The Cotton Boll Grill — Restaurant in Shreveport

Every time I eat here I think “This is the best thing. I could eat this every day for the rest of my life and be fine.” Then I get something else and am blow away again.

My first favorite is the chicken fried steak. It’s so hard to find a good quality chicken fried steak anywhere, especially in this town but for real fresh made home style chicken fried steak using quality cured steak, in house breading and fried in front of your eyes goodness this chicken fried steak is the best in town. HANDS DOWN!

Second the catfish. Almost every plate diner in town has fried fish Fridays but you never know if it’s swai or catfish and the breading is typically very cornmeal heavy and the fish comes out crisp all the way through. But here you get flaky chunks of fish coated with a more fluffy less grainy yet still crisp coated exterior. That accompanied with their homemade remoulade or topped with delicious crawfish étouffée make this fish a fan favorite in town and definitely made me a fan (I don’t usually even eat catfish).

The salads are chock FULL of deliciousness with more toppings than lettuce, homemade croutons and house made dressing. The croutons are made with homemade bread and are miles above any store bought variety and this is one of the only places in town you get house made croutons at all.

The burger is a brisket blend. Ask for it medium rare with slow grilled onions. Red, the most talented grill cook in town will give you a hard time (in jest) but that takes this burger places stop Jill’s homemade burger buns covered in sesame seeds to a whole new level.

All the veggies I have had that I like have been good but what I REALLY love are the carrots and the Mac n cheese. I get these every time they have them when I go and they can’t be beat.

Some staples they have are red beans and rice made with local down home sausage, the beef tips and rice which melt in your mouth, the Irish beef stew and the always available with nearly every meal hot water cornbread are things I could eat for breakfast lunch OR dinner.

Speaking of breakfast, Red does it right with his omeletes full of sausage bacon all the veggies. Or stack of pancakes (ask for these to be lightly done/not dark and get the sweetness of the sweet cream pancakes) and fresh cooked hash browns make an excellent breakfast.

I absolutely love this place. I don’t just come here all the time because I’ve become friends with the people who run it but a LOT of people come here routinely, some every day, because the food is consistently well priced, well done and well worth the trip across town to enjoy.

If you go alone or with a friend sit at the bar. It’s always entertaining. If you want a table sometimes you have to wait but you seat yourself and though the place is small the booths offer a lot of Shreveport history to view while you wait for your foods But if you can’t eat in they have an easy drive through window for call in orders and can accommodate even catering or large events with their breakfast and lunch boxes.

This place has been around for 65 years for a reason. The Cotton Boll is the food that makes you feel like you’re eating at your maw maws house. So good and a definite must for anyone who needs a good value and...

Arrived when not many ppl was in restaurant. Didnt get acknowledged till about 10-15 after we seated ourselves. Janice took our order n drinks and salad n drinks came another 10 minutes later. My food, the club sandwich arrived without bacon n Janice assured me was on it. I had to literally pull apart my sandwich to show her was not. Janice took my plate back n pointed to me fto the cook and told the cook which gave me a glare. Husband’s food arrived n mine too n his chicken fried steak was burnt. Janice is hard lady to get attention too. So if u need anything better get it all when u can. Finally I was able to get her attention n we told her n showed her the CFS which she informed us was “just the outer coating”. Hubs said the meat was as well n showed her the cut up pieces. We asked for drink refills n she looked at me n huffed n rolled her eyes. Which at that point I asked what’s your name n thanked her cuz I wanted to be very specific with my review. When I checked out the cashier told me she was sorry about the CFS n stated “it wasn’t processed right. I won’t charge u for it” I wanted so bad to say why would you?! It’s sitting right there in your kitchen uneaten but instead I asked are u the owner n she said yes. Her name is Vickie n I told her service was HORRIBLE. Vickie stated that only 1 server n 1 cook n can’t get no one to come in n that no body wants to work. N said busy. I told her we had came when hardly no business. N that we was ignored even when we asked for refills. We wasn’t the only ones being ignored. Another couple had waited as long as us n even went up to the front looking for assistance. I understand about no one wanting to work or coming in but still. And on top of that Janice sat down at the bar area 2x taking which I’m assuming 2 to gos n chatting with whomever asking how u doing when there was tables needing attention. I feel the phone could have waited cuz ppl in the restaurant comes before the phone calls. Years ago I was in restaurant management and started out as a server/bar tender so I know what I’m talking about. This will be the last time we come here. Sorry so long winded but had to...

Edit on 4-7-25 to the good! So now that I am highly aware of this wonderful breakfast and lunch spot, I can now also tell you about their drive-through service.

At 10:30 in the morning on a Monday, I called them from my doctor's office appt on Jordan and Line. I ordered the sausage and biscuit plate with two eggs cooked your way, plus grits or hash browns. " Please choose the grits - they will be the very best you've eaten in your whole life.!!) within 10 minutes I was able to drive through and pick it up. And when I made it to my home, 15 minutes away, those eggs were still just as fluffy and delicious as when Red flipped them on the grill. And they put my gravy on the side just as I asked with no extra charge. Because I like to crumble up my biscuits and put a few bites at the time in a bowl of gravy and eat them with a spoon.

And just another quirky comment from a loyal Cotton bowl grill restaurant addict. Go yourself and find out why they are the best in town! End edit 4-7-25

I can't believe I've lived in this town for over 50 years and this is my first time at the Cotton Boll Grill. It was 10:30 in the morning when we went. And so there were plenty of places to sit. I'm a little bit on the large side, so I tried to sit in a booth but that was a no-go. But they have lots of stools that line the countertop that faces the short order chef.

All of the people working there were very nice and accommodating and had great attitudes and senses of humor! I really enjoyed my meal of biscuits and gravy, plus scrambled eggs with cheese and hash browns. They're coffee was wonderfully delicious. And it is simply outstanding for the quality and the amount of food you get in this day and age of...