Lone Star Cafe & Bar

We enjoyed a birthday dinner here with a party of 9 and had a great time.
I rang in advance about reserving and was told that they didn’t reserve but would put us on a priority wait list — they were true to their promise and we were seated promptly at our requested time and it was a busy night, so we were impressed with that alone!
Dinner was great, food quality was great and if the servings were a little on the large size no one complained.
The kids loved the children’s ribs which were tasty and plentiful. I had the Cajun Chicken which was beautifully tender and come with a pilaf that was great, the slaw was just right two. Two orders of Lasao of Hog were enormous and enjoyed, along with two well served meals of the Rocking Ribeye.
We all enjoyed our meals, the meals were good quality and plentiful and the complimentary birthday desert was enjoyed.
If I had one complaint it was the noise level, the ambiance was nice but with a large group it was hard to hear everyone.

Before I begin, allow me to give you some back ground on this place. when this place came to town there was much talk about this, both in the positive sense and the negative sense & I really wanted to go check this out for my self to see if the talk really did live up or was it simply a case of opening jitters.
I was told we did not need a booking to come here and to just turn up, at 6pm that’s exactly what I did and when we arrive the place was near full & it looked liked the waitress was going to have to turn us away when she asked had we made a booking. Thankfully enough with a smile on her face, come with me i’ll find a place for you and right she did.
I have previously been to LoneStar before in the city so sort knew what to expect, that the ribs are huge & the steak is about the same. Looking at the menu I was not sure if I was hungry enough to eat through the ribs or should I try something completely off left field and go with the fish. My guests all went with the Ribs & Steak and dared me to try something different like the fish. The fish of the day was a sea run Salmon with a potato hashcake and a salsa topping.
But first we ordered the Garlic Bread and when it first came out we were all amazed, only to be surpassed by the smell & the taste. The experience of cutting your own hot baked bread and spreading garlic whipped butter was definitely the highlight of the night. The only thing I can say against this was that, we could have used with more butter.
Sometime after forty minutes our mains came out, I guess with a very busy restaurant forty minutes isn’t so bad, in waiting. What was puzzling tho was our mains didn’t all come out at once and were staggered, so we didn’t get to eat at the same time which was a little bit disappointing. The salmon was the last to come out and to be honest I was pretty underwhelmed when I saw it, for the highest price on the menu it was the lowest in value. Why didn’t I stick to ordering the ribs or the steak! Lesson learned.
The service was good and attentive, the place had a good vibe going along with it. Since there are two cowboy themed places to dine, I think LoneStar is a bit more spread out where as the other place has a riding bull to watch while you drink. Both places both serve their purpose well.
Will I come back here again? Yes — what will I get? — The Ribs! or a Steak! — stay away from the Fish It will leave you feeling ripped off and cheated… I know because that’s how i felt!
I am happy to rate them as follows;
Food 3.5 /​5 — Avoid the Fish. Stick with the Steak or Ribs
Service ⁴⁄₅ — Warm, Friendly & Accommodating
Price $ 32.00 — Fish Overpriced for what you get, $ 29 Steak — Decent offering
Atmosphere ⁴⁄₅ — A good vibe going on here.
Overall — ⁴⁄₅ — Lived up to my expectations on what I have heard

The choice of dining out in Pukekohe has got harder. We now have another great place to eat. We visited tonight along with quite a few other fellow diners eager to try the new place out.
I had the Burrito Ranchero, the other two diners had the Dixie Chicken, one medium and other classic. We were all suitable full and were unable to try a dessert. I am glad that we were not tempted to try the Entrée’s, other it would have been doggie’s bags x 3 !!!
I do think having the bar away from the main dining area is a great idea.
Welcome Lonestar !