Cracker Barrel Old Country Store — Restaurant in Pembroke Pines

UPDATE 2/16/21 @12pm/ noon

We encountered a "family" of diners with incredibly unsanitary habits during the midst of the pandemic. Nothing was done to curb the infectious behavior. Once our food appeared, we found the scoops of butter atop of the pancakes to have some sort of foreign object or matter. We immediately alerted (never consuming any portion of any of the food) our waitress Jenn who acted with urgency and concern by alerting the Dining Manager to investigate. When the Dining Manager Eric did not appear to address the critical concern, Jenn presented limited options given her level of empowerment in an attempt to remedy the situation - THANK YOU FOR YOUR HOSPITALITY JENN. The female of the selfish, tyrant, racist family insisted on yelling across the dining room and literally flagging the waitress over our discussion in a belligerent manner to insist on getting help to find her canned WINE on the menu that was right in front of her face (oh the illiteracy) at 11am in the morning because wine with breakfast in the midst of her children with hacking whooping cough is normal right??? Right, it must be a Cracker Barrel thing.

When I asked the female to stand down and wait for Jenn to finish servicing us, she went into full on RABIOUS attack mode. Here enters Retail Manager, LAURA. Laura was swift to over step her bounds and become the authoritative voice of the dining area. With only the aggressor's side of her fable, Laura was intent on delivering a message with a racist bend: Leave her alone or leave the premises. Siding with race over righteousness Laura sternly offers me the OPPORTUNITY to move when I was done the disservice of being served soiled food without me immediately alerting the health department, which I decline in a monotone way. LAURA in her servant leadership splendor, repeatedly says I need to "LEAVE THEM ALONE" while standing over me with her hands flailing wildly in front of my face. Wow, the disrespect. Maintaining her discriminatory stance and leaving her staff member Jenn out to dry. I communicated to LAURA that her approach is highly discriminatory and LAURA unravels off the rails at the accusation indicating that the shoe fits...well. When the mirror is shown to her face, Laura loses what very little composure she approached me with.

Happy Black History Month! Cracker Barrels history (both past and current) precedes them, didn't they get taken to task for "moving" and "seating" blacks in the least desirable locations in the restaurant? Didn't I mention three years ago (see below) the need for a cleaning overhaul? Deja Vu, Cracker Barrel, SHAME ON YOU.

Original Review (left 3 yrs ago ======

Incredibly nice and attentive staff, wonderful hot buttered pancakes but the place could use a good...

The food was amazing as always! We didn’t let a rude waitress named VANESSA ruin our meal and our fun, she had a sarcastic tone the whole time. Any waiter or waitress must maintain professionalism and a smile to serve with great attitude at a family-friendly restaurant.

I asked very kindly with a smile where was the “eggs Benedict dish” I’ve been craving, and expected her to show me where it was on the menu, but instead she gave me a huge blank expression and scoffed at me in front of my partner, “ummm what? Uh— what was your question I don’t understand you at all!” Surprised, I asked again in a soft tone, where may I find the eggs Benedict dish, or if I may order something with poached version eggs and she told me rudely responded, “we DON’T and NEVER have served anything in poach egged form or egged Benedict in Cracker Barrel, like never…” I remember seeing this dish multiple times, but oh well, so I asked for something else and ignored her strange attitude.

She took our drink orders and took exactly 10-15 minutes to finally bring our drinks, my partner and I were parched wanting water and our coffee wondering where she was.

I asked for the complimentary biscuits ahead from our breakfast meals, and she told me “We CANT allow to give any biscuits ahead of any meal, it comes in the dish, only one” so I let it be no problem.

Then few minutes later my mom arrived and she politely asked the waitress to please bring the biscuits before our breakfast because she did have a MIGRAINE, and Vanessa replied with “OK no problem, so you want to PAY for an EXTRA basket of biscuits?” And we exclaimed “oh no, please, we just the complimentary biscuits before our meals to have something to bite while we wait, we do not want an extra basket especially charged” Then she rudely sarcastically said to our faces, “THANK YOU” about the biscuits and walked away and we were all stunned by that reaction.

Vanessa then came in with the runner employee checking if our meals were fine, and my mom asked once more if the biscuits are here yet, and Vanessa said to my mother, “If the biscuits were ready, I WOULD’VE brought them in the first place…”, what a horrible tone. My partner, cousins and I were in disbelief with Vanessa.

Vanessa brought our complimentary biscuits at THE END of our meals. Did not give her a good tip because of the way she treated us, even though we have said “Thank you” and “Please”, she never made any eye contact and never says “you are welcome”.

Here is proof that Vanessa did not know the menu of where she works. I found the Eggs Benedict in the menu online, the name is...

My family I recently visited Cracker Barrel, and unfortunately, it was the worst dining experience I’ve ever had at any restaurant.

From the beginning, it was clear that our waitress was not properly trained. When my wife asked about a specific spritzer she had previously enjoyed, the waitress said it was no longer available—yet minutes later, we found it listed on the menu. She then returned with our drinks but forgot napkins, and things only got worse from there.

I ordered the Grandma’s Breakfast with country fried chicken, eggs, pancakes, and chicken sausage. My eggs were cold and undercooked,I received country fried steak instead of chicken, the pancakes were hard and cold—I had to send the plate back. My wife ordered chicken tenders and a hashbrown casserole. The tenders were undercooked, the casserole was cold with unmelted cheese, and she left without eating because we had waited too long and the food was inedible.

My father-in-law ordered the Grandpa’s Breakfast—his meal was cold as well, and he had to send back his pancakes. My sister-in-law ordered chicken tenders and fries, and I asked for an extra side of fries for my baby. The fries took forever to arrive, though thankfully they were fine once they did.

Eventually, I asked to speak with a manager. She was understanding and did her best to help, which I appreciate. However, the situation remained frustrating. Even after speaking with the manager, our server brought me a Coke instead of the water I had asked for.

To anyone planning a visit: I strongly recommend requesting a server with stars on their apron—preferably four stars. Those team members tend to be much more attentive and experienced. If that’s not an option, I’d honestly consider leaving, because the service could be poor and your food might come out cold due to delays in pickup from the kitchen.

To Cracker Barrel management: Please ensure that your servers are fully trained before assigning them during busy times like the breakfast rush. This is the first time I’ve ever had a bad experience at Cracker Barrel—and I eat at your restaurants roughly 40 times a year. Now, I’m left having to find something else for my wife to eat, as her meal was completely undercooked and she couldn't touch it. We won’t be returning to...