Catfish Cabin II — Restaurant in Athens

Disappointing Experience at Catfish Cabin II – April 6th, ~2:15 PM

As a new resident to the area from the San Francisco Bay Area, my family of six was excited to take the short trip from Madison to Athens to experience some good Southern catfish at Catfish Cabin II. Unfortunately, what started with excitement quickly turned into disappointment shortly after we were seated.

Though the restaurant didn’t seem busy, we were led to a nearly empty backroom and seated at what appeared to be the very last table, near the emergency exit. This didn’t immediately seem odd, but in hindsight, it felt like an afterthought. The wait for a server to take our drink order was longer than expected, and by the time they arrived, we were ready to place our entire order.

It took a while to receive our drinks, and I had to specifically ask for the hush puppies, which are typically a staple on the table. Being originally from the Mississippi Delta, I was particularly looking forward to the all-you-can-eat catfish—a nostalgic dish tied to my college days at Delta State University.

To my surprise, the waitress gave me a rather discouraging set of rules: “You can’t share. You can’t take anything home. I’ll put in a larger order, and you can let me know if you want more.” The tone and delivery felt off-putting, especially since we were there to enjoy a relaxing family meal.

When the hush puppies finally arrived, we had no plates or saucers—just a table of six people awkwardly using their hands. The waitress explained, “We’ve been busy, I’ll see if I can find a few saucers.” What she returned with were wet bowls, and mine even had crumbs from what I can only assume were the previous guests.

To add insult to injury, the backroom began to fill with other families, and two were already enjoying their meals with attentive service from the same waitress. At this point, I got up and shared my concerns with the manager, who did respond and assured me our food was coming out soon.

Sadly, the damage was already done. Poor service, lack of cleanliness, and a general sense of being overlooked made this a regrettable experience. I will not be spending my money...

Well usually I have a great experience here. But today the waitress had a nasty attitude as she have had in the past that's why I hate being put in her section. She don't know how to talk to ppl, certain ppl. She took our order, I ordered a appetizer that took 45 minutes to get besides not getting the full order i got 4 fried greasy green tomatoes that wasn't done, and she made the remark they didn't drop a full order so you got some more coming. I asked for the lady at the register to come over, she looked at them and said they're not done. I said no ma'am. I don't want them and she said I'll take care of it. And a hour later she comes back to the table slams the little ticket book on the table and said sorry ladies we don't have anymore whole catfish with an attitude, too be honest I don't believe she placed our order to begin with. Iwould hope the next time i don't and won't be seated in her section because i will politely get up and walk out. she definitely needs to work on how you talk to ppl and how you, treat your customers. I've never been so pissed in all my times ever visiting this establishment. She needs some more training on how to deal with the public. Poor Service. And No food. You cannot make this...

We ordered the large fillet plate. Two mins after ordering, our plates were brought out. That means that the fish was not fresh. A couple that got here before us ordered whole fish. They waited on theirs. I asked the waitress was ours fresh and she said they were. I asked her why they had to wait and we didn't. She said because they got whole fish and it takes 10 mins to cook. Shouldn't ours have taken more than two mins? She had a bit of an attitude with me. I asked for ours to be cooked fresh. She took the plates to the back and returned 3 mins late. They threw them in the oil to make them hot so they would seem fresh. The taste and texture will tell you they are not. I guess if you want fresh fish, get the whole fish. Oh, and my husband's fries were reheated fries. They were even grey looking. Get to the checkout and was asked if everything was ok, I said no. She then proceeded to say that she had heard there was an issue with the fish. I told her most of it was just left on the table that we couldn't even eat it. Her response was "My my. That will be $39" and whatever change she said. No concern from anyone. Not a manager/owner. Nothing. Lesson learned...