Cowboy Cafe

We came here in a Wednesday for wings and beers and received good food at a fair price and nice service. The Joint Session beer is fantastic. It’s local and they only have it at Cowboy Café. We tried all of their wing flavors and their hottest one is excellent. My favorite wing flavor was the Edgar. Their macaroni is interesting and different, with a little bit of a southwest flavoring. I can’t wait to come back and try their tortilla soup.
Check out their website because they have food and drink specials every day. We can walk here from where we live and it’s a cozy and super casual spot. This is the kind of bar you could come to in basketball shorts in the summer, no problem– super casual and unpretentious. They have several TVs with games on.
Parking is a nightmare but they have designated spots and signs giving you hints about what’s allowed. This is a solid spot that is worth a try.

Classic Arlington! Portions and prices are good, atmosphere is local feeling, and the service is quick and warm! You can never go wrong here!

This place is so awesome that I put down my burger to Unilocal it! Parking in the back, check! Awesome friendly waitress who can make amazballs recommendations, check! Great taste, perfect portions. The cozy portion of the restaurant near the bar/​tvs is where u wanna be. Great music! This is like the mother of all dive bars! Come and bring the kids, they’re super friendly.
Note to all my single sistahs in Arlington; this place is crawling with pretty faces and more just came in as I type! The ratio is like 10 to 1!

This was the absolute best «hole-​in-​the-​wall» bar i’ve been to in a long time. After a night of drinking, it was the perfect spot to treat my hangover. The service was above board and the drink selection wasn’t unique but sis have some interesting takes on classics. For example the Manmosa was your typical Mimosa, but add in some vodka. I had a bloody mary (or 4) and then the cowboy hash, which was a massive portion of potatoes, chorizo, jalapeño hollandaise and 3 perfectly poached eggs. I usually like to rate places according to my expectations for a place, and with the food this place far exceeded my expectations. It was rustic, hearty and delicious. I couldn’t stop eating.
Highly recommend!

I really like CC. it’s a hole-​in-​the-​wall place but the service is good, the food is decent and the prices are low. I’ve come here a bunch of times w my niece (usually on trivia Mondays) and we really enjoy the place. Almost always get Jalapeño Poppers and a salad or a quesadilla. Even though I come here maybe once every two months, the servers remember what I order and are very accommodating. Try it, just don’t expect white tablecloths.

I love this place so much! I’ve been going here ever since high school and still has the best burgers in town. Their «new» parking from the old days has made this place way easier to visit and love all the friendly wait and bar staff so much!

Absolutely fantastic food for the price! Even the filet minion. I ordered it and it was cooked perfectly and truly was, a great cut of steak.
Our waitress was amazing too. She was very «down-​to-​earth», friendly and accommodating. I will definitely be coming back here, many many times.

The reasons to come to the Cowboy Café are many: Its a classic neighborhood establishment where everyone know each other, the beer is good and they have plenty of live music.
I don’t usually come for the food, though, because this is a bit hit or miss. We liked our sampler appetizer platter – the tater tots were especially good, though the wings were only ok. My wife’s California burger was excellent – I wish I had ordered that instead of the fried chicken, which was overcooked and a bit too crisp on the outside.

This review is for Sunday brunch at the Cowboy Café. We’ve had brunch there three weeks running, it’s just that good.
service
We always sit at the bar and we always have solid service. It’s clear the bar staff know many of the patrons, which leads to some overly familiar conversation, but it doesn’t detract from the service.
bar
Cowboy Café has a Bloody Mary special on Sundays, which is genius planning on someone’s part. Unlike the heirloom tomato juice, pepper-​infused small batch vodka, garnished with brown sugar-​candied bacon Bloody Mary for $ 12 that you might find some places, the Cowboy Café is a solid, working man’s Bloody Mary.
I followed my exceptional spicy Bloody Mary with a Deschutes Fresh Squeezed IPA. I counted at least a dozen taps, with a good craft beer selection. Three IPAs on tap — Fresh Squeezed, Bell’s Two Hearted and Lagunitas.
food
I always order the great dish, Cowboy Hash. Plenty of meaty chorizo and fried potatoes, topped with three perfectly poached eggs, crowned with jalapeño hollandaise. I use eggs benedict as my bellwether for brunch; Cowboy Café’s eggs and hollandaise are top-​notch. You’ll have more than enough left-​overs for breakfast during the brutal work week ahead.
My wife always orders their country fried steak and eggs. We’re from the Midwest and this CFS stacks up against all competition. Be like my wife and substitute a biscuit for toast.

This is one of my old haunts from high school, and a staple for any Arlingtonian, but until this weekend I had never eaten brunch there. I always loved the burgers (especially on half priced burger Tuesdays) and was equally impressed by their Cowboy hash. The chorizo was delicious, the eggs well poached, and the whole combo was perfect. I’m not sure whether it was the heaviness of the dish, or the ridiculous amount of vodka in my bloody marys, but afterwards I was in a severe food coma. I wouldn’t necessarily recommend the bloody Mary if you have to drive, but if you like ‘em strong, these are definitely potent.

Since my last post (years ago) they have had many changes, mostly for the better, and it’s back to being a great local watering hole/​dive bar (which is a dying breed in Arlington). Overall, good people, good food, good specials, and the best bartenders and wait staff in town!

Cool place with a great burger! I had just spent 10 days in India and was really jonesing for a good burger for lunch. I had the chiliburger which fit the bill perfectly. The homemade pickle is really good too.
Plus I lucked in to half-​price burger Tuesday!
Couldn’t ask for more. I’ll definitely be back to check out the game time or night scene.

I love this place! !!! It’s totally a dive but the food is awesome. Get the Sliders half bbq and half burger… the relish and pickles are homemade! I was excited when the waitress asked how I wanted the burger cooked. .medium…and it came out perfect. The Brisket Sandwich was yum. The half order of nachos was huge. We added chili and loved it. Nice and spicy. But the real star was brunch… yes I went back less than 12 hours later. And was not disappointed. I had the chicken and bacon hash. .I know. .right??? Poached eggs atop chicken potato bacon «cakes» smothered in jalapeño hollandaise served with half a grilled tomato. The cowboy combo was an enormous amount of food and worth the price. Throw in ½ price mimosas bloody Mary’s and screwdrivers and you cannot go wrong.

No parking, no tables and an hour and a half wait for a cold Cubano and a dry Reuben. Very disappointed. They did proactively comp the bill 25% for the wait, but man was that a bad experience. Too many other options locally to roll the dice there again.

Great food, some of their specials are a great deal like the wings. The feel is a bit old and rustic, but it’s ok for a local bar. The servers are nice too.

Don’t judge this little hole in the wall by its cover. It has a small bar with a few good beers on tap, and surprisingly good food. Perfect spot to drop in and get a beer while sitting at the bar and watching a sports event.

My wife and I have been here a few times now (including today) and have always left satisfied!
Like other Unilocalers noted, this is a real dive bar on the bar side. There is also a more family-​friendly section away from the bar and televisions. We’ve always had great service from the bartenders/​servers despite their slow kitchen staff. However, good things come to those that wait as every dish we’ve had we’ve enjoyed very much!
The kitchen staff’s slowness has knocked off a star from my overall rating, but will still definitely come back!

I’ve only been here once in my life, and upon logging into Unilocal!I realize it has been 28 days since my last visit. Clearly — I’m not a regular. But here’s why they get 5 stars: I walked in, sat down, and asked for a Woodford Reserve neat. The bartender (who I later found out is named Kelly or Kelli) popped back at me with «1 ice cube, right?» Hello??? That’s service! And look, I know servers and bartenders remember this stuff everyday, but not after just one visit and not in someplace that is kinda busy. Tonight the bar is packed — every seat — and most of the tables are full at 10pm.
Jalapeño popper app — great! Not from a box! This isn’t your «Friday’s» frozen popper. Yummy! Crispy on the outside (but it comes with sour cream — ask for ranch dressing if you’re like me).
Dinner — pulled pork and tater tots. Again, yummy! The pork is moist and smoky, prepared North Carolina /​Low country style (BBQ aficionados know what this means — vinegar and spice based sauce, not ketchupy red sauce). A ton of meat on your sandwich. House made tater tots. The only disappointment is the slaw — it has that strong sweetness to it With some vinegar that’s not quite balanced — I think it’s Sysco’s best but couldn’t swear to it.
Gotta tell you — twice in and twice good. I think it’s a good value when compared to the $ 11 beers a block away at Thirsty Bernie’s and the «Triple-​D» mark up for mediocre food and less than average service at Metro 29. I’d classify this as a «hidden gem» except that lots of local folks seem to know it! I guess it was just hidden from me.
The final analysis: try it out. I’d be shocked if you were disappointed!

This place rocks. The service is totally awesome, always quick to ask what else can they get for you. Brunch on the weekend is great, love the Cowboy Hash. The Club Sandwich is one of the best I have ever had and the Tortilla Soup is amazing! Anyone that gives them one star is simply unhappy with life.
Tim

This restaurant was not as good as I thought it was going to be. I tried it twice just to make sure it wasn’t just a bad night but the second time around was worst. The waiters make me feel uncomfortable because I feel like they hate their job and do not want to be there. They always had an attitude when they served you. The bartenders can be friendly but can overcharge you on drinks.
When we ordered the fried pickles one time, I’m almost 99.9% sure they gave us cucumbers because it wasn’t even a bit sour like a pickle, it tasted bland like a cucumber! And the color was off like it was really old. The burgers are overcooked, not much flavor and fries came cold. The chili on the chili mac was plain jane, no flavor, and tasted funny.
Eh, I say go down the street to Metro 29. It’s not worth trying to cram yourself into the small parking place nearby.