Watermill Restaurant
| Address: | 803 Mammoth Cave Rd, Cave City, KY 42127, USA |
| Phone: | +1 270-773-3186 |
| Rating: | 3.8 |
| Working: | 5:30AM–9PM 5:30AM–9PM 5:30AM–9PM 5:30AM–9PM 5:30AM–9PM 5:30AM–9PM 5:30AM–9PM |
Location
Photos 100
Reviews 6
SA
Sasquatch Watch
Went April 10, 2016 around 130pm after a cave tour, and catching this place out of the corner of my eye on the left side coming out of the caves property as u enter back into cave city. We had zero idea what to expect but the parking lot was full, and many establishments were closed and we had to eat asap before the 4 hr drive home. As we entered we were told by an exiting customer "good luck! the lines out the door!" we shrugged and entered, seeing alot of folks dressed to the nines most likely after just attending church. The buffet was the smart option as when a place is packed like it was, the fresh food will have quick turnovers and was immediatley being replaced. The chef, an older colored lady looked hard at work at the helm, and you could instantly see the waitressing staff with their county smiles and quick steps talking to the locals on a first name basis. We luckily got a seat next to the buffet (a menu was also available). We instantly were greeted, rolled silverware arrived, a drink order taken, and we opted for the buffet. The line was long, but moved swiftly. All food was home cooked. Fresh deep fried fish and chicken were the hit of the day, and a staff member made sure the items never ran out. Awesome. We even had he pot roast which was like butter falling apart in my mouth. Devine!! The only item that ran out and we waited on were the mash potates, but my waitress intervened and made sure to bring me a large side of the fresh scorching food when it was available! We paid credit card, and was able to get change by breaking a 20 at the til for the ever busy waitress. My wife raved over the banana pudding and the individual "school-sized" ice creams were a step into my past (vanilla choc and strawberry flavs). Everyone there had a smile, said pleasantries, and enjoyed their food. Dirty tables were instantly cleaned and reset for the nxt patron. If all restaurants did like they did here, family dinners would be the norm again. They are old school, old fashioned and proud of who they are and where they are. I will be back with more family, and I know ill be happy when I slip back into time at the best lil restaurant that Cave City ever has had. -tom w. southgate ky
MI
Michael Schreiber
Four Stars for the food. Go for the catfish. You must try the creamed corn -- I hate creamed corn, but at Watermill it was great. The mac and cheese is top notch. Wife said the beets were undercooked, but I liked em just fine. Three flavors of ice cream in cardboard Dixie cups --where else you gonna find that? Peach cobbler a bit soggy, but I liked it fine. Much much more for only $9.95 and the sweet tea came with it. Leave a nice tip for these good people. Almost five stars for the service. On us right away. Polite and nice, just like us. Hint: They do not want you to order from the menu -- just get the buffet and eat. Bussers were frequent and polite. Check came promptly when we were done. We did not know there was a smoking section and one for non smoking. Minus Forty-Four Stars for ambiance. If you can get past the two filthy doors that you actually must touch to enter the place, you will have to walk past a small row of arcade contraptions. Just dont look at them. The owner really must spring for some paint for those doors. Remember, though, when you went through Mammoth Cave and touched all the stainless steel railings, you touched just as much filth in there.
B
B Nicole
Eat somewhere else!!! Dont be tempted by this buffet. Food quality was maybe OK. Horrible choices though. The night my kids and I went, the meat choices were either buffalo chicken legs (temp was lukewarm) and fried fish, which personally I thought were odd options to pair together. The side options and veggies tasted better than the meat, but not by much. The banana pudding tasked as if it had been out all day, it was gross. Also, the restaurant is smoking. They have a smoking and non smoking section but the buffet is in the smoking section which I thought was disgusting and defeats the purpose of having them separated since you still have to go be in the smoke to get food. In my opinion, youre better off going down the road and just getting KFC because I promise your food would actually be better or google turtlelinis pizza and pasta, their buffet was a smaller, but very good. And the kitchen staff all look very dirty, not like some food on their shirt from cooking . More like just dirty and lack of hygiene. But eat at your own risk.
FA
Fatima Saleh
Stopped here for breakfast today, and it is seat yourself. We are from out of state and had no idea they offer smoking sections until 3 people around us lit up. Our waitress showed up to the table without menus asking us to just go with the buffet. We decided to move seats and she accommodated us moving to non smoking. The breakfast buffet had watered down scrambled eggs, potato wedges, bacon, over cooked sausage patties, old french toast sticks, white gravy, old biscuits and some sort of candied apples. I couldnt bring myself to finish my plate. My 7 year old daughter refused to finish hers and my husband douced his meal in hot sauce to get through it because we didnt have time to go anywhere else to eat before our tour at Mammoth Caves started. So, for 2 adults and 1 child and 3 drinks, we spent $30+tip (its not her fault the food was bad) for only one person to finish 1 plate. I didnt think anyone could mess up breakfast food that bad, but it was awful.
DE
Debra Segers
First, you have to walk past the smokers outside, then you open the door to stale smoke smell, then walk through the smoking section to the non-smoking section-- which is separated by an open half-wall. The buffet is in the smoking section as are the restrooms. Most of the buffet items were cheap carbs (potatoes, corn, hominy, etc.). Three meat option trays but only 2 had anything in them while we were there; one was fried fish and the other chicken and dumplings (more dumplings than chicken). We sat for 15 minutes before someone came to get our drink order, and it was not that busy. Bread bin in the food line but it never had bread in it until we were leaving. The only positive was deserts (cobbler and banana pudding) were good and the green beans were flavorful. Locals seem to love it, but we wont be back.
DA
Danny Price
Ive been here before and it wasnt that bad but this last time it was a real let down. There main calling card is there buffet. It is supposed to be home cooking. What I found was food that was underseasoned and bland. Most of the food was being served out of disposable aluminum pans. The peach cobbler looked like a hot mess after the customers had gotten through with it and it was really dry. The fried catfish was pretty good but after the multiple customers had dug through it, it was a pile of mush where it looked as if they just kept piling up fresh fish on top. They need to spend more time on their food quality and presentation. My recommendation is that if you eat there. Order off the menu and not the buffet. Better yet, save your money and go down the street to Bucky Bees Barbecue
