The essential Southern Kentucky diner, no more, no less. The turnip greens alone are the best anywhere. Fried fish, chicken, and okra are crisp and absolutely correct. A rightly beloved local institution. read more

Glad to hear that the staff said that Calvin is glad he has passed the restaurant on and enjoys visiting and not for work. We've been away since 2023 so impressions of the new ownership are: - simplified menu - came in on Wednesday after discovering closed for now for Sundays - new decor, more booth seating - It's a Pepsi place now (got the sweet tea) Went ahead and ordered the catfish, meatloaf special, and roast beef manhattan. Side specials were on the board, but regulars are on the menu with options to upgrade. (got the okra, cucumber salad, white beans, green beans, and mac n cheese) Dessert was peach pie. (still thinking of coconut cake of the past) All you can eat catfish offered Wed, Thu, and Sat for $12.99 - on Friday it is $11.99! Going to give the new owners no loss of stars since it's hard to live up to Calvin and Ramona's track record off the bat. read more

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The food and prices were good at this small little hole in the wall. Service was welcoming too. Definitely an interesting find. read more

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The food is delicious! Especially the catfish dinner YUM! Staff is very friendly. Everyone should eat here! If you're local or visiting Mammoth Cave it's a must. Large dining area, super easy parking with access to all. They also have all you can eat catfish on Fridays! Support small businesses You won't be disappointed. Dine in or carry out. Very affordable! read more

Comfort food for lunch on a rainy day. The catfish plate is amazing. The best breading ever. Meatloaf was yummy. Okra was so good, I could have eaten too much for my own good. Service was delightful. Price is right. read more

They need to get an electrician in there to fix the lights cause half the lights didn't work. The food was good. For some reason, they have a sign on the door that says not responsible for lost or stolen objects which kind of makes you question the area that you're in. But the food was good. read more

Under new management and menu is getting updated. We had 9 people and everyone loved their food. Everything was fresh and made to order. Beef Manhattan was delicious, catfish was fresh and chicken tenders were huge. Onion rings and fries were homemade. Service friendly and welcoming-we were traveling from Louisville. No pictures-we devoured the food too quickly. I hope all the pig decor stays. read more

The first time I tried to stop in here it was closed, so I was excited they were open on the way back from a trip to Mammoth Cave National Park. I had the roast beef Manhattan and it was everything I hoped it would be. Good gravy, good potatoes and the meat was just right, no globs of fat to pick around. One of the other patrons swore by the catfish, so we all tried some of that as well, and we weren't disappointed. Our Friedan had the smoked bbq pork, and she let me try it, you can definitely taste the smoke, I enjoyed it with some of their bbq sauce. They have a generous side salad as an option, the onion rings and fries were great as well. Definitely will visit again. read more

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This was a pleasant surprise! This place is very clean. The portions are large and cooked to perfection. I recommend the catfish and anything with their brown gravy. We will be returning to try their breakfast. read more

Ok small place, good food! Enjoyed my bologna sandwich with tots. I had a pice visit with the guy that took my order. Yum , thanks for the meal. read more

Porky Pig Diner - Fried Bologna Sandwich - Diners Near Me - Smiths Grove, Kentucky

Good food at great prices. Interesting characters running the restaurant! Really appreciated their friendliness!

Older man there was nice, good service. Throw back to the 80s for a restaurant. Fried catfish is decent and fries are great. Wouldn't recommend anything else tho. read more

Nice little restaurant off the beaten path. The owners were very friendly and spent a lot of time chatting with us and giving local recommendations. The perfect stop for our road trip adventure. read more

We went in Sunday not realizing that it was a Buffet, and then we went to sit down at the white foldable tables and chairs and sat down, It was god awful we got some cod at the buffet it was very very fishy. Also we were looking at the fried chicken. That had a mysterious bones in the bottom of it, and they were out of everything and the only thing we enjoyed was the water potato. Which where still mediocre at best. SO DO NOT COME ON SUNDAY, I REPEAT DO NOT COME ON SUNDAY!!!!!! read more

A little history. I have 127 Yelp reviews and this is the only one that I have ever re-posted. I was born in the Fort Knox, Ky post hospital. I grew up in Bowling Green, graduated from BGHS, went to Western for a short while and left KY in March of 1963. Was 8 years in the Air Force and 31 years in Utah. I have relatives in Rocky Hill, Cave City, Brownsville, Louisville and Radcliff and my Mother made the best fried pies I have ever had. When my Smiths Grove cousins told me about the Porky Pig Diner fried pies, I was hoping to take a step back in time. I had hear of discourteous, rude and ignorant hillbillies, but I had never been verbally attacked by one until I told the person behind the Porky Pig Diner cash register that I had heard they had the best fried pies in Kentucky and I had driven all the way from Utah to try the fried pies. A loud woman's life long smokers voice from a side table said "You ain't getting none, even if we had some and you were from Utah". After pointing out that my van had Utah plates, I was interrupted again with "You ain't getting none". I said "Thank you" and left. Come to find out the lady (?) was a first cousin to my Smiths Grove cousin and she wasn't at all surprised that I had been told "How the cow ate the cabbage" by her cousin. Seems it's a family thing there in Pig. Here's my original Yelp review 8/15/2012 Make sure you don't ask for fried pies on a day the cook doesn't make them You will get a resound "You ain't gonna get none". It wasn't until my stop here, for what I had heard was the best fried pies, that I got to meet a really rude in your face hillbilly. read more

I've only been here once because we got lost passing through the forest preserve (state Park?). We had plans to go to BDubs with another car, but due to a bad navigator, we ended up near here. The only place in miles, we gave it a try. Well we were all in awe with our foods. They make their own BBQ sauce, and the freshly cooked pork was divine. I got a traditional burger and everything tasted so fresh. I tried a bite of the meat loaf and that was amazing too. Fries blew me away! I never expected this. I see what some reviewers are saying. A isolated diner in Kentucky? We were clearly outsiders, and everyone else there probably goes there daily, and we felt out of place. But everyone was friendly enough, no one giving us death stares, and we didn't have to deal with any backwards ideologies like other people stated. If I'm ever nearby again, I know for a fact I'm stopping by here again. Even if it's slightly out of the way. read more

Porky Pig Diner - A pic my friend took of us entering the establishment. - Diners Near Me - Smiths Grove, Kentucky

We came on a Sunday, which was buffet style. Reasonable prices and delicious food!!!!

Your GPS says its in a field. Keep driving another 1/2 mile from the park, it is on the right. As we toured the National Park we worked ourselves up an appetite that demanded local Cave City food. Our group got a little turned around by the GPS but the restaurant sits rights at the T bone of an intersection. The cross roads are just numbers and I can not remember. This diner is a one stop shop for home cooking, BBQ pork, dessert, and great service. Although we could tell the locals from, well, us we were treated no differently in our service. When I tried to order the Ribeye Sandwich, our table was impressed to hear that a lot of their meat is delivered daily however that day the Ribeye had not come in. We had the corn nuggets as an appetizer, a first for our group, and they tasted like bursts of yummy cream corn deep fried. It was so sweet it was almost like eating dessert first. I ordered the pork tenderloin sandwich with all the fixings. I was sadden by how quickly it disappeared from my plate. It was a pretty lean cut of meat and not to heavily breaded. I was told the side of beans and corn bread was pretty average. My boyfriend got the pulled pork, but it was not overly impressive. We are hoping that it was just an off day for the overly cooked pork sandwich. I got a side salad with my sandwich and man was it awesome! My salad had a large helping of green peppers, onions, tomatoes, cheese, crackers, and of course lettuce. If you have heard me say, "you get what you pay for" then we made out with a steal. Our meals were all rather inexpensive for the amount of food we enjoyed. Our only time we were even slightly put off place was the amount of smokers that surrounded us. Unfortunately I am a little spoiled from my city smoking laws, but it wasn't enough to put off my appetite. I can see making Porky Pig Diner a tradition when visiting Mammoth Cave. read more

Porky Pig Diner - Entrance - Diners Near Me - Smiths Grove, Kentucky

Porky Pig is still open and going strong.

Cute place I found by accident. Very good food. Good value. Place is clean. Nice owners that run the place. I look forward to returning!

Off the beaten path, on the way out of Mammoth Cave National Park, we walking into a restaurant that took us back in time (not to mention we could not remember the last time we were at a restaurant with ash trays on the tables)! The place was packed on a Saturday afternoon - so it must be good! There was a buffet, but we opted to order off the menu. Pulled pork sandwich with house made BBQ sauce was excellent! The best part was the service - the waitress was delightful and knew nearly everyone who came through the door. When in Pig, Kentucky - definitely check it out! read more

This place was a HOOT. (I'm trying to get out of country mode here.) We were hungry after hanging out at Mammoth Cave National Park and my trusty Yelp app came to the rescue. In the spirit of road tripping, we decided to go for the quirky, and the place definitely sounded quirky. Pound Hound greeted us when we drove up to the restaurant - he was sweet and friendly and absolutely adorable. And then my husband tried to bring him into the restaurant and got scolded. :-) We had to leave Pound Hound outside fogging up the windows staring at us. Some people already seated informed us that they had driven 100 miles to come to this diner and to get the catfish. The catfish was 8.99 for all you could eat, so my husband and brother in law were on board. I can't eat fish, so I got the three piece fried chicken plate instead. And the corn nuggets. Mmmm... corn nuggets. Cheesy corny good. I don't know if I was starving or if these guys put something in the chicken, but it was REALLY good. My three pieces consisted of a leg, breast, and a thigh. I'm not much of a white meat girl, but that chicken breast was the juiciest piece of fried chicken I've EVER eaten. My husband said his catfish was good, but he was staring at my chicken until it was all gone. I had made the mistake of giving him a bite to start with - I think he would have finished the chicken if I had let him. We had fried apple pies for dessert - but the food was the high point. And Pound Hound. I love dogs. Oh yes, and there really are all sorts of pig paraphernalia in the place. read more

Porky Pig Diner - Diners Near Me - Smiths Grove, Kentucky

You know it's good when a dozen park rangers are filling up the dining room. Located on Pig Road, this little gem was a welcome change from chains on our travels. Located just minutes from Mammoth Cave State Park, it was also on our way-we had just enough time for lunch before our 3 hour lantern tour of the caves. We had the pork sandwiches and were amazed! Tender and juicy with tons of flavor-we used more of the bbq sauce on our steak fries than the pig. The cole slaw was fresh and yummy-it went perfect with the pork. The owner and his wife were both there serving and chatting-most of the customers knew them and each other. Our glasses of sweet tea were never empty, despite the full dining room. Very friendly place, great service, great prices! Will definitely go back next time we're in the area & send others their way! read more

Homey decor (multiple-style chairs and pig accessories). Great pulled pork sammie. Catfish is really light and not catfishy : ) read more

Porky Pig Diner - Pulled pork and catfish - Diners Near Me - Smiths Grove, Kentucky

After a cave tour at Mammoth Caves my girlfriend and I were looking for some BBQ to chow down on. As avid "Yelpers" we went straight to yelp and searched for something to tame our increasing appetites. We came across Porky Pig Diner and saw that many people in our same predicament seemed to be fans of this place. We pulled into the place and it didn't look like much, but we were hoping to be pleasantly surprised with some great food. When we went to go order we were disappointed in how limited their BBQ selection was. There were a bunch of sandwiches, but no BBQ plates such as ribs, brisket, or even BBQ chicken. I ordered the smoked pulled pork sandwich platter which came with two sides. I got fries and baked beans but there was also cole slaw, mashed potatoes, potato salad, and a couple of other choices. My girlfriend ordered the grilled chicken sandwich platter with fries and potato salad. Maybe I just had my expectation too high from all of the reviews, but our food was nothing special. My pulled pork sandwich was okay, but definitely not the best that I've had. I had a bite of my girlfriend's sandwich and the chicken was kind of stringy. I will say; however, that there homemade BBQ sauce was delicious, but not enough to give this place any higher than two stars. read more

Hometown mom and pop with lots of locals. AYCE buffet Friday Night with fried catfish, popcorn shrimp and chicken fingers. Catfish was like fingerlings with little flavor and chicken was thin and flat. Both were probably extruded meat. Sides were fresh and dessert and ice cream looked good though we didn't eat any. Help very friendly. read more

Spent the weekend backpacking and camping in Mammoth Cave National Park and stopped in for the Sunday buffet - after a short 4 mile hike once we broke camp. WOW - awesome fried chicken, catfish, and beef pot roast. Sides were amazing - green beans, yeasty rolls, and maybe the best pinto beans and ham that I've ever had. Peach cobbler to finish it all off. Friendly folks and staff - excellent country cooking. They don't make places like this anymore. It reminds me of my granny's home cooking. I'll certainly be back again. read more

I would like to give 5 stars for the food. They have outstanding Catfish and great prices. But that place allows smoking inside. Excellent food! read more

Stop in for some old-fashioned country comfort food. Yes, they allow smoking, but it's not too bad really. The food is worth it. I recently had the buffet and sampled fried chicken, catfish, and smoked pork tenderloin along with several excellent vegetable sides. The fried chicken was the best I've ever had, seriously. Crackling crunchy crisp outside a juicy as can be inside! The hospitality is great too. This is not one of those places where the locals all stop and stare in silence when an unfamiliar face walks in. You're more likely to get a smile and a "how-do." In a word, Porky Pig Diner is authentic. It's well worth a detour if you are in the area. read more

We tried the pulled pork dog. It's pulled pork on a hotdog bun and col-slaw. Pork steak sandwich and some thin sliced pork steak sandwich. The best was the pulled pork sandwich. The slaw was very good. The pork steak sandwiches were to over cooked. Over I thought it was very good especially considering the price. read more

We took the back roads to get to Mammoth Cave and thought we were lost, (we were) and saw Porky Pigs Diner and drove by and then did the back up thinking this is gonna be the only place around to eat and get directions. When we walked in it was a nice clean diner with good folks eatin some lunch and friendly as friendly gets waitress. After ordering some sweet tea ( that never stayed 1/2 empty) we ordered lunch upon our waitresses recommendation. She said they were known for the catfish and pulled pork. I had the catfish sandwich and my wife had the pulled pork and we shared. I am sorry we had to share , as I had in my two hands the best fish sandwich ever. The pulled pork was great and nice and moist and not too smokey. Sauce was on the side , but why cover up the taste of the pork. They were out of onion rings, so I had fries cuz our waitress said their purdy good. Best fries I've had in a long time. It's pretty damn rare that I give any establishment a 5 star, but this place is what it is and they didn't pretend to be anything other than a diner out in the country with friendly service and unexpectedly great food. Pretty sure I'm coming back to Kentucky someday and you can bet yer sweet tea I'll be going back to Porky Pigs. Thank You, you made our trip a little better read more

I'm not sure how else to put this, but Porky Pig Diner is an establishment stuck in the 1950s, we're talking pre-social movements era (Civil Rights, Women's Rights, Gay Rights). Yes, there was a Jim Crow, traditional gender/family feel about the whole thing. I looked into the diner after seeing decent reviews on Yelp. I was with a small group of friends who spent the weekend at Mammoth Cave. All of us women, 2 of us women of color, and not typically in to normalized gender stereotyping and presentation. As soon as we walked in, we were hit with cigarette smoke and stares. Having a lifetime of this, I was rolling with it, I grew up in the South, I can still dig some good food. So, we sat in the booth farthest from the breakfast smokers. We were told we couldn't go to the buffet until we all sat down and did our drink order. We followed orders and sat, deciding whether we should escape since we were so close to the door. My 3 white friends were even terrified, and wanted to leave, they could feel the eyes fixated on us. We ordered some water and coffee and then were instructed we could head to the buffet. As I stood in line, I noticed that they were out of biscuits. I peeked into the kitchen, and heard the beeping of a microwave. Out of the microwave came a plate of biscuits that were quickly dropped into the buffet tray. There was sausage links, bacon, and fried bologna in one tray, eggs, biscuits, white gravy, pancakes, tater tots, and a brown substance also in a tray being heated by sterno. Baffled at first, I then deciphered that this heated brown substance had to be an additional breakfast gravy. To confirm this, I proclaimed loudly, "Oh you have both white and brown beef gravy as options for the biscuit!" The server said, "Yes, most people don't know what that is, so I'm glad you know that." Still curious as to why one would need 2 types of gravy, I at least felt assured that I figured out what the warm mystery substance was. My friend Sharon scooped some up and poured it on her tater tots. The rest of the buffet included fruit, in sugary syrup, potato salad, and cottage cheese. We headed back to the table and began to eat and drink our "coffee." The "coffee" was very weak, perhaps standard, diner coffee. We picked at our food, the microwaved biscuits, and a friend again brought up that we were all being stared at by other patrons. Sharon, who had poured the "brown beef gravy" on her tater tots was eating, took a bite, and calmly stated, "I just want you all to know, that this is, in fact, not beef gravy." Shocked, since it was confirmed by our server, I asked, "Sharon, what is it?" Sharon - "It's chocolate pudding." Our table - RAUCOUS LAUGHTER We were laughing so hard that we all started crying. This visit that started with a bit of nervousness because we felt the stares that we didn't belong. The conversation at the buffet bar where the server confirmed it was brown beef gravy, then realizing it was WARM CHOCOLATE PUDDING in the buffet next to eggs! It turned into a very memorable visit, we certainly will never forget our trip to Porky Pig Diner. But, don't come here for the food. I had no idea that warm chocolate pudding was a thing for breakfast, but each geographic region has it's own culinary treasures. I just don't know why she the server confirmed it was gravy, did she think it would be too impolite to correct the patrons? Did she think because both Sharon and I were Asian that it didn't matter and maybe we wouldn't be able to differentiate gravy from pudding? The mystery remains. We will never know, because we will never go back to the Porky Pig Diner! Quickly after paying and leaving, we had to make an additional stop because my friends were too scared to use the restroom. If you don't fit rigid conceptions of "normal" this may not be the place to dine. It was a great laugh, but I was a bit disappointed in Yelp reviewers that suggested that this may be a good place to get food. read more

Sweet tea was ice cold. BBQ was smokey. Okra was fried just right. Service was outstanding and the price was right. I would highly recommend if you are ever driving through Pig, Kentucky. read more

Porky Pig Diner - Diners Near Me - Smiths Grove, Kentucky

Amazing food and very nice people. We had the Sunday Buffet right after hiking at Mammoth Cave and it hit the spot.

We were hungry after a tour at Mammoth Cave and decided to stop by after finding this on Yelp. Word of advice, if you're coming here from the park we had zero cell reception and zero GPS signal so we relied on a trusty old map. It's in the middle of nowhere but we knew it was going to be good when we saw the parking lot was full of big pick up trucks. A farmer isn't going to be caught eating some place bad. It was a little awkward being an out of towner, all the tables turned around to watch us sit down. The staff was incredibly nice though. All of us went for the pulled pork and it was wonderful. Not too fatty and had that authentic bbq flavor. The fries were PHENOMENAL. Highly recommend their fries, I think they might have been double fried to have the crunch that they did. We ended up having a blast at this quirky little diner and the food was good. read more

Porky Pig Diner - Always trust a restaurant with a bunch of trucks in the parking lot. - Diners Near Me - Smiths Grove, Kentucky

What a great find aft our visit to the Caverns. A wonderful family owned joint, kind of in the middle of nowhere. The food was very good. I HIGHLY recommend the pulled pork/ BBQ platter. Also, our table had th catfish, the best i have ever had. We had some great cobbler too for dessert. An excellent value for some good food. read more

The 5 stars is for a country diner category. Can't miss. My 13 yo son said best BLT he ever had. My pulled pork was excellent. Even the salad was good read more

Not sure I had the same experience. I came here based on the glowing reviews provided by others and was really looking for a great pulled pork sandwich or other form of barbeque. Instead, we were directed to a "buffet" line with tasteless, greasy food. As a courtesy, we attempted to eat from the buffet and quickly left. Real Disappointment- Do Not Recommend. read more

After a day touring Mammoth Caverns my wife and I decided to get some BBQ. I was a little worried when leaving the park the road turned into a narrow unmarked country road. To my relief we quickly came upon the dinner out in the middle of no ware. The parking lot was full so we decided to stop. The dinner has a simple decor, white tile floor with rows of simple tables chairs with a few booths along the walls. My wife and I ordered the pulled pork sandwich plate. She had the cream corn and pinto beans with a side of corn bread. I had the fries and slaw. The sandwich had chunks of tender juicy pork butt. The worst part of the meal was the gray over cooked creamed corn. My wife loved the beans and the fries had a crispy outside and creamy center. The BBQ sauce was sweet tomato base with a liquid smoke flavor. For desert my wife had slice fresh baked coconut cream pie which she loved. All in all the food was very good. This is one of those out of the way gems I like to find when I travel. I would recommend this place to anyone who seeks out the mom and pop places over the monotony of the chains. read more

The food was Great! something for everyone. Our kids ages 9, 10, 12 and 14 loves their food. Our family had the BBQ pork sandwiches, fried catfish, cheeseburgers, okra. Very close to Mammoth Cave. The restaurant is very simple. It took us awhile to get used to the smoking that is allowed in the restaurant. read more