but more so on the inside. The macaroni and cheese was cold to the touch, and even the pizza was cold. It seemed as though the food maybe was sat in the same area code as a heat lamp, but not directly under it. I informed the server (different from the one that initially arrived before disappearing like a cheap Houdini act) that our appetizer was missing. She politely apologized and retrieved a cold appetizer from the kitchen, explaining it was set aside for another table (kind of understandable). This likely could have been addressed if there was continuity with the server, but I suppose he had traveled to tend the tables he has in one of the other Cargo multi-verses. I explained that we did not have a silverware or napkins (somewhat necessary for macaroni and cheese) she said she would get us some. Much like the embassy in Benghazi when under attack, we were left without assistance so we had to take action ourself. I walked to the building, found someone that resembled what I believed to be the Captain of the restaurant version of the Edmond Fitzgerald, and explained I needed to-go boxes and wanted to pay for the worst dining experience I've had since deploying to Afghanistan. The manager was actually very polite and was helpful and apologetic about the experience. He tried to comp the meal, but I explained that I just wanted to take it home and heat it up so I could eat. We eventually paid and experienced the best part of the restaurant...leaving. It should be noted that there were other patrons present, but it was only maybe at about 50% full. I Will say that upon meeting our server, he explained that he was blessed, which makes me happy to know someone was. Overall, unless I have a hankering for mediocrity in service and cold food, I do not believe l'll be returning. If I want to pay money to have cold food and let the kids play, I'll just go experience the torture that is chuck-e-cheese.

All in house made ingredients. Staff friendly and prompt…read more Texas sized portions! The panini fresh and delicious

Met up with some family here for brunch and were pleasantly surprised that there was no wait,…read moreespecially since we'd heard it can get pretty busy. After eating here, I completely understand why it's so popular. I ordered the BAT Benedict, it's a lightly toasted English muffin topped with cream cheese, bacon, avocado, tomatoes, and finished with a rich, delicious hollandaise sauce. It was absolutely outstanding. The coffee was just as impressive, fresh and flavorful. Everyone at the table thoroughly enjoyed their meals, and not a single plate was left with anything more than a bit of sauce. If you're in search of great coffee and amazing food, Texas Cafe is definitely worth a visit.

The food was good, as usual. But the service by Jeffrey -Jay- was excellent. He is so attentive and…read morecheerful! And the ambiance is quiet and makes for a pleasant experience. I wish all servers were as good!

Stopped by here on a Friday at lunch. Quiet and unrushed. Staff was friendly and helpful…read more Food was very good. I will definitely be back regularly as long as I'm in Longview.

Superb service, Authentic Real Food, Homemade and Bread Puddin'! Yum!…read more Oh, and what about Mr. McKay? And the waitress said, oh we Love Mr. McKay. He's the nicest man on earth! Obviously, I've been there before. (Loyal Customer)

Fried chix was fresh, hot and moist Baked / grilled fish was…read morelight fresh and perfectly buttery Marinated Bread pudding is the BEST I've ever had - the sauce is addictive Salad bar was fresh and good variety Meatloaf was perfect Staff was the best part - very polite, attentive and made sure we were happy