Gray Brothers Cafeteria

The place for down home cookin’ like mama does it. I used to come here as a child on special occasions and my mom and grandma always walked out with a whole pie.
They are known for their pies, which vary from the fruity to the decadent. Everything is sold separately and it can get expensive fast if you love sides, desserts, and salads. It is mostly a homestyle menu with mashed potatoes and gravy, biscuits, meatloaf, chicken fried steak and more of those types of foods.

I will always be fond of Gray’s. I used to work at a retreat center near Martinsville, and this place was a staff favorite. I still look for excuses to visit!
Why else has Gray’s won my affection?
–Great comfort food. Their mac ‘n cheese is addictive.
–Very helpful staff.
–Pie, pie, and pie. Seriously. Worth a visit in and of itself.
–They displayed a «We serve everyone» sign after RFRA, which is notable in a town that is the least diverse place I’ve ever lived.
In closing: pie.

We are lucky to have this within miles of our home. Best pies around, and wonderful buffet items. Everyone finds something they like. We especially like the roast beef, fried chicken, chocolate pie, and strawberry pie. Also, I insist on getting their pickled beets. Great price for what you get, too.

Consistently delicious cafeteria fare. The chocolate pie with mile-​high meringue is not to be missed! Other favorites are the chicken Parmesan, chicken fried steak, baked fish, and macaroni and cheese.

I found it expensive for what it was: 1 entrée 2 sides and a soda ran my friend 15 bucks. The food was quality down home cooking and the line moved incredibly fast. They were all super friendly and the waitress ensured our drinks were never empty. Happy to find a decent country salmon patty close to what my grandma used to make :) The dessert looks amaze and i’ll get some to go but there is no way i’d have room after how large their portions are. The mac n cheese was legit. Nothing negative to note other than it’s pretty cold in there.

First I should admit that I am just predisposed to not like cafeterias. I just don’t like the concept. It seems so weird to me. I went ahead and got their signature items, friend chicken and pie. I went for the dark meat, because I like flavor. They asked if I was ok with three drumsticks instead of a thigh. I was not. That is crazy talk. I got the lemon meringue pie. That is one of my favorite pies. Their version didn’t taste like much. It was definitely missing on the lemony tang. Really the only thing lemon about it was the color. Their best left me disappointed.

When I grew up in Redwood City, CA, there was (and still is) a wonderful place called Harry’s Hofbrau. It was the kind of place that had something for the whole family. Grandparents loved it, parents loved it, us kids loved it because of the carved Charlie Brown and Snoopy in the entry area. When I was a kid, it was full of old men who would cook, slice and serve up the meat. You’d grab a side, a salad, some dessert, a soda, then take your tray to your table and enjoy.
I told my husband about this place years ago and he said there was a place just like that for him growing up, too: Gray Bros. Cafeteria. Same deal: fun for the whole family, lots of sides, lots of meat, lots of desserts.
I finally was able to try Gray’s last week during a vacation back east, and it was everything I thought it would be!
Many things at Gray’s, though, seem to be better than is necessary. The mac and cheese is incredible. The crust on the cherry pie is so crispy and delicious. I’m not even a fan of pie! In fact, that was my husband’s I tasted; I had the carrot cake, which was also delicious.
The roast beef was really the only downer, unfortunately, so I docked a star for that. It was dry and had no pink. Oh, well. Everything else was so good, it more than made up for it.
If I ever find myself back here, and I hope I do, I’m for sure getting that chicken fried steak! And I may even have to crack and get a whole slice of cherry pie just for meeeeee.

It has been awhile since I have been here and now I remember why.
Not many smiles tonight on a Wednesday night at 8pm.
I purchased fried chicken and 2 sides and by the time I finished everything in 20 minutes, I finally get a person to ask if I water a refill of water. Mind you he was helping others around me walking by the table numerous times. Employees seem more interested in talking to each other and checking their phones than taking care of customers and cleaning tables.
So no cash will be left on the table when I get up.
For the price of $ 9.01, I could double that and get KFC for the family.
Even though they updated, it still looks dreary and old. Common Gray’s you used to be a great go to place I would drive miles to in the past, now not anymore. What a shame…

If you’re looking for a place with delicious home cooked meals and mouth watering desserts – Gray Brothers is the place to go!
I’ve only had the opprotunity to dine here twice (*Most recent visit was last Tuesday with family.*) but I absolutely love it here!
As I mentioned before, Gray Brothers Cafeteria for the most part is full of wonderful homestyle meals, almost like an endless amount of it as you’re walking down each section with your tray. The more the better, right?
Right as soon as you get into line the first thing you’ll come across is the mouth watering desserts (*From cheesecake to applie pie!*) the dessert portions are, or just to me look big so I tend to skip it as I know I won’t be able to finish the dessert and lunch as well! But anyway.
The staff members here are absolutely fantastic! Our waitress was always around and would come to our table to ask if we needed refills on drinks or boxes for left overs. Wish I could remember her name, but she was so wonderful, along with the other staff members.
There’s not a negative or bad thing I can really say about Gray Brothers, I do recommend getting there early as they do tend to get long lines during the weekend. (*As for when I went, there were no lines at all and my family and I just walked right in!*)
Like I said, if you’re looking for a place with great food and friendly staff — Gray Brothers is your place!

Good home cookin’ cafeteria-​style. pies and desserts, fried chicken, grilled chicken, you name it. My recent favorite would have to be the grilled chicken with potatoes, onions, and peppers. Amazing, and also a healthier option.

How have I never written a review for this before? As a preface, I have to admit that I have a strong emotional attachment to Gray Bros. – it was my grandfather’s favorite restaurant and we would always go there every time the cousins were in town.
Once upon a time, these types of cafeteria restaurants were ubiquitous. The fact that most of those restaurants have disappeared and Gray Bros. has survived (and often has a line out the door) says much. The food is all basic Midwestern comfort food. It isn’t the healthiest – and let’s face it, you aren’t working on the farm from dawn til dusk — but boy is it tasty. The fried chicken is about best you’ll have anywhere, and the roast beef is quite tasty. The mac ‘n cheese and mashed potatoes are also spot on. You can also get really old school stuff like unpretentious deviled eggs and egg salad and jello. The pies and cakes are super tasty good… (and you can quote that) The cream pies, fruit pies (esp. cherry_​, Indiana sugar cream pie, and peanut butter cake are all top of the line.
If you come during dinner time or on a weekend, you’ll be waiting in line, maybe for awhile… The seating is at huge tables and this is a great place for a big family outing. If you want to experience real hoosier culture, this is a required stop.

Best cafeteria in Central Indiana by far! They have the biggest and best variety, and I think most of their items have the best taste. It’s comfort food galore, however, they have just done an upgrade or rehab to incorporate more grilled items into their lineup. Frankly, I will stick to what they do best: fried, salt, and pie. Even though it’s a cafeteria line to pickup your food and pay, once you are seated, the staff is attentive with refills, condiments, and to go needs. Take care with when you decide to go because the line can be out the door at peak times, holidays, Sundays, etc.

No matter what you order it’s good and fattening. I got a veggie plate and I think I gain 5 pounds! Nice family atmosphere as Christmas cheer continues!

Duplicated review: as this restaurant is listed twice on Unilocal for some reason.
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I have lived in the Indianapolis area since 1999, and believe it or not, I have never been to this cafeteria until recently. In the interim, I had heard so much about how good of a place it is to eat,…especially how awesome their pies are. Unfortunately, the wait was just short of worth it.
We went on a Thursday evening, and it was fairly busy enough. With most cafeterias it’s like a cattle call,…you stand in line, and point out what you want to eat, they put it on your plate, and you keep moving along. You then end up at the register pay for your food, and then go find a table/​seat.
The food service line was efficient enough, but the servers seemed to be unfocused, preoccupied and lackadaisical. I tried to ask if I could have a little whipped cream on my apple pie, and it seemed to be a miserable chore to one gal to accommodate me. We found a table after paying, and thankfully the gal who was tending the floor and checking drinks — was nice. It’s always a plus when servers can muster up a smile whether they like their job or not.
We got the fried chicken, because I had read on previous reviews that it was very good. I will totally concur with that assessment. Everything else was nothing to write home about — including the canned green beans, processed mac and cheese, mashed potatoes, and the hush puppies. I actually had to send the hush puppies back because they a very weird/​odd taste to them that I couldn’t pin point. I got a refund on those. I am only giving them *** 3 stars because of the fried chicken and the apple pie I had. Those two items are really what really saved them. Otherwise the rest of the menu had quite a bit to be desired. I have had similar quality and tasting food at any other food line cafeteria and/​or buffet I have ever been to like —
ex: Ryan’s, Golden Coral, etc,…
If I would have chosen a buffet style –all you can eat — restaurant, I surely would have gotten more food or choices for the all mighty dollar as well.
When all was said and done, our bill came to over $ 30 for two people. I think that’s a little high and excessive considering the quality and the amount of food that we received. You’re not paying for atmosphere in that place either, that’s for sure!
I sure wish the value and quality would make it worthwhile when eating out these days. It’s just another sad commentary to the fact that great restaurants are really far and few in between anymore. Most are just a ‘slop it out at you’ dime/​dine a dozen.
I am not sure how most good sized families can afford to eat out at family style restaurants today. It seriously costs a small fortune to do so. It just would be nice to get something satisfying and worthwhile for one’s money for a change.
It really wasn’t worth the drive. I don’t think I will go out of my way to go again.

Honestly for me, it’s the best cafeteria in the Indianapolis area by far. This place screams Midwestern comfort food!
The desserts are in the beginning so they tempt you from the start. I would recommend sticking with the Fried Chicken and the sides are great! My favorite side would have to be the cheesy potatoes (Au gratin I think.), you can taste the real potatoes…
Some of the cons are that the lines are usually long and it’s hard to figure out how much everything will cost until they ring you up at the cash register. I usually try to eat here after an airport trip since it’s somewhat close to the west side.

As a gal not from the midwest, I was excited by this homespun, folksy vision I had about eating at a cafeteria-​style restaurant for the first time. There’d be nanas and big portions and charm and carbohydrates galore…
I went to Gray Brothers with a group of mostly other yankees hopped up on the promise of finding charming old ladies and comfort food.
The portions are standard. The faire is basic comfort food. There is pie, lots of pie (they make you aware of it as soon as you get in line.)
I took in a lot of gluttonous smells but for health conscious reasons stayed away from the dense macaroni and cheese, gravy flooded mashed potatoes, and the offering of cheese sauce for my cauliflower and broccoli. My dining companions (adults and kids) went full steam ahead with their food choices. I got the grilled chicken + veggie skewers (no rice,) beets (I didn’t realize they were candied,) and that cheeseless side of broc. + cauli. The rest of table ordered fried chicken, buttered and bacon-​ed green beans, macaroni and cheese, taters, deviled eggs, biscuits, chocolate cake, and pie.
The consensus was that the foods tasted ok, nothing memorable. The same was agreed on about the service. Just ok. For two, the cost was around $ 20. It is all a la carte so you can spend more or less depending on your appetite. Nothing really stood out as a place I need to rush back to.
PS. The pie LOOKS great. Tall with mounds of whipped cream or meringue. Globs of berries in berry goo. Butterscotch pie? They all looked really tempting and delicious.
PSS. There were nanas there.

We don’t have cafeteria restaurants like this in NJ. We were coming back from Indy when my friend veered off the highway when he spotted the Cafeteria sign. The parking lot was packed so we guessed it was a winner.
We asked a sliver haired lady at the door if the food was good. She said to try the chicken livers… Hmmm, ok maybe not the best 411 but we went in.
We walked about 100 feet to get to the end of the line, passing racks and racks of good looking food.
The cavernous interior was filled with AARP members — well dressed and all silently eating good home cooking.
I tried the acre wide pork tender loin with mashed potatoes and a carrot cake slab on the side.
The mashed was great, the pork tenderloin was huge — bigger than the plate. However, the breaded coating was way too salty.
The cake was good but so huge I left some on the plate.
This is another good home cooking place that I wish was near my house.
Recommended.

Good comfort food, served cafeteria-​style. You know when there are over 90 reviews for a restaurant in Mooresville, it must be pretty good, right? Well, it is.
Everything I’ve eaten here has been very good, but especially the fried chicken and mashed potatoes.
One thing to note, though, is that if you’re looking for «healthful» food, you should probably eat somewhere else. This is gut-​bomb, stick-​to-​your-​ribs cuisine, and even the plain vegetables are served with a healthy dousing of salt. Every time I leave here, I need to chug a water bottle afterward because everything is so salty. Salty in a good way, but salty nonetheless.

Sometimes there’s long lines to eat at this cafeteria style restaurant, but it worth it. The food is very good, average sized portions, a bit expensive, but a nice place to go eat on various occasions.
Reminds me of the great cafeterias of when I was a child traveling with my parents, back when cafeterias served very good food. Well, this place did and still does serve very good food! Come try it and see for yourself.

We were in Indianapolis for the NCAA Final Four and heard about Gray Brothers Cafeteria via the ‘Man vs. Food’ website. We drove 30 minutes to get there from downtown Indianapolis and we were not disappointed.
All too often, buffets or cafeteria food can take on a bland quality. That is certainly not the case at Gray Brothers. There was a line of about 20 people upon our arrival but the line moves quickly.
The selection is almost overwhelming. Everything looked delicious and everything we tried was definitely delicious. The price was reasonable and the staff was very friendly.
If I am ever back in this area again, I will definitely return for another meal. There are so many other things I would like to try. We talked about the food for the rest of our visit to the area. It was certainly memorable.
The coconut pie was incredible and I would certainly like to know what «mystery ingredient» I detected in the coconut filling. It was top shelf!
Gray Brothers Cafeteria is home-​cooked comfort food at its finest.