Skylark Cafe — Restaurant in Leslie

OH MY STARS IN HEAVEN!!! This little gem of a café came highly recommended to us by several people and we made it a priority to visit on a recent anniversary trip to St. Joe, AR.

I can assure you, we were NOT disappointed...at all...and neither will you!!! From the moment we pulled into the gravel parking lot, we knew it was time to loosen the elastic in the waistline and get ready for a plate full of deliciousness that waited us inside this charming old house. It was very inviting, very welcoming, as if you were about to enter into Granny's kitchen.

The weather could not have been more perfect, so my husband and I sat outside on the little patio; there are two tables on the front porch and one table on a stone patio, as well as, tables on a screened-in back porch if sitting outside is your preference. As you entered into this charming little house, you were instantly greeted with an array of homemade desserts from pies, to cakes, to other sweet yummyliciousness. I think that's intentional for you to see this display first thing upon entering, but I for one am definitely not complaining because what we saw coming out of the oven was bubbling over and smelled AMAZING!!!! From our understanding, Skylark Café is what they're known for...their homemade desserts.

As a first timer, deciding what to order was challenging because of all that was offered; soup, salad, sandwiches, to name a few. We started with the hummus appetizer and well...we were not disappointed. It had a lemon zest to it, right size portion for two, and was accompanied with fresh tomatoes, cucumbers, and onions. My husband ordered the Skylark Club and it's a good thing we had not eaten anything prior to this bc his eyes popped wide open when they brought out our food. I am a sucker for some good BBQ, especially brisket, and I knew what I would be eating just by the intense aroma of smoked meat. Both of our sandwiches were served on homemade bread from Neighbor's Mill Bakery out of Harrison, AR...and if you've ever been there...then you know! SO SO good! We both had the potato salad as our side and it was just as delicious.

Now that we made it through lunch, we knew we had to make room for that dessert we saw being pulled from the oven when we first arrived. The two pies that were bubbling over with all that goodness were the Blueberry Buttermilk Pie and the Chocolate Walnut Pie. I had requested the Chocolate Espresso Pie but the Chocolate Walnut Pie was delivered instead but lemme tell you....I was SO HAPPY and didn't care because it was CHOCOLATE and it was DIVINE!!! Now...that Blueberry Buttermilk Pie is a whole'nother story!!! DEAR GOD IN HEAVEN...as soon as it hit your tastes buds, you heard angels singing. It was freshly made, it was still HOT, and it tasted every bit as delicious as it looked!!! Yes & Amen!

Long story short, my husband and I THOROUGHLY enjoyed our visit to Skylark Café, so much so that, we took our youngest son and his girlfriend a few days later after we floated the Buffalo River...for the 2nd time...

⭐☆☆☆☆ | Extremely Disappointed – Would Not Recommend

We had high hopes coming in, but our experience was ruined by something so simple — coleslaw.

My wife politely asked if her plate could be made without coleslaw, and instead of a courteous “Sure, no problem,” we were met with attitude and flat-out refusal. The server gave a snarky response like it was the most outrageous request they’d ever heard. No apology. No alternative offered. Just a rude dismissal.

It’s not like we asked for a five-star custom dish — just no coleslaw! Whether it was laziness or poor customer service, the staff clearly had no interest in making guests feel welcomed or heard.

We ended up leaving without even finishing our meal. If you’re looking for a place that values customer service or basic kindness, this isn’t it.

One star for having chairs to sit on. That’s about it.

Then creating a post bashing me, my wife who didn’t want coleslaw, and our friend tarrah tops it off, the post was a lie. If they can’t take a review and improve from it they don’t need a business. We were also filming before the dispute to leave a good review and recommend it. But it turned into a nightmare. And no one was even filmed in our video! Ask us for it and we would be...

Great location and atmosphere, very authentic without being rustic.

Parking lot fills up at peak time so carpool if you can.

Service was prompt and personable without being bothersome.

Was impressed with the “chopped brisket” tacos, which have large chunks of barbecued brisket very similar to burn ends, which I love.

They are particularly known as one of the few locations in the area that serves alcohol during meals, and locals rave about their weekend only dinner ribeyes, which are excellent.

They are not joking about not making any accommodations for special requests so now that before you go if you have any strong preferences or dietary restrictions.

I walked up the stone steps to the gift shop, which had a very nice selection of random hipster type items to choose from but I did not find anything related to the local area, which is what I was looking for.

Doesn’t exactly match the balance of local authenticity and taste that the restaurant achieves.

Well, definitely go out of my way to visit here again...