Catfish Cabin

The food was delicious and the service was fabulous. We were in town for a wedding and we stopped into Catfish Cabin and boy were we in for a surprise. They brought coleslaw and beans and hush puppies immediately to the table. We felt right at home. I recommend the American style catfish fried with fried squash. My only recommendation to the restaurant is cheese grits but that would be the southern in me.

This is not a bar. Should not be listed here. It is a small restaurant with no bar. Definitely should not pop up as a bar

Delicious home cooked southern food. You definitely must stop if you’re driving through (or live nearby). We’re driving through and thanks to Unilocal,stopped. Huge portions and very generous bringing beans, slaw and hush puppies to the table (complimentary). Get the house special-​catfish!

Delightful place to visit! Just come hungry, with all the sides plus delicious Catfish, you will be stuffed!

Very good catfish dinners. Vitals come out right away, which is a good thing because the entrées took a while. However, it was well worth it as the food was very hot and fresh. Skip the salad bar, it’s not needed. The Cajun grilled catfish was the best choice at our table. On a Sunday, when it is difficult to find open restaurants, this one hit the spot!

The hushpuppies are to die for. Seriously. I consider myself a red neck connoisseur of hushpuppies. 5 stars for them for sure. Got the domestic tilapia. Two pieces filled me up which «ain’t easy». If you are a normal eater, you don’t need the «All you care to eat. «
When you are seated, the steady flow of the «beans in the cast iron pot» and the puppies will definitely preclude spending extra $ for the bottom less fish. All in all a good «red neck» fish experience. Beware of the floor which is uneven and a hazard to those not so fleet of foot. Would go back for sure.

I have been looking forward to experiencing the type of dishes I had growing up in Kentucky and knew a vacation in Crossville Tennessee would give me the opportunity.
I knew I was in the right place at Catfish Cabin when they delivered a pot of beans with diced onions on the side, cole slaw, and hush puppies. Delicious!
The catfish was huge, lightly breaded, and fried to a perfect golden crispness. We ordered the imported as the waitress suggested it would be milder in flavor, and she did not lead us astray. I would also like to mention the lack of greasiness, the lightness of the batter/​breading, and that the filet was very tender. We also had the fried frog legs, which showed up piping hot and fresh. Catfish Cabin… you did not disappoint this still southern at heart gal, bless ya’all!

Best catfish I’ve ever had. Period.
Usually a catfish fillet is a small pathetic slice of meat, deep fried to oblivion. At The Cabin, it’s a MASSIVE fillet, lightly breaded and perfectly fried. The meat was juicy tender and burn-​your-​tongue hot.
My only mistake was thinking they’d be small, ordering two, and not having space for peach cobbler… Diner beware, always leave room for cobbler!

Fantastic, homey restaurant that serves a wide variety of seafood in southern styles. Some of the best catfish I’ve ever had and that you should go out of your way to have, too. Amazing fried green tomatoes as well!
The staff are friendly and a delight to talk with, very welcoming. You’re not going to leave hungry as many of the sides are all you can eat. Just off the beaten path, it’s worth leaving the highway just a bit to get away from the bland and routine fast food to stop in here.

First time in this area & this family run restaurant was exactly what we were hoping to find. I got Cajun fried American catfish & sweet potato fries; my hubby loved the Creole style catfish with crawfish sauce. Found out that the less expensive «imported» catfish is from Vietnam! So interesting for central Tennessee! Friendly service, homey atmosphere.

We always come here when we come to Crossville, which is usually several times per year. This time Kayla, one of the managers waited on us, as we came in fairly early prior to a theatre matinée (in fact, we opened the place at 11:00 their time.) We both had a local John Henry beer, which was pretty good, and this time I ordered the 12 fried shrimp accompanied by fried green tomatoes. My wife went for the somewhat healthier vegetable plate and had sweet potatoes, squash, apples and fried green tomatoes as well. Food is delish as always but don’t come here if you don’t like fresh fried food. As usual, the table was laden with the pintos, cole slaw and hush puppies already, so we knew leaving that we would not require a lot of dinner tonight. Kayla was a delight to talk to and since we were the first of several customers there that early, she was able to spend a lot of time with us talking as we ate. We love this little place and will be back again later in the summer!

The beans, slaw and hush puppies we delivered before our drinks made it to the table. The slaw was good but the hush puppies and beans were excellent. There was one wait staff and she did an admirable job with a very pleasant attitude. The catfish was fried very delicately, not greasy or heavy. Very good flavor. The shrimp was plump and juicy! Portion size was nice
The okra and turnip green sides were passable but not great.
They have a ramp for disabled access but the lot is gravel so a little difficult to manage. There is also a small step to negotiate in a wheel chair.
Overall, a good value with good food and good service!

Best Catfish in Tennessee. I wish they had a place up north so I could get this level of catfish. I would drive 50 miles out of my way to eat here.

My wife and I who live in Cleveland, TN met our Son, Daughter-​in-​law and Grandson who live in Cookeville, TN there for lunch on a Saturday. We got there around 11:30 am local time. There was no one else there since they had just opened for the day about 20 min earlier. There was only one waitress and the cook there.
I and my son ordered the all-​you-​can-​eat catfish dinner. My wife ordered the baked catfish dinner. My daughter-​in-​law ordered the Fried Alligator Tails. My grandson, who has dietary restrictions ordered a salad and baked catfish filet. The waitress was real sensitive to his dairy free and gluten free diet and was real helpful and understanding. She has a child with dietary restrictions as well.
I started by ordering one piece of baked catfish and one piece of grilled catfish (they restrict the initial order to two pieces, then each additional reorder to one piece at a time). Both the grilled and the baked catfish were undercooked and lacked any flavor. Salting them was the way I chose to make them palatable. My wife chose to put Louisiana hot sauce on hers.
I next ordered some fried catfish. I don’t know how it was breaded, but the breading was tough. Not as good as the regular cornmeal breaded filet. I also ordered potato salad as my side dish. They still serve a pot of mixed beans, cole slaw and Hush Puppies along with a dish of chopped white onion to everyone.
My daughter-​in-​law said that the Fried Alligator chunks were tough as well. To us, the only good food was the complimentary sides served.
In addition, they have significantly increased their prices. I have included a new copy of their menu so you want be surprised if you choose to dine there.
IMO, if you want some good catfish in the Crossville, TN area, any you can go on Friday only, check out the Cumberland Mountain State Park Restaurant on US 127. They have a catfish buffet (on Fridays only) that is much better with a larger variety to choose from for the same price.

Hours show they are open until 8:30 pm Mon-​Thurs, however, arrived at 6:55 on a Tuesday and it was closed. No cars in the parking lot and no lights on inside.

Four of us ate here last evening on the way home from a day-​long trip. All orders come with all-​you-​can-​eat Cole slaw, beans and hush puppies. The catfish filets are large and prepared to order from several choices and not greasy. The service is friendly and helpful. The location is just far enough from I40. If you’re in the area, give it a try!

This place gets 1 star off only because it could have some music or something to spice up the atmosphere. Everything else was spot on. The service was great, there’s a minimal staff but they are all very kind. The food was really solid from the complimentary hush puppies, slaw, and pinto beans; to the catfish hoagie and fried okra.
We were passing through on our road trip and probably would have never stopped has we not seen it on Unilocal.I recommend it if you’re looking for a quiet delicious meal at a very reasonable price.

It was Sunday and all the local places were closed. We were dreading to have to resort to fast food. Unilocal popped this up near the fast food place we were going to stop at and it said it was open on Sundays. We were pleasantly surprised at the menu options but went with their showcase meal, 2 filets of catfish and a side with coleslaw, pinto beans and hush puppies. The pinto beans were perfectly seasoned and came with diced onions in a bowl. The hush puppies were bite sized hot n fresh, excellent. I’m not a big slaw fan but this was really good as well. I had a Deviled egg and my wife had the greens, melt in your mouth and the seasoning was superb. The cat fish comes either fried, baked, blackened or grilled and you choose either American or Imported catfish. We chose fried American, the breading was light and tasty and the fish fresh and flaked well. It was a delicious meal.
The staff was friendly and attendant, our glasses never went dry and our hush puppy supply never faltered. I you’re going by this place do yourself a favor and stop by and bring an appetite.

First and foremost: this may be the best catfish we have ever had. We got the American fried and American Cajun fried. It was so so crispy. We loved having the beans, slaw, and hushpuppies delivered to our table immediately. The slaw had a hint of lemon juice, making it better than the average slaw.
Now, the negatives that take it down two stars: slow service, hushpuppies were not hot, and we found two hairs on the tartar sauce bottle. Now, I know hair happens, so I didn’t make a big deal of that. But I did wish for hot hushpuppies.
All in all, I definitely recommend eating here. It literally is GREAT catfish.

The food at The Catfish Cabin was awesome. The décor is utilitarian and the presentation is nothing special, but if you’re in the mood for some casual comfort food, it’s perfect.
We were promptly greeted with a kettle of beans, raw onions, hush puppies, and coleslaw to snack on before we even ordered anything. We split the fried alligator appetizer. The alligator nuggets came out rolling around on a dessert plate, no effort at presentation, and no dipping sauce, but none of that mattered because the cornmeal dusted nuggets were delish. For lunch I ordered the cajun catfish and mac’n’cheese, while my husband ordered the baked catfish and turnip greens. The fish was perfectly seasoned and cooked, and the sides were equally tasty.
Our server was young and a little awkward and lingering, but she was cordial and prompt enough. She didn’t know anything about their beers on draft, even their more obscure local ones. We asked her for samples, to which she responded she didn’t know if they could give. Instead of thinking to go ask, we had to prompt her to ask the manager, who allowed us the samples. After tasting them, we ordered a pint each of their CalfKiller beer from Sparta. I love that a small local joint carries craft and local beers. It’s nice to see something besides your standard domestics.
Go for a casual meal. Don’t expect much in terms of exceptional service, cozy décor, or special presentation because you’re not going to get it. But you will get prompt service, cold beer, and hot, tasty (albeit somewhat overpriced) food.