Paulas Cafe

Found it kinda by accident. Just a minute off interstate. Great service, amazing food that is priced well. We had the chicken plate and it reminded me of Sunday dinner with grandma. Highly recommend. The photo is after I started eating. The chicken did not come with a bite out of it.

I don't know where to start but I'll just start... I often do a lot of map browsing looking for a cool spot to stop at for the night where I could possibly do some exercising. So I started looking around for potential places I could stop at because I am running out of drive time (truck driver) and I found this small town 'Craig, Missouri'.

Anyhow I decided I was going to look at landmarks near the town where I could possibly walk to and check out and there was this small restaurant that caught my attention. I figured....hey I'll eat there.

Fast forward 5½hrs......

I walk across the street, walk inside and had this "homey" feel. Oo oooo make sure you guys have CASH or CHECK when you come here as they DO NOT ACCEPT plastic (trust me it's worth the extra 8th of a mile drive to the Sinclair gas station to find an ATM).

So I sat down and ordered what I thought was a simple 2egg, bacon and some toast breakfast and that all in itself blew me away on the portion. Then I went on after taking a few deep breaths and took my first bite of the eggs and bacon and booooooooy let me tell you. Ok so I don't eat out much but do from time to time so take what I am about to say with a grain of salt. "I don't remember the last time I've eaten breakfast at a restaurant where I didn't need to reach for any condiments to enhance the flavor of my food"!!! So delicious!

I also ordered pancakes.......😬 The pictures won't do it any justice so what I will do it come back and update this review to tell you guys how much heavier I am on a scale when I hold my 'to-go' tray that has nothing but the leftover three pancakes (you get four unless you specify a quantity and size of pancake you want) in it. Now as I've said, I do not eat out a ton, but I will say I've never seen 🥞 this large EVER (I'm 42yrs old and have traveled to many many many countries/states).

Bring your appetite, if you don't eat a lot but is traveling with someone, sharing something like their standard size tenderloin is highly recommend unless you do leftover like I do then knock yourself out. I was completely blown away by their service, their food (and the taste of it) and the availability of just existing to give me a very very good start to my day as I often dread having to fire up my truck to start the day. It was definitely worth the minimal effort it took me to make this happen.

I can exaggerate how good everything is here and you will still be blown away at whatever shows up at your table.

P.S. this IS NOT a fast food place. Bring your money and your patience. The young ladies in the back will be making your food with love so keep that in mind. Food will not be on your plate in 5mins like your typical fast food places so be patient and be ready.....to eat good. Check their hours on here or call them to verify their hrs!

Yes I wrote this right after I left guys. I figure before I leave and start my day, I take the time to make this review. I'll be back any chance I get and thanks again y'all!

Ya'll this is going to become our new traditional stop for breakfast/lunch on our trips to the Ozarks. The portions were enormous! The staff were super friendly.

**Was previously the Hornets Nest** Perfect small town food. Great service. Extremely generous portions. If you are finding you way to this small town this is the only.place to eat, and it needs to stay that way. Diverce menu for such a small town. Frog legs, fried Rabbit, humongous pork tenderloins and freaking awesome sweet tea. It will be a sad day when this cook stops working here. A must for anyone. Like.... Wow.

First time there & we weren’t disappointed. Great breakfast, very affordable prices, large portions & great service! We had the breakfast burrito & coffee. Lots of sausage, veggies & egg inside a large soft burrito shell. Will stop again if we’re in the area. Gotta love small town cafes!

We are from a small town in montana and its nice stopping by and supporting small towns. This place is fantastic. Very affordable. And big portions. Great service. Great people.

Paula's Cafe is not that far off the beaten path (I-29). I shut the front door and could feel everyone inside notice that I was an outsider. It was like walking into a wild west saloon, except there was no awkward silence, no piano, and I wasn't wearing my gun. I stood there for a minute with my eyes wondering and decided to pull up a chair myself. I put my black stetson on the table when the waitress asked if I wanted a cup of coffee.

It's clean and friendly here. There is only 2-3 people working, so I patiently waited for my 16" breakfast burrito. The walls are decorated with genuine memories of the past. You can hear the freight trains coming 1/2 mile away and watch them through the front windows. My burrito was served with a small bowl of salsa, then the waitress poured another cup of joe and it was steaming again. As I devoured and sipped my coffee I thought, the Cafe is a lost oasis for travelers and a hangout for the locals to catch up.

I put my hat on and paid at the front counter.
"Only cash or check is accepted."
I was the only outsider for 2 hours and now I knew how small Craig, MO is. Hopefully Paula's Cafe will still be here next time I travel this way. An experience off the beaten path.

We stopped for lunch in our way to Branson as we were traveling along the interstate and not too many eating places. The town is very small but I guess great things come in small packages.🙂The food was awesome and a lot of it! We had to get to go boxes. The service was great and atmosphere e was very friendly. They also homemade pie but the pork tenderloin and portobello mushroom were amazing. You won’t regret this stop at a small town down to earth cafe. Check the hours as they aren’t open some evenings and weekends. Thanks Paula for a delicious lunch. We will be back next time through.

Fried potatoes and onions a must have! Really good!
Plenty of foot to eat and good service too!

Paula’s Cafe is dot good it’s worth the drive from the Omaha Area and KC. The breakfast is the best in the area. They have daily lunch specials and I haven’t been left disappointed yet. Open from 7-2 Monday-Friday and open for dinner until 8 Tuesday and Thursday. Family ran business, must stop or take a trip to get the best tenderloin in NW Missouri!

HUGE portions! Great service! A definite must-stop if you're in the area.

Big tasty portions, very friendly.

Great food! You won’t leave hungry! Great service! Everyone around us was friendly!

Great food service prices are great . Won't leave hungry. Update: It's really still awesome good food. Got to try it.

We loved the small town atmosphere. The food is really good, portions are huge and it is a great price for the amount of food you get! It is cash or check only, there is an ATM at the Sinclair down the street.

We were able to get seated right away even tho the place was packed. Took a little bit before they were able to wait on us being it was so busy. We all had their daily special, fried chicken, mashed potatoes and green beans. Everything was prepared perfect and was delicious. For a small country restaurant, I was amazed at how good everything was. I left full and happy

Food and portions were great. If you’re in the area, I definitely recommend taking the time to stop in and eat. You can split a meal and still have leftovers. The price for the value is great as well. Will definitely stop in next time I’m in town.

If you order the breaded tenderloin, you better bring an appetite or two friends. It covers the whole plate and hangs out all side about 4 inches.

Great Tenderloin enough for 2 People

The meal are all oversized and excellent. Highly recommend.