Cracker Barrel Old Country Store — Restaurant in New Port Richey

I was never a fan of 'down home Southern style food,' so Cracker Barrel is the kind of restaurant I go to because 'someone else wants to go there.' That said, the few times I've eaten there in the past, I was always able to find something I liked, and it was made well and as advertised and ordered, in a clean restaurant with clean dishes, flatware, glasses, etc.. Until today.

First let me say that my server was friendly and did her best to be helpful. I asked for melted butter with my broccoli, she forgot it, and when I asked a second time, she brought me 'butter.' Not the 'melted' butter I asked for, but just 'butter.' Aside from that the issues I had with the restaurant itself, as a whole, had nothing to do with her.

The menu- don't advertise 'Roast Beef,' if what you're going to put on someone's plate is 'pot roast.' Without the potatoes and vegetables, and smothered in brown gravy, which no doubt was to disguise the 'stringy, over cooked' meat pot roast they're trying to pass off as 'Roast Beef.'

My 'baked potato,' that if I wanted it, my only option was loaded, at an upcharge. Well, I would have ordered loaded and paid the upcharge regardless, but if the only way to get any baked potato in this restaurant is 'loaded,' then why have a price for 'unloaded' at all? Why not just offer a 'loaded baked potato' at a price that includes the upcharge. This policy just seems as if it's deliberately designed to piss people off.

And all that aside... my 'loaded' baked potato was COLD. The butter wouldn't even melt, not even 'slightly, and the tiny bit of sour cream, almost non-existent cheese, and what apparently is 'invisible,' intangible, and without even hint of taste of it, bacon, could not alleviate the disappointment of a cold, hard, 'loaded baked potato,' (with forced upcharge, on top of shoe leathery cold pot roast,). It wasn't just cold. It was undercooked, as it was still hard.

And if that wasn't enough to put me off every going back there again, both of our knives (my boyfriend's and mine,') that the hostess set on the tbble when she seated us, were FILTHY. We asked for new ones and got them, and they were ... clean...ER than the first two, but I brought my biscuits and apple butter home with me where I could use my own utensils to spread the apple butter.

Lastly, the menu is extremely limited and I don't know who is going to pay $5 or $10 more to add '10 extra slices of cheese,' to a 'chcken sandwich,' but this place really needs to expand tht menu, get more realistic, get the place cleaned up and really improve their 'customer...

The thing with the food at cracker barrel is it's fairly consistent no matter where you go in the country. It's mass produced cookie cutter almost institutional food It just happens to be very good institutional food. The service however differs from place to place. This particular location has a few older ladies working at the counter that seem to think that they are the cracker barrel police. Order something to go and choose to pick it up in the store and you might lose a hand if you take it off of the shelf before they decide it is an appropriate time. I walked into the location tonight walked up to the shelf saw my order sitting there plus I heard somebody that had set it down say that it was complete and ready for pickup so I went to pick it up when the two women working at the cash register nearly jumped out of their skin screaming at me in front of other guests that they need to check it before I go. I said well it's not a delivery order I'm not Uber eats I'm a customer that paid for this online and I'm picking it up for myself. Well we still need to check it before you walk out the door they exclaimed. I said okay but it's my food I paid for it I'm not a third party delivery person why am I not allowed to take something that I paid for and is now technically under my ownership? To this the woman responded well you can take it but if there's anything missing or wrong I will not be held responsible... This was so puzzling to me! Maybe it's just because I worked in service and hospitality for so many years that I wouldn't do such a thing but I looked at her and said I would never hold you responsible if something were missing and I walked out the door To this she said well a lot of people would but you can take it if you want. The customer she was helping at the counter at the time that I had intended to not interrupt by just taking my stuff and leaving quietly was now getting frustrated and told the woman that she could check my order if she'd like. So this I responded no no absolutely not I'm not in a big hurry I just thought I would be able to take something that I had paid for You go ahead and finish and I will wait it's fine. These cashiers need some training on their approach with guests that are there to pick up to go orders. They need to figure out how to decipher them from delivery people because as a person that does deliveries on the side I have been abused of the hand of these cashiers in the past. That, as a third party courier I will accept but as a paying customer of the restaurant I will not accept abuse from these people. They...

First of all, I want to say THANK YOU to Erika, our server! She was attentive, pleasant and knowledgeable about the menu. She checked back in a timely manner, kept beverages refilled and treated me and my party like true guests at this establishment. She cared about our entire experience. If you’re wanting impeccable service, ask for her! 5 stars to her. If I could give more, I would.

Why the one star? Well, I’ve been going to a CB for decades, all over the USA. They shouldn’t change or fix things that aren’t broken! The changes are HIGHLY noticeable and actually insulting. The entire idea of this restaurant is to have southern style food, a unique market of 50’s and 60’s products and atmosphere. That’s what makes them different from their competitors and changing that isn’t the best idea corporate has had. Change the garbage of “up-charging” a guest, because they have an allergy and need something made different! I would love to try your hash brown casserole, but I can’t due to an allergy of an ingredient you put in it, so I have to opt for plain hash brown. You offer this with a sampler breakfast and I had to get a side I didn’t want, so I wouldn’t suffer being charged for asking for plain hash brown and having an allergy. It’s absurd to penalize a guest over an allergy issue. I had the pleasure of speaking to the GM (Tim) and he said he would remove the charge and all sups should, over allergy. It’s crazy that a guest would have to ask NOT to be charged and explain an allergy. It’s hash browns for the love of everything. It’s LESS ingredients than the casserole! I also asked why Erika isn’t wearing a red apron? Her service is impeccable. You can tell she’s seasoned and her servicing skills should be trained to new employees. He answered with “She’s got to want it and she’s having issues outside of here.” This response is unnecessary and unwarranted. If you’re a GM, you should be encouraging and supportive and NEVER speak of personal things, especially to a guest you just met and provided a raving review in person about one of your staff members. Perhaps touching up on the attitude of leadership would help your staff succeed. Remember…. People don’t leave jobs they love. They leave because of leadership. He should have spoke less about how terrible his staff is and always calls out and more about how he encourages his staff to be better than they were the day before. I’m just saying, as a guest, I wasn’t expecting that...