Shady Oaks Fine Foods

For the life of me I haven’t figured out why? Why do some folk present one thing and give you something else? Well Unilocal family keep reading because I have a story to tell.
The date was February 22 2014 around dinner time. A quick back story on how we got to this place. My Wife and I were new to the area. I was chewing the fat with my supervisor when he mentioned this place. He couldn’t place the name but directions were spot on. Now I know he’s a frugal man but I figured not that frugal.
Well we got there and it dawned on us the place was next to a trailer park park of the same name. It was pretty dark and had been raining some. As we approached the entrance I commented how it looked like an old church. I went to open the door and was nearly knocked over by someone exiting the side we were going into. No sign warning you just surprise, someone will bow you over in 3,2,1.
I let it go and we got in. We were told to sit wherever we liked. We chose our table up front across from the back room. There was a group of about 20 celebrating an elderly woman’s birthday. Sweet we thought, you don’t see family’s out doing that often.
We waited, finally a lady came over and said «what y’all want to drink»? Hello to you too lady. My Wife and I informed her this was our first time. She didn’t seem to moved and went back to the drink thing. I looked at my Wife and she gave me the let’s just order look. We got a few waters and I asked the waitress upon her return for recommendations. She raved about the seafood and chicken fried steak and we ordered both.
Here is where things got off kilter for us. She explained the salad bar came with our meals. She said they had pea salad, green salad, and other veggies. She then pointed to a cart sitting against a wall. I excused myself and washed up in a restroom that was so old I swear I looked in the mirror and saw my past. I also recall a window in the restroom and that it was next ro the kitchen.
While I finished washing up my Wife hit the salad bar. I went to look at it and immediately ran back to the table. I mean old salad bar and cart to boot. The lettuce appeared days old and nothing looked up to temp. Surprisingly my Wife got pea salad that I warned her to leave be.
Then out came dinner folks. You can find me speaking on my affinity for chicken fried steak in other reviews. I hadn’t eaten a chicken fried steak like that since reduced lunch days. I actually would rather have that over what I got. My Wife ordered some cake as our plates were sat down. Lmao! Meanwhile she had to deal with the van de kamps shrimp they overcooked. My Wife won’t even look at the place when we’re on 71. I embellish sometimes but that wasn’t one. Needless to say our $ 31 plus cake and tip was a lesson.
By the way has anyone ever heard of a condensating piece of cake? No well my beautiful Wife and I have. She opened the box and the damn thing was wet. Apparently the place freezes stuff so it’s not wasted. If you ever see wet spots on cake… Run! Into the bin as soon as we got home.
One thing I can say about the place… the name says it all. If you want a cheap grease trap that I imagine breaks health codes go ahead at your own risk. As for us it’s a no.

Best food around been coming since the 80’s I live in Georgetown, Tx now but don’t mind the hour drive here.

After leaving Hyatt Lost Pines we were looking for a meal that didn’t cost resort prices, and Unilocal led us to Shady Oaks Fine Foods. Oozing with Southern hospitality, we found this place to be quite charming.
The food is standard southern fare-​chicken fried steak, fried chicken, chicken and dumplings, baked chicken, beef tips over rice, mashed potatoes, fried okra, mac and cheese, etc…
Not the healthiest food, but most meals are served with a trip to the salad bar, and all meals are served with love and a smile.

I am visiting Texas from California and took a chance on this restaurant from the previous Unilocal reviews I saw. What a great and friendly staff, a warm atmosphere and good good down home food. Foodies beware. It is the simplicity and flavor that is most satisfying.

Soul food like that good Sunday Dinner Grandma and mom make. Love this place! I don’t go in often but when I do the whole team knows me and my family. They have been a favorite of mine since I was in grade school and Im so happy my kids can still enjoy the good food and family atmosphere in this busy busy world we live in today.

This is a VERY VERY good place to eat at. If you are in the area or just coming through please stop and try this wonderful food. Nice menu and very nice staff. I go everytime I can!

THIS PLACE IS AMAZING!!! Best place to eat in town!!! The chicken fried steak is ahhhhhmazing here!!! Everything is super tasty here!!! And the prices are excellent!!! Don’t even get me started in their desserts!!! There is so many!!! The service here is also the best I have seen!!! Ever.

What has happened to this place? It has been a couple of years since I visited. Major downturn in quality. Something is not right. I had the chicken and dumplings. The noodles were terrible, the chicken tasked like it came out of a can. Usually, this place is slammed with business. Three cars in the parking lot for lunch service. Not a good sign. Such a disappointment. I feel bad for the family. They are wonderful folk.

I live in Bastrop and I’ve been wanting to visit this place for a while. It’s totally worth it. The people are nice, the service is good and friendly, the food is good and you just can’t beat the price! I’m looking forward to come by again one of these weekends!

I concur with Revlynn L’s review. The fried chicken is my favorite. It takes 15 minutes to prepare, so call ahead. Good food. Good staff. Love this place!

Short version: semi-​homemade is semi-​okay with me.
Long version: my husband and I have been talking about going to this place for years, but only finally made it there during business hours (we’ve attempted to go a few times before when it closed early or didn’t open at all during normal business hours … understandable since the place is a family operation …) for a Sunday lunch a couple of weeks ago.
We were both desiring fried chicken. He ordered fried chicken from the menu, I believe he chose a chicken breast+dark meat plate (I don’t remember what kind of dark meat it was since I’m not really a fan of that stuff). That came with choice of potato (baked/​mashed/​french fried, he chose mashed) and a trip to the salad bar. I decided to order one of their Sunday lunch specials, since «chicken fried chicken» was on offer and was cheaper than my husband’s food. This came with a choice of two sides and an unnamed dessert. I chose fried okra and mashed potatoes as my sides (can’t remember what the other couple of options were).
While we waited for our meals we were served some cornbread and rolls. They were decent, and since we finished them during our long wait, I stopped the woman who refilled our drinks (water and iced tea) and asked her for more bread. She asked if I wanted white sandwich bread and said she could bring some. I told her I wanted more of the rolls and cornbread that we’d been eating, and she seemed confused but acquiesced. When she came back to the table with the bread, she was very apologetic, saying that she was new and hadn’t understood what I was asking. I told her that that was fine, no big deal. Other than that small weirdness, service was really great the whole time that we were there (which is good because things were done at a leisurely pace so we needed refills and such a few times).
After 20 minutes or so our food arrived. My husband had two big, juicy pieces of fried chicken to eat, and quickly went to town. He also had a small sloppily-​gravied bowl of mashed potatoes, looking suspicously uniform. I was not as chicken-​lucky as he was. My chicken fried chicken was a small thin patty that had obviously previously been frozen. It was covered in yellow gravy (and accompanied with plain white rice which wasn’t listed on the menu, but was fine), while my also-​uniform-​looking mashed potatoes were covered in brown gravy. At least my fried okra looked fresh and gleamed with salt and grease.
As for the taste, my food was as it looked. The mashed potatoes and chicken patty were grade-​school-​cafeteria quality (as in, worse than KFC, and I haven’t eaten at a KFC in a decade or so because I don’t enjoy the food). Life is too short to eat instant mashed potatoes! The two gravies I got were also obviously from a mix (and I know that making good gravy from scratch isn’t the easiest thing, but it’s kind of a staple of homemade Southern food). But my fried okra was really great, among the best I’ve had. I made sure to devour every last bit (well, other than the couple of pieces I let my husband have).
My husband’s food was of course a bit better because he got fried chicken that was actually prepared by Shady Oaks. The bit of chicken breast that I got to try was really good (up there with Willie Mae’s Scotch House in New Orleans, if you’re familiar). Of course, he had the same potatoes that I did and shared my opinion of them.
I honestly don’t remember my dessert very clearly. I think it may have been peach cobbler. Yep, that sounds right. I ate a bit of the bread part and gave the rest to my husband as he’s the peach fan.
Will we go back? Definitely. I feel that I know a little more now about what I should and shouldn’t order at this place. Next time I’ll order what my husband ordered this time (but maybe with french fries or baked potato since I don’t like instant mashed potatoes). And I’ll be sure to get a side of that fine fried okra. Other lunch specials may also have been better than the one I got — other patrons seemed happy with the short rib special.

The wife and I ate dinner here last Saturday night. The place reports being in business since 1977 and I find myself wondering how. The staff were very nice, but the food was mediocre at best. My steak was fatty and was cooked on griddle. My wife commented her chicken fried steak was ok, but the gravy tasted like it was made from a mix.

I can cook Soul Food with the best of ‘em thanks to my home training. But when I am not in the mood to heat up the whole house, I head down Highway 71. For down home Southern food, this is definitely the place to eat. I’d rather gouge out my left eye than eat at Hoover’s…ever…again.
I don’t care that it’s damn near to Bastrop. Be forewarned that if you are on your way to Houston, a food coma may occur during the middle of your drive. Go with a vegetarian and make them drive.
Everything I have put in my mouth has been delicious. Here’s the list of things I’ve had and have thoroughly enjoyed:
Chicken Fried Steak
Fried Catfish
Macaroni & Cheese
Hushpuppies
Collard Greens
Cabbage
Pound Cake
Chocolate Cake
Nope…it’s not healthy food, but it’s a special treat when you have a craving for some soul-​soothing fried food. The Johnsons are spectacular people and will make you feel like a member of their family (if you act right). When you walk in, make sure you have a hearty greeting for the family, truck drivers, assorted locals and everyone else who is already clued in to the best kept soul food secret.
Eat here now… your food baby will thank you!
Oh and check the days/​hours before you go. It’s a small family-​owned business, so it can vary at times.