Cracker Barrel Old Country Store

We meet family here every few months and have been doing so for a few years now. It’s a good sized place that can very well handle the tremendous traffic it gets. (Additional parking is found behind the restaurant, so the parking lot is not as stingy as it first appears.)
We mainly come here on Saturdays and have never had more than a few minutes wait. The waitstaff is pleasant and usually efficient, but stuff happens, especially when you have a large group. Any mistakes made are honest and fixed immediately. Drinks are promptly refilled and napkins are generously given. Bathrooms are decent.
The food here is what you expect from any Cracker Barrel, no surprises thankfully. Eggs are always on-​point, and perfectly cooked, along with other types of dishes.
(The only complaint I have is not their fault and does not affect my rating of 4 stars. When you leave, you can only go west (right) on 200. If you have to go east (left), you must make a right and head down 1 or 2 intersections (depending upon traffic) to make a u-​turn. Ocala is a major city, contrary to many people’s beliefs, and traffic can be a major pain in the backside.)

Waited 20 minutes after ordering while we watched tables on either side of us get seated and served. When we finally approached the manager, we were told our food was next up. I would understand if we had ordered something exotic but we didn’t. Got up and walked out after the manager started blowing smoke up our butts.

Very good food and friendly staff. Ordered lunch at 11 am and there was no soup or baked foods, so I waited about 25 minutes for the soup and it ended up burnt. The manager was very apologetic, and offered me something else.

Wow. Our party of six was seated on a rainy holiday weekend at around 3 pm. Wait time was 20 mins as to be expected. What was not to be expected was seeing tables being turned before our food came out. I finally asked for a manager since I was unable to get her attention and asked what was taking so long and pointed out tables that were seated after us had already dined and dashed. Our waitress was very attentive and made sure we had full glasses during our wait which is the only reason I rated three stars. But the food. Meh. My son actually left his Mac n cheese uneaten which is a first. One order came out with gravy when it was specifically ordered without. Seems back of house has some serious problems. What ticked me off was that the manager never came back after my complaint. I thought she should have swung over to make sure everything was okay but I never saw her on our side of the restaurant again. If u are heading south on 75 go to the one at Wesley Chapel instead.

I have always loved the food at Cracker Barrel and this one is just as good as the rest of them … good old fashioned service and solid menu … it’s wonderful to know when I travel that I can get what I want and with a smile …

I love me some Cracker Barrel. I go to this location for dinner with my aunt when we come out to visit her. It’s our thing.
The food here has always been wonderful, personal favorites include the fried apples, the buttermilk biscuits, and the turnip greens.
The place is always clean, the wait staff is always friendly, the country store is always so hard to not want to buy everything.
If I had any complaint, it would simply be that I have yet to find a protein that makes me swoon.
The sweet ham seemed unimpressive, thin cut and while it wasn’t bone dry, it wasn’t juicy like ham should be (imho). The fried liver always seems to be missing something (maybe it’s just fried too long), I love the flavor of the chicken and dumplings, but I hate the actual dumplings… to me a dumpling should be a bloop (a drop), round… you know. It’s not that I hate any of these dishes (if I did, that wouldn’t be 4 stars I just clicked)… I just am still searching for that WoW! dinner protein. (Although, I do enjoy their Country Fried Steak for breakfast, that is wow, but that’s a different location I get that at).
Anyhow, I plan to continue coming and sampling all the diners until I find that one that makes me weak in the knees. I know it’s there, I just have to find it.
In the meantime, the Cracker Barrel has my heart. Keep up the great work.

Dropped off breakfast and never came back except to deliver the bill. Besides the cold coffee the gravy for the biskets was the worst tasting fake smoke flavor I’ve ever had. Will not recommend and won’t be back anytime soon.

As always you know what your getting… Great homemade food! And really nice employees, friendly and caring.

Waitstaff is ok food ok I was looking forward 2 eatting here. Kinda dirty. Wasn’t all dat.

This place is located in what I consider to be «prime Cracker Barrel territory» — you just might find one every other exit on I-​75! This location was decent (although it took some navigating to get to — so drive through the hotel parking lot) — the dining room, gift shop, and bathrooms were decently clean and the place had the standard «old country» vibe.
The hostess seated us within a few minutes, although they seemed like they might have been understaffed — a few employees seemed to have that frantic deer-​in-​headlights look. We came in wanting to eat lunch, but I forgot that I could get breakfast for lunch (score!). My coffee was strong, hot, and refilled regularly — but the food was just average. I ordered the Double Meat breakfast platter, and was disappointed that my 3 eggs that I ordered over-​medium, were actually raw still. The sausage was as cooked as cooked can get, and the grits were pretty soupy and bland. The biscuits were good though. This was a pretty filling dish — but the inconsistency in the food brought down the experience definitely.
The service was great though. When I pointed out the issue with the eggs to our server, she took care of it immediately — and the manager was the one to bring the food back out just a short time later. Both the server and management apologized several times, and got the point across that they take guest satisfaction very seriously. While these were great gestures, I have a hard time rating any breakfast place higher than 3 stars if they can’t execute eggs perfectly — since… well, they are in the business of eggs.

My boyfriend took me here for lunch because I was seriously craving some country style chicken. Our waitress was super nice and our food came out fast. We scarfed down our meals and it was delicious!

Thanksgiving to go — hope they get organized for next year.
This was their first year, staff didn’t know the details & no signage. I asked the girl at the door where to pick up my to-​go order, she says the back register. Girl at register doesn’t know, but another cashier said to drive around back. Long line around building blocking parking spaces. Guy behind me kept honking his horn! After a 50 minute wait I got to the front of the line. They were asking the first two cars in line for their name, instead of working ahead. The food was good, so nice not cooking & spending time with family.

How can you go wrong with this place. Your food is always out within seconds of ordering it. And they always have some of the coolest things for sale. Only downside is sometimes the food seems microwaved.

Just straight up amazing food and the store has many nice things! I can’t help myself but to buy things every single time I am there. I honestly have a problem! Their gifts are so unique and creative and I have a salt and pepper shaker fetish! The food… Let’s talk food. I love the oatmeal and muffin combo! I can’t eat the entire thing myself! Share! That is the keyword! Enjoy yourself when you go and share time with family. Put down your gadgets and share conversation! #postingdiva

I realise this wasn’t part of Cracker Barrel, but as I approached a young guy, in his 20’s got up from his rocking chair, and opened the door for me — Thank you!
I honestly stopped here to use the restroom and pick up a drink for the rest of our trip home, because I know that I could trust their restroom to be clean and the drink to be chilled. Everything about this trip was right.

Over the years I’ve been to dozens and dozens of Cracker Barrels and this one was as consistent as any, which for you regulars means great breakfast and good service. We arrived at 8am after walking across the road from the Courtyard and were seated right away and greeted by our waitress within seconds.
After eating at a few Cracker Barrels in Florida over the past week we tried different items this time, choosing the oatmeal and blueberry muffin and breakfast egg sandwich. Both were excellent. Most impressive was my friend altered the sandwich by adding bacon and sausage and removing a few items and it still came out perfect. Great place for breakfast!

How can you go to a Cracker Barrel and not order Grits?
The two of us came here for a late lunch around one o’clock. The place was clearing out and there was plenty of window tables and seats. Since I had arrived early, it gave me a chance to look around explore both the restaurant and store.
It’s been about ten years since I’ve been to a Cracker Barrel. We haven’t seen many since we moved from the Midwest And, not a lot has changed, which I view as a good thing.
Some items on the menu have been updated but the traditional stuff has been left alone. One of those items of course is their southern Country Friend Steak. Wow, did that bring back memories. But I came here for the Grits. And, not that Cheesy Grits they serve. Just good, old fashion, southern grits. Nom nom!
Enjoy yourself, and remember to schedule your Cardiologist appointment for the AM! LOL

Stopped here for breakfast on a Saturday as we were road trippin’ it out of town.
The parking lot was packed and I expected there to be a wait. Walked in and we were seated right away! Waitress prompty took our orders and food was brought out not too long afterwards. I ordered the blueberry and blackberry pancakes which came with an egg and sausage/​bacon of my choosing. Food was delicious and more than I could eat so there were plenty of leftovers.
Gripes:
Our table was seated very close to another so we could hear their entire conversation.
With a restaurant that serves so many people, there are only 3 stalls in the womens restroom?!? Be prepared for a wait on a busy day.
Overall, a great choice for dining instead of doing fast food. I would go back if back in the area.

My first experience at a Cracker Barrel restaurant was a good one!
Breakfast was tasty and the portions were generous. Loved the baked apples, it is basically hot chunky apple pie filling in a bowl!
The store had all kinds of cool old-​timey candies, and I picked up a sweet pair of flamingo pants!
Phil H. wasn’t kidding about not trying to out-​maneuver the silver foxes at Cracker Barrel. I had an older woman pin me against a shelf and tell me I was the reason for her replacement knee when I grabbed the last discounted container of Jelly Belly. Diplomacy and handing over the half-​price sweets got me out of there unscathed.

We came here for the corned beef dinner as we did last year. We received 3 ½″ slices of corned beef, a large wedge of cabbage, 5 pieces of carrots and a baking potato on our plate. We shared each others biscuits/​corn bread. The corned beef was tender and could be cut w/​a fork. But there was little protein compared to the rest of the items. The corn bread was also so dry it took an entire ice tea to wash it down. This year the meal was sitting in 1″ of broth which made all the food soggy. When cutting an item the broth also splashed up on our clothes. This was not what it was like last year. But the price vs quality/​quantity was well worth the $ 8.99. It went up a dollar from last year. Such is life.
The service here is always friendly and efficient. Unfortunately that wasn’t the case w/​Jacob. I will not reiterate what he said or didn’t say or did or didn’t do, but it was not their usual standard. We were there one hr. during a slow time because of his inefficiency.
The front of house seemed clean, but noticed a different server clear her table, not wipe it down and seat another customer. What is going on here with the servers? The only hope was a server named Hope who removed our used plates as she was passing by and was friendly.
We usually shop in the store after eating but just wanted to get out of there. That was a $ 50 merchandise sale that Cracker Barrel lost from us. In paying the cashier I was again surprised at her cavalier attitude. We were glad to finally leave.
I’ll be back but not for a while. Hopefully they’ll get more servers that enjoy their job by then.
Oh! They have a second new menu that features healthier choices. Yay!!! The pecan crusted catfish look good for next time.
Current Health Inspection Report: 1 Critical violation & 0 @ Risk violation.