This place has a Cracker Barrel vibe only with a buffet. Our server was friendly without being intrusive. My drink never got over half empty. Wife enjoyed the salad bar and we both liked the selection on the main buffet. We were to full to checkout the desert bar. The price was surprisingly low for a good buffet. read more

Big buffet includes lots of Southern favorites. We enjoyed the food. Service was good.

Passing through we stopped here because our favorite restaurant was closed on Sunday . We were happy to find a place open on a Sunday evening but that is where the happy ended. The waitresses were nice but the food was less than desirable. The meats, fried chicken and ribs were cold. We did not trust the catfish. The sides were a step below hospital food. Towards the end of our visit they did bring hot fried chicken out...but by this point I had already forced myself and my kids to fill their bellies. So we wanted no more. My husband tried it and it was actually not too bad. Bad reviews are not my favorite to give, but I do it so you can save your money, $15/person for the buffet. read more

Good, solid comfort food offerings with a Southern bent. Have tried the buffet on multiple occasions, but have not tried the menu yet (stuffed steak sounds interesting). Service has been good each time, friendly staff that greeted me as they replenished the food bar. Price is excellent for lunch and dinner - specialty offerings for Friday, Saturday and Sunday evenings have not been tried. Small gift shop/boutique in the front. Restaurant is clean, basic and not plush, and has played 50's and 60's music each time. Tried my first ever okra & tomato, hominy, and bread pudding here. Salad bar area is fresh if a little spartan, fried chicken seems to be a staple, and the cobbler is excellent. I won't say we moved here because of the restaurant - but sure glad it IS here. read more

Excellent road side diner for a comfortable meal. I've visited this location several times in my travels and I have never walked away disappointed. Smiles, pleasant, team work to get you in and out, timely. read more

Old school southern buffet! VERY reasonable and a VERY friendly staff!!! Salad bar, entrees AND deserts!

Good hamburger steak and delicious peach cobbler. My husband liked his liver and onions also.

Really good Southern cooking. This restaurant is what Cracker Barrel imagines itself to be. I had great fried chicken, delicious green beans and baby limas, roasted potatoes, and salad. Dessert was apple-peach cobbler with custard. Everything was delish! Our waitress was very nice and kept us well supplied with proper sauce for my husband's turnip greens, which he really enjoyed. He also had a homemade soup to start which was delicious. I would definitely recommend this restaurant. read more

Some true, southern cooking. Everything was fresh, hot and delicious. The barbecued roast and the smothered pork ribs were amazing

The service was good but the food was terrible. Everything was dried out or looked burned. Price was too high for how bad the food was. Won't be going back, especially not on Friday nights. read more

I have never felt more "unwelcome" at a restaurant. I came in at 7:20pm with a closing time of 8:00pm. I ordered the buffet so the kitchen didn't have to make anything extra. However, the older lady who seemed to be in charge (the young cashier called her Grandma) acted as though I was making her extra work and was not pleasant at all to me. The food was tasty, but the sides (carrots, etc) were cold. The meat dishes were warm, but not hot. This place charges a fee to use your credit card, but they don't tell you that up front. In face, at 7:50pm, the older lady who was not welcoming in the first place came up to me and said "you payin with card or cash", with no warning about the extra fee. Even though it was still before closing time, and I was on my dessert, she said they had to shut down the cash register. She brought back my first receipt and said "put your tip at the bottom and I ring it up" and then stood over me while I had to put a tip on it. I would have tipped anyway, as my actual server was nice, but it was a buffet. If you are traveling through town, I would choose someplace else to go for dinner. read more

Went for Sunday Breakfast, buffet was still being replenished when I arrived. Ordered off the menu instead. Country Ham steak and Biscuits & Gravy were very good. Little pricey for what I got. read more

Don't bother stopping. Bad food, bad service.,Bad experience! Potatoes are instant and not mixed. No vegetables to eat. Just keep going

Food was delicious, pork sandwich amazing, burger clearly made by hand with a big fat tomato slice. Onion rings and fries fresh and hot. Kind service read more

Dropped in on latest trip through area, food was left overs and not up to par - wasn' pleased at all for what was available.Will try it on way back north in December. read more

Well.... it was a culinary experience! I'm pretty sure this is Forrest City's answer to Cracker Barrel, yes there's a gift shop. We opted for the buffet as it seemed like the local thing to do. Salad bar: standard bagged lettuce mix, you know the kind with way too many shredded carrots? Cheese was straight out of the every-shred-is-the-same-size bag. Everything else was bagged or canned. Dressings were watered down knock off brand. There was also banana pudding on the salad bar, it was the big #10 can of vanilla that we used to steal out of the college cafeteria back in the day. BUT, it was fresh, clean, and tasted good. Entree bar had 73 types of beans, canned, but okay. The mashed potatoes were instant (you can always tell by the consistency,) there were also boiled new potatoes, and what looked like canned sweet potato slices. The hamburger steak was standard boxed patties, thin, with some kind of gravy. They weren't objectionable. There were various sausages, since I don't eat that, I can't tell you what they were. The fried chicken seemed homemade, it was tasty & well done. It was seasoned well, not overcooked, and the batter was flaky (reminded me of grandmas!) This was the highlight of the bar. The dinner rolls were the little frozen squares that you pop in the oven. The dessert bar consisted of various cobblers, they were cold, and I doubt they were homemade. If they were, I applaud whoever cut the fruit in perfectly even slices. Store bought or slice & bake cookies were also an option. Now....if you are a bread pudding connoisseur, just walk away. I'm not sure what it was, but I can tell you what it wasn't. Not to mention there was NO bourbon sauce. Overall it was good, solid food, nothing horrible. The restaurant was clean, as were the restrooms. The server was pleasant, if extremely uninterested in her job. Buffet was $14ish. read more

My wife and I shared or meal I got the ham er steak and she got the chicken fried steak. We both liked them both but we liked the chicken fried steak better. This little place was on the side of the hotel we stayed at while moving. It was something like a cracker Barrel with a shop or what they called a antique shop on the side but nothing in there was antique besides the adding machine they used to ring you up. It was a consignment shop read more

Ole Sawmill Cafe - Chicken Fried Steak - Southern Near Me - Forrest City, Arkansas

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Amazing fried chicken. Prompt service. My favorite spot whenever I'm in the area. Don't sleep on this!

A great little hidden gem off I-40 in Forrest City Arkansas.... it was right next to my hotel so I figured I would give it a shot. You can eat in or pay per pound for food to go. Very unique place with a very friendly staff and friendly faces all around. It has a gift shop as well and has a "cracker barrel" type or feel but in a more personal touch. read more

Ole Sawmill Cafe - Fried Goodness!!! - Southern Near Me - Forrest City, Arkansas

Good southern food, seafood buffet had such a wide variety, probably the best I've seen. Gumbo was by the salad bar as a soup choice and it was delicious. Waitress Crystal was great and prompt with refills and clearing plates even though we had a large party, she kept a big smile on her face the entire time. read more

WONDERFUL foo! Cat fish and pork chops melt in your mouth. Cook is super friendly. Waitress need to start a business teaching how to be a waitress. Clean home cooked meal like your Grandma made. read more

We had the breakfast buffet and it was really good!! They weren't very busy which was a plus and everything was fresh and hot!! Waitresses were friendly and on the spot with our drinks!! You should try it!! read more

Passing through wanted a hometown restaurant, no fast food, We we're not disappointed. Decided to go for the lunch buffet $15.99 and a great selection of foods. I would recommend this place if you're in the area or just passing through! Friendly staff and helpful read more

Stopped by this morning and will never darken their doorway again. Ordered off the menu - a breakfast that consisted of 2 Pancakes - 2 eggs (I ordered scrambled) - choice of sausage (I ordered Link) and bacon I received 2 pancakes. 2 boiled eggs that had been mashed up and slightly warmed. Don't know if it's a local delicacy but they included pieces of crushed shells I was told they were out of link Sausage so I got paddies. The table next to me sat down after me, ordered after me, and received their food after me BUT SOMEHOW got link sausage. Not a pleasant experience read more

Great food. Wonderful servers. Dropped one star because two of us ordered off menu and it was slow. But the buffet was awesome for the individual with us that ordered it. Highly recommend read more

Stopped in on our way through, I got the chicken fried steak which was a frozen patty (not hand battered) and tasted like it was fried in 3 day old grease and was so over done I could barely cut into it! Plus the cost for a frozen patty was ridiculous! They did comp my meal but it really upset my stomach and my husband got fried pork chops and he said they tasted like old grease too! Would not recommend! Way over priced for the quality! read more

The breakfast buffet was gross, pancakes were rubbery, nothing looked fresh. Husband ordered an omelet off of the menu and it was super thin and greasy. You'd have a better meal at the McDonald's across the street. This place is not like Cracker Barrel in any way. A hotel continental breakfast has better food. The only good thing here was our waitress. read more

Buffet or menu restaurant. It's a Friday night. Buffet is seafood. All types of seafood. Fresh oysters, boiled crawfish, fried... fish, catfish, shrimp, frog legs, stuffed crab shell. I had fried fish, fried chicken, chicken tender. Fish was good, chicken dried out, good hush puppies, and macaroni salad. Has Fresh salad bar with lots of options and a selection of two soups. Dessert and bread bar are also available. read more

The true definition of Southern comfort food. The buffet is great. Fried chicken, catfish, and ribs were delicious and savory. High recommendation! read more

Ole Sawmill Cafe - Southern Near Me - Forrest City, Arkansas

Stopped on our way to Montgomery Bell State Park.... Great little place.. we all four had the Buffett. Great buffet and you can't beat the price. Salad bar, 2 food buffets , dessert and bread buffet. Everything tasted fresh, fried chickens the best. Bread pudding was the bomb. read more

Good food, easy parking, just off of interstate, Worth ur $$$$ - recommend this place. read more

A Deep South buffet. Greens, beans, and fried things....plus BBQ ribs. An all you can eat heaven for big hearty appetites. I liked it okay, but am not so fond of lots of heavy Carby food. My husband enjoyed it more than I. read more

We travel from Texas to Tennessee pretty frequently and this is one of our favorite places to stop for lunch or dinner. It's always easy to get in and out of, the staff is always very friendly, the bathrooms are clean, and the food is good. Good Southern cooking. read more

If you enjoy greasy food this is the place to go, the ham was spoiled , eggs were cooked perfect , hash browns dripping with oil, waitress was sweet , the food was awful read more

Ole Sawmill Cafe - Greasy potatoes and spoiled tasting ham - Southern Near Me - Forrest City, Arkansas

Just to stop off of Highway 40 into Memphis to have lunch they offer a Buffay and a menu during the Covid they are seats you every other table and the servers wear masks it reminds you of a smaller version of a Cracker Barrel the Buffay overall was pretty good our pork chops were dry but I had a decent salad bar and get ice tea read more

Ole Sawmill Cafe - Pork chop and green beans - Southern Near Me - Forrest City, Arkansas

We got a couple of takeout salads during a recent overnight stop in Forrest City. My chef salad was nicely done and good value for the money. It's an interesting place....there's a gift shop at the checkout and appeared to be a buffet in the restaurant. The cashier was more efficient than friendly but she got the job done. read more

What a delightful find! Heading home from a two-week road trip, we checked Yelp to see where we might stop for dinner. After reading not only the reviews but Tom's RESPONSES to those reviews, we decided this was a place we couldn't pass up. So glad we made that decision, or we might have missed one of the most charming places along the way! The food was enjoyable, but even more than that, we were so impressed with the service and warm welcome from *everyone* who worked there. We opted to order off the menu rather than the buffet, and that allowed us to chat at length with Tiffany, one of the managers but also, that night, our server. This is what road trips are all about - finding those small-town gems that leave you with experiences you'll never forget. read more

Good home cooking! Service was extremely great as we had Courtney! She was friendly and helpful! We were staying the night at Delta Ridge RV park and walked to this restaurant! Had the buffet and it had so much to choose from! read more

The best fried chicken I have ever eaten. Fish was great. Much better than anything with corral or golden in the name. We stumbled across this GEM while debating between subway or Waffle House. SO GOOD!!! read more

The service was awful. we didn't get menus until we asked, no silverware until we just went and got it ourselves. I ordered a steak and i asked for it to be well done. Came out with blood pouring out. They did fix it, but it took a total of 55mins if not longer to get my food. My aunt ordered a burger, also took over 55mins to get. No flavor at all ! My uncle got the seafood bar and it was disgusting. fish had bones in it, and shrimp is not cleaned. we're from out of state and wouldn't recommend this place at all !! It was so disappointing because the building looks so cute and southern like. read more