Western Sizzlin

One of the best small hole in the wall restaurants I've been to quite a long time. This used to be a large chain across the country but this locally owned franchise is blowing it out of the water. They have several staff members that have been there over 20 years and some over 30 years. The staff could not be nicer plus the owner was present and worked as hard as anybody else did. The food was fresh and hot and abundance of it. This Athens area has an abundance of shopping create small local businesses. You don't have to go to the larger cities to get with this small City offers I look forward to running back down there soon. Western Sizzlin will be my normal regular place to go

The food was great but the steak was barely warm when it came out. That’s my only complaints our waitress was wonderful and attentive. Our drinks never got empty. She refilled often. Food came out before I even took a bite of my salad so I would say it was a bit too fast but that’s ok, the peach cobbler was AMAZING. The bathroom wasn’t clean when I went in but I heard someone cleaning it within a minute of me walking in.

Excellent food, service and clean. 1st time we have been back in a month or so but they had the full bar back open. We were very satisfied and it will not be a month before we go back. My daughter and I took wife for her Birthday. I was crowded but very enjoyable.

Great friendly service and great food at the buffet. So many choices like fried chicken, meatloaf, mashed potatoes, hash brown casserole and the list goes on. $17.99 per includes the salad bar and dessert bar. Drink is separate. Hot fresh dinner roll with butter from your server. Just can’t beat this price.

The severs were okay but the front staff was rude the last two times we came. Their buffet was really bland but had a few different options. The salad bar is really good though. The sweet tea is pretty good too. The buffet was expensive for the food quality.

I am OVER THE MOON EXCITED that they brought the food buffet!!!!!!! And apparently so is everyone else in Athens! lol! ❤️ It was PACKED but there’s plenty of seating. The food was fabulous. The salad bar was great as always and the potato bar was fresh and the desserts!!!!!! I call it buttermilk pie and I don’t what they call it but it’s scrumptious! ❤️ And of course you can always order steak!

All I can say is food was just okay. We ate off the buffet. The salad had no flavor and the rest of the bar was mediocre at best. The presentation was good, just not much in the way of flavor. I can't recommend. I will add the staff was very friendly and attentive.

The Buffet food quality was bare bones. The best was the okra , Rolls, and Fried chicken but everything else was over cooked and seasoning doesn’t exist in the building. The price is $22.50 per person for buffet + drinks and the price for the low food quality was definitely not worth the experience.

The food is savory, prepared fresh and hot off the grill. Occasionally they are out of staple items like NewYork Strip, steaks but they do have a wide variety to usually choose from. The service is always prompt, courteous, and helpful, just what you want in a busy local restaurant. Finally, the ambiance is just right. Not too dark to see, nor so bright that one needs shades to comfortably dine. Never too noisy, just the hum of a great, persistent business hard at work serving satisfied patrons.

Been visiting this location for years! The staff are always kind and respectful! The food is delicious, they have a super nice salad bar! overall just an amazing establishment!

Long time diners of this place we both went here with our parents and still do to this day . The food is always good the service is always great . The only gripe I have is I really wish they would bring back the hot bar .

It's a 3-star affordable steakhouse with the friendliest staff. The enthusiastic, prompt, efficient service adds a star. The servers I've had have all been gushing with southern hospitality and doting on every aspect of your experience. Not only are my drink glasses always full, they bring a backup refill and offer to-go drinks for everyone. It's busy at dinner time. "Supper," if you prefer. Packed parking lot, bustling dining room, and prompt ordering and service. The food is mid-grade beef, chicken, pork chops, kebabs, and several side items. The rolls and whole sweet potatoes alone are worth the trip. The salad bar is full of a ton of options, usually a couple of savory soups, chili, and tortilla chips with liquid cheese. It's what you'd expect. Not "upscale fine dining," but a place that I crave sometimes and I'm glad that it's here. It's curious that so many folks comment about the confusing process. It's like Sizzler and serveral other similar chain family steak restaurants. You follow the maze around the room to pick up a tray and make your order at the counter, then you seat yourself, which I love. Let me pick where I sit right off the bat and I'm already happy about things.

We went for the buffet but they have not had it for years they say but it is still in the picture menu

Restaurant was clean and our waitress was very nice. I ordered the large top steak medium well and it tasted like I was eating a piece of cardboard. Western Sizzlin is suppose to be a Charbroil Steak type restaurant. My steak tastes like it was broiled and was a grayish color instead of a charbroiled meat color. Not sure I would order another steak from this restaurant.

Food was ok and the service great; however, different than any other Western Sizzlin I've been to.

The food was just OK, the ambiance was deer antler chandeliers, but Lisa the server was very nice and gave very good service. With all that said, pretty sure we will not be back. We went there because of the buffet advertised online, but they have not had a buffet since Covid-19 hit.

Fast service, our server Karen was the sweetest person, and she was on top of everything.

Great reliable place to eat. Excellent salad bar fully stocked and clean. Very nice staff. Delicious grilled steaks.

Food was not good. I ordered the Steak and Chicken meal. On the menu the chicken was whole pieces of chicken. Steak was overcooked and the chicken was chicken tenders.

Food decent, concept is a little confusing for newcomers, but KAREN is the reason for all 5 stars. She is the nicest, happiest, most professional server we've ever had! What a treasure she is for this restaurant!!!

The service was friendly but the signs around about being short staffed really showed. I came here on a recommendation and the hype set me up for disappointment. The food was cooked quickly but the quality cuts of meat was lacking. The salad bar was well stocked and in the future maybe it would be better to stay with the salad bar only and away from the meats.

This restaurant has went downhill since covid, the food bar is no longer available so you're forced to purchase their overpriced entrees. You can add the salad bar for $3.99 per person , which isn't a bad deal, however most of the salad bar items were dried out , warm or tasted soured. For one adult and 2 children we spent around $75 including a tip even though we had to flag our server down from another table to get drink refills because she kept going to their table talking and never asked us if we needed anything.

Was here back in 2006 and decided to come back, as we forgotten this was here. Walking in, you turn left and walk down the aisle way, across the dining room and over to the ordering area. A little confusing- Ordered the 10 oz. Rib eye steak with potato and salad bar. Very clean and well kept up and stocked salad bar along with the buffet bar. Lots to choose from. They have a soup station, dessert bar, sundae bar, fresh fruit station.... The yeast rolls here are like grandmas homemade rolls. So big and soft, melts in your mouth served with whipped honey spread butter. Steaks were delicious. Cooked exactly how we wanted them very courteous and friendly, hard working staff. Definetly will be back much sooner then before!!

The $19 New York strip was a little tough. Drinks stayed full by staff. Only complaint was when food was set down the waitress walked off. There was a couple things we needed and had to wait a few minutes for someone to come by.

I have eaten here no telling how many times since 2004. This used to be my favorite place to eat at for lunch when I worked here in town. They have always been great in customer service. You walk in to the left and pick up a tray and some silverware. Then you tell them what you want to drink. Next, you place you order and they give you a receipt. When you sit down your waitress brings your meal. I usually order a steak with bake potato. The desert bar comes with it. However, if you want the salad bar too that will be extra. The steaks are usually sirloin and they are flamekist at that. Meaning they are cooked on a grill with a flame of fire. I always ask for A1 steak sauce and they bring it. There is always Western Sizzlins own steak sauce on the table. You pay when you leave. This place is always packed but you can always find plenty of parking though. Other menu stand outs: You can also get the buffet here. It's all you can eat. They have everything you can think of plus more. Their salad bar is always fresh and attacked by me if I get the buffet.

The salad bar is Amazing! They used to have a hot food but get bit since Covid it's not returned! The prices have increased if you are in the area and looking for soup and salad or a chicken entree stop by the food is ok but for the price if at all possible for steak drive in to Cleveland or Knoxville and enjoy outback the price is about the same

It is been a long time since I've been to a Western Sizzlin. I just had a hankering to try one out. And you know what? It wasn't bad, but it wasn't great. 23 bucks got me and my wife two buffets and two drinks. That's not a bad price for a buffet. They had a couple of entrees on the buffet, fried chicken and hamburger steak. the food tasted decent enough. For me though, the real saving grace was all the different kinds of gravy they had. and they had some nice ass containers that you could fill up with that gravy, which I then proceeded to use them just about everything. The real Superstar of our meal was our server, Amy. There was never a drink not topped off or a dirty plate left on the table. And she did this from multiple tables. Because of her, this is a four-star instead of a three-star review. One other thing that bugged me about this place is that in addition to the buffet, you can order a potato or steak for extra. In some ways that's good you can order how you want it, I just expected a little bit more for the price we paid. the stakes were very affordably-priced to I believe most of them came under ten bucks. For me though, if I had to choose a buffet I would probably just go to Golden Corral instead. I will say that the service at Western Sizzlin that we got was second To none. I've never had near that good of service at any other buffet.

If i could I wouldn't give a star. This place is disgusting and the people we're rude. As I walked in there were 2 waitresses on their phones and one one actually working. After we finally got our plates at this dine/buffet the hot food area was not but nuke warm and the fried foods were extremely dark from bad oil and the salad bar looked mediocre at best with wilting lettuce. After looking further my wife had found a bug in one of the dishes which ruined the already horrible experience.

Really enjoy this restaurant!! You do have to walk through the line to order your food and then you choose your own table, but from that point forward you have a server that takes care of you - drink refills, entree delivery, etc. Make sure to get a basket of complimentary rolls - they are to die for! Every entree comes with choice of desert (fresh baked cookies, slice of pie, muffins, cinnamon rolls, etc.) and you can add the salad bar for a minimum charge. I highly recommend doing so as their salad bar is amazing! In addition to traditional salad and toppings, it also includes items like carrot salad, apple salad and additional dessert options (like soft serve ice cream, cobbler, etc.). Each time I travel to Athens, TN this location is on my list to visit before I leave.

good food, reasonable prices, nice staff. it was slightly confusing since it's a chain we don't have in my home town but we really liked it.

Always amazing and consistent, never had a bad time here. The waitresses are always very kind and nothing beats the teriyaki chicken in my opinion!

I wanted to write about our awesome experience here on 10/02/20. Our family of 15 initially walked out of Cracker Barrel earlier due to their rude service. We opted to come here in the late morning as we needed a venue that was able to accommodate our family. We were pleasantly suprised at the easy ordering process, where the super friendly staff took our large order. Everyone was all smiles and was very engaging. We had a room in the back, which we needed so that we could comfortably unwind. The salad, nacho and dessert bars were clean and well maintained. We appreciate the staff implementing a Covid environment, which brought a sense of comfort. Ie, staff-serve for the ice cream, hand sanitizers, masks. We can honestly say that the staff conveyed the best customer service we have had in a long time. Especially considering the fact that we were in town for a family funeral. I do not remember the waitress names, but we thank you for the exception service, empathy, laughs and even assisting with our family photo. And lastly, my steak was delicious! All the food was great.

I haven't visited this location in a few years, at one time this was one of my favorites but sadly it has went downhill. My wife ordered a petite sirloin "medium"...the first time it came out and it wasn't even what I would consider rare...the waitress took it back and after about two minutes brought back the same steak and when cut open it appeared to be the same as when it was taken back the first time. The waitress offered to take it back again but I was pretty much done at this point. When paying the cashier asked how things were and my response was "undercooked"...she said she was sorry and that it really "depended on who was on the grill"....it's pretty bad when the cashier knows when food is gonna be prepared incorrectly based on who's working the grill...sadly we won't be back.

Always good food, large selection, good service. Parking lot is always full during meal times. Wait times are minimal even with large crowds. I plan on going back and would recommend to others.

Never been to one of these so the layout was a bit confusing. Husband and I just got the lunch buffet. Salad bar was ok. Nothing is labeled so it made for an interesting meal. Hot food was mediocre at best. They did have some fresh fruit which was a bonus. Two lunch buffets with one tea and a water ran us $26.13. First and last time we will eat at one of these establishments.

Hot bar is closed but still amazing place to.eat in athens tennessee the staff is amazing. Chopped sirloin was cooked superbly good.

Food was good, nice variety and store was clean. Our server was wonderful but the line lady taking orders was just there didn't seem very excited to be working and No stars for the lady named Tammy that took our money . We asked for a to go menu and she actually acted mad that we had asked. She never smiled, didn't say thank you, how was you meal?, nothing! As a business owner , she is not the last person I would want my customers to come in contact with or remember from their visit. She would keep me from going back.

Cheap steaks that taste great. I have been a million times since I was a kid and it has never disappointed.

The food was outstanding. I had a cheeseburger, ketchup only and fries. The food was great. If you go to a restaurant in Athens TN, go here.

Not a big choice on the buffet I'd rather drive to Cleveland to golden corral had the Salisbury steak one step up from the frozen meat like banquet and for 30.00 wasn't worth it could've got a better meal at waffle house

Good food at at reasonable price. been going there for years and have never had poor service.

I haven't eaten here since they reopened after the fire. Today I had a large top with baked potato and salad. Compliments to the salad bar, very clean and salad was fresh. However I've never been big on bag salad but with the amount they sale I'm sure it's the only way to keep it going. My steak on the other hand was not so good. I ordered it medium well and had to sent it back for a little more cooking. It was more like medium rare with blood and all. Sorry to be gross but it was yuck. The steak was brought back and it had a grayish look to it along with the grilled look. The gray look just had me baffled so I called the waitress over and asked, "why does this steak look gray" with dark grill lines. She first responded with its because of the lighting in the room. I always carry a small flashlight and I got it and shined it on the steak. It was still grey. She looked around the room and bent down and told me the steaks are broiled and then put on the griller for a few minutes. I told her the business should have never gotten away from the Flamekist steak. Guess I will only go there for a salad or the country food bar from now on. I give 2 stars because the restaurant is suppose to be a steak house. Steaks should never be broiled unless it's done at home.