Candlelite Inn

Food is OK. Nothing really special. Unless you are very svelt don’t get a booth. Booth can also be noisy if your neighbors are drinking and loud.

What a fun surprise! We didn’t know this iconic restaurant existed until checking on Unilocal for a place to eat. Wonderful ambiance (get one of the booths in the main area!) and delicious food. We’ll be back — especially for special occasions — as it’s a romantic spot and reasonably priced.

Well this place was a disaster and a disappointment. I use to eat here a lot over 30ish years ago. The smothered grilled chicken was over done and the onions where under done and cheese was not even the right kind of cheese for that approach. The surf and turf was average at best. The one saving grace was the chicken and rice soup was excellent. Sorry read my other reviews I’m not a overly critical person. I blame Food network.

Do I really need to write s review to this place? Been coming here since I was a kid and so have my folks. It’s all that and a bag of hot and steaming chips and hot sauce that they bring you right out! Better then most any Mexican food places, even.
The menu is diverse as hell. Where else can you get chips, garlic Texas toast, an 8oz Sirloin Steak n bake for $ 10? All great food too! They have little private booths with patricians so you can have an intimate meal with your company, without distractions. Steak+privacy+price= A Weiner!
Not really but they do have those in the menu. Also Italian food AND Mexican food. So you can bring all your picky kids and if someone is having a bad day they cannot complain and the selection!
When you leave make sure to get some of the, literally homemade fudge! It’s sooooo good and worth the insulin shot!

What can I say, you get it or you don’t. Candellight inn has occupied this spot since jesus broke his first dinosaur bronc. I had awkward dates here in the ‘70s. Recently remodeled and now not scary at all, the restaurant is staffed by genuinely friendly and, well, real wait staff. You’ll know it when you see it. Cozy booths line the dining room, each with a small old style jukebox control on the wall. I didn’t try it this time.
and then there’s the food. Not cuisine, food. «These are the original recipes,» our waiter grinned. Yep, they are. Straight from the ‘50s and ‘60s. American tastes have broadened greatly in the last couple generations. Keep that in mind. I am well into my ’50 and this is what we had when we went out when I was a kid. It is simple so keep your order simple. Steak, baked potato, Coors, pie. Simple fare and not expensive. The Mexican food in genuinely disappointing, but authentic to the era. I remembered when fajitas first appeared on menus. This is from before that time.
So my mate and I debated whether the place is ironic or nostalgic. Looking at the clientel it is a mix of nostalgia and affordable. No dish quite reaches $ 20. It seems to me only a matter of time until it is discovered by the hipsters., that is if there are any hipsters left in Arlington now that the Pitt Grill is gone.
Cold beer, cheap food, great potential for a gathering. Check it out.

Went there before the remodel with the family for a cheap meal and a menu for everyones’ mood.
We make the drive to make a memory. See a juke box, eat salsa verde, to sit in the unique quaintness of The Inn. Not for some dining comparison. We always left happier than when we came in. When the next family member born is old enough we hope to return for the same purpose.

Candlelight Inn is such a strange place. 1) it’s beautiful. The private dining areas are gorgeous! The restaurant is newly remodeled and is very clean and inviting. 2) the service is excellent and staff are very kind and helpful. 3) the food is literally the worst ever. It’s awful! I don’t have a nostalgic history with Candlelight Inn that many other reviewers have. I have, however, eaten there twice in the last 12 months and have been appalled both times. And it’s not like we had a bad experience both times. This IS the experience. The menu is strange and most shocking — they do not serve French fries! Burgers and hot dogs … But no fries. You can get a salad, chips, or the vegetable of the day with your hamburger. The vegetable of the day today was asparagus. From a can. In a bowl. Gross!
I hate to be overly critical… It’s just confusing. Beautiful restaurant… Great staff… Terrible food.

My family and i have been going to this restaurant since I was a little girl. Love it, love it, love it! !

Have been going to Candlelight Inn with my family for years! Now I take my son. He says its the only place that has better spaghetti than me! Love the small steaks, Guacamole is so yummy, fudge is stupid good:) Love this place:) Will always be a favorite:)

Finally had the chance to revisit the remodeled restaurant. This has been a favorite since I first went there in the early 70’s. Today’s visit was a delicious walk through memory lane. We started with warm chips with red salsa, salsa verde, chilled butter, and house made ranch dressing. Very tasty. One of the tastier salsa verdes I’ve had the pleasure of putting on a chip.
I had the tacos al carbon. Marinated beef that has been grilled and wrapped up in tortillas. Very flavorful.
My wife had the taco salad with the house ranch dressing. Also very delicious.
If you haven’t been… give it a try.

Finally visited since they reopened. It’s brighter and cleaner than the old inn but kept its charm. I use to come here as a child fairly often and it is almost the same. Bring quarters for the jukebox if you’re lucky enough to get a booth! There is something for everyone and while the food isn’t amazing it is tasty and prices are decent. Staff is friendly.
I’d really want to give it another ½ star if I could. Worth a visit. And a must if you ever went here in the past for memories sake.

This schizophrenic restaurant can’t decide if it’s a steakhouse, an Italian or a Tex-​Mex restaurant. The food is as poorly executed and bland as you might expect from a place that has no idea what it wants to serve. It’s not completely disgusting but it’s certainly not good. The atmosphere is dim and un-​inviting and the service is fair at best. It’s a crappy restaurant in a crappy part of Arlington I’d rather avoid. The quest tastes like cheap cheese substitute from a jar and the salsa tastes like ketchup.

New building is amazing. The bathroom is super nice. I know it’s weird to say that but I mean it is unusually nice. Generous and tasty glass of pinto noir (8.50). Had the enchilada plate with side taco. Wish I could say it’s amazeballs but it was average. Tiny detail: I requested no beans & they forgot. No biggie. (To me) Hot sauce was good. Bought a slice of strawberry cake to eat @ home — i dont recommend this cake. It was over the top too sweet & not a strawberry in sight. Other than forgetting no beans service was good. Will be back but probably for old times sake not so much for the cooking and taste of food.
Some people say that Unilocal reviews are skewed but I my friend am the real deal. A candlelight inn customer for 40 plus years. Real person=authentic review. Peace out.

Great tex-​mex restaurant! We got the combo fajitas for one (ton of food for two)! Atmosphere was extremely neat! Guacamole wad so delicious very zesty!

Thanks to all Unilocaler reviews. We found and chose this location for family lunch after graduation ceremony, due to the reviews, food variety and location. We couldn’t have been happier with the service, pricing, atmosphere and food selection. We didn’t have to worry about what food people liked or didn’t like because of selection. Our group arrived at different times we told them our party was approximately 25. They didnt make us wait for entire party to arrive before seating us. They sat us in one of their banquet rooms served chips and salsa and sat attendees as they arrived. The pricing was better than expected. Our ticket for 12 of the party was 95.00.(lol we spend more than that on 2 for date night). Top rank service we had 1 dedicated server and I must say no one’s drinks were ever empty and everyone’s order all 25 of them were hot, well plated, and CORRECT. (I KNOW HARD TO BELIEVE BUT IT WAS!) Congrats to our grads we love you. ONE more comment the atmosphere and remodel was awesome grad and family pics from inside were great could definitely provide fun, casual, business, and even romantic atmosphere for dinner.

The ambiance at this place is awesome, the booths are super private and adorable — perfect for dinner or lunch dates. The food is okay, but stick with the Tex-​Mex dishes for the best flavor. The steaks aren’t fantastic, but they curb a craving for a really reasonable price.

I am never trusting anything again. So I went here with high hopes because I heard friends talk about it and it was near by. Boy was I disappointed. My boyfriend got a burrito, first off the waitress told him the plate was really hot and it was barely warm, the meat was dry and had no flavor. I got the Philly cheese steak and once again dry and no flavor. Our server was very nice though and the place was cute but I suggest don’t go there if you like good food. This place was average at best.

Enjoyed an early dinner here tonight with family. We had all been many years ago … but only I had been to the «new» Candlelight Inn previously. We all ordered the Mexican food, as that was what we had eaten back in the late 80s when we were living in the Arlington area.
The plate I had — name escapes me right now — is the main Mexican combo plate with a cold plate and a hot plate, was good. My sister had the three beef tacos with a scoop of guacamole and her husband some combo plate with a couple of enchiladas, a beef taco and beans. Food was all good — the beef in the tacos was actually BEEF without a lot of filler. My sister thought it was a little dry, I would disagree on that — as when you cook real beef for taco meat and you use 80 – 20 (or higher) you have the option of greasy taco meat or somewhat dry taco meat. I really can’t stand to see a grease ring under my tacos, so I would prefer a little drier mix. I thought they did a great job on the beef tacos. I have cooked a lot of beef taco meat in the past — trust me.
Cheese enchiladas were enjoyed by all, as was the guacamole. Odd to put a green olive as a decorative item in the center of the guacamole, but it works! Service was outstanding! We all had sweet tea, which was perfectly balanced and our glasses never got empty. I’d like to see their hot sauce have a little more kick, so would the others who dined with me. Or perhaps they could offer a 2^nd salsa which with more spice and pepper heat? The hot sauce was seriously lacking in our opinion. Go to Tachito’s in Oak Cliff for some really kicking hot sauce.
We tried a couple of the freshly baked cakes for dessert — Neiman Marcus and the Red Velvet. Wow — they were good too.
I’m on the bubble about the rating. Good food, great service — a solid winner.
We enjoyed it. However, the food is EXACTLY the same as it was in the 80s … which is both good and bad. Good, because of the nostalgia and it IS good basic Mexican food after all (we haven’t tried the steak or Italian food). Bad in the sense that none of the food is really inspired. We love that you can come here and get the same good food you grew up, with excellent service, and that the atmosphere is a throwback to simpler times. Perhaps have a blackboard special each day with a dish that was created after 2000? Don’t know the exact balance and certainly what they have is working for them … just don’t know if when company comes in from out of town, if we would take them here … unless they had been to the Candlelight Inn previously.
We also enjoyed the atmosphere, but with one exception. The center tables utilize banquet chairs for seating. I really would like to see them get rid of those dang banquet chairs. I recognize they are good chairs and they are inexpensive, but they are hideous to look at and hard to sit on. I’m on a crusade to rid all restaurants of banquet chairs. Unite and join the fight, banquet chairs must go!

Oh my why did I wait so long to visit the remodeled Candlelight Inn. For decades starting in the 70’s I had late night dinners at Candlelight almost every Saturday night. I had such fond memories of the frozen cold schooners of beer. Candlelight had the coldest beer in town.
This evening my wife and headed over to the new Candlelight and we were not disappointed. The green jalapeño based sauce tasted just like I remembered it. It was so good to taste it again. My wife ordered the chicken sandwich and I ordered one of my all-​time favorites, 3 beef tacos with a side of guacamole.
Now for all of you out there that are guacamole purest, Candelight’s guac isn’t your traditional guac. It’s not chunky and doesn’t have a lot of the traditional ingredients in it. It’s very basic and almost like a think dressing, but I love it!
My beef taco were exactly like I remembered them I drizzled the guac over them and was one happy camper! My wife said her grilled chicken sandwich was awesome. Her only complaint was the bun was too soft and she had to end up eating it was a knife and fork.
Our server took excellent care of us, we never lacked for anything. He also kept our drink filled. It’s so nice to know that Candlelight is back! We’ll be returning again very soon.
One nice addition is they have banquet rooms now!

I was excited to come here because I had not been in years and heard it was remodeled. The booths were super cute and cozy. The service was also excellent, the waitress brought my daughter extra pepperoni, crackers, crayons and even gave her a glow in the dark bracelet when we were leaving because she behaved well :)
I was disappointed in the food. My salad was small, but good. I liked how they make their own Italian dressing. I actually liked everything I got but my main entrée, the grilled pork chops were way too dry :(It was a simple meal and should have been easy to prepare.