Arrived on Friday just prior to 5:30PM before the dinner crowd. Â There were large groups of people already there but still plenty of available seating. Â We sat inside due to the summer heat and admired the landscaping and scenery through the large windows, which were spotlessly clean. Â The restaurant was clean and well decorated with lots photos on the walls. Â
Dinner for six was served two plates at a time a couple minutes apart, somewhat awkward sitting there watching your companions eat. Â Everone at our table ordered the fish plate consisting of three pieces of fried fish, a corn coblet, fries, cole slaw, lima beans and one hush puppy. Â Dinner rolls were served about half way through the meal and they were very tasty, although a bit late. Â The tea was served in a tall glass and only unsweet is available, but refills were fairly quick.
The fried fish was clearly overcooked, not just on my plate but on all of our party. Â The light breading although tasty was dark and the fish was crunchy and dry on the ends and sides. Â One of the three fillets was mostly bones with a large backbone on one end. Â The fries were "just warm" and were soggy... not crisp. Â The corn coblet was small and overcoked to the point of being too soft and deflated, as if setting in water too long. Â The cole slaw was a bit dry and was warm. Â The lima beans were well seasoned although mine remained practically untouched since they are more of an acquired tatste. Â The hush puppy was very good but wish there were two.
Overall, the quality of the main dish items was poor. Â The dinner rolls and hush puppy were the stars of the meal.
The server was pleasant,smiled and was quick to provide drink refills.
Found my way back here after a year (Has it been that long?). Â Sadly, the 2nd visit was disappointing. Â Food was bland and the fries were especially terrible. Â In their defense, we did come close to the break between lunch and dinner, but as I remember, we'd also come around the same time on our first visit. Â I may stop if I happen to be out this way, but I will not make it a destination.
Review Source:This place is great! It's popular, so expect a wait, but it's sooo worth it. We went with a group of 9 of us, and they accommodated us easily. There was a wedding party going on in a semi-private-ish area, so that should say something about the food.
Ok, speaking of food...omg. A lot of us ordered the catfish special...SO. FREAKIN'. GOOD. Catfish a-plenty. I think we each received 4 pieces of fish, along with a mess of sides... I had cole slaw (really good!), and three other sides that I knew I should have written down, because now that I've waited to write this, I can't remember. BUT...I ate a piece and a half of the fish, and took the rest home, BECAUSE I wanted to finish the sides!!! Oooh, and the hush puppy they give you...I could eat like 72 of those. I'd likely die trying, because they're BIG, but they are SO good. Going back to the fish, once I asked for a box for the rest of my fish, everyone started handing me their leftover fish to take back as well - I ended up with a TON of fish! Stuck that in the fridge back at the cabin, took it home a couple days later and RELIVED the experience. It was still so tasty, and my fiancee loved it as well.
In a nutshell, GREAT food, BIG food, GREAT waitstaff, NICE surroundings, excellent little treasure out in a bunch of campgrounds.
Neal's is one of those places that you just keep going to. I'm a frequent Frio Floater and every trip ends in a meal at Neal's Cafe.
All of the appetizers are delicious...especially the Fried Pickles & Fried Poppers. (Great after a full day on the river!)
I normally switch up between two entrees, pepper steak or chicken fried steak/chicken. The pepper steak is great because they use Serrano peppers instead of jalapenos and it always oozes with cheese. If you've never had a pepper steak you are missing out, and Neal's is a great place for a first time tryer! The CFS/C is great, but I can never finish it. Never. Last time I went they had scalloped potatoes for the special and they were so freak'n good I just wanted more.Their bread is always good and fresh.
Sometimes when we find ourselves eating there around brunch time. It makes it complicated because half of our party always wants breakfast and the other half lunch. So we end up spending a long time there splitting ordering times between breakfast and lunch. But nonetheless, the food is good. They have great breakfast salsa for those people who are interested in that.
Just beware in summertime. They get busy and you will have to wait. But I'm pretty sure they have a rule you can take your own ice chest if you need to BYOB. (they don't serve alcohol)
I just loveeee Neal's Cafe :)
Mmmmmm! Â This place is great! Â Had lunch here on my last day staying at Neal's Lodges.
Had the fried mushrooms, chicken fried steak, and fries. Â Everything was very tasty and well prepared! Â The mushrooms were stupendous! Â Get those, you get a ton!
My friends got burgers and seemed well pleased with them.
Our server left a bit to be desired, I didn't really mind, but my friends were complaining about her lack of checking up on us and service (I found out later they didn't bother to tip her, not cool, hopefully I tipped well enough to cover them). Â I didn't ever get my rolls I was supposed to get that she said would be out. Â Had to ask for them and ended up taking them to go. Â I also never got a drink refill even though I drank all my drink.
I'm easy to please though, no biggie for me. Â Definitely the best place to eat out there I reckon. Â There seemed to be other little place around, but nothing seemed as good or busy as this place!
Will def be back if in area and don't wanna cook :)
Neal's is awesome. Really. The fried catfish is amazing as is their signature chicken-fried chicken and chicken-fried steak. Portions are generous and filling. I also tried their fried pickles, which are very good. I have been to Neal's a couple of times as my parents live nearby. They go every couple of weeks and swear that they have the best food in the county. Nice lodge-like atmosphere, friendly, if not overworked servers and amazingly good comfort food means every time we are in Concan, we stop by Neal's.
Review Source:Came here on Saturday for lunch (well, breakfast would've been preferred but we long missed that one) and it was our first chicken fried chicken experience. We started out with the Freddy nachos which rocked and were told this is the place for CFC.
The best way to order this is to ask for the gravy on the side so it doesn't make the chicken soggy per advice from our friends - and unless you're prepared to eat a ton of food you can easily split this dish! The bread it comes with is AMAZING and the chicken fried chicken was overall pretty decent. Apparently the white gravy is the worst for you (not surprisingly) and although it adds a certain something to the dish by itself it really has no flavor. I don't know if it's a sin to say this but I would've preferred good ole brown gravy! It came with a side salad which honestly I didn't touch because it looked like it came from a bag and was perhaps past its prime date.
The food and atmosphere is awesome - but our waitress was young, perhaps new, or just in general sucky. In any event, going out back to check the patio and view of the Frio River is a must - it's truly beautiful and I'm guessing would be a great place for an evening drink. Oh wait, if they only served alcohol - it's a dry county. Grab a coke and take in the scenery as you enjoy packing on the pounds.
This place is good ole' country cooking with an amazing view. The history of this place, and particularly  Mary Tom, is fascinating, and totally adds to the ambiance.
Last year when we ate here we had the chicken fried steak special- delicious. Now that meal came with a pear salad, which I won't tell you about, you just have to open your mind and try it yourself.
This year we arrived in time for breakfast, and man was it good. Yes, we were all starving, but everything is homemade and buttery and I'm getting really hungry right now just thinking about it!
Anyways, this place wins all around with the atmosphere, history, and of course, the food. Good eats for sure, so grab some friends, head to the Frio, and be sure to eat at Neal's.
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