Bull Malarkey's — Restaurant in Henrietta

Bull Malarkey's is a quaint, country restaurant, off the main town square in Henrietta, TX, across from the Henrietta main courthouse. It is a simple place on the outside, nothing screams restaurant except for the small sign on the outside of the shared building. Ther restaurant's name is on the glass of the main entrance door. I noticed a generously sized handicapped ramp on the sidewalk up to the main entrance.

When you walk inside Bull Malarkey's you are instantly transported back in time to the early 1900's. The dining room had a rustic charm, a character of an old, country dining room. It has wooden floors, wild game heads sporting every side of the room, homey aromas, some antiques displayed on wooden bookcases. It looks like a true , old fashioned, small town restaurant.

The dining room was clean and charming; a comfy relaxed feeling. There were no big city sounds of hustle and bustle. Even though the main dining room merely seats 16, it is spacious and uncrowded, with plenty of room to walk around each table. I believe there was a second dining area, but I didn't actually see it.

Our server worked alone serving all six tabletops. She was the hostess, server, busser, and cashier. Occasionally, another, well dressed woman poppped out from the kitchen area (?) to help to deliver the food to tables. As she passed each table she checked for refills, but as quickly as she appeared she soon vanished back to the other room. She vanishing woman appeared a second time, for an encore performance, before leaving again. She was friendly, when she spoke, and checked on our food and refills.

Our server was a extremely friendly, speedy, efficient, and kept moving the entire time we dinned. She never missed a refill. She dashed by and quickly checked on our table several times during our meal.

This small restaurant stayed full, as well as, several guests stopped in to order takeout. We didn't see anyone have to wait longer than a couple of minutes to be seated. The eleven o'clock lunch hour was quite busy for such a small town, population, 3141 (in 2010).

The food was beautifully plated, had generous portions, was cooked fresh, and made exactly as ordered. I had a BBQ burger, topped with sauteed onions, and a side of hand cut, seasoned, fries, and a large glass of iced sweet tea. My BBQ Bacon buger was juicy. The BBQ sauce was smokey, sweet, and slightly tangy. The seasoned fries were so good. They were tender, crunchy, and sliced thin. My dining buddy had the grilled *chicken, sweet coleslaw, and two wedges of buttery Texas toast... which he thoroughly enjoyed. All our food was prepared as ordered.

*Note: The grilled chicken was a bit dry and chewy, slightly tough to cut with the simple table knife; it may have been slightly overcooked... However, it did have some scrumptious seasoning.

Sadly, we were too full to try any of the enticing desserts. Maybe on our next visit we might order the banana pudding or Bull's bread pudding, first!

We had a delightful lunch at Bull Malarkey's, in Henrietta, TX... cute name for...

After a quick lap around the beautiful trees on the town square, we parked right up front. Walking through the front door revealed a tiny little room, with nobody there but a hostess. She was quite friendly, and welcomed us in - asking if we’d ever been there before. We explained that we had not, but were passing through town and looking for a meal that didn’t come from a chain restaurant. She said we were in the right place, as we made our way through a maze of other rooms before arriving at what looked more like a great bar than a diner.

As our friendly waitress fetched a couple glasses of sweet tea, we admired the antlers and other trophies on the walls. This was my kind of place! One TV was showing an old black-and-white western show, while another was silently airing an episode of Steve Rinela’s “Meat Eaters”. The music coming from overhead was sufficiently loud to tap a foot to George Strait or Alan Jackson, but not so loud that we couldn’t hear each other talk across our table.

The “Corn Bites” were the recommended appetizer, and we were glad to share them. There were plenty for 4-6 people to each have a few, and certainly more than enough for the two of us.

Then the meal came out… EVERYTHING was great, old fashioned, Texas-country cooking that would have made my grandmother proud. Clearly these steak fingers didn’t come out of a frozen bag of cutlets. They were amazing! We could taste the heavy cream and real butter used in the homemade mashed potatoes. Those taters managed to only have ONE TINY little lump - just enough to let us know these were the real thing! They were as close to perfect as I’ve ever had!

Fried okra is something that most restaurants struggle to make well, and this may have been among my favorite. (That’s saying something, because my whole family takes pride in making the best fried okra ever!).

There was a little bit of gravy on the top of the potatoes, and also a small bowl on the side. The gravy wasn’t the typical bland white gravy you’d find elsewhere - but an impressive light brown… just thin enough that it didn’t solidify as it cooled, but thick enough to stick to the steak fingers (and the okra) when dipped in it. We left no room to try anything sweet after our meal.

Another lady, presumably the owner/manager, came out to ask us if everything met our expectations. We also chatted with a guy from the kitchen before we left. Everyone truly cared that we were satisfied!

This was the best dining experience I’ve had in a while... The food, the atmosphere, the people, all of it! If you’re looking for a great place to try some Texas-style “down home cooking”, Bull Malarkey’s...

Bull Malarkey's is a hidden gem located in a quaint Texas town 15 minutes from Wichita Falls. We were warmly greeted by Jeralyn, one of the owners who walked us to the dining area. My goodness, the restaurant was so pristine, I probably could have eaten off the floor! As we sat down at our table, our waitress, Tiffany, took our drink order. She was just as warm and friendly as the owner. Tiffany made a couple suggestions but basically told us we wouldn't be disappointed by anything on the menu. *Spoiler alert- she was absolutely correct! We ordered 2 burgers; the Bulls classic + fries and Bull Burner + slaw. These burgers were juicy, flavorful and all the ingredients were fresh. It was evident there was a lot of thought and love put into making them. When I order fries, I typically eat 6 fries and quit, but I ate nearly all these fries so no doubt, they were worth the extra calories! My husband chose the slaw and said it was the perfect blend of creaminess and tang. As we were finishing our dinner, Arvill, the other owner, ventured over to our table and asked how our food was. Of course we had to be completely honest and tell him how incredibly delicious our meals were! Food is a key component to a stellar dining experience, but beyond the food, there are other factors that contribute to making a restaurant one you want to frequent or tell others about. It's the ambiance, the wait staff, the warm greeting, the attention to detail and the owners pouring their hearts and souls into their restaurant to make sure their patrons have the best dining experience possible! Bull Malarkey's is that place and Arvill, Jeralyn and Tiffany are top notch people! Henrietta, TX is 5 hours away, but I will most certainly make every effort to return next time I'm in the area. By the way, you'd better save room for the Banana Pudding and Bull's Bread Pudding; they are the best I've...