The chicken tenders are the bomb. Love the strawberry rhubarb pie. Kids loves the Mac and cheese

First visit was great 6-30 was terrible. Open face tenderloins were cold, meat, potatoes, and gravy. Sent back to warm and still came back cold. My tenderloin sandwich was warm, not hot, and breading was soft not crispy. Prices have gone up, quality and service down. read more

I know I am in the right place when you see a ton of pickup trucks in the parking lot of a family named restaurant. Stepping inside, it seals the deal for me. A 67 Chevelle sits right inside the door along with many other automobilila items to welcome you. Muscle car themed food establishments are right up my alley. This place had been suggested by one of my friends who is originally from Bolivar. It is situated just south of the last Bolivar exit, so I ended up at the Smith's Express location in town Bolivar before I realized I hadn't found the right place yet. I had actually eaten here before, just didn't know the name of it, and that this is where she was trying to send me. Oh well....no harm done. On to the food. Breakfast time was when we visited, before hitting the road for a day of traveling. You can't go wrong with a good breakfast while you are motoring on a road trip, no matter what time of the day you are there. I ended up with more food than I could handle. And if you know what I look like, you know that is a considerable amount of food if I can't finish it. I ordered the ham and eggs, which came with hash browns, and biscuits and gravy. I was only mildly embarrassed when the waitress brought me three full sized plates of food, see photos. All three of those plates were for me. Ham was a good sized thick slab complete with bone. A ton of potatoes came with it. My co-diner took the sausage and eggs, with pancakes. The flapjacks where the size of a dinner plate stacked three high. Complete with warmed syrup. Our waitress took good care of us while there, coffee cup never was less than half full. Price for two king sized meals was less than $20. The signs advertised the same pies that we had sampled at the Smith's Express store (separate review). Including way more choices including sour cream and raisin, peanut butter, and gooseberry. Fresh peach cobbler was offered, but I just couldn't do it on this trip. would have ordered it to go, but that's not a car friendly dessert on the go. Catch it next time. read more

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Horrible waitress and rude manager, we stopped by for dinner have several times at this location. Waitress wasnt helpful and didnt offer refills. When she brought coffee it spilt never offered to clean it. Fries were dripping with grease. We waited on check never saw her so we went up 2 cashier to pay. The manager asked how out meal was so my husband told him. The manager says well your the first perfect person ive met. Your meal is taken care of. Very rude..last time we stop in. read more

I've been here multiple times and I'll admit that I like this place. It's got that family feel to it that you can't help but just love. Ever since I've ate the patty melt it's what I always get; there's just something 'bout the sauce that is soooo goooood! Also, you must try their onion rings. They're so light, but oh-so flavorful. They're best known for their chicken tenderloin sandwiches, though, and I can see why. Have you seen the size of those things?! Oh me oh my! I'll eventually have to give 'em a try. The service is always nice, and it's fun to look at all the neat vintage-esque things that are there. The only beef I would have against them is the price. Not totally outrageous for what you get, but still a little steep. read more

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this place has such a good menu. everything looked AMAZING, but we went around 11:00 AM and chose to look at the breakfast and lunch menu. Seriously would eat everything on both. I ordered a cinnamon roll that was the best I've ever eaten- it was also the biggest cinnamon roll I've ever seen. The size of a large plate and so soft, sweet, and doughy. I also ordered a slice of the Reese's pie that was delicious, I could eat a whole pie! I am definitely going to go back and try more things because I scrapped both my plates clean and ate it all! read more

Smith's Restaurant - cinnamon roll (HUGE) and Reese's pie! - Southern Near Me - Bolivar, Missouri

Ate supper on Mother's Day. We both ordered from breakfast menu. Sarah's omelet was huge, but not done in the middle. Hash browns were neither done or crusty. Prices were medium high. Serve not good. Waitress never brought water we ordered. She gave us each other's meals. Would not come back read more

Smith's Restaurant will fill you up. They have great food and very good service. They are located right off highway 13 just north of Bolivar. I have eaten here several times. I recommend the biscuits and gravy with over easy eggs. I have never had a bad meal from them and the service is always good. read more

Friendly staff. This is just good ol' country cookin'. Big portion sizes for the price! Milkshakes aren't listed on the menu but are delicious! read more

The owner is a total jerk! We supported his restaurant during the pandemic and ate there often. We decided to eat lunch there on Sunday August 15th 2021. When we entered the restaurant there were only a couple of people ahead of us. My wife gave her first name "Kim" to the hostess who said it would only be a few minutes. We watched a 4 person group, a 2 person group, and a 7 person group that came in after us all get seated before us. When I mentioned it to the owner he got really flustered and barked back " we have already seated Kim" and during the owners non caring reply the hostess said nothing even though my wife had just pointed out to her that she had missed us. A good owner would have apologized and said let's get you seated! This owner is a horrible owner and doesn't deserve good faithful customers like us!!! read more

The customer service was great along with the food . The country classic antique setting was a noble idea!

I've driven between KC & Springfield for years. Depending on timing we have eaten at both Collins and Bolivar. Serious where do the people that think the food is average or 'just ok' eat? Overpriced? Compared to where? I'll admit my wife and I are not huge fans of the breakfast buffet. Fresh cooked breakfast off the menu is good. The fried chicken on the buffet or menu is always good. Tenderloins .. Wow! Green beans, corn ... seasoned to perfection! Desserts are incredible but so often we are already full. A secret I'll let you in on ... The have great dinner rolls. Want to take it over the top? Ask for apple butter. I promise you will love it on a fresh warm roll :) read more

Good and tasty food. Very nice and courteous staff. Price right on the prize! Love it and we'll be back again...

Excellent food daily specials, tenderloin sandwich desserts, pies, cobblers etc. Restrooms not so much

We kept seeing the signs saying they had the biggest tenderlion sandwich. So on the way home from Branson today we decided to stop and have lunch. We decided to split the tenderlion sandwich. It was delicious and we were more than full. Nice clean place. Will definitely stop again read more

Huge portions, service is good. Very large menu, covers most of what you'd want at a place like this. The biggest desserts I've seen! Good to take the kids and family. read more

Very nice breakfast spot, we ordered loaded hash browns, cheesy hashbrowns and the "diet plate" which should be called the kill your diet plate lol. The diet plate was delicious with good gravy and fluffy biscuits, as were the hash brown plates. Service was ok, slow with coffee refills for how few of customers there were. Cute little local place with homemade pies. read more

Best tenderloin ever! Service is excellent. Atmosphere is sometimes loud. 2nd time I had hot beef sandwiches and it was just okay. Very warm temp but not hot. Probably always order the tenderloin from now on. Great dessert selection of pies and cobbler. But who ever has the room? read more

Decent food, nice atmosphere. Somewhat friendly staff. Prices are moderate. Portions are generous.

Wow, reading through these reviews is like a roller coaster! From five stars to calling the owner a "jerk". sheesh. Time for our two cents... i feel a little location expectation can go a long way here. First, it's a small town, hard workin, family restaurant. We are not talking five star michelin dining here. But if you are driving south through bolivar, mo on hwy 13 and the fam is hungry, you can do far worse. The food is decent and regardless what some say below, decently priced. Geez, you cant even go to McD's for less than $10 these days. Why eat there when you can eat here for a little more. I had the self proclaimed "world famous" tenderloin sandwich. I thought it was fine; Satisfying and more than i could eat. I could not believe it when the wife chose the chicken fettucine alfredo but she said it was fine. Plenty of options on the menu for all appetites. The place is clean and the service was responsive and friendly. We might have waited 12 min for our food. I wish we'd had room for pie and cobbler because i really wanted to try it. All in all it was everything i expected. Thanks Smiths! Keep doing what you do for us hungry travelers. read more

My fiance's parents' introduced me to this wonderful place! The food is really down home cooking that reminds me of food that my mother used to cook (and that my Grandma used to cook)! I always get the chicken fried chicken without fail and it's absolutely astounding! Their rolls taste better to me than Lambert's and a roll is included in most every dinner size meal! We've always had wonderful service every single time that we've come here as well. But we have never come in the morning, only in the afternoon or evening. Their onion rings truly do remind me of Outback's Bloomin' Onion. But to me it's soooo much better!!!! You get a huge amount of food for the price that you pay! I always have leftovers! This place is truly amongst my top places to eat! read more

Tried it today for the first time, driving from Springfield. I had the roast beef sandwich (the half order) and it was a very filling meal. Loved the cole slaw and wondered about the "secret ingredient." My friend had the Reuben with a side of slaw. She is a Reuben connoisseur and declared this to be one of the best. We shared a black berry cobbler with ice cream. Fantastic! We'll make this drive again. read more

Stopped for lunch with family. Good food and very family friendly. What a pie selection! Don't leave without desert.

THE BEST PIE EVER! Fried chicken is ON POINT! Service is fast & friendly. Come hungry & wear your stretch pants!

Loved the food and atmosphere. Our server Jack was the best! Pork tenderloin was on point. Warm honey mustard bacon dressing for my salad was great. Worth the drive to Bolivar. read more

It was Sunday busy but we were seated within minutes. Waitress was attentive. Food was very good. Chicken strips, baked beans, yeast rolls, pork tenderloin sandwich and onion rings were excellent! Mashed potatoes were lumpy. Chicken fried steak was hand breaded but was more crust than meat. We would have liked one of the varieties of cobbler but we were too full. Stop if you get a chance. read more

This is one of those typical eateries with the general store in front, and all kinds of stuff on the walls. It's interesting to look at, but the food is nothing to write home about. It is in a location directly off the highway, which is why it is so busy all the time, I imagine. I live close, and have tried the restaurant several times for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. I'm sorry to say it was disappointing each time. Even when it's not very busy, it takes a looong time for food. Even simple eggs and toast will take at least 35 minutes to get, based on my experiences. It wouldn't be so bad if I got a coffee refill occasionally, but both my coffee and water cup were drained before I saw my server again. This restaurant is not worth the price. If you're in Bolivar, you're better off eating at Springfield Ave. Cafe. in the middle of town. read more

Went to Smith's for Mothers Day. The breakfest was terrible. The eggs are fake. The sausage gravy was bland without any flavor (sure it was from a mix too). And the biscuits they served were tough. When our server ask us how we liked out meal we told her her how disappointing it was and why. She just shrugged her shoulders and layed the check down and walked away. Won't be back again. Could have had a better Meal at McDonald's. read more

it's just simply amazing food, would recommend to anyone, very good service and the owners a super nice guy

For what it is I give it the best marks possible. Fried diner food. The tenderloin is huge. Have to order real mayo and horseradish on side. My wife and I split each time. Mozzarella sticks marinara sauce much better than average. Deserts incredible. Nice portions and good prices. Very tasty. Do a great job fulfilling this style and niche. Best at what they do. Very fast service as well. read more

We just enjoyed their delicious buffet for $11.99 each; Sunday at. 11:30am. The meats were all very good, the sides were fresh. It included a fresh salad bar, lunch section, breakfast section, and desert section. The staff was friendly and there was plenty of seating. We did not order off the menu. Enjoy! read more

We were just hungry and would have eaten anywhere. Choosing Smith's was a happy accident. It was convenient off 13 highway. The menu select was quite diverse and food was delicious and fresh!!! Service and staff was friendly. Prices were as expected. read more

Well this place is good home cooking, if you get the tenderloin and the cocunut cream you can't go wrong..

Good home cooked food, but I think alike over priced. Very good breakfast and dinner buffet.

Great home cooked food! We try to stop by here every time we head up to KC. Can't go wrong with anything on the menu but the pork tenderloin is great! Save room for dessert! I love the peanut butter pie! read more

If you're looking to eat healthy you may want to keep on going. However if you're looking for good ole diner type food you'll like this place. read more

Delicious! Everything is homemade. Chicken, salad dressing, real mashed potatoes, baked beans, dessert. Awesome. We were skeptical about the roadside stop, but so happy Yelp directed us here! read more

Great food and services a good place to have a lunch and dinner it is an amazing place to gi

Very friendly folks serve really good food. Ordered the spicy chicken sandwich and my partner ordered the tenderloin. Both were very good

We have ate at this restaurant numerous times on our way to Branson. THis time the food was horrible. The dinner rolls were day old and hard, the bake potatoes were also old tasting. I ordered Strawberry pie but it was also horrible. Two inches of whip cream over five pieces of strawberry drowning in jello. And the total of the bill was $35 and change. We will never eat their again. read more