The Grace Miller, "Gracie's" — Restaurant in Bastrop

UPDATE Here is my reply back to the owner’s response to my original review:

Thank you The Grace Miller restaurant for your response to my review of the “Charlotta”. I posted my original photo from my “Charlotta” that I ordered in 2017. The 2025 photo was on your site from either another person’s review or a menu photo that I indeed used for referencing. I did not take a photo of the “Charlotta” on 2/14/2025, as while eating it, my friend and I were discussing all the changes of the entree in looks, size and taste, and thus not getting a new photo of our order. Yes, we both ate the entree and we liked it, but it was just OK, and NOT the same as it had been before. We did inquire with our service staff about the dish and why it had changed. The server informed us of new ownership of the restaurant, the different dinnerware used for the dish now, as well as the two changes in the queso cheese sauce being used now, versus before, so yes, the dish has “most of the same ingredients” as replied to my review; but the fact remains it HAS changed and it lacks the former taste, quality and quantity of the past. I hope this answers the restaurant’s inquiries about the photos used in my original review, and why I wrote what is posted. I also appreciate The Grace Miller for being open to my honest opinion, as well as wanting to learn how to better serve their customers. Thank you again for listening to my review. ORIGINAL REVIEW:

I’m writing this review based on one particular food item that has undergone changes, and not for the better. My best friend and I started coming to Gracie’s in 2017 and we lived at least 4 hours away. We chose the frito pie known as the “Charlotta” based on the menu and its reputation for being distinct to the restaurant itself. It was awesome. The small size was more than plenty. The melted cheese queso tasted like homemade and the browned ground meat and other ingredients were exceptional. We have visited in later years at least 3 more times, with our last visit on February 14, 2025. Needless to say we were very disappointed in the “Charlotta” and its changes. The small is much smaller due to the bowl size from a new distributor. The cheese queso is now a cheese sauce that tastes like canned nacho cheese at football games and movies and has changed twice due to the distributor. The “Charlotta” is no longer topped with fresh grated cheese and the lettuce has gone from chopped to stringy pieces. We understand The Gracie is now under new ownership as well, and pricing on food and dinnerware has risen over the years; but it is terrible to have a customer favorite menu item suffer because of this. I’m adding photos of how the “Charlotta”used to be served and how it is now. This menu item used to be a unique star of the restaurant, and now it has faded into cheapness. Although we still love the atmosphere, wait staff, desserts and other food items, it is sad that their famous “Charlotta” is not the grand, worth ordering entree of the past. It makes a difference on traveling customers who come from far away just to have that entree. (For Reference: photo with less salsa and more shredded cheese is the original from 2017 and the other with more salsa...

I’m not from the area so I looked up restaurants around town and found Gracie’s. I looked through all the reviews and high hopes that they would be accurate. Unfortunately, I was very disappointed. The service was absolutely horrible. Probably the worst service I’ve ever had in a restaurant. I was a server and I know it can be a very difficult job so I try not to be judgemental and I always give the benefit of the doubt. There is no excuse for the way we were treated tonight though. What was supposed to be good southern eating and hospitality was actually overpriced, mediocre food and abysmal service. I had what was listed as the NY strip steak, but was actually an inexcusably overcooked unknown cut of meat. When we walked in, it took 15 minutes for anyone to come take a drink order. I tried to go to the bathroom and when I knocked on the door someone screamed at me from the inside, “JUST A MINUTE.” I sat down to wait for it to be open and a server walked out. When I got back to the table the same server that screamed at me came up and asked to take our order. She clearly had an attitude and barely spoke to us until eventually walking away without making sure our order was correct. The food came out fairly quickly but the steak was scorched, tough, dry, and tasted very strongly of black pepper. It was clearly not a NY strip. It was very a thin, cheap cut of meat that was mislabeled and overpriced. Since I couldn’t eat more than a few bites of it, I waited for our server to come back to ask for a to go box so I could bring it home to my dog. After another 20 minutes of waiting another server came up and asked if we wanted refills since both of our cups were empty. We asked for to go drinks and a to go box. She brought the drinks, but no box and left before we could ask for the ticket. 15 minutes after that she came and dropped off the check. I asked again for a box and she brought one. I never saw our original server again. Georgia, who brought us drinks and a to go box was very sweet, but our original server unfortunately did not introduce herself so I can’t tell you her name. $60 for a burger and an inedible steak is absolutely insane. I won’t go back and I cannot recommend anyone else eat here either. As a former server, I’m appalled by the...

Let’s start with the positive comments… to begin, Gracie’s is in a quaint little cottage on the edge of historic downtown Bastrop, with a waitstaff that were very friendly and welcoming. The food quality was an entirely different story on this visit, the one and only time I have been here. To set the stage, the iced tea was very cloudy and not fresh. It had a very bad taste and was undrinkable, I should have seen this a bit of a red-flag. But I was looking forward to a tasty home-style meal. I specifically ordered my entrée, chicken fried chicken, with the gravy on the side. However, when it was served, both the mashed potatoes and the chicken were smothered in an excess of cream gravy. It was like a good quarter inch thick on the chicken, easy enough to scrape off, but it did put a damper on the experience from the get go. The waitress stated the chef realized he did not meet the order but had her send it out to the table anyway without fixing it- this speaks volumes to their concern for quality which is essentially nonexistent based on the chef’s comment. As a rule, I do not send food back, you never know when you will offend a passive aggressive chef and end up with an illness :-). Just a smart play in my book. Moving on to the side dishes, the garlic mashed potatoes were cold, lumpy and flavorless with not even a hint of garlic present. The green beans, which were the only vegetable available at time of visit - were also cold and flavorless, in fact they were mushy and had tell-tale sign of over cooked frozen green beans that had been sitting for some time. Overall, I have to say I was very disappointed and can not recommend that people even bother trying this place - skip and go to the next option on your list. I probably will...