Curtis Watson's Catfish Restaurant — Restaurant in McLoud

It has been two years since we last ate here and I made the previous review. Unfortunately, based on tonight's meal I have to change it.

Tonight the only thing that was great was the service. Our waitress was super nice and we didn't have to wait for anything. She was friendly and engaging. I would give 5 Stars for her, but definitely not for the rest of the meal. The fish is still okay, but everything else was just bad. The once amazing hush puppy sticks are no longer! Now they're play-doh like fingers of flavorless, half cooked, stick-to-the-roof-of-your-mouth mush. They had absolutely no flavor whatsoever. The pinto beans were flavorless and even though the onion rings were fresh out of the fryer, they were tasteless and had a "stale" texture to them. The mac & cheese was okay. Better than some places, but not as good as others. We most likely won't be back.

PREVIOUS REVIEW: I have never eaten catfish that was so good before. It was light, hot, fresh and not greasy! The hushpuppy sticks were beyond amazing. I could live off of those! They were that good! Being from up North, we don't usually eat catfish and the very few times that I had, it was so bad. Curtis Watson's is fantastic! All you can eat catfish with three sides and the lightest, airiest rolls I have ever had. I also managed to have room for the blackberry cobbler. It was good too.

Our waitress, Sherry, really made the whole experience just that much better. She is so sweet, professional and just an absolute delight. She is friendly and chatted with us, answering all of our questions and just so chipper and happy. We never had to wait for anything. Between the hot, fresh food and the fantastic service, this was one of the best meals we have had...

Basically the "all you can eat" is a lie. This was a very frustrating restaurant experience. The food was average cafe food which would be great for the price. We drove out of our way specifically to go for the all-you-can-eat catfish.

My husband got the catfish and I got the all-you-can-eat shrimp. I personally didn't even finish my whole first plate. But my husband finished his and after 15 minutes they came and asked if he wanted more, he said yes. After another 10-15 minutes they returned with two catfish nuggets, basically. They were very small pieces. After he ate those the waiter didn't return for another 10-15 minutes to ask if he wanted more, then those had to be made and again another 10-15 minute wait for two nugget sized pieces.

This time when the food was brought my husband told the waiter he could eat multiple more pieces and the waiter left not to return for another 20 minutes to see if he wanted more. By this time we've been in the restaurant for about an hour and a half and we were in a hurry and couldn't stay any longer.

They advertise as all you can eat but it's clearly not and they clearly try to delay you so that you don't eat all you can and that you leave.

We will probably not return because I can just go to any restaurant and pay that price for the amount of food we...

This place has been here for DECADES. We've driven past this place a lot over the years. We finally stopped as we were in the area and it was dinner time.

Time forgot this place. This is the roadside place you hear about where the food and the decor hasn't been updated in decades. This is not a bad thing necessarily as I suspect you're not stopping in to look at the walls and interpret the artwork. Lots of locals in this place. Folks walking in and calling each other by first names was not an uncommon thing. This place filled up while we were sitting there but I didn't notice a wait.

Heads up - They push the AYCE catfish HARD. They do Catfish really well. It would be hard not to considering how much of the stuff comes out of the kitchen. It's good and tastes clean so I'm assuming it's farm raised and not fresh caught. The batter is typical corn meal and it's deep fried as it should be.

PROTIP: Unless you have a plan to walk out of this place absolutely miserable with the all you can eat plan stick with the single catfish plate, it has plenty on it with the accompanying sides and bread. Save yourself a couple bucks.

You should make a stop in here if time allows. It's easy off and on I-40 and...