The Whistle Stop Cafe — Restaurant in Conroe

Wow….where do I begin? I’m not a person that writes reviews often, if at all, and we LOVE supporting local business anytime we can, but my wife and I’s experience this evening at the Cafe was truly one of the worst meals I’ve ever had.

We were out running errands in town and decided to look for something to eat for dinner. We’ve passed by the restaurant thousands of times over the years, but had never been. So, when it popped up online and we saw decent reviews (I have NO idea how anything positive could be said about that food and honestly wished we had scrolled a little further down) we decided to give it a try.

The restaurant itself was very dark, dingy and seemingly dirty with maybe 3 tables occupied, so not overly packed at all. We were excited for our food as we were looking forward to a good southern cooked meal.

We started off with an order of hush puppies and when they arrived they were ROCK hard and not hot whatsoever. Let down number one, but we figured our meals would make up for them. OH WAS I WRONG.

My wife ordered chicken fried steak with Mac and cheese and I ordered the chicken fried chicken (after overhearing another waitress recommend it to another table) with rice and green beans. One positive is that the food was out VERY quickly. In hindsight that should have been a red flag.

My chicken was roughly the size around of a chic fila sandwich, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but it was about a quarter of the thickness and had NOTHING in common in regards to taste. It was so rubbery that it was difficult to cut apart and there was NO flavor. The plain green beans and white rice were the best and hottest food we attempted to eat the whole night. It was such a let down and I would be embarrassed to serve that to anyone.

My wife’s CFS wasn’t any better. The color of the steak was iffy, the breading also was falling off everytime you’d cut a piece and again, it was another incredibly bland dish that seemed like there wasn’t a pinch of salt or pepper used. Not sure who’s cooking (or microwaving) their food, but it was just BAD.

Again, I’m not the type to write anything negative at all, but I our whole experience left me no choice. The waitress was nice, but that’s really the only thing nice I have to say. What a waste of $50.

From the cleanliness to the food, Whistle Stop Cafe needs to step it up. Whether it’s a deep clean of the carpets, walls and ceilings, a new cook, better quality food ordered, trying out seasonings, or trying to make things fresh and not microwaved, SOMETHING needs to change.

It takes a lot for me to say this, but this was our first and last time we’ll ever be in.

Good luck in...

What a pleasant surprise. Small place, friendly service, wonderful homemade food and extremely reasonable prices. The servers all seem to work well together. And, there was a gentleman who seemed like the owner or manager who was very present and helping out wherever it was needed. We were originally given the lunch menu. We took a chance and asked if it was too late for breakfast (10:55 am). Our server (Mia) kindly brought us a breakfast menu. During our visit, Mia checked on us just enough to make sure our beverages stayed full and we had what we needed, while not interrupting our conversation. I had coffee and the Box Car (2 eggs, hashbrowns, choice of bacon/ham/sausage and toast or english muffin. Everything was perfect. The coffee was delicious as was my food. Everything was perfectly cooked. Even my toast was amazing. It was clearly toasted on a flat top grill (as opposed to in a toaster). It was slightly buttery and toasted. Yet, also still super soft. It tasted like the freshest toasted bread I had ever had. I didn't even add butter or jam. Who knew that toast could be so good? My son had the french toast and added fresh strawberries and blueberries and a side of loaded hashbrowns (hasbrowns topped with grilled onions, bacon and cheddar). The french toast was delicious: crispy and fluffy. The added fresh fruit is an additional $1 per type of fruit and worth every penny. But, the loaded hasbrowns were also a standout. Not too many toppings, and not too little. The grilled onions really brought everything together while not overpowering. I really wish there were another location closer to me (inside the loop in Houston). I want to try so many more things from both menus. To sum it up: you should...

We’ve been going to this place for Sunday breakfast for several years. It’s never been on my favorites list but they did have some great homemade biscuits. We hadn’t been here in awhile and decided to go today. Big mistake. We waited while they cleaned off a booth for us only for the table and seats to still have grease and food particles on them. Luckily there was a single napkin for us to share that I finished cleaning our table with. We ordered the chicken fried steak sandwich and the three meat omelette. The sandwich came out as chicken fried chicken sandwiched between a tiny half-dollar sized biscuit that was nothing like the giant fluffy biscuits we were used to getting and was without the side of cream gravy I specifically asked if it was served with. The omelette meats were over cooked and crunchy. I was brought my corrected order only to not be able to cut the biscuit. It was the chewy hard texture of an over-microwaved piece of bread. I sent it back and just drank my coffee (which is bitter). Besides the cleanliness and food issues, our table caddy only contained one napkin (which we used to clean our booth) and we were never brought more with our food. The only saving grace to our visit was the sweet server. She took the sandwich off our bill for us and was very apologetic. I’m not sure what happened to this place since our last visit but today will be our very last time here. There are way too many better, cleaner breakfast places to eat at than waste time and money...