Cracker Barrel Old Country Store — Restaurant in Lincoln

I've been here 5 times with my brother and dad when we were in the area. Almost every time I was here the service sucked. I'm not a negative person though, so we'll start with the good - There's one waitress we had who was amazing, she I kept drinks topped off, had really good timing (referring to when food is placed and when the check comes out) and she was good at small talk. I'm bad with names, but if you're looking for her, she was middle eastern with dark brown hair. The food is hit or miss, i've had chicken and dumplings here, meatloaf, chicken tenders, and chicken fried steak.

My brother and I's last experience was the worst I've had here and is why i'm leaving a review. He ordered the turkey and dressing. First off, our waitress confused the lunch menu with the daily specials menu and got him two sides, instead of one. No big deal but the daily special one is 13$ and change vs 8$ and change for the lunch menu one, which he POINTED at when she took his order.

10 minutes later our food is out and our waitress brings everything out but the coleslaw that came as a side with what I ordered, the 𝘓𝘶𝘯𝘤𝘩 menu chicken and dumplings. So I think to myself "Oh, she probably just couldn't fit it on the platter".

5, 10, 15 minutes go by. She wasn't dodging us, but she definitely forgot about the coleslaw because she topped off another customer's drink, sat, got drinks, and got the order for a whole new table.

And I know what you're thinking "oh it's probably the lunch rush, she must have been real busy".

No. It was 2pm on a thursday. There was only two other 2 tops in our section that were seated. She sat in the kitchen for the rest of our meal and didn't check our drinks once, until she brought the bill. And trust me, i tried hinting at her, but to no avail.

Eventually she brings out the bill, i mentioned the coleslaw "do you have that coleslaw by chance?" I said, trying to be gentle. She did not gaf in the slightest I found out lol. No "oops" "sorry" or "my bad", just "yeah sure". And at this point we already had the bill and my plate was EMPTY.

So she brings it back out, tops off my water, and then tells my brother that he should have specified whether or not he wanted the daily special option 🤦

like no bro, YOU'RE THE WAITRESSS! YOU'RE supposed to know the menu! YOU'RE supposed to clarify that there's a 4$ more expensive version of the same dish with the same name on the OTHER side of the menu lol.

Not only that, but you would think it would be obvious that we were here for the lunch special seeing as we came during lunch time. ALBEIT late lunch but still nowhere close to dinner...

So I went to this Cracker Barrel and when it came to ordering I asked the waitress if the smoky grilled chicken had the option of 3 sides like some of the other entrees do. She said it did. I found out she lied. If I had known it didn’t I would not have added on the salad which should have been just over two dollars according to the menu to upgrade. So I told her I wanted the salad and the green beans as the two sides and to add a mashed potato. I only eat once every 24 hours and eat a lot in that meal. She instead rang the side salad as a side salad and not as one of the sides which cost me extra and more than a side of potato’s would have. Directly lied about having a 3 side option. If I had known I would have ordered the grilled chicken strips which had the 3 sides instead of two and cost less. Then I ordered dessert not realizing how much she charged me for iceberg lettuce. The dessert came and there was nothing in the cup but 3 slices of canned peaches, no crust, and ice cream on top. She never came back to check on my meal until it was gone. Just over $30 dollars later for a single individual meal. If I had known I never would have eaten here or ordered the entree I did! Texas Roadhouse with a steak, salad and side and unlimited bread is the same price! Thankful I don’t order a beverage on top of it! I think it is disgusting that we have to tip for service like this and to a company that charges prices like this and pays their employees low wages! NEVER AGAIN! They don’t even use fresh peaches in their dessert. I transport for a living and am stuck eating out on the road. I don’t even make $30 in two hours of work. If I didn’t starve myself in between meals I would be broke! The truck stops are just as bad for even crappier food. I just wanted a...

We went around 7 or so and they were not busy at all. Love the retail area it’s always so fun to look at and a lot of fun things for kids and adults alike.

The service started off pretty bad overly the waiter was very polite but we ordered and it was about 25 min in and still nothing. That’s normally not a long wait but with a maybe half full restaurant I was getting a little annoyed. The waiter came over and apologized and explained someone or even two cooks were not there as they called in sick or left sick. So I understood it was about 35-40 min and I was getting pretty upset again. We only ordered 2 kids meals and 2 adult dishes. The manager then made his way over to our table and noticed our daughter had on her birthday crown. This was where she wanted to go for her dinner. The waiter had already made a big deal about it and now the manager who was apologizing profusely. Started to engage with her and really make her laugh and smile. Food was out shortly after they also gave her extra birthday dessert on the house. At least 3 other severs made sure to wish her a happy birthday.

I I had every intention of leaving it not good review for them, but they did go so far above and beyond to make sure we understood why it was taking so long and be to make us feel important and take time out of their shift to come over and talk to my daughter and get it made her birthday so much more special The food was very good. Everything was very hot and fresh. The server was extremely polite. The manager was extremely polite other than the pushing our long way to get our food. It was a great experience and we will...