Cafe Homestead

If I could give 10 stars, I would. We literally drove from Houston to Waco ONLY to come to have dinner at this restaurant. After visiting so many top tier places, no one can actually come close to this place. The food is just amazingly good. Anything you order on the menu will be rich in flavor and to die for. From the most simplest dish, a wedge salad to the Ribeye, trout, spinach dip…. The desserts ? Omg, you just have blackberry cobbler. The service is LEGITIMATELY so good, they are all so true to themselves on the way they treat their clientele, so honest, nothing of that BS you see on any other places with fake speeches. We have been coming here for 5 years or more so far, and we will always hit Waco to visit homestead. Thank you so much for everything

Well that was quite the incredible accidental discovery. On our autumn road trip getaway to San Antonio, we were looking for lunch outside Waco. My wife ran a Google search for "restaurants near me" and in the top of the list was Homestead Cafe. We were on I35 so it wasn't exactly "near" but the drive through the country was worth a few miles. The cafe is the heart of a beautiful craft community. The staff was wonderful. The atmosphere is warm and rustic. My wife enjoyed the wagu burger and my the wagu brisket tacos we among the best I have ever savored. Best of all, a classic car rally had made a stop here. Wow!

One of our favorite spots in the Waco area! Café Homestead never disappoints—the food is always fresh, delicious, and thoughtfully prepared in-house using organic ingredients. You can truly taste the quality and care in every dish. The staff is consistently kind and welcoming, which makes the whole experience even better. A must-visit when you’re nearby!

We have been going to Cafe Homestead for several years, and they always provide excellent customer service. The food is exceptional… the Valentine’s Day dinner was delicious. 100% recommended.

I finally made my way to Cafe Homestead and it was a true delight. My waiter, Brandon, was very kind and knowledgeable of the menu items to select for me a good choice. I chose the Sriacha burger, fries and the corn fritters with a Lemonade Peach tea. The food was absolutely delicious. The inside of the restaurant is warm and welcoming and not at all noisy. So my dining experience was quite enjoyable, up until a young lady came over and begin spraying some sort of cleaning agent to prepare the tables for the next guest. I've come to notice this trend being practiced at several mainstream restaurants and for me personally, it is annoying to be subjected to smelling chemicals and spray being aerialized around guests who are eating. This is why I lowered my rating from 5 to a 4 star because of this annoying trend. Would I recommend this restaurant, yes. Would I return for the good food, yes. But I hope that management after reading this review will be mindful to their cleaning practices around its paying guest because I do not care to see chemicals being sprayed around while I'm trying to enjoy my meal.

We ate here for the 1st time this evening not really knowing what to expect. Wow!!! Our minds & mouths were delighted!! Wonderful atmosphere, beautiful setting, truly special people waiting on you.(Brandon took great care of us!) The food was phenomenal!!!

The wedge salad was perfect. Went the previous night and their salsa guacamole chips were fantastic. Atmosphere was lovely and the service was fantabulous.

We happened upon this village while on a road trip. Super fun leg stretch break. Cafe is VERY clean, noise was minimal and the food was delicious. Only downside is the kitchen is very very slow. You can’t be on a timeline if you want to grab a bite to eat here.

Excellent food, service and very cozy place.I highly recommend it. It is a place where you can eat, share and talk quietly.

This place is wonderful! The atmosphere is great and if there is a wait, there is plenty to do. And the food was great! Brandon was very helpful and professional and also gave us interesting insight into the community and the things they do! Definitely recommend if you are coming to Waco!!

Wow! Cafe Homestead did not disappoint! Absolutely beautiful atmosphere and ambiance - the color palette and handmade textile decor makes it a place you want to cozy up and stay a while. Brandon was a kind and attentive server - he did not steer me wrong with the BBQ Brisket taco recommendation. We loved everything about our visit - will definitely return!

Every visit to Waco always has to include a trip to Cafe Homestead! We have been coming here for years and the food is always amazing! You don't want to miss the opportunity to taste great food and then walk it off visiting all the little shops they have around the grounds. You won't be disappointed!

Updated with our valentines dinner items. Still extremely delicious. I was disappointed in my portion of steak however, people around me ordered the exact same thing and got almost twice as much steak as I did. I wish it were more consistent. But I'll reiterate that the food was DELICIOUS , as always.

Tasty food with excellent home-made bread. Food comes out very quickly, and the ambiance of the restaurant is very relaxed and spacious. Instrumental music plays in the background. Great service as well.

Hubby and I's first time back to the Cafe Homestead since their rebuild. I tried to make a reservation online, but nothing was available, so we decided to take our chances as a walk-up. We were able to get a table after an hour wait. The time went by fast since we walked across the way to do some shopping at the Barn and Gristmill. The new Cafe is simply beautiful. All of the details were made by the local artisans. We were greeted by the sweetest server with a beautiful smile. I had the chicken fried steak and Hubby the burger and fries. The food are all handmade and so good. We shared a peach cobbler a la mode with vanilla ice cream. I have to say that the food and service at the Cafe Homestead is always consistently wonderful throughout the years. The prices have risen quite a lot in the last couple of years, but still worth a trip.

The food was absolutely incredible! The service was top tier and the ambiance of the restaurant was so homey! We got the classic burger and quesadilla burger and it was melt in your mouth delicious!

Excellent food and service. Brandon is friendly yet knows when to back off so we can decide. Recommendations are well articulated the food is fresh. We have the Santa Fe salad and the bbq tacos, both were fabulous! The restaurant is clean and well light.

What a wonderful spot in the middle of Texas! One of those experiences that should not be missed! The whole area should be featured in tourist magazines!We were well taken care of by everyone there although our large group arrived 5 mins late we were still accommodated. All our dietary needs and restrictions were respected and honored by our lovely server. The food was so very delicious. The kids enjoyed their food so much that we were all able to enjoy our meal. Everything we had was extremely flavorful I believe because everything is sourced right there on the farm. We spent very long time in the reception area looking through the items on display and available for sale. There was so much to do.

A great rebuilding of the restaurant. Service and food are the usual high expectations. Fresh food grown locally.

First time back since the rebuild! Somehow along with the beautiful construction, the food tastes even better!! My husband and I enjoyed the corn fritters, chicken fried steak and Reuben sandwich. Hoping to enjoy some dessert next!! I would share pictures, but we ate it all up!

The food was magnificent theres no way to describe the taste or even the quality of the food. Every single detail was pure perfection. The seasoning was pure perfection. The service and workers were amazing and so kind at what they were doing. The whole setting of the place was so calm and so friendly it gave a good vibe of being apart of a family. This is a must try and would definitely recommend if you are in town.

My daughter and I have been to Cafe Homestead several times and every time it's a delightful experience. Last night was no different, we split the brisket enchiladas and salsa & guacamole it was all excellent! Our waitress was so sweet! The place is consistently amazing, quality food, excellent service well worth the drive!

This place had great reviews and did NOT disappoint. Everything was simply amazing and FRESH. We started with the corn fritters and the sauce that comes with them is Divine. I even dipped my pineapples and brisket sandwich in it. It was the perfect blend of spicy and sweet. The corn fritters were perfectly fried. I really enjoyed the brisket sandwich- meat was tender and well-seasoned. Peach tea was infused and lightly sweetened. My parents had the brisket tacos asada and chicken salad sandwich. They both said their meals were great. The fruit was really fresh and we got blueberries, strawberries, pineapples, and grapes in the small bowl. Our waitress, Tehya, was so kind and pleasant. The restaurant itself is large and spacious. The wood still has a nice woody smell to it and makes it feel rustic and homey. I love this place. Even though it's an hour and a half from home, I'll be going back.

The standards are done exceptionally well at Cafe Homestead. We ate the corn fritters, quesadilla burger, brazos salad and peach cobbler for dessert. Everything was meticulously made. You can tell by the photos that these were Instagramable. Everything was really fresh. The hospitality was great, really nice folks. It can be a bit more difficult to find since they are in a temporary place. It is spacious and ample room between tables. Definitely the best spot to eat at when you are in Waco!

Wow! I highly recommend Cafe Homestead! The staff is amazing and the food is delicious fresh, and tasty! The ambience is nice as well. I will definitely return to try more things from the menu.

Such wonderful food and service! We enjoyed the spinach dip, chicken berry salad and ribeye steak. The desserts looked great, but we were stuffed (and they close at 8!) Very nice building with family atmosphere, so much to see in this area, we'd like to return when the other places are open as well.

There are many 5-star reviews for the cafe, and I'm unsure what I can add. My daughter, wife and I came for lunch on a Saturday afternoon. The friendly and super polite staff sat us shortly after we arrived at their temporary location. They have done a great job making this temp space functional and pleasing. The temporary partitions help control the noise and volume of everyone talking in an otherwise sizeable square box room. My wife and daughter ordered the Brazos Valley salad and raved that everything tasted fresh. I went with the quesadilla burger with chips and salsa. The burger was fantastic and I was impressed the pita held up for me with all the goodies inside. If we are ever passing through Waco again, we will make an effort to have dinner here.

Coming from DFW, we chose Cafe Homestead as a central lunch spot for a few people from our company to gather for lunch with a work partner from Austin. It was a little confusing finding the restaurant at first since the GPS landed us a bit past the building and it's part of a larger development with cute shops (note to self: come back to visit those!). The staff was incredibly very welcoming and patient when we arrived. I definitely recommend making a reservation since they seem like a pretty popular lunch and dinner spot. We showed up and had to wait maybe 15 minutes, but there is enough stuff to look at by the check-in counter and an exhibit upstairs to walk through and read. The place smelled very new, which made sense when we read that there had been a fire and the building had been renovated / rebuilt just this year. Beautiful place with a country-chic vibe. On to the good stuff - the food! I am a sucker for chicken strips, ESPECIALLY when there is gravy involved. This place had both, so of course I had to get that. The chicken strips were some of the absolute most tender strips I have eaten, with a wonderfully light crispy batter and the gravy was amazing. I would definitely visit Waco again just to eat this again. My husband said his Veggie sandwich with chicken wasn't as good as my strips, but he also enjoyed it. For dessert, I ordered a cheesecake. "Nothing to phone home about", as they say, but it was good. Our colleague ordered the carrot cake which she said was delicious so I will be trying that next time. All that said - I have a list of places to see and things to do on our next trip to Waco (including eating here again!).

What a great little hidden gem near Waco! We went here for dinner and it did not disappoint. We came in with a reservation - seemed like a smart idea as there were lots of people milling around. The building is gorgeous with lots of wood accents and beautiful furniture. They also sell a small amount of cooking and home related items in the front room. Unbeknownst to us, we got a delicious brown bread served first with creamy butter. Bread was speckled with raisins and nuts - not for everyone - but I loved it. We started with the pimiento cheese and corn fritters as appetizers. Highly recommend the corn fritters - the habanero honey sauce is to die for! I enjoyed my quesadilla burger - mildly spicy with green chilies and very cheesy. Yum! If I went again I would sub the chips for fries or another side....though the chips were good, just not needed. My companions got chicken dumpling pie and Cobb salad. Everything was spectacular. We finished by sharing the peach cobbler a la mode. Delightfully sweet and so delish warmed up with cold vanilla ice cream on top. I'd love to see decaffeinated teas available or other drinks without caffeine on the menu. The atmosphere was loud and lively but fun.

First time here. Short wait time. Pretty much everything you see was made by the community. Menu has something for everyone. We started with the pimento cheese and crackers as well as the Corn fritters. Both were excellent. There was nothing left. Five in our party. The selections made were chicken salad sandwich, chicken, fried steak, the Reuben sandwich with the jalapeño sweet potato soup and the veggie sandwich. Portions were plentiful and there was not anything left. Extensive dessert menu. Can't go wrong with anything on the list.make plans to shop at the different stores once finished eating. Will definitely be back and highly recommend to anyone in the area.

Food was really good! Best chicken fried steak! The quesadilla burger was also surprisingly good.

We've been enjoying the community and the restaurant for over 15 years. So glad that they recovered from the devastating fire! The new building beautifully accommodates more customers and the food is still just as amazing as it ever was!! Love this place. True craftsmanship shines from the architecture to the plating and total food experience.

On a whim we saw this place and decided to stop. What an absolute gem of a find. Tired of downtown Waco, this place is the cure. The staff were amazingly polite and my salad was enough for a king. My brother and I walked around the grounds and found a wood working shop, a forge where you can make dinner bells and such. The peaceful setting really made the day incredibly enjoyable. Don't walk, run to this place!

We had an amazing meal! It's our first time here, but won't be our last. Every employee we met here was genuinely nice and welcoming. Even though they are in a temporary location, they made it work! They did an awesome job in a large space, making it feel intimate. I ordered their coffee rubbed hamburger (made the mistake of replying to the waiter, when he asked me, that their coffee burger is good but mine is better...oops!), which comes with bread and butter pickels and creamy horseradish sause. Boss lady ordered thier chicken fried steak, which she said that it was best she's had yet. Appetizer was corn fritters with a creamy habanero dipping sauce...very delicious! Dessert was thier, in season, blackberry cobbler with homemade vanilla icecream. We will definitely be back!

I had the country fried chicken this visit. In the past I have tried the burgers also and I will say the food is great. I would say the ambience is styled like a homestead like it is named. The waiter was nice and quite attentive.

Service was great. This is always a family favorite. Our booth was a little dirty but I'm sure it was because of the busy lunch time. We will always stop here when we are in town.

The service was not amazing. Our waiter wasn't very friendly. Our steaks were not hot. We went before the fire and it was the best steak we ever had. This time it was just mediocre. We were highly disappointed. The wedge salad, however, was AMAZING!

Extremely sad to hear their restaurant burned down. We were lucky to grab lunch here while we were in town to celebrate my brother's graduation from Baylor University. Our AirBnb was about 10 minutes away and it's rare to come across a business that has over 500+ reviews and still maintain a 5-star average. I called in our reservation ahead of time which made it a little less of a weight. Waco feels like a small-ish town and it literally felt as if the whole town was eating a Cafe Homestead. (Lol) They have plenty of parking, although it's not paved, so if you have a clean car, be aware. For breakfast, I ended up ordering their Chicken Fried Steak Breakfast which was delicious. I ordered a brewed coffee that was absolutely delicious. It tasted fresh, not burned, and had the most unique flavor profile. This place was good and made it even more interesting what type of organization they are affiliated with.

I was impressed , it is a unique experience! Even though we didn't have a reservation they made us feel welcomed and got us a table right away. They were super polite and they all had a great attitude. I am really impressed with the food looked like is was made with passion and it was well presentable.The atmosphere was unique you get experience they country how it is to be in the country. Overall it's a place would like to go again soon. I do recommend if they can make the menus a little presentable with will be great, but nevertheless top tier this a top tier restaurant!!!!

You can tell they use the freshest and highest quality ingredients. I had the rainbow trout and it was exceptional. The most memorable item I had was the lemonade, and it was the best lemonade I've ever had. I wish I lived nearby so I could visit more often and try everything.

Everything we tried was fresh including the peach tea. I never order chicken fried steak, but I'm glad I tried it here. The breading was crispy, and not soggy like many places. There was a good amount of parking and the decor was rustic which is perfect for the holiday season.

My husband and I love the food here. I am gluten free and I love that there are delicious gluten free options. We took his parents here and everyone was happy with their food, which included the burgers, a chicken fried steak and a bbq brisket. The ambiance is gorgeous with wonderful woodwork and a fireplace. I highly recommend this place!

The food is very good and the service is somehow better! Such a cool place with a lot of cool artworks!

It's time to make another trip through Waco, Texas. Cafe Homestead is deserving of all the positive reviews and worthwhile for the great attention to detail. The food items are well done and the service is just perfect. This place is worth seeking. I stopped in for lunch on my first visit and tried their coffee-rubbed burger melt and the best sweet potato fries I've had in recent memory...likely baked without any seed oils. The breads are baked in-house and I can only describe this place as stepping into a movie set. Five stars for a special restaurant within a nice traditional farming community.

We decided to visit our Baylor Bear in Waco and I found this amazing place! We enjoyed a delicious lunch- ordered a Cobb Salad and Chicken Fried Chicken. Then Blackberry Cobbler with ice cream! For a fun shopping adventure we visited the Bookstore, General Store and Market.

10/10. Food exceeded our expectations. Service was warm, welcoming and attentive. Ambiance was lovely from the paintings, wood and custom hand made artisan work everywhere such as the tables, iron designs on top of the booths, stained glass light fixtures and hand woven cloth of the booths. We shared a small Brazos Valley salad and the Chicken Fried steak and for dessert the blackberry cobbler. Everything was Absolutely delicious. Had their organic sweet tea to drink and it was not overly sweetened was perfectly balanced. I cannot wait to go back! Best chicken fried steak, cream gravy and roll I've had!!

This place is so freaking cool! Make sure you make a reservation, though. It's all farm to table food served by these people that are a special religion. They kind of feel like they are Amish but they aren't. You can look at the website to find out more. But everyone is nice, and they have a whole thing out there where you can shop for handmade goods. The craftsmanship of the building is also very beautiful. I always get the Brazos salad and it is so delicious. They even make the cheese! Whenever we are in Waco, we make sure and get a reservation here if we can.

This place has been brought back from the ashes literally! It's beautiful and restored by themselves with help from the Upper! Amazing food! service hard to beat !

Really great food and service, we have an unbelievably great steak that the Cafe. The new cafe is really beautiful and worth the wait to see all the locally made items right down to the chairs.

After driving from Fort Worth to Waco one afternoon we decided to try this highly-rated restaurant we found on YELP. We were greeted warmly even though we arrived at 8:00 & they had a 8:30 p.m. closing time. Everyone we came in contact with was very nice & polite. Our young waitress who had worked there for 8+ yrs (her brother-in-law is the manager) was very helpful in explaining the menu & very efficient in ordering & serving it. Yet we never felt rushed. 3 of us shared an appetizer of Southern Corn Fritters which were delicious & had an interesting & tangy dipping sauce. My daughter had the Quesadilla Burger & pronounced it the best burger she'd ever had. It looked delicious! My husband had the T-bone steak which was cooked to perfection. He would have had a filet but they ran out. I had chicken enchiladas that were frankly dried out & tough but still had a good flavor. And their jalapeno cheese grits were the best I've ever eaten. The ambiance of the restaurant was upscale rustic--very clean & comfortable. The history of the restaurant was printed on the back of the menu & is amazing. You really need to read it. I would recommend this restaurant to anyone who wants a good meal in the Waco area. Oh, and try the flavored sweet tea.

The whole area is adorable. The restaurant is in a temporary location for the moment but it is still a beautiful space and the service is attentive. The food however is the STAR! can't wait to come back! Every thing we had was amazing! The Mac and cheese was incredible! The cobbler was to die for. Wish I took photos but it was so yummy we dived right in.

This is it. Best meal in the four years in Texas. Our server Nicole was so helpful and gave great advise plus she spent time getting to know us and telling us about the history of the place. The food was full of flavor. I had the smoked chicken enchiladas. Best ever best refuted beans and rice. Daughter had the pot pie, reminded me of going to grannies house. We started with corn fritters. The sauce was perfectly balanced sweet and spicy. The peach cobbler was to die for. It was a party in your mouth. The decor and ambiance was inviting. If you're ever near Waco it's a must.

I have visited Cafe Homestead several times with my family and have enjoyed my experience every time. The food is delicious and I would recommend the Southwest Veggie Sandwich. The service is some of the best I have ever had. The workers are very polite and quick. As soon as you walk into the cafe you are greeted with a wonderful experience and ambiance.

Be sure to ask for first available and not a reservation. They set reservations so that you are forced to walk through their shops. We also asked for a table and after waiting for 1.5 hours around 2:00 on a Monday we were told they only had a booth.

We visited Saturday morning for our first time in the new building. The Migas breakfast plate is delicious!! The yogurt parfait is wonderful also

My wife took me here for the first time. The new building is very nice with attention to detail. The service is good as well as the waitress was very friendly and attentive to our table. I ordered the brisket tacos and thought it could use more flavor.

To be totally honest- I haven't been back since they had the terrible fire. BUT I can still promise you everything that this place makes is better than the rest of Waco can offer. I miss their breakfast but their lunch and dinner offerings are based on loving homemade food. I tell every visitor to try this place before any other billboard star. Fresh, tasty, and the service is always so so friendly.

The ambiance here is lovely and it's an added bonus that there's the cute stores full of hand-crafted items right nearby. All the staff are folks from the community and super friendly. The service was stellar. Excellent fresh, homemade food options and pricing. The peach cobbler was best I've had. Highly recommend a visit!