Lone Star Cafe

I am so glad I finally pulled over! I’m constantly commuting between Fort Worth and Waco, and the name of this spot finally piqued my interest. If you’re looking for authentic home-cooked vibes, this is it! I kicked things off with the stuffed egg rolls—tangy, rich, and loaded with cream cheese. Even though the ranch was a bit runny, the flavor was spot on with those crispy shells. Then came the main event: the fried catfish. OMG. The portions are massive! I got two huge fillets over white rice with fried okra and mac on the side. Honestly? It’s easily some of the best catfish I’ve ever had—perfectly seasoned, crunchy, and amazing with a squeeze of lemon. The mac was a little loose, but the flavor was still delightful. Major props to my server, too; they were super attentive even with a few large parties in the house. Just a heads-up: the bar is smoking-friendly, so I opted for the dining room to keep my lungs (and my food) clear. The bathrooms could use a little TLC, but for food this good? It’s a must-stop off I-35!

We were traveling through Hillsboro, TX and wanted a bite to eat at a non fast-food place, and found this place right off of I-35, and we were glad we did! The parking lot was full which reassured us we made a good choice, and the positive reviews reinforced that. Upon entering the facility, we were promptly greeted, and brought to our table in the cozy dining room. Our server greeted us promptly and took our drink order. We chose to order the meatloaf entree along with the chicken finger dinner. Our drinks and meals arrived promptly, and the meals were hot and fresh. Definitely check this place out if you're in the area and craving a good home-cooked meal.

Ordered the Bubbalo Chicken Sandwich. Upon first looks I was disappointed because the Sandwich came as a plain fried chicken sandwich with the Buffalo sauce (Frank's Red Hot) on the side and not dipped in the sauce already. I love Frank's Red Hot so I slathered up the fried chicken brest and added the side of ranch as well. This is the perfect example of why not to judge a book by its cover. The 1st bite and I was in love. The chicken is so moist and tender, the exact right amount of breading and the bun is a good solid bun holding up to the sauce. This is my new favorite Buffalo chicken sandwich. Sorry Popeyes.

We enjoy stopping in here every time we're in Hillsboro. We had a party of 11 and waited less than 5 minutes for a table on a Saturday at 5:30. The appetizers and entrees were large and cooked to perfection. The waitress was friendly but could've been more attentive to refill drinks and remove leftover plates. My nephew is on a very strict diet and requested just a steak with no seasoning except salt which they accommodated.

I'd say it was a solid 4, took a time or 5 to see it. Service is really fast, but sometimes seems forgetful. Sundays are particularly inconsistent, but never really any issues. I'd say 85% of the time my food was on point. Those onion rings tho. AMAZING!!! Don't get the catfish if you're really expecting catfish. Maybe it was late and didnt think I'd notice. Whatever it was, wasn't bad. Prices are pretty fair, plenty of seating and parking spots. The lady at the door could stand to find a lil better personality. Shes never very personable. Over all its a good place to eat. Just has some minor things, but check it out if you come thru town. 👍

Excellent steak, baked potato & salad 3 diners from early dinner. Quick service, friendly staff and plated so appealing.

Great food, very nice staff, bartender was really nice and interactive, cool environment, we try to eat here everything we pass through town.

It’s a whole different experience beyond the food they serve, very kind people work here, food is very delicious

Stopped by with the hubby on the way to Dallas from Austin...I loved the Lone Star Cafe as a kid and fondly remember the jingle about Bubba. We came in about 5:45 on Tuesday before New Years, and the place was basically bare. I was concerned. Went immediately to use the restroom, which was nostalgically decorated and clean as a whistle. The waitress was at the table taking to my husband when I got done, and my tea was already there, waiting for me, when I arrived. Now...the food: I got the chicken fried steak and hubby got fried catfish. Both were so clean and fresh I thought they'd been air fried! By the time the food arrived, dinner time must've hit, because as I write this from my table, the place is absolutely packed full of patrons. I didn't take a photo of my dinner, because I was busy enjoying it. However, I was able to get a quick snapshot of the husband's fish before he downed the last few bites. Seriously, this was the best southern comfort meal we've had in quite some time. We'll DEFINITELY make this a stop when we are passing through Hillsboro in the future! Seriously. Try them. You can thank me later, and ya might even run into Bubba while you're here!

We were traveling through Hillsboro, TX and wanted a bite to eat at a non fast-food place, and found this place right off of I-35, and we were glad we did! The parking lot was full which reassured us we made a good choice, and the positive reviews reinforced that. Upon entering the facility, we were promptly greeted, and brought to our table in the cozy dining room. Our server greeted us promptly and took our drink order. We chose to order the meatloaf entree along with the chicken finger dinner. Our drinks and meals arrived promptly, and the meals were hot and fresh. Definitely check this place out if you're in the area and craving a good home-cooked meal.

Food and service is great, I do suggest the cheese curds and popcorn chicken. The fries... no idk if it's just the one time I had it but they were almost like left over fries. Not fresh at all. But it's a cowboy diner and has a bar to the left which is cool. Adult side and family side.

Heading south and passing through and YELP brought up this little gem. Called in an order and asked to have the Avocado Club with 2 slices of bread vs 3 and to add mayo and mustard with a side of onion rings. First the quality is delicious. My gripe is this. Sandwich had no tomatoes. None. Ugggggh. Secondly asked to have mayo and mustard added. Received a side order of mayo and mustard in the same little cup....a to go order where I'd hope to eat in the car. The onions rings were the best I'd had in years. This review is for the sloppiness of the preparation.

Stopped here on a roadtrip. The food was decent, the chicken was a bit dry but still tasted good. The service was really fast and our waiter was very very friendly. The place had a cool Texan cafe vibe. Overall, it's a solid alright.

On our way home from the UT game and stoped here for some lunch. Yum O!! We both had the grilled Pork Chop, mashed taters & green beans. Our plates were empty!!

We were looking for somewhere to stop for some queso on the drive back to Austin and found Lone Star Cafe. So glad we did. The queso and salsa were great! The salsa was smokey. The food is very generous portions for reasonable prices. My husband had the chicken quesadilla and it was actually two very large quesadillas for $12. Would be plenty of food for 2. I had the shrimp burrito bowl, yum! Shrimp were grilled perfectly. My friend had the elote chicken tacos and the elote was really good! This is just a laid back, casual spot for a bite or some drinks. There's a bar area with TVs so you can watch football. Locals seem to love it too. Definitely recommend it for a road trip food stop.

Stopped in on a Sunday in middle of a trip. The place was clean and service was ok but nothing outstanding. Kind of bland chicken fried chicken, mashed potatoes, & gravy. The food wasn't hot -barely warm. Basically, it was fair to good but definitely not "really good." There wasn't many restaurants to choose from in this small town so this was open and convenient. I may give it another chance on another trip.

Terrible food. Out of a can and cold. Service was friendly but didn't make up for the awful food.

On our way to fort worth & stopped for lunch. The salsa was watered down. The I35 surprise was a goopy mess. $60 later we were still hungry. we complained & our server said " we have a new cook". We will not stop here again.

This is our second time coming this week and everything we have had so far is 10/10. I'm so glad we stopped by. Good food, good drinks, laid back vibe. Blacken redfish tacos were amaaaaaazing!

Growing up in Austin I remember Lone Star Cafe being one of our favorite family restaurants. They all disappeared in the area decades ago, so it was a pleasant surprise to find this on a road trip far from home. This location is definitely aging with burnt out neon and other signs of wear, but was a nice nostalgic reminder of the past. The interior is filled with many vintage tin signs advertising everything from Diet Rite Soda to farm equipment. There are rustic wood booths around the dining room with tables in the middle, and a bar to the left of the entrance. And lots of retro details and decorations throughout. The food wasn't quite as good as we remembered it, but still tasty. The chicken fried steak was affordable and came with two sides. The mashed potatoes I picked weren't great, seeming to be pretty chunky with maybe only some butter to smooth them out, but plenty of cream gravy helps. And the onion rings were excellent and a welcome side since many places charge extra for those. One note was that they charged 60 cents for some ranch for the onion rings which was kind of a shock, but we didn't complain. Overall, it was a fun place to stop on a road trip with pretty decent nostalgic food. It's worth the time if you're passing through.

Great stop on our way to Dallas. Lots of healthy options as well. I had the grilled chicken salad and it was excellent.

Food had good flavor. Service was prompt. Chicken fried steak had more batter than steak but my family loved their catfish.

Wow!! I had been craving fried catfish and luckily LoneStar Cafe had an awesome catfish dinner!!! Two HUGE pieces of lightly battered and fried catfish! It's great when you can actually taste the fish vs all the batter! This is how fried catfish should be served!! Nothing extra needed, just a little lemon squeezed on top was all it needed! Let's not forget their great sides! Fresh in-house baked potato chips with just enough crisp! Added a little salt to mine but they were some of the best homemade chips I have had. Oh yea, and i had hush puppies too!!! If your driving up/down I-35 and are in the Hillsboro area, stop in at the LoneStar cafe and grab you a nice worm meal! I recommend the Catfish dinner

Finally, a eatery that doesn't disappoint. Had the chicken fried steak, hush puppies and Mac & cheese. Karaline was an awesome waitress. Food came out so fast, hot and tasty. We were checked on many times. Cute lil restraunt and good music. Sorry no pics. I at so fast and was so hungry. I had the senior portion and it was perfect. I will return.

This was a fun place to stop on our road trip - diverse menu, delicious food, cute decorations, and friendly staff!

So-so food, credit card surcharge, I wish I'd gone elsewhere. The prices are OK, the food is average or below, the service come with a smile but is sometimes hard to get... and this business thinks they can charge you a surcharge for using a credit card without telling you! They say they're a "sign somewhere" in their restaurant... sure... This is in violation of Texas law (business code sections 604A.002 and 604A.0021), but regardless of the law it's not right for a business to sneak in charges into your bill without telling you (and a sign "somewhere" doesn't cut it). They can get away with it, but they are not honest people and I for one am never going back there.

Seems to be a local favorite with an extensive menu, large portions, and friendly service. Although it seems to have plenty of potential, we actually found ourselves a little disappointed in our choices. I was impressed with the freshness of the salad, but I found the rest - potato skins, chicken fried chicken, mashed potatoes/gravy, macaroni/cheese - to be soggy and under seasoned.

Food had a nice flavor--I got the chicken fried steak. Jorge was an excellent server. Overall a nice place.

All of our food was wonderful! My daughter did order a Caesar salad and it came out with brown slimy lettuce as well as the new one sent out, the waitress made a salad with the regular salad lettuce and put Caesar on the side for her and it was yummy. That was the only hiccup, everything else was delicious, best onion rings and fried pickles I've had in a long time, the chicken tenders were hand battered and juicy, not overdone at all. The side salad is huge also and even came with eggs, the croutons were soo good too! My daughter loved her quesadillas but ended up asking for a side of queso bc it needed something to dip it in. The waitress we had was wonderful, on point and attentive.

InSnuck in just before the church crowd. Nice server and our tasty food came out fast!

Steer clear of this Texas sized disappointment. Food was bland and not cooked well. "Grilled veggies" side was partially raw and had the flavor of a poorly cleaned grill grate. Catfish being "made fresh" caused our order to take all of 40 minutes to arrive and it was dry and unappealing. They forgot some of our order, and almost double charged me for my entree. Also there was someone in the bar area screaming and getting upset and caused the whole of the restaurant to be visibly uncomfortable. In a positive note, the ice water had ice and my kid enjoyed coloring in the kids menu.

I had the Cheeseburger with Cheddar and sautéed mushrooms on the Jalapeño Cheddar Sourdough bun. OMG. SO GOOD! This is one of the best burgers I've ever had. I love the bun and I usually don't even eat the bun. Sweet potato fries. My son got chicken fried steak mashed potatoes and green beans he ate every bite!

Great southern food! Great southern service! Cute, southern ambiance. We wandered there by chance but thoroughly enjoyed it!

Best chicken fried steak in town! I really miss LSC in Austin, TX. Have a great time reminiscing over the pineapple upside down cake.

DO NOT EAT HERE!!! ABSOLUTELY THE WORST EXPERIENCE EVER!!! We got there at 1:10. 3 tables had people in. mind you we were the 4th table. we ordered by 1:15. chicken strips and nachos. it was 1:45 no food, i told the waiter we had to get back to class and he complained. he threw the ticket down for the drinks and then rudely said "you are welcome." his name was ryan and he was so disrespectful! this was the worst time ever, they werent even busy! definitely would of been understanding if it was full but noone was waiting on food but us bc they all were all eating.. this was ridiculous!

Driving to Dallas and found this place to stop for dinner. Service was excellent. All the reviews talked about the chicken fried steak. So we ordered that. The server herself said theirs was okay. And it was kinda chewy. Sure enough it was just that. We ordered potato skins too which were excellent. They were hearty. Although we didn't order, the onion rings looked yummy!

Stopped for a quick lunch on the way home from a trip to Dallas. Our waitress was so sweet and patient. She made sure to remind us tip was already included some we were a big group, but she deserved more than what was applied, that's how good she was. The food was delicious. I had their soup of the day, red pepper and Gouda, it was so good that I had to order a bowl to go to share with family at home!

Honestly was way above expectations. Midwestern and hear "cafe" and think coffee/breakfast type place. Great food, beer and an awesome server James. Cool vibe and would recommend the stop!

this is the third time in the last year we have stopped at this place and every time our food is cold when it gets to the table. This time we had a chicken sandwich and the chicken was rubbery and horrible! It took us almost 2 hours to order get our food and get out. Our server never came back to our table once. you could tell our food been sitting on the counter because none of it was hot. The fried okra was soggy. I do not recommend this place at all.

Right on the highway when you're passing through. Better than the quick chain food. Look at this delicious grilled chicken and grilled veggie salad!!

We are here today. I had the Fiesta taco salad. It was the Best In Town!!!! Service was excellent even though it was busy

Really good food and excellent service. Will definitely be a regular stop for us. Great lunch menu and looking forward to the next visit.

Best food I've had during my visit to Hillsboro. The people friendly and attentive. I definitely recommend!

The food(both had CF Steak but started eating before we could get pictures) was good. Paul felt the breading needed a little more seasoning. It had a n awesome texture and was a good piece of meat. Mashed Tates were real, nicely seasoned. Paul got a slice of cheesecake with chocolate sauce that was really good. Firm texture, creamy mouthful. Our server, Karoline was amazing, kept table touches at the right intervals. Never had to hunt for her. Asked if I'd like a senior portion in an absolutely precious way. Not offensive about it, and it was the correct name amount of food. Will be coming in again as soon as possible! And , I must add, it was Easter Sunday about 330pm. Hit the back of the holiday rush

Excellent customer service and great homestyle tasting food. We'll always drop by when we're on the road traveling.

Food is great, big portions so I always split my plate in half for lunch or dinner the next day.

We've visited the location in Mansfield several times over the past couple of years and have never had anything but a good experience. Great food, large screened-in patio for when the weather behaves, good portions, friendly staff. Not much more you can ask for. Recently my wife and I visited the Cleburne location and found it much the same though it does have a nicer building and a bar, if that's your thing, but without a screened-in patio. (They do still have a patio for outside eating.) The food may have even been a tad better. You really can't go wrong with either of these locations for down home cooking in a relaxed, causal atmosphere. I wonder if we should try their Burleson location next!

Anyone want some raw meat in your street tacos???? NOT Me! Waitress could have cared less!

Hands down the best meal we've had during our week in Texas, including three dinners at the Hilton in College Station. Our server, Maria, was wonderful! We had the chicken fried steak, onion rings, hush puppies, beans and coleslaw. If you're traveling anywhere near this location it's worth stopping by.

The catfish and the grilled pork chops are fantastic. Service is usually very good. It's got a real Texas homey vibe that makes you feel comfortable.

Service was amazing, the food was delicious and perfectly portioned, the dining room and restroom were clean and orderly. It was a perfect lunch stop on the way from Dallas to Houston. Definitely recommend.

Cute place conveniently off the highway. The bacon cheeseburger with fries was recommended so I thought I'd give it a try. The burger was fine. The patty was thick, cooked to order, options on the bun were white, wheat or jalapeño cheddar (I chose wheat). I would've preferred the bacon crispy. It had the thick, home style dill pickle chips, which were nice and crunchy. The fries could've used a little more salt, but that's a personal preference. All in all, it was fine. May give it another try when I'm in the area.

This beauty I ordered called the "Joel special" is the best combo in town!!... it consists of two state recognized beef tostadas, a side of superb Spanish rice, and the smoothest refried beans that will make you think you're in the fatherland of Mexico itself...

All the highway patrolmen of Texas were there. Uniform but most were in personal trucks. Loved the fried chicken sandwich and the blackened chicken sandwiches

We stopped along a trip overall it satisfied us 100%! The service was great it all went well. The food was amazing they really know how to cook a steak and make a burger.:)

Great southern comfort food. Nice place to stop by before continuing the long journey to and from.

Don't know if it's a chain, but seems like it could be .... Been here twice. Not a lot of love in the food, don't handle crowds well, and cigarette smoke in the entry and bar area. Food was bland, both chicken fried chicken and bubba cheese steak. My wife liked the bubba sandwich. Once we were sat down the waiter was okay for being busy but late with bringing bread for the long wait and no silverware at the start. Probably won't go back.