Flat Creek Republic — Restaurant in Republic

This is our review of our first experience eating at Flat Creek in Republic. We were not seated very long and CJ was quick to come over and take our drink order. Drinks were served quickly and I asked her what she would recommend when she asked what we wanted off the menu. (Just a note, we arrived at 6:30pm, on checking in at the hostess station and using their party notification website, we had 10 parties before us and 21 parties after us as we were waiting to show you that this place was busy when we went on a Friday night. It took us about 40 minutes to be seated which was not bad at all which is not a complaint in the least.) CJ, our waitress, said that Flat Creek was known for Catfish and Chicken and that is what I ordered, the Catfish and Chicken basket. My wife ordered the Catfish basket. We ordered the baskets thinking these were smaller meals than a possible regular size meal, but the portions were huge. We made the comment to CJ, after she sat our baskets down, "how we were going to eat all of this." Both meals were hot when served, chicken was very juicy and cooked to perfection, the fish was very tasty and moist, nothing was over or under cooked. The fries and onion rings were sides that we ordered with our baskets which are excellent choices we picked for our meals. The only thing we did not like with our meal was the Cole slaw which was the only complaint we had. We felt that there was not enough Tarragon Vinegar in it for us, but each restaurant has their own way of making their Cole slaw which was not a deal breaker for us. Next came dessert. Asked CJ what she recommended and she said the Carrot Cake. Trust me when I say this, with two people sharing the Carrot Cake there was still half of it that we took home. The slices of cake they serve are very large slices. The cake was moist and yes it tasted like Homemade Carrot Cake (unlike some we have had at other places) and had the right amount of everything to it that made it one of the best slices of Carrot Cake we have ever had. The atmosphere was excellent and the fire effect on the TV above the Pinegar Chevrolet bumper display added a great ambiance as you ate, especially on the cold night that we went, it made it feel just that more cozy. To conclude in review, everyone was friendly, service was great, food was awesome, plenty of food for the price and the atmosphere was amazing. We will definitely return knowing the gem of a place that we discovered. Thank you Flat Rock for a wonderful experience. See you soon.

Another review : Went back two weeks later with the whole family. Went Tuesday 02/11/2025 and was immediately sat down. Kasey our server quickly took our drink order and brought them within a short period of time. We asked for some more time to decide what to eat since they have a large menu of really good food to choose from. I had the prime rib Sandwich, wife had the 3 sampler basket, younger daughter had the half rack ribs, oldest daughter had the 3 piece chicken dinner, and son in law had the pork tenderloin dinner. Chicken was hot and juicy and the breading is amazing, the shrimp, fish, huge breaded butterfly shrimp and chicken tenders were awesome in the 3 sampler basket and the pork tenderloin was so big it took the entire plate almost and son in law could only eat half of it but he said it was great. Kasey did not let the drinks run dry, in fact they were filled so often that we had to take full to go cups home with us which was very appreciated. Kasey also checked on us often and was a very amazing server. To everyone who reads this review, this is truly an amazing place, 2 out of 2 times we have been here, everything went great and will return again, you guys are batting a 1000 so far. And by the way, try the Garlic Hot Sauce that's on the table, its not to hot but the flavor of this sauce on chicken is to die for. In fact we ask for a bottle of it to go...

I visited here around noon on 11/23/2024, and ordered the ribeye steak. I'm new to the Republic area, saw the good reviews, and hoped this would be a new favorite - unfortunately I was severely disappointed.

Pros - the steak was a properly cooked medium, and was reasonably good, not steakhouse quality but acceptable.

Cons: The steak took around 40 minutes to come out. My server was great and said that perhaps someone else had grabbed my steak or had lost the message. That may be true or she may have just been covering for the kitchen's speed.

All portion sizes were small. I cooked myself a 14oz ribeye last weekend (the same size they advertise here) and it felt like at least twice as much meat. Perhaps they confused the 14oz I ordered with the 8oz sirloin they also offer? I don't know cuts well so it's possible. The loaded mashed potatoes and wild rice were smaller than I'd have liked - I'm used to leaving Longhorn with food still on the plate, but I was still hungry after my $37 steak and sides. Poor value even if the food had been excellent, and I really don't think the steak was the full 14oz. Longhorn's ribeye is 16oz and is gigantic but this was merely a snack.

Poorly prepped food. Aside from the steak, everything was badly prepped. The wild rice was underdone to the point of being crunchy, and the loaded mashed potatoes were barely heated at all - the cheese on top was not only not melted, it was still chilly from the fridge, as were the bacon bits. Very poor quality.

Poor cleanliness. When I was seated, it was at a table so sticky that if you were to drum on it with your fingers, the sound of your finger coming unstuck would be louder than the impact. I asked to move to a nearby table hoping that would be better, and it was, but only after my server gave it an extra scrub down. Very, very unacceptable.

Overall, very disappointed with this restaurant, I wish I hadn't been lazy and had just driven into Springfield to go to Longhorn - and I recommend you go somewhere...

Update MUCH BETTER! Got good service, good food, fully cooked... that's the Flat Creek I recommend! Back up to 3 stars as this was an easy 4 star visit!!!

update What happened to Flat Creek Republic? I think I'm just done, too many bad visits, bad food, and bad service. This time the service was ok, but the food wasn't good. I ordered Cajun corn. On the menu, the Cajun corn looks like deep-fried. It isn't. It's slathered in mayonnaise, yes mayonnaise, rolled in Cajun seasoning. Disgusting! 6 of us, only good thing I heard, onion rings were good. Tired of being disappointed. They were great at one time. Sad. Cape Fair is so much better.

Update 3rd bad visit. From 5 to 2 stars for Republic. Cape Fair is 5 stars every time. Undercooked fish (breading wasn't even cooked) Soggy undercooked fries - mashed potato sticks. Overcooked hush-puppies- horrible taste! Prices go up, quality down.

Update Greatly disappointed. 3:30 on a Friday. 2 tables with customers. I told the hostess we wanted a table. She said there were no tables open other than booths. I asked about the nearly empty restaurant, she said the open tables were unavailable. I understand staffing servers, but the place was empty, 10 more steps wouldn't hurt. I told her well, see ya! "No, wait, we can seat you at a table." We got to the table, there was 1 table already with customers! So the area was open. A server came and asked the hostess what she was doing. ?? She said we wanted a table. The server told her "I ain't doin it, give them to her." So rude! Feeling welcome at this point! No Folks it got worse- They gave me the wrong drink, The food was not good, fish was undercooked, chicken strips and fried chicken burnt and they left off a side, not good. FYI- The place was half full when we left. If they didn't have the staff for 1 table they were in big trouble.

Of course, I will go back, I know they can make good food. I was disappointed as this place is one that I recommend to people often. Flat Creek has to do better...