Cotton Patch Cafe

Absolutely wonderful! Food and service were excellent! Ask for Amity to serve you! She was amazing! We will be back!

Our server, Jaylee was outstanding this evening. She was prompt getting taking order. I ordered a dinner salad and she asked if I would like to have it out first and I often forget to request that so I appreciated her asking. She checked on us regularly and when we requested to go boxes she asked if we would like a refill on our drinks as well, we didn’t but that was very nice of her to ask. We were very pleased with her.

We had a good time despite it being super busy we were cared for and waited on immediately. Any questions we asked the server (Heather) was very helpful and went above and beyond getting us everything we needed this visit. Our food came out super quick and no problems. Heather is very sweet, ive never had a server be so attentive and not just towards us but everyone around. Really amazing service :)

My waitress was very nice, it wasn't very busy when I went, but my food came fast, and came out hot!

My family and I come here all the time. We love the ambiance of this place. Heather was our waitress during our visit. She did a great job keeping up with our drinks. Food took a bit to come out but that was not her fault. She did seem a bit nervous as her hands were shaky. She was a bit over obliging in my opinion as she stopped by the table a few to many times. I dont fault her for that. She still did a very good job.

Party of seven. Was seated promptly, pleasant server took our drink and appetizer order and returned quickly with the drinks and apps. We placed our food order. The server soon brought two of our party their entrees. The remaining members of the party did not receive their orders for almost an hour and then only after inquiries with our server. Mine eventually arrived cold. The server did comp 50% of our ticket.

The waitress who we had today for lunch, Angela. She's so sweet, great personality, great customer service, funny and kind. While waiting on our chicken fried steak dinners. My blood sugar dropped down to 71. I ask Angela I needed a Dr. Pepper. She responded fast. Chicken fried steak was amazing and delicious. Crispy, tender and not greasy. Fries perfect not greasy. My husband got mashed potatoes and green beans. I took a taste of both delicious. Corn great. Gravy too. Rolls very fluffy and soft fresh. Oh my butter cake with cream cheese filling with Caramel sauce drizzle n whipped cream yum! Angela went above beyond!!! Definitely be coming back. Angela check up me as well.

I love coming here. Amanda Splawn always makes my visit feel special. She's prompt and always has a smile for her customers. She always gets the order right no matter how many are at my table. She creates a family feeling. Oh, and the food is great too! I'm here often. 😊

We were greeted & shown to our table by Aurianna & she was a delight. (: beautiful smile The food was good ~ I had the meatloaf. It was somewhat dry so I asked for extra sauce. It was great! Hubby had salmon & it never disappoints. The portions have really gotten smaller ~ especially the rolls but they are still yummy.

Bad service from the server that served our table. Not really impressed with the atmosphere Food was typical franchise food. Food was served cold, not my vibe.

I have always enjoyed Cotton Patch but it has really gone down hill! My husband and I ordered take out for supper and it was AWFUL! He ordered Fried Catfish, hushpuppies and fried okra. Everything tasted as if it had been under a heat lamp since lunch! And the okra he ordered was less than a cup full. I ordered the Chicken fried chicken, mashed potatoes and sweet potato. LOTS of breading on the chicken but chicken was good. Mashed potatoes seemed they'd been there a while and the sweet potato was so mushy from being over cooked and reheated it was inedible! SO disappointed in what used to be a favorite!

Their service was excellent. And their deep fried bacon was to die for. And the chicken fried steak was absolutely delicious. We also had a steak that was super good. And the sweet tea was perfect!

We had an incredible dining experience at Cotton patch Café in Athens, Texas. Our waitress Daisy, was amazing. She was helpful, courteous, kind, polite, and attentive throughout our meal. Daisy went above and beyond to help us aside from a fantastic menu full of great choices. We ended up having the grilled lemon salmon and Cajun blackened tilapia with grilled shrimp, Both of which were absolutely delicious and cooked to perfection. The chicken fried bacon appetizer was a real stand out and quickly became my favorite. The menu offers a wonderful variety, and the staff truly makes you feel at home. Highly recommended.

We did takeout at this location. Food was delicious and cooked as requested. It was ready as promised. Definitely recommend

Slow service - the server was absent minded - even paying took too long. The odd thing is they usually have terminals to pay on the spot - when I asked she said they have them but she didn't understand them so she won't use them. So she's undertrained and as a result the security and time benefits are lost.

Pretty good food. Chicken and dumplings tasted like my mom made 'em. My daughter liked the chicken fried brisket. For all the bacon lovers, they have chicken-fried bacon.

Went to take client to lunch I am a realtor and wanted to impress my client with good food and a business type lunch. We got there around 1230 sat down and ordered had to be at a meeting 200 which was 10 minutes away with inspector for a home my client was buying. About 130 we still not have our food the tables around us ate and left and then got sat again and ate their meal. I got up to talk to manager and he said what did you order again , I told him and he said we lost your ticket give us 3 mins and we have food right out, I waited 10 minutes nothing so my client and I just told manager we were leaving very bad service. I ordered chicken fried chicken (which I saw 6-7 come out of kitchen and give to other clients that came in after me) bad service food wise. Take care of your customers

Felt like a chain. Decent food. Waiter friendly. It would not be my first place to visit in Athens.

Autumn L. was our server. She was fantastic. She checked in on us consistently to make sure everything was to our liking. She was so personable and nice. She alone made our experience an outstanding one. The food as usual was delicious.

I really liked this place, the service was really good, rolls fantastic, they couldn't make me a hurricane ( out of mix) but my Texas sweet tea mixed drink was good. I wish the dressing had some of texture instead of just being mushy but it was good. My husband liked the catfish, I didn't try it because I don't care for fish, but It looked crunchy. All in all I'm ready to come back and try the meatloaf. Solid 3 stars, 4 if the bathroom would have been cleaner.

Driving by the parking lot had lots of cars in it. Always a good sign. They had a good kids menu plus crayons. Also a plus. Got a BLT because first time at a restaurant and that is pretty safe. It was good, made with Texas toast and ripe tomatoes and non iceberg lettuce. I got rice as a side but it was kind of blah. Child with us got a cheeseburger with French fries and broccoli rice casserole. He finished the broccoli casserole and used the fries to get the edges of what was left in the casserole dish. He had leftover hamburger but wanted to take it, not leave it behind. Nice place. Worth going to again if we're in the area.

Great food but okay service. Ordered take out 4 times and 2 out of 4 the order was incorrect. I get it, they were busy.

We did not have good service. The food was mediocre. We waited a long time to be seated, even though they were not busy. I was very disappointed in our entire experience.

Great food Great prices !! I was home visiting in Texas and love this place !! Thank you so much

The food is good. I was not offered the customary butter and bread like normal. I noticed everyone around me did have their bread. I didn't make a big deal about it since the meal filled me up pretty good, but this is the only cotton patch that forgot the bread for me.

Just picked up two Cobb salads and am very disappointed. In the past the Cobb salad was a very satisfying meal. This time was different. As soon as I picked up the bag I knew something had changed--it was very light. Sure enough, the contents just barely reached halfway up the sides of the to-go container. Portions of all the ingredients were much smaller than in the past. Adding insult to injury, the rolls were stone cold, dry, and hard.

Great homestyle selection of food and drinks. Never have had a bad plate of food. Good selection of deserts.

Ok. The first visit was not great. Not overly busy but food took a long time to come out and was not worth the wait. It wasn't bad but it wasn't good either. Our server was friendly but would disappear and seemed stressed. We came back since other restaurants in town have been disappointing. This time we get the same waiter. Ok But we waited over an hour for our food!!!! What?!? No explanation! It was again just okay. I'm not sure what the deal is, but that's it for us! Go only if you have a LOT of time to kill and don't care if your food is just so-so.

Nothing good at all about our meal! Mac and cheese looked and tasted like it was from yesterday, chips were stale, brisket Queso had nothing but fatty meat in it and the chicken fried brisket was dry. We stood by the table to get seated for about 10 minutes before anyone even came up. Definitely not a place we'll go back to.

My Fiance and I came in to eat tonight. We were seated rather quickly and the night started off good. We ordered our drinks and shortly after ordered our food. We sat there for maybe 30-40 minutes waiting on our food which was rather odd considering they're usually always pretty quick about it. We spoke to the manager on duty and she quickly found out our order was forgot about and not put in the system. She went above and beyond to make our night excellent she gave us our food to go on the house and a desert to go along with it. Great to see there Is still good people that try to make sure and please their customers. We Will definitely be back just because of her excellent service and just how overall nice and pleasant she made the experience!

Always been a favorite and has good food with two exceptions. Baked potatos are usually not hot and recently they have discontinued tomato sauce on their meatloaf. Makes for a very dry dish!

All the food was dog water but at least customer service was great Lost $60 and time.

I ordered the salmon and needless to say it did not look like the picture. The salmon was flat undersized and over cooked. The steamed vegetables were cold, they would not even melt the butter that I put on them.The cup of chicken and dumplings had a hair in it which the embarrassed waitress quickly took back after we pointed it out. This restaurant is extremely inconsistent in quality. Looks like the kitchen manager is asleep at the wheel.

We eat at this location all the time. The food is fine and the service is usually great. This past weekend will probably be the last time we eat here until the middle of winter. It was so cold in there everyone was freezing. I'm not usually cold. We saw several people going back to their cars for sweaters. We asked for the ac to be turned down. They said they did. We noticed nothing. My food was cold five minutes after it arrived. I couldn't eat it (ice cold fried fish and fries). I could've been a jerk and sent it back but I didn't. Totally ridiculous. They could save money if they made it comfortable.

The food here has changed. When they first opened it was ohhhh so good. The rolls they provided were overly salty. The fish and shrimp I that I got were soft and not crispy. The only good thing was the service and the delicious beer.

Angela at the Athens' CottonPatch makes. Good meal GREAT! We love visiting with her and she takes wonderful care of us. BTW - the ButterCake is insanely good!! Thank you Angela!

Unfortunately out server seemed to forget about us. 3 tables were seated and served and one even completed their meal and left before we got our food. When my vegetable platter arrived everything was cold and I had to send it back. She never apologized and acted as if nothing was wrong. Very frustrating and unlikely that we will go back.

I had a horrible "to go" experience a few months ago; I was told to email Corporate; waited several weeks and they finally asked for my phone number....crickets! If customer service, food quality and preparation meant anything I would've heard back after jumping through their hoops. Poor management and lack of Corporate follow up at it's finest.

Well had a bad experience but decided to give them another chance. BIG MISTAKE! Ordered grilled chicken salad for guest and myself. Waitress was very sweet and things were going great until they brought out our food. We cut into our salads and the chicken was raw! I mean really raw and very pink. The waitress was very nice and took it away very fast apologizing . The waitress said she had told her manager but we never saw them. The rest of our party had eaten and we hadn't even received our salad. We will never go back. I sure don't need to be poisoned by eating raw meat. Palestine needs a better manager and better cooks!

Food was OK. Server was completely ditzy. Completely forgot one entree for our party of three. Brought my salad after steak was nearly done. This after we said for ten minutes waiting to be acknowledged.

I enjoy the food and great service. However it is 88 degrees outside and 50 degrees inside. I guess that's why my hot soup was room temperature and how you keep diners from staying too long. A coat and fur slippers would be greatly appreciated. I used my napkin to help with my runny nose.

Second attempt in 6 months to eat here. Same story different day. Salad was fine, Fish and Chips were not worth the effort, bland tasteless fish and over salted "Chips". Waitperson had no personality to speak of. Not going back, ever.

It was easy to order using the App. The service was great. The food was ready on time and taste great.

I got a plain old cheeseburger here before COVID happened. The first try, the patty was too charred and it was crunchy. I nearly threw up. No burger should ever be that crunchy unless intended. We asked for another one but it was the same, but it wasn't as badly charred but still unacceptable. I still could not bear to eat it, though. That made me lost my appetite, so I simply did without. I had been holding out for a long time to eat here for the first time. I'm never going again. It was the worst burger I have ever attempted to eat.

Love this place great food great dishes and sides and it's one of the best actual restaurants in Athens definitely worth it

I didn't initially have the highest expectations from a small chain restaurant on the way to the Blueberry Festival in Nocogdoches. But, that was a mistake on my part. Everyone was very friendly and welcoming. Our appetizer of fried jumbo mushrooms were well prepared. Then we got to the main courses. My wife's salmon was tasty and arrived hot. My surf and turf was mixed. The steak and garlic mashed potatos were delicious and hot. My fried shrimp and French fries were barely at room temperature. But, they made up for it! The waitress came and checked in on us about 3 minutes after we were served and when I told her that I was happy with the steak and potatoes but not with the other items, she didn't hesitate to take action. She immediately went to the kitchen to have them prepare the two items again then came back to apologize. By the time I was done with the steak and mashed potatoes, sure was at the table with the two other freshly cooked items. They were delicious too! I'm an easy-going guy and I was happy with her response but then the manager came by to check in and I told him we were satisfied with our service and how well the waitress handled the small issue. He then proceeded to offer us a complimentary dessert for our trouble. That went way beyond our expectations! We've been to fine dining restaurants for our anniversaries and birthdays but not all of those places are the same level of service as this Cotton Patch Cafe! I strongly recommend you go there and enjoy great food and excellent, caring service!

This place has been unfairly judged. It isn't The Ritz, and it's never claimed to be. But for a 'Black-Eyed Pea' themed chain restaurant serving an assortment of meats, veggies, salads, and rolls, we've found it consistently good, clean, and accurately packed (should you choose to take out, rather than dine in after a long day at work). Hot dishes are generally hot and cool dishes are cool. Importantly, we usually notice an adult management member among the employed youth. To this end, the wait-staff are generally attentive, well-groomed and on the ball whenever we've been there. Cotton Patch beats the heck out of most options available in towns the size of ours. We most definitely will continue to support The Cotton Patch in Athens.

This is the 2nd Cotton Patch Cafe I've been to, and it is the best one, hands down! The food is so much better than the one in Tyler. That being said, the part that shines the most is the wait staff with Angela Napps as the shining star! Angela's attentiveness and sparkling personality really makes our visit to this busy cafe (lunchtime) an enjoyable treat. She is very professional, efficient and always one step ahead, asking if you need anything before you ask...and with a kind heart and smile. All of her recommendations have been on target for what I might want to sample for lunch...she knows the menu and all the choices to make the meal the best. My favorites: chicken fried chicken, strawberry salad, quesadilla, brisket, hamburger. Thank you Angela and Cotton Patch Athens...it's worth the drive from Tyler!

This is a great place to go if you're feeling a very laid back vibe. The employees are very respectful and the food is always right. I know due to COVID-19 the employees are still wearing their masks, but it would be great to see a smiling face when I walk in. Other than that, Cotton Patch is one of my favorite restaurants in town.

Boyfriend had CFS & I had chicken spaghetti, off the lunch menu. $7 & comes with one side. Very small CFS & a small scoop of potatoes. Bowl of spaghetti with rubbery cubes of chicken & a very small bowl of green beans. All lukewarm & bland. Service was slow, never got a tea refill or a check back on the food. The chicken was so rubbery in texture I couldn't eat it. I had to stand at the bar a couple minutes to get my waitress's attention, so I could pay. Bad service with school lunch food is a no go, for me. Clean with a full menu, but I wouldn't choose to return.

Manager is not worth a darn. My good was wrong and they fixed it. Or did they! Nope. They served me a raw chicken fried steak. Manager never came and talked to us. My sons burger wasn't good either. The food and service had gone downhill. Needs a new manager.

Been here a lot of times and its getting worse. There are 10-15 servers working each shift and they still leave food sitting in the window? Food was room temperature...it should've never been served, but we had already waited a long time. I know it's a chain restaurant, but each one should care about their performance. At this point, I would say it's time to either make it as good as it can be or give us something else in its place.

Lots of changes following the pandemic. Food is more like TV dinners, often cold or lower quality than previously. Example, we have always loved the meatloaf, but, now there is no tomato sauce, rather ketchup squirted on top of the cold meatloaf. We're going to stay away for a while and see if they can correct the current situation.

The fried mushrooms were amazing! My husband had the chicken fried steak and cleaned his plate, the only reason I gave 4 stars out of 5 is that I had the chicken fried tenders and I thought they were just "meh" not bad just not great. But admittedly, that may just be my personal taste. I would go back for the mushrooms alone.

Angela Napp was the most helpful waitress ever. We had a table of at least 20 people and she was running all over to make sure that we had the best service possible. I honestly don't think I've ever seen someone work so hard. She was absolutely the best and deserves a lot of recognition for her hard work. I will definitely be coming back to this restaurant whenever I'm in town again.

We were just in the Athens location of Cotton Patch and waited an hour to be told our appetizer was unavailable then another 30 minutes and our meal was still not ready. We didn't have 3 hours for a meal so we requested our meal be take out. We just got home and BOTH our orders are wrong!!! Not only was the restaurant slow but the place was packed!! Not a one table empty!! I thought 50% capacity was required unless min were obtained from DHHS to which only 75 % capacity is allowed! COVID violations along with a wrong order after an hour and a half waiting ! I am furious!!! I posted pictures of the crowd on their facebook page. UPDATE: Cotton Patch has deleted my post twice so here are the pics of overcrowding.

This place is excellent!!! Our food was exceptional, with everything tasting very fresh and hot! A very friendly atmosphere and staff. Our waitress was adorable and on the ball! Most definitely recommended and we will be returning. My husband ate chicken fried chicken with spicy jalapeño gravy, mashed potatoes and mac n cheese while I ate grilled salmon with baked potato and Caesar salad. DELICIOUS