Mary's Cafe — Restaurant in Strawn

I ate here not long ago around lunch on the return trip traveling from DFW to Abilene. I had high expectations since anytime someone advertises “world famous” this or that, you have high hopes, in this case the chicken fried steak. I’m not a food critic nor am I hard to please but this place struck out on all 3 pitches.

Strike 1 - the food wasn’t anything great, they should most definitely not call it a world famous chicken fried steak. Mine wasn’t good at all. It was overcooked and very thin.. Hate to say it but if think their Chicken fried is something special you probably don’t get out of Strawn much.The salad looks like the cheap bagged salad you get from Walmart and mine looked like it was from the night before, I didn’t even touch it. I did clear my plate and didn’t complain but it was disappointing.

Strike 2 - my waitress was an older Hispanic lady who was unfriendly and wasn’t welcoming. She literally just came by to take our order, to bring our drinks and the food and lastly to drop off the ticket. Didn’t ask how it was, no refills, didn’t ask about desert, nothing. The other patrons were weird also, I have no idea if they were out of towners or locals but several times while I was eating I would glance up to find people staring at me. I have never been to Strawn before. Nobody there knows me, I wasn’t dressed inappropriately. I’m middle aged, I look normal, dress normal, not sure what it was about but it was unsettling. How the other patrons act isn’t Mary’s fault, but between the waitress and everyone else it wasn’t a fun or welcoming atmosphere. The only person who even asked how it was, was the cashier, who was friendly. I didn’t complain, I just said it was good and left. But to be honest I wasn’t happy or impressed.

Strike 3 - when the food isn’t that good, staff isn’t very friendly, then you get hit with a high bill for the bare minimum meal and bare minimum service, time to leave and never come back. This place was disappointing. In a small town like Strawn, the food should be phenomenal, and the service warm and friendly. I didn’t receive either here.It was my moms 70th birthday and we didn’t have a good time at all. There was maybe 15 people there grand total, including me and my mom, no excuse for overcooked food and bad service.

I’m from DFW and to be honest 2 people can get a better chicken fried steak for $20 less at Cracker Barrel, Any Cracker Barrel location. Babes in DFW is better, Belles in Abilene is better. I really wanted to like Mary’s, I’ve heard wonderful things and expected to have a great time, eat some good food with friendly small town people in a small town environment and whomp whomp, jokes on me. I don’t know if maybe I just went on a bad day, but it’s a hard pass on...

Okay, so I'm new to the Granbury area and wanted to try out the best CFS place within an hour or so. Mary's made it on the list when checking out recommendations, not only because it was said to be tender, but also amazingly large. I finally got a chance to go check it out myself. I was a party of three. It was about a 70-minute drive and we arrived at about 6 pm on a Saturday. My first impression was that if the parking lot was any indication, we were in the right place. The front lot was nearly full and we saw ample side and backspaces. Fortunately, we found a good spot in front. Upon entering, it was bustling, and were told to find a spot in the back. The back section we were directed to, was freezing cold and we asked to be seated somewhere else. We assisted in cleaning a table in the corner. After a few minutes, a waitress came to take our order. I got the large CFS and fries. My fiance and her mother split a med CFS, one with mashed and the other with a baked potato. We also ordered a blooming onion as an appetizer. The blooming onion (BO) came in a reasonable time, not being a big fan of BOs, I tried it anyway. That's when I should have known. The first thing I tasted was old stale burnt cooking oil. It permeated the flavor of the BO and I was not impressed. However, my companions seemed to be enjoying it, I chalked it up to my generally not being a BO fan. After about 20 min our dinner arrived. The portions lived up to the hype and completely exceeded my expectations. The initial color though was a disappointment. It was dark and soggy looking. I cut into it and can attest to the tenderness as well, however, I found it also tasted of old stale burnt grease. The homestyle french fries however were a highlight, they did not taste burnt. In general, the meal lacked flavor and seasoning. I've always said the quantity has a quality all its own, but in this instance, it didn't make up for the lack of overall taste and quality. I decided to go out on a good note and ordered a peach turnover for dessert. Alas, it was fried in the same old stale burnt grease and capped off my total disappointment with this dinner choice. I for one wouldn't recommend this as a great CFS restaurant. While the two things they were recommended for were factual, I think flavor and texture are of primary importance. CFS should first of all have a good crispy crunchy crust and be well seasoned and tender. Size is a secondary concern for me. Contrary to many, it wasn't worth the surprisingly steep cost nor the time to go and I won't be returning. The members of my party concur. If you want a great CFS try Granny...

This has been a bucket list item of mine, and I came in while driving out to Las Vegas.

I am training for a full Ironman, and came in fresh off a long bike and run workout with a big appetite. I am not someone you would look at who you think could put down a lot of food, so when I ordered the nachos, a medium chicken fried steak, AND enchiladas, my waitress did not bat an eye. A lot of places when I order a lot of food after a long workout will judge me and/or try to talk me out of it, but my waitress(who I later learned turned out to be Mary, the owner) did none of that. Took my order without any reservations.

I was able to eat the entirety of all 3 items. The nachos were a great starter, the Chicken Fried Steak lived up to the hype it gets, the mashed potatoes that came with the CFS were really good, and the enchiladas were great. Also, the rice/beans that came with the enchiladas were outstanding. A lot of Tex-Mex places mail it in on the rice/beans, but not this place.

The fact I was able to eat all 3 items entirely attracted the attention of others dining in the restaurant on a calm Monday Afternoon, who were all impressed. None of those eating that I talked to were from the area, with all making at least 90 minute journeys to come eat here.

Mary herself manned the entire dining room as the solo waitress, which was impressive considering the place wasn't exactly dead when I came in. Mondays at 2:30pm can be dead times at other restaurants, but not this place. She handled it about as well as you could reasonably expect one person to. She was also impressed that I was able to eat everything, saying she has never seen someone of my size be able to eat so much in all the years she has worked there and gave me a free t-shirt on the way out as a "prize".

Well worth the detour to come here. I will definitely come back one day to try some...