Highlander Restaurant

We’re from Houston and traveling through the Hill Country. We stopped in Burnet, Texas and decided to stop at Highlands Restaurant never experiencing their food. We ordered New York Strip steaks with baked potatoes. They were the BEST steaks we have ever had. Anyone traveling through Burnet should not pass up the chance to eat there. We highly recommend this restaurant.

Awesome! Fresh Buffett or you can order from menu. Chicken fried steak on the Buffett is awesome!
Friendly folks!

As I start most of my restaurant reviews, «some people think Golden Corral is good food». Everyone has their own tastes, I understand that. For me, life is too short for bad, or even average, food. This place is average at best, unless you’re looking to buy some Kenny Chesney Costa sunglasses, and if so, they’ve got ‘em!
My wife and I ate at Highlander on a Friday, for the lunch buffet. I am early 50’s, wife is younger, and we were the youngest people in there, by twenty years. The buffet had baked chicken, (way overdone), fried catfish, (best thing on the buffet, still only average), sausage, (way, way, way overdone), small portions of chicken fried steak, (not a hint of spice and flavorless), generic sides, and extremely dry chocolate and red velvet cake. Our waitress brought our drinks, and we never saw her again.
The food at this place reminds me of the nursing home food that we had while visiting an elderly family member. Sorry if that offends anyone, but I call it as I see it. If you like food that has no flavor, is way over cooked, and non existent service, this place is for you!
I give it three stars because of the bizarre Costa shop as you walk in the door. Walls of Costa sunglasses, racks of Costa shirts, sandals, and hats. And, the already mentioned Kenny Chesney Costa sunglasses. You’d never expect to see that in a place like this.
I could not recommend this place to anyone, and will not be going back.

We are new residents to the area. My husband and I were curious about this place because I had seen quite a few cars parked around it. I guessed if the locals like it, it must be good. We were greeted and seated immediately. The place is decorated for the hunters and fisherman that visit Burnett during fishing and hunting season. We chose the buffet because it looked delicious and had many selections of home cooked foods such as fried chicken, catfish, sausage, chicken fried steak, mashed potatoes, gravy, etc. If you remember your grandma’s cooking (southern style) this is the place! They have sweet tea, hot rolls, and several options for desert. It also has a decent salad bar. We loved the food and have eaten there three times now. It is consistently good food and the price is not bad. I took off one star because if you come in after the train passengers arrive, your wait to be seated could be longer. We went at 11:30 am to beat the crowd. On another note, during check-​out, my husband bought some Shimano Evair water shoes, in a size 13, which is difficult to find in his size. (They have a small area with clothing and shoes for the fishing and hunting crowd.) We have always been treated like neighbors or old friends by the wait staff and check out manager at The Highlander. I highly recommend you try it!

I’m not sure how you manage to dry out a link of sausage, but this place knows the secret! Everything is fried, not in a good way. Nothing looks fresh. The restaurant itself smells of old grease. Absolutely disgusting.

I have not eaten here since around 2001, so I was pleasantly surprised that The Highlander Restaurant is still here. The Highlander is no longer a hotel. The rooms have been turned into apartments.
My wife, brother, son, and I dined here on a Wednesday night. We all chose the buffet which was $ 8.95 per person. Sweet tea or soda was $ 1.95 each. WHAT A DEAL!
The buffet had a salad bar fully stocked with fresh lettuce, carrots, baby corn, tomatoes, cottage cheese, and several more items. There was an assortment of dressings, including homemade ranch dressing. The buffet had roasted chicken, chicken fried steak, chicken & dumplings, and meatloaf topped with tomato sauce like Mom used to make. There was also an assortment of vegetables including spinach, corn, and cabbage. The food was quickly refreshed when it ran out.
There was also an assortment of breads, desserts, and even ice cream. I indulged in the bread pudding with caramel sauce. We will definitely be back, hopefully with my sister-​in-​law and nephews also. You could feed the Army here on a Company budget!

Yuk. Go somewhere else. Went there on a Friday evening. Wanted a casual dining experience with good food. Had the buffet, and it definitely wasn’t good.

The buffet has the same old standbys; nothing trendy or fusion here! I wish they would mix up the menu a bit. (Lasagna. California roll. Mini Philly. Maybe borrow a few salad ideas from Souper Salad?) I have eaten here four times and I am pretty sure the exact same choices were on the buffet. Quality and cleanliness was better than average.
Our waitress told us we had to split our party between three tables because the other sections were closed. The manager (owner?) ran into the parking lot to offer us seating anywhere in the restaurant. We stayed after all and had a nice meal.

The service and management are horrible. If I could get it a negative star I would. I will never go back!

They price gouge big time for special occasions! $ 20 per person for Mother’s Day and food was not worth that much!

Yes, yes yes! We came here with a very large group and they even sat us immediately. Food was fresh I love the buffet especially for my picky son. The sweet I chose could have been better but hey all in all it was wonderful. Overly stuffed and happy person! I’ll be coming back after church one Sunday :)

3.95 STARS! Buffet review only so get ready! This lil’ dive looks like a local fav but I was a pure tourist coming in on a shuttle from the Austin Steam Train. The buffet was stacked with a salad bar first and then all the heart clogging goodness you could ask for. The salad was crisp and fresh which caught me by surprise from the look of this place.
The place appears to be a run down motel building and the inside makes you second guess ever walking in. The buffet included pork tips, chicken tenders, baked chicken and chicken fried steak. It was all good. The chicken tenders were by far the best ive had. They didnt over do it on salt and they had the crispness you would think. The juicyness in the chicken was perfect and they were not greasy. The chicken fried steak was again some of the best coming from a buffet. It was so tender that you could cut it with you fingers. The experience was well worth jumping on a random shuttle because you were too lazy to walk through the town on your own. The desserts were basic just like the interior design and the rolls were similar to a breakfast biscuit but the meats are what this place is about. Service was nice. Enjoy!

GREAT PLACE! Reminds one of an old fashioned, Route 66 type diner in a small, out-​of-​way town in central Texas. Small town diner with EXCELLENT comfort food that would make your Grandma proud! NOT a place for pompous types, but a GREAT place for any looking for genuinely good comfort food at a reasonable price when in the area or on the road!

Well, what does one say when their father wants to go there and it’s a day all about him… we saddled up and headed to the Highlander. I get there and am greeted by a bunch of fishing stuff. Weird… anyway, but I must say I was pleasantly surprised that I was okay with half the dishes on the buffet table. Kind of greasy spoon and oddly better than what you’d think. I don’t think I’ll be going back to this place… unless Dad wants to go back LOL

If you’re in a hurry don’t come here unless all you’re ordering is the chili. Anything else takes an hour to get your food served. Came here on the austin stream train and spent the whole 2.5 hour layover at the restaurant with no time to shop afterwards. Food is just so so and waitresses kept apologizing to all the tables around us about how long things were taking.

Whaaaaaaaat in the hell?
I don’t know which is more bizarre, this restaurant, or that there are actually some positive reviews for this restaurant. Did they put something in the canned pudding to bribe y’all?
So, to start, the restaurant is in what appears to be an old motel? I will admit that we read reviews in the parking lot and went in 50% because we were starving and 50% out of curiosity about the sheer creepiness of it. You enter and are greeted with a fishing tackle mini-​mart. There was no one else, at all, in the restaurant despite it being Saturday evening. We started getting creeped out as we stared at the Crocs for sale. Finally a young waiter came and showed us to our table.
And that table was literally right next to a dead deer, one of MANY dead creatures around the restaurant. You could pet him while you eat, I suppose. It was also right next to a fish tank with one lonely fish, tank missing several inches of water, green algae everywhere, and glass covered in grimy kids fingerprints. I’ve never felt sorry for a fish before. The despair in his eyes was obvious as he glanced at the corpses of his fallen comrades, hundreds of which line the walls of the creepy-​ass Highlander. The dark emptiness of the dining room, plus the abundance of animal corpses, made me think we were in Castle Rock in Stephen King’s latest macabre tale about 2 hungry diners that took a wayward turn in search of dinner.
The buffet is ummm, interesting. There’s a few salad selections like iceberg lettuce, carrots, and whatnot. Not very fresh but not horrifying. Then there’s the warm buffet items, and I use the term «warm» generously. More like just slightly above room temperature, you know bacteria is multiplying at breakneck speeds items. And those item were: fried chicken so dry I had to use a knife to eat it, baked chicken (less dry — you could pull this apart with the assistance of a sturdy metal fork), a fried pork type substance (we think I was pork but honestly I don’t know what it was), canned vegetables floating in water, instant potatoes, and one vat of red stuff with floating chunks that two of us could not identify if our lives depended upon it. And then there’s a dessert section with your favorite institutional classics like squares of white sheet cake and canned pudding.
Our waiter was great. I feel terrible that he has to work there. With the total lack of other patrons (witnesses) and hunting ability of the owners clearly evident, we feigned smiles when asked how the food was, paid our bill, and left as quickly as possible.
I don’t expect high class cuisine from a buffet or any joint in the middle of nowhere, like this. I get it. I’m not a snob. But the folks who think this food is edible and a deal? Y’all are insane. There’s no other option. It’s cold, old, dried out, institutional canned mystery food. The whole place is dirty. Just because it’s $ 7 and you can eat all you want doesn’t make this a worthwhile dining establishment.
Would make a great location for the next Stephen King mini-​series though, so you know, it has that going for it…

Giving the Highlander 5 stars for Value and Service.
Stopped there right before sunset on a Saturday night after a full day rockhunting — so I was dirty, starved and tired.
Service was the epitome of Southern hospitality — very warm and welcoming, and it didn’t stop at hello. Even other diners were nice.
An $ 8.99/buffet dinner could go wrong in so many ways — but this meal didn’t. The salad buffet while not fancy had over 2 dozen options to add to the basic iceberg/​purple cabbage lettuce — including baby corn, beets, nicely-​pickled cucumbers, broccoli, etc.
On to the main course (I went up 3X’s — fortunately, my dining partner only went up 1x) — moist and tasty fried chicken (I go for thighs), homemade mashed potatoes, spinach (well-​cooked taste), okra in a tomato sausage sauce, green beans, chicken fried steak (tender), beef enchilada, while bypassing two other chicken dishes; the spaghetti and meatballs, etc.
For dessert, I recommend the bread pudding.
Burnet seems to be getting more dining options that I want to try, but I would definitely go back to the Highlander.

Comfort food prepared the old-​fashioned way — We stopped in here for the first time a couple of nights ago. I was pleasantly surprised with what we found. The buffet had a variety of home-​cooking style main and side dishes, including beef tips, baked chicken, lasagna and chicken strips. I had the chicken fried steak. It was tender enough for me to easily cut with my fork, and the breading was perfect — enough to completely cover the meat but not so much that the meat got lost in it. Mashed potatoes & gravy, a salad, green beans, peas and carrots, a yeast roll, peach cobbler and tea rounded out my meal, and I honestly was reminded of the old «dinner on the grounds» at my grandmother’s church when I was young.
But even more than the well-​prepared and well-​priced food, I was impressed with the service. Everyone there was friendly and personable, and our waitress was attentive to even the little things. When I accidentally dropped my napkin on the floor, she came over and picked it up and brought me a new one without my having to ask for it. I had to ask for nothing. She was watching us and making sure we had everything we needed.
If you are looking for a pleasant dining experience in a casual setting, put this place on your list!

Stopped here to meet a friend on Saturday morning for breakfast. I came away full and impressed with the breakfast buffet. For under $ 7 (drink not included), I was able to sample crispy bacon (and lots of it), biscuits, gravy, and pancakes with fruit toppings. The décor isn’t much to look at and the clientele tends towards the geriatric-​American and/​or blue collar crowd, but you’d be hard pressed to find a better value for breakfast anywhere.

My previous review vanished so let me start over…
We call it the «Heart Attack Café» because we know grandma is in the back frying up something fantastic.
It’s a buffet with a varying selection. The breakfast buffet is just as great as the lunch or dinner one. The salad bar is «ok» and I have never favored the rolls but don’t let that stop you! Overall, this is comfort food buffet style.
We went on Mother’s Day this year and walked in the door 15 minutes before closing (we had no idea they closed early that day) but they still allowed us to enjoy the buffet and even made chocolate covered strawberries for me.
It’s 35 miles from where I live but so worth the drive and I try to venture up that way at least twice a month!
P. S. — For long time Austinites, think «Dots Café“off Howard lane, but Buffet Style. Also, if you bring the train in from Cedar Park on the weekends the Highlander provides a shuttle service to and from the depot.
They do have a menu but why bother when it’s all fresh, hot, and ready for consumption walking in the door!