Gardski’s Loft

We had the chicken fried steak and the mushroom swiss burger and they were both incredible. Totally worth the trip.

The food here was pretty good, and the service was decent. The inside is a little dated but has an almost cool old school look to it. I would suggest getting the gardski burger and or the jalapeño cream corn. They are both very good.

WOW. No pic of my order … I ate it! Best burger I had in six months. Honest. Come here … You will love it. Attentive staff. Great prices. Tasty food.

I’m a lifelong fan of Gardski’s…until the last year or so. I’ve been in 4 – 5 times in the last year and each time the food has gotten worse. This week we had a party of 8 people at 5:30 p.m. They sat us upstairs where there was only one other table of guests. The upstairs portion smelled horribly of cigarette smoke which we tried to overlook and not complain about, since their enclosed bar is also upstairs.
2 in our party needed to place their order immediately as they had to eat and run to make it to another event, so they ordered even before the rest of the group arrived. 30 minutes later, they still did not have their food (burger, soup & side salad). They asked the waiter and he apologized and said there were some problems in the kitchen but it would be right out. About 10 min later it still hadn’t arrived, so he went downstairs to find waiter. A few minutes later he brought their food. The burger, fries and soup were cold, but they had no time to complain about it. They picked at it, paid and left.
In the meantime, the rest of us placed our order. It took 45 minutes for our food to arrive (remember we are still only one of two tables upstairs and the downstairs area had maybe 5 – 6 tables filled). When the food arrived, it was cold! We were on a timeline to get somewhere else by 7:00 and were pushing the clock. We couldn’t find our waiter in order to ask that our food be reheated, but even if we could’ve found him, the quality of the food was so poor, that it wouldn’t have mattered.
Their «spring mix» salad was nothing more than 95% iceberg lettuce with 5% spinach leaves which were wilted. Their roasted chicken came floating in a sea of oil and was inedible. The grilled cheese w/​bacon was burned on both sides and the bacon was in tiny crumbles and contained 5 – 6 crumbles throughout the entire sandwich.
When paying out, we did tell the waiter our problems and he again apologized and referenced problems in the kitchen. We knew it wasn’t his fault and didn’t withhold a good tip as I don’t believe in not tipping.
They also got a horrible food inspection review the week prior which I didn’t find out about in time, or we would’ve chosen somewhere else to dine that day.
Something needs to change at Gardskis, and fast. We left at 7:00 and the place was near empty. It has too great a history and was to good of a restaurant to allow it to be run into the ground as it appears is happening now.
There are 8 of us who won’t return. What a shame.

I have enjoyed Gardski’s Loft every time I have been for lunch. Great service and amazing food. I have had the Rosemary Baked Chicken and Chicken Tenders both excellent!

Good and lovely place to kick back and have a nice meal. We had soups and sandwiches both rich with flavor!

I had not been to Gardski’s in probably ten years, but I’m glad my wife thought of it as a good place for a quiet date night after I surprised her by booking a sitter last night.
The restaurant was mostly empty on the Wednesday night we were there, and accordingly we were quickly seated upstairs and received prompt attention from our waiter.
The chicken fry was as good as I remembered it being years back, and the homemade chips as a side are a meal in themselves. I can’t remember a time in recent history when I’ve had such good attention from a waiter… My iced tea never got more than half empty before a refill was presented.
We loved the historic pictures on the wall of Lubbock from a bygone era, and enjoyed going to a restaurant without loud background noise– we go out to enjoy quiet time to enjoy each other without distractions.
The only two things keeping this from being a 5-​star review are:
–The restaurant needs some remodeling. Light fixtures and fans are yellowed and have bulbs burnt out, and the whole upstairs interior could use paint.
–Smoking is allowed in the bar upstairs. Although it is a separate room, stale smoke does permeate occasionally into the dining area. This didn’t bother us (even though my wife is allergic and is asthmatic), but those particularly sensitive might find it offensive.
Gardski’s is a unique Lubbock dining establishment, and we look forward to returning soon.

Awesome homemade chips. We had the turkey burger and the Gardski’s burger. Both were amazing. The owner came by and visited. Excellent service and good set in a cool old house.

The atmosphere is awesome! Just that is worth going… The food is good too…
The only thing is that I have had a few bad experiences over the last 15 or so years (under cooked chicken) that prevent me from giving it 5 stars… But I would totally recommend!

I can’t believe that I have lived in Lubbock for three years and have only recently been to Gardski’s. This place is the bomb. I had the chicken macaroni and cheese and it was absolutely heavenly. The peach cobbler is amazing. Definitely recommend Gardski’s.

I’m going to go as far as saying this is probably one of my favorite places to eat in Lubbock. I have never eaten here and left disappointed. Everything on the menu is bueno bueno bueno except the chicken fried steak and the fresh fruit cup which wasn’t sooooo fresh if you know what I mean. Order if you dare! The burgers here are great and the mac and cheese here is probably one of the best mac and cheese dishes I have ever had! This restaurant is historic to Lubbock but I wouldn’t recommend sitting on the inside. It has a hint of old carpet/​old people, but sitting on the patio is the best way to experience this restaurant anyways. It is the perfect location for a birthday brunch or a dinner date with your favorite guy or girl. It is close to campus so it is so convenient to stop in and get a bite to eat with some girl friends, classmates, or co-​workers. This is for sure a staple on my lunch/​dinner list and I definitely recommend everyone trying the ice cream cookie pizookie. I absolutely LOOOVE IT! The wait staff here is also really attentive and nice.

Great classic food in a classy atmosphere. Wait service was great. If only they would fix their high chairs.

This used to be a great place to eat, but I would never recommend it to anyone again. The service was very good and the atmosphere is ok, but the food was something from a tv dinner.

I was disappointed some what. Gardski’s is supposed to a «higher end» restaurant. I thought the food was only so-​so and the service was not all that great. I have been here several times throughout my college years and subsequent return visits with each time hoping it’ll be a little better. One thing I have noticed is that the atmosphere and the facility has not changed in years, so a plus for consistency?

Rustic house not far from campus… The food was excellent and service was good. Try the Chipotle Chicken. It will blow you away!

My family has eaten here 3 or 4 times when we visit Lubbock. The old house makes for a nice, quaint atmosphere, and it’s convenient to campus without being in the middle of all the action on nearby University.
All the sandwiches are well-​prepared and demonstrate a slightly different take on traditional fare. Today, for example, I had the 3-​cheese grilled cheese sandwich. It’s served club style, with three different cheeses as the name implies. There are also bits of hickory smoked bacon to give it slightly more flavor. It was served with homemade thick potato chips, and a cup of light tomato soup that complements the sandwich quite well.
It’s a nice setting, with good food and reasonable prices… a nice change from the chain restaurants and sports bars catering to the college crowd.

hadn’t eaten here since college years ago so i was excited to drop back by for a Monte cristo sandwich and to show my girlfriend an old college haunt. The food was the same as before though I think I had changed and was no longer impressed. Everything is a vanilla okay level as far as food and it will fill your belly, but wont leave you wowed.

Good if you want to go in with your graduate school friends, have a schooner of Shiner, some fries, and a Monte Cristo. It is always dead whenever I go in! I like going here though, just walking from campus (kind of a long walk though). I’d take my parents here if they came to visit. I do love a Monte Cristo when I can find one!

I went here for dinner on a Sunday night a couple of weeks ago. Gardski’s came highly recommended.
Really, I was disappointed. The food was only average. Very average. But the service was good, which is always a plus in my book, and it might make me return again. But I would not go back for the food.
I had chicken fried steak and green beans and mashed potatoes. The green beans were terrible. Probably the worst I’ve had. Cold, rubbery, gross. The CFS was merely average. The «Texas Toast» was a little piece of bread that was toasted probably an hour before I got there.
The atmosphere is OK and it’s a good place to talk because it is not loud. And the service was good. I’d go back for that, but not the food.

As Jan M. pointed out, Gardski’s has had some bad days but fortunately I think those days have passed. I have had a few bad experiences but the two visits this past month have far exceeded the poor service I have had in the past.
Both times lately I have been and had good luck was during dinner while the bad visits were during lunch. I’m not saying that dinner has better service or better food but the coincidence some seem to suggest that.
If the weather is nice then I would highly recommend that you sit on the recently redone patio that lets you overlook Broadway. For me the perfect Gardski’s meal starts with an appetizer order of the onion straws (HINT: they are not on the menu but ask for them anyways). A huge pile of seasoned onion straws comes to the table and everybody freezes in there conversation and dives into the pile. I have thought once or twice about making this my meal but I remember my second favorite thing about Gardski’s… the crispy strips of applewood smoked peppered bacon that come inside of my club sandwich.
The food is definitely worth the wait (if there is a wait). Apparently the service can be sketchy so bring a suduko or have some good apps on your iphone while you wait for the onion straws. I will keep going back and so will all the people who love this Lubbock staple.