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    Sarsaparilla Saloon & Cafe

    4.1 (30 reviews)
    InexpensiveAmerican

    Sarsaparilla Saloon & Cafe Photos

    SARSAPARILLA SALOON & CAFE ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Quiet
    Good for groups
    Outdoor seating
    Good for kids

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    Sarsaparilla Saloon & Cafe (Belton, TX) - the Dagwood.
    John H.

    Exploring the relatively quiet downtown of Belton, TX on this house hunting junket. Packing on miles and energy getting depleted, took time out to explore and energize for the afternoon after lunch. I was somewhat expecting a saloon. There is no saloon here. It may have been a saloon at one point; a saloon style bar anchored in part of this cafe. This was a weekday and might explain why all seemed so quiet. At entering, we were greeted and given a tour of "how to." Basically, order then sit. Food will be on it's way to you soon. The day's specials are on the far wall on a white board alongside the regular menu of sandwich and the like. Step over to the counter and order. Our lack of originality resulted in each of us (4) having the lunch meal that included sandwich and a drink. I discovered my son now drinks sweet tea; a convert. My Dagwood on white roll came with a half pickle spear. Nothing fancy here, served on a paper plate. Drinks in a disposable cup. Staff are cheerful and helpful. It was a basic lunch that hit the spot before moving on with our walk around the small square. Not very "interesting" inside, could use some inspiration or directed theme with decor and presentation. Better than a 3, almost a 4.

    a bottle of beer
    Erik F.

    Super friendly staff, clean and welcoming establishment. Sandwiches are great and root beer flat is amazing. A satisfying experience!

    table with picture of Bell County Courthouse
    Tim C.

    This nice restaurant was highly recommended by the friendly owners of Aida's Outlet and boy were they right! They have coffee drinks, pie, soups, sandwiches and daily specials. Chicken and dumplings on Wednesdays. We each had a bowl of freshly made chili. And I had a delicious dagwood sandwich that I cheerfully shared with wifey. The employees were very nice. Belton has a lot of antique shops. Come visit Belton and try out Sarsaparilla for lunch.

    a bowl of soup

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    7 years ago

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    7 years ago

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    7 years ago

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    3 years ago

    Small home town shop. Great service and good food. It was easy to get in and out. Great atmosphere.

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    6 years ago

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    6 years ago

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    10 years ago

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    8 years ago

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    13 years ago

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    8 years ago

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    8 years ago

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    12 years ago

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    11 years ago

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    9 years ago

    Very rude manager. Canned soup. Basic food only. Counter service. Won't be back!!!! 2 paper cups of pasta + 2 paper cups soup = $22.

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    8 years ago

    Great restaurant. I loved the Dagwood. The staff was really friendly. It was a really great small town sandwich shop.

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    8 years ago

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    7 years ago

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    11 years ago

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    9 years ago

    Great little find. Very friendly staff and customers. It's a local favorite. The food and service were excellent.

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    12 years ago

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    8 years ago

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    12 years ago

    CLOSED on weekENDS. Wanted to try it. Drove the ought the sleeper town only to find it is only open m-f 10a-7p.

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    13 years ago

    This is a neat place. Worth circling to find parking!! The cooking is excellent and very down home atmosphere. Try the pear cobbler. :p

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    11 years ago

    Nice family atmosphere, I go here for lunch a lot since it's walking distance from my work and they always give me a free tea.

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    11 years ago

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    11 years ago

    Food was good. Employees were kind. Prices outrageous for a sandwich you can make at home.

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    13 years ago

    Great Lunch stop! Fresh soup and sandwiches. Homemade hoagie rolls and desserts. Great friendly atmosphere!

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    11 years ago

    Very good! We were driving by and decided to stop. So glad we did. The staff was super friendly too!!!

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    10 years ago

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    12 years ago

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    The Gin at Nolan Creek

    The Gin at Nolan Creek

    3.5
    (641 reviews)
    0.1 mi
    $$

    Okay, just as I previously suspected, eating in the bar area bumped this review up a star! It's a…read morelittle sunken room with a cool secret-y vibe. Service was great. Our bartender had a lot of great recommendations on what to order and also sang a lot, which was delightful. I ordered the Southern Chicken Sandwich and my husband had the Ranch Fried Chicken Club. We were both VERY happy with our sandwiches, but the fries were the real star of the show. Delicious. One complaint is that my sandwich came with chipotle mayo, but I thought it needed more chipotle mayo and asked for a side. I was charged $1 for it. Avid readers of my reviews (i.e. nobody) will know that I am often annoyed when I'm charged for a sauce, but charging me for a sauce that ALREADY COMES on my plate and I just wanted more of feels especially egregious. I suspect that if I had specified "extra chipotle mayo" at the time of ordering, I would not have been charged, so that is what I will do next time.

    Food was ok. Service was ok but we only had one server, and she was obviously have trouble. Looks…read morecool inside, but we got seated at a dirty table in the back. We had a reservation but still had to wait 20 mins outside. Not a big deal except there is zero room to wait where they are calling customers up and where they are checking in. Very expensive, so I just figured food and service would be better is all. Read a lot of yelp reviews before doing my own. It looks like the issue is common.

    Photos
    Menu
    Menu
    Chicken ranch mac and cheese side of jalopeno sauce with Texas toast
    Chicken ranch mac and cheese side of jalopeno sauce with Texas toast
    Artichoke dip

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    Artichoke dip
    Water Street Waffle

    Water Street Waffle

    4.0
    (519 reviews)
    0.0 mi
    $$

    Had an awesome brunch here this morning. The food was all really good. I got the southwestern…read moreskillet which was the perfect blend of cheesy spicy potatoes and scrambled eggs, with some chicken sausage to round it all out. I also tried a bite of the strawberry cream waffle and it was delicious! Crunchy on the outside and soft and creamy inside. The service was quick and friendly, and overall just a great experience. I'm visiting from out of town, but would definitely come back here if I'm ever in the area.

    We arrived and hopped on the waiting list which seemed to go quicker than it should have- but being…read moresat quickly is a plus... right? We sit and order in good time as well- fyi though they advertise gluten free they advise "if its serious, please be aware there's a possibility of cross contamination due to our kitchen being small" & their potatoes "are gluten free but share the same fryer as non GF items" EYEROLLS- all of that means nothing is GF lol... anyway. The couple next to us had been seated about 30 minutes before us and still had no food, but was told that the kitchen had a huge mess up somehow and was running very behind. When their food was brought, they received the wrong order... and the folks behind us who still hadn't ordered yet received food which was also clearly someone else's! Now, I look at my phone... because my grumpy (screaming 1yo at this point) baby was starving and I was quite over the wait- holy cow! It had been over AN HOUR since we were seated. The food finally came- bit by bit... and I realized we were never given silverware. Had to ask for it. Once I start eating I was even more disappointed. The waffle i ordered was dry and other than the chocolate chips on top it was flavorless. The chicken sausage was dry & the "two eggs" must have been from a quail because it truly looked like just one. I can say with the utmost enthusiasm that I could NEVER recommend this place to anyone, nor will we be back. Not just because the food was less than mid, but the service was even worse.

    Photos
    Water Street Waffle
    Mini Grit Fritters
    Mini Grit Fritters
    Rue Birdie

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    Rue Birdie
    Dead Fish Grill

    Dead Fish Grill

    3.1
    (896 reviews)
    3.5 mi
    $$

    Came here on Sunday Memorial Day weekend for lunch with my parents (my dad recommended this spot!),…read moreand was pleasantly surprised! There was no wait, and we were seated immediately. You have the preference to pick lakeside, so we chose that and were seated outdoors with a view of Belton Lake. Upon getting seated, we orderered the Calamari, the Crab Cakes, the Fried Catfish, Shrimp and Grits, Salmon Salad, and the burger. I also got their Sunrise Tequila cocktail (as they were out of the sunset margarita that I had initially wanted to try). I loved my shrimp and grits! The dish was super tasty, and the grits were cheesy and delicious. The fried catfish was also great, and the calamari appetizer was shared amongst the four of us. I do not think I liked the crab cake as much, but it was still pretty good. My personal preference at least. My boyfriend ordered a soda, and it was nice that they let you get a collectible cup for your soda to go as well! Would come again!

    This restaurant has SO MUCH POTENTIAL yet it falls short every time I go. This last time we went…read more(6/20/26) it was for a new reason. It was in the mid 80s and over 50% humidity outside. We were wanting to sit outside for the amazing view. We are led to the table closest to the back door. The misters were on like an indoor sprinkler fire suppression system. I'm talking soaking wet everything. Our table was getting misted and the chairs on the mister side had puddles of water on the seats. This is because the humidity outside was too high for misters to be effective (they cool air via evaporation- it was too humid for this to occur). We asked our waitress (who was great) if we could get the misters turned down or off since they were not making it any cooler and just getting everything soaking wet and she said she didn't want to get in trouble. I said they could be mad at us and just tell the manager the misters are getting everything wet. She gave the impression that she'd asked this several times before and management denied customer requests to turn them off. It was so soaking wet the floor had a "caution wet floor" sign on it, which means management was aware of the state of the situation and did nothing. ? Management, if the misters are resulting in wet surfaces, that means the mist is not evaporating, and the misters are not working. This is a very simple concept. There are other things that could be improved. Once the sun started setting we were getting blinded so we all moved to the other side of the table facing away from the sun (and the lake). This is an easy fix- install some shades! This is a double solution as they can be used to retain warmth in cold weather. Overall the food was really good. The gumbo was weirdly gelatinous and did NOT TASTE LIKE traditional gumbo- I'm from southeast Texas, from a long line of Cajun cooks. It tasted more like gravy and had a gravy texture. Not really edible. The snapper was delicious. The basil cream sauce was a smart choice, but it also was way too thick and had a goopy, non-pourable texture. Seemed like too much cornstarch was added. I ordered a bahama mama and asked for the alcohol on the side because I've felt the drinks are skimped here in the past, and they only gave me 1 shot of rum when the menu says there is a light and a dark rum shot in the drink. Waitress said the drink already had the coconut rum in it- definitely didn't taste like it. Plus, I've asked for this before and they did bring out 2 shots, so I think I just got skimped which is per usual. There was also a 6-ish y/o little boy who spent about 20-30 mins running and stomping up and down the deck right alongside our table. He was enjoying himself stomping in the mister puddles. Not his fault that he wasn't being supervised or contained; his parents were somewhere way far away out of eye and earshot. I saw waitresses notice, but no one made the effort to get this child's parents to corral him back to their table. We love kids so this wasn't as big of a deal as it could have been. So much potential, so many oversights. I believe in this place and I know they can improve!

    Photos
    Bar area.
    Bar area.
    Ribeye and crab cake
    Ribeye and crab cake
    Cherry mojito

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    Cherry mojito

    Sarsaparilla Saloon & Cafe - tradamerican - Updated July 2026

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