Cracker Barrel Old Country Store — Restaurant in Halfway

HEADS UP!!!! Very disappointed past few times coming here. First, the food portions are laughable compared to the locally owned diners who give you real hefty portions! You have raised prices and lowered the amount of food and quality. No one offered biscuits or cornbread and if they do they bring very minimal. If two people have gravy in their order they bring one small bowl for you to share? Why assume I want to share my part of my order with the person I’m having a meal with? If both parties entree’s have gravy, then both paying customers should have their own bowl of gravy with their meal. This has happened multiple times/ multiple visits. Then if you order certain breakfast entrees and they give you an option of sample meats; bacon, sausage and ham and then give you an option to choose 1 meat instead of sampler… buyer beware!!! They will sneak in an upcharge of $1.00 for choosing for example, sugar cured ham (which we received country ham instead) but again they will upcharge you and NOT disclose that. Some may wonder why I might complain over $1.00, well if the server doesn’t tell you there is an upcharge after offering that as an option that is ON THEM. Paying these already high prices on these low portioned foods we should be told of said upcharge. Not to mention paying $3.39 for a cup of coffee!!!!! Why?!?! We were offered 1 time if we wanted a refill and that was only by the “manager” Nicole after complaining about this sneaky $1.00 upcharge for all ham vs. the sampler of meat. So I grabbed a menu and no where on the menu does it mention an upcharge. Nicole “manager” has the personality of a ROCK, was no help, No empathy and stumbled over her words not knowing how to explain the upcharge. Showing me another part of the menu where the ham costs more. But where I ordered from was an entirely different page on the menu. I then said, “so I’m suppose to cross reference the menu for correct pricing and so called upcharges within my meal I ordered”? No where and I mean NO WHERE in the menu does it mention an upcharge. She tries so hard in front of an entire line at the register to find her proof and she could not provide that proof. As I am there trying to reason some how for this upcharge several other paying customers were in line to complain as well! We talked to several different people in the lobby/store as well as outside in the parking lot on how terrible all of our experiences were. And we all have experienced something negative past few times coming here. And we gave it another try! No more. I’ll drive to Frederick or Chambersburg in hopes their location is operated better with more attentiveness and empathy from management. It’s a shame because Cracker Barrel use to be such a hit and bring such warmth and coziness that no other chain restaurant offers. I hope it’s not a sign of the entire chain heading this direction. Kudos to all the local diners in which we will...

We decided to stop here on our way home from West Virginia. We were all very hungry and we love the offers of Cracker Barrel. We arrived expecting a wait time, we were pleasantly surprised there wasn't any. We were seated almost immediately upon entering a rarity for most locations. The lady who seated us was very nice and had just returned from maternity leave (congratulations 🎉) once we were seated we were enthusiastically greeted by our very nice server Taylor. She was extremely patient as people in our group decided on drinks, food and choosing their options of sides.

Two of our group had never been to Cracker Barrel so we tried to give them good recommendations. They decided on steak against our advice, while everyone else got what this place is known for, BREAKFAST! Some enjoyed pancakes, French Toast, eggs, bacon, hash casserole, spiced apples. I got bacon and the two aforementioned sides with lunch chicken tenders with a sweet spicy kick sauce and fries (wanted to try something different from my usual) they also quickly corrected me missing one of the sides I ordered bringing it out seconds later, that was impressive!

They also offered a few $6 to-go options so I recommend to French Toast Bake to my buddy who got steak as he wanted breakfast food too (overwhelmed by all the options at first because everything looks great to a first-timer) everything went smooth and Taylor was attentive and brought out dishes with the speed and accuracy of a Magician truly, food just appeared! Thank you very much for adding that much more to our special visit. No visit is complete without visiting the great store inside filled with some of the best snacks and items. You can also have a seat in a rocking chair and play checkers which we did for a bit before hitting the road again ending our trip for the weekend heading back to our side of Maryland.

Food 5 outta 5 - hot and fresh arrived quickly Service 6 outta 5 - seated quickly and served wonderfully

Atmosphere - 5 outta 5 - lively but not too crowded and very helpful staff everything on points

Cleanliness - 5 outta 5 - plates and utensils clean as well as bathroom stalls and such.

Overall rating for this visit 5 outta 5

SupaFlyITGuy approved but I have come to expect nothing less from Cracker Barrel and they meet or exceed my expectations every time. The pricing also always puts a smile on my face value for money wise I feel spoiled here as I get a lot of food and a drink for a fraction of what I'm used to spending elsewhere often for food that is...

Okay where to start. We arrived. We were seated after we had to wait at the front.When nobody was to there to actually get us a table, we were told that the person at the front of the counter that another person seats and all she does is the check out for all the little goodies that we would have to wait until the waitress came to see us.We waited for about ten minutes for the waiters to come out of the kitchen and say oh i'm sorry and then seat us. After that , our waitress decided to wait about ten minutes to come to our table. The waitress seemed aggravated and upset that we did not know what we wanted to eat at that time when she arrived. The waitresses attitude was horrible. We ordered supposedly fresh lemonade for our drinks.But by the time they actually decided to give us a refill on her drinks that took about twenty minutes just a refiller drinks. Our drinks when they did come out with the refill were watered down. We ordered chicken and dumplings, mashed potatoes and mac cheese.Everything that you would normally have prepared warm and ready to serve right away.Our food never came out for about forty five minutes later we left. Also, at this time, the restaurant is not busy at all. i'm looking at other waitresses taking care of their tables multiple times doing everything they're supposed to do and more. When our waitress decided to come out, she was heading back talking to the same girl that was up front as they were going in.Now the kitchen to have conversations. I left disgruntled and upset. When I left, I made shirt to be known why I was leaving no manager in sight.Decided to stop me or say hey what is going on. I had to call cracker barrel and speak to someone who said they are the manager. I do. Not believe them at this time, because they told me that they were going to send something through the email and take care of all this and make sure it never happened again.Well, they are a liar.I never received a email nor have.I ever received a call from the district manager that I was told I was going to get. Do not go to this place at all. Skip it go somewhere else and spend your harder money where they actually take...