Tadpole's Catfish Barn — Restaurant in Pleasant Plains

A great catfish buffet requires only a few things. Everything else is fluff.

Fried catfish is excellent. Tastes fresh, cooked well, and they bring it out often.

Pickled green tomatoes are good. Not the best I've eaten but more than adequate. They're sweet and fresh to help cut all the fried foods.

Fries were alright. No one should ever screw up fries but some do. Tadpole's fries were right.

Regretfully, I did not try the hush puppies. I'm sorry. I know that's a staple but I just forgot.

Cobblers and deserts are acceptable. Every country catfish house should have decent cobblers and an ice cream machine. Tadpole's checks these boxes.

Buffet was fresh. Staff kept the buffet stocked and none of it looked old, dried out or crusty, which can happen at buffets from time to time.

Staff is friendly. No grumpy old folks or rude kids working.

Plenty of seating.

Clean facilities. No explanation there.

Reasonable prices. Not the cheapest. Not the most expensive. Good value for the money.

As you can see, this place checks all the boxes for a great catfish buffet. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND Tadpole's if you're ever near the bustling metropolis of...

The catfish was terrible. The place was very crowded on a Saturday afternoon and I thought that meant the food must be great. I was really disappointed. The food, though plentiful, was incredibly tasteless. The cooks must not have been introduced to seasoning. Meatless ribs, some kind of dressing that I have yet to identify, and yes catfish that could not be verified as really being catfish. Yet, the joint was packed with diners. I will say that the waitstaff, though somewhat, overwhelmed were doing a steller job of keeping up with things. Overall though there are many better places around to get catfish and that is where I'll going...

I have ate at tadpole several times over the years but my recent visit on December 23rd was not so pleasant our party of nine arrived at 4 p. M. We assumed that the food would be hot but that was not the case the fish was cold. The fries tasted fresh, but onion rings were cold the slaw and salad was goodbut the dessert was not edible,it was dried up as if it had been sitting there for several hours,and they had just opened at 3: 30. The waitress was very nice. I thought due to the pandemic that maybe they were short-staffed but after a 35-minute drive and spending 20 bucks each,it was not worth it. I don't think we will...