Hole In One Cafe — Restaurant in Lufkin

I was told this place was great so we thought we'd give it a try. Interior is nice, it is laid out much like a comfortable bar or cafe, but dressed up a bit. And by dressed up I mean White linens I'm the tables. The sound carried a bit more than it should, it sounded more like a diner, where you are aware of all the conversations around you, but can't make out what they are saying. Maybe some wall hangings would have helped. We were seated by our server, who was not rude, but also not pleasant. Didn't introduce himself, didn't ask how we were. The first word out of his mouth were "what can I get you to drink" This came within seconds of handing us the menu. Hadn't even had time to see what they had. I quickly cracked the menu to find the wine and drink listings, but found nada. So I asked for the beverage menu. He left, went to 2 other tables before returning with the drink menu. We weren't in a hurry, so it wasn't the end of the world, but for someone who seemed in a hurry to get our drink order, he sure wasn't rushed to get us the wine list There were a few decent wine choices, but we opted for the bar instead, 2 Long Island teas. Let me save you some time here. Just don't. They were not good, at all. Not sure how you make a long island bitter, but they were. Wife wouldn't even finish hers The dinner menu had lots of interesting choices. Almost 50% of the items were things I was interested in trying. We settled on Chicken Marsala and Pork Melenese (sp?). Chicken was overcooked, tough and dry The Marsala sauce was not Marsala sauce at all. Had very little flavor In fact, it tasted almost exactly like the cream sauce that was on the pork Melenese. Which also had very little flavor. The pork was also slightly overcooked. It was not tender and juicy. It was slightly better than the chicken. Neither of us finished our entrees and we're not willing to even consider a desert. I fell.like this place has the potential to be great, but a few things would have to improve for us to consider coming back Food quality, drink quality, and quality of service, all are in...

Every once and a while we stop by to eat here. This time was because the places we wanted to go were closed. We arrived when they opened the doors and we were promptly seated.

Food: The food was good overall. The steak was good not great, not over seasoned and cooked to the correct temp. The Green beans were meh, but the brown butter brussel sprouts absolutely rocked. I could have just eaten a plate of them. My wife had the shrimp and grits. There were good not great. The salads they served had way too much salad dressing. I suggest putting it in a ramekin for the customer to put on the salad themselves.

Atmosphere: The overhead can light seemed a bit bright and took away from the relaxed atmosphere they try to portray. While we were waiting on our dinner we were entertained by one of the workers trying to remove a balloon from the ceiling from a previous seating. The broken windows that could be observed as we came in, took away the feel of the place.

Service: The server was attentive and cordial and we appreciate the attention to detail. She took care of our needs gave us space when needed but paid attention to our potential needs.

Since we have been here before we had some expectations and I feel they they are not the same as they once were. I don't think they are bad at all and I encourage people to stop by. I just think small fixes will bring them back...

Our first time here. Our waiter, Wes, was efficient & attentive, but could have been more engaging & friendly. He did warm up some. Good bartender, enjoyed our cocktails, tho a bit too much ice. The appetizer of shrimp & grits cocktail was excellent! The shrimp was firm with a clean taste, the grits cakes were really tasty, the cocktail sauce was tops. Our salads were excellent, fresh greens with a very good house dressing. Hubby enjoyed his unusual entree of chicken fried tuna. My entree of chicken fried steak was disappointing. It was flavorful, but the steak had not been pounded out, it was tough, the breading was far larger than the steak & did not adhere. I would not order it again....do it right or go home! Wes asked me about it, I gave my comments, got zero response. Our sides were great! Loved the whipped potatoes & corn pudding. Desserts were tempting but we declined. All in all, we would...