Ozark Folk Center Iron Skillet Restaurant

The food use to be great. Now they open cans, try to find the cheapest thing to feed you and keep the prices higher than others. Sorry, but my husband and j are finished with eating here. Service stinks as well.

We were pleasantly surprised by how good the food was. We ordered a hamburger, chicken strips, a rueben and a catfish po’ boy. The food was delivered quickly and piping hot. I am from California & only eat catfish when we visit Arkansas. The catfish was excellent! It was moist, crisp and not greasy. The restaurant has a great view and is very charming. The staff was very friendly and attentive. It’s right next to the auditorium making it convenient if you are attending a concert. We would eat here again.

Oh dear. My husband summed it up best by saying «What a wasted opportunity for a restaurant!» Everything tasted as if it came from a can. :(I sincerely hope the previous reviewer did not really rely on the Ozark Sampler for a «feel for southern food because NO – we generally season our food. There was no ham in the ham & beans, nor bacon in the green beans with bacon. The white gravy was bland & had the thick consistency of having sat for a while after making. I rated this place a 2-​star because we didn’t actual find anything inedible, but we’d have been happier & spent less money at the Sonic up the road!

I would rate it as average. The Sunday buffet consisted of a small but nice salad selection, entrees were 1) fried chicken, 2) some kind of BBQ ribs, and 3) beef stew. The fried chicken was pretty good, the ribs were very dry and overcooked with little flavor, and the beef stew was probably from a can. The standard sides (mashed, green beans, corn on the cob, fried okra) were decent, and there were 3 or 4 kinds of dessert, such a cherry cobbler, brownies, and strawberry shortcake. The prices are reasonable, and the service met my expectations.
The place began to get very, very busy around noon after church let out.

This is a nice, rustic restaurant with a beautiful setting looking into the woods behind the Ozark Folk Center. It was recommended to us a by the RV park we were staying in.
We found the food VERY reasonably priced and reflective of the area’s Southern cooking. I ordered the «Ozark Sampler» so that I would get a good feel for Southern food, which was largely new to me. I enjoyed the meal very much – Chicken & Dumplings, Ham & Beans, mustard & collard greens, deep fried Okra, jalapeño cornbread, and blackberry cobbler. The greens were a little bitter, but the rest of the items were quite tasty. The cobbler and ice cream was very good, though it came with non-​dairy whipped cream, which detracted from the flavor for me. (My wife had the Chicken & Dumpling meal and thought there was too much dumpling and not enough chicken.)
We had great service and conversation from our very nice, young local woman.