Clear Springs Cafe

It’s a lot of fried food and it’s extremely filling. The catfish is really really good but everything else was covered in bread.

Food was good, service and atmosphere were great! We started with onion rings. They were what I would call «regular» onion rings, not strings. The coating was good. My daughter ordered the two-​crab-​cake appetizer for her entrée and she loved it. My other daughter ordered the small chicken strips plate; she enjoyed the chicken, but was not a fan of the fries. The portions were huge. I am a vegetarian and have to say the options were limited for me. I had a side salad without bacon and a baked potato without bacon. Both were fine. For dessert, we had banana pudding and peach cobbler. Both were good, but not the best we’d ever had. They had a few craft beers available in cans/​bottles, which was nice. We give it four stars because all the food was pretty good and we thought the service and cute country atmosphere were outstanding.

Boyfriend and I were passing through Nacogdoches on our way to College Station and decided to stay the night as we had already been driving for 10 hours. After getting a hotel room for the evening we discovered that this town is much smaller than anticipated, which left us with few options for dinner. Clear Springs Café is the obvious town favorite so we decided to give it a try. The building looks to be a renovated old factory of some sort and sits right next to an equally as aged looking train depot. I thought it to be rather cute and sort of made it feel like we were visiting an old ghost town or something. It is definitely a very Texas-​like café with wooden tables and chairs, checkered table cloths and mounted animal heads (I’d like to think they were fake, but it’s not likely).
I ordered the fish tacos, which were fine. It’s probably not fair that being from San Diego, I am comparing, but they were definitely mediocre. The fish was cooked well, but the taco in general lacked flavor, which is surprising since it was supposed to have Cajun spices on it. The highlight for me were the Stingers that we ordered as appetizers; jalapeño poppers stuffed with catfish and shrimp. They do not taste like normal jalapeño poppers as they do not have much cheese (if any?), but they are good in their own right. Looking back, I would have been fine just ordering a set of those for myself as dinner.
My boyfriend opted for the Grilled Porkchop at the suggestion of his dad, and thought it was decent. It was definitely good, but did not quite live up to the hype of the extra cook time that they tell you about or how excited his dad was for him to try it.
If you are in the mood for Southern Comfort food, this place will likely hit that spot for you, but I wouldn’t necessarily go out of my way for it.

After visiting SFA, what better to grab a bite to eat at what I thought was affiliated with Tyler’s location.
Same country layout, old fashioned décor and delicious southern cooked meals.
Something you can’t go wrong with, I was dining in with my brother and Wayne.
Country fried chicken with fries, chicken basket with fries, beans, and coleslaw and also fried catfish basket with their famous onion rings, beans and coleslaw.
Coke, lemonade, and water with three lemons as our beverages.
Chatted for 12 minutes then our food arrived.
After munching down, Wayne finished first, then my brother, while I came in last.
Everyone enjoyed their meal though the onion rings weren’t tasty, they got cold quick, and couldn’t keep the ring breading on. So, eating a naked onion wasn’t as appealing as I figured it would be. It didn’t have that crunch I was searching for and it sure didn’t have the flavours. So much of it being what the restaurant is known for.
Also, the catfish wasn’t as good as the location in Tyler.
Now, Wayne and my brother ordered desserts: banana pudding and chocolate cake with a side of vanilla.
My brother liked the banana pudding, but when I sampled it, it didn’t taste homemade, but rather box-​made pudding.
The chocolate cake was moist, tasty, chocolatey and rich. It paired perfectly with the vanilla.
The service was OK, as our waitress was alright, but not overly the top good.
The restaurant was clean, though they did have taxidermy heads over where you sit. If you don’t like it, just don’t look up or ask to be moved.
The ladies restroom was tiny, but kinda clean. It had a odour to it and the trash was over flowing, but not totally messy.
Parking is small and cramped, but no fear, they have a whole another lot across the street that serves for the café and pasta restaurant.

We were there Saturday after attending SFA graduation. Able to seat all 10 of us without any problem. Food and service was excellent. Manager even came by and checked, waiter was excellent. I couldn’t believe how little the cost was. I would definitely recommend this place.

Great food — the onion rings are the BEST in the country !!! Would also recommend the chicken fried steak or fried catfish. This is a must stop anytime I am in Nacogdoches.

I could do without the dead animals all over the walls, but this is a great place if you’re in the mood for something fried and delicious. The onion rings are the best I’ve ever had, and their fried shrimp is pretty hard to beat too.

I had a hamburger here tonight and it was very good. There was a table of Very happy people and they were really distracting and could really talk LOUD. I was quite aways from them and could still be heard. I don’t know if management could have said something to them or not! This takes away from my dining experience.

Ate there on Sunday for my daughters birthday. Between the 6 people in my party, we tried several different items from hamburgers to steaks to seafood. All food was delicious with just the right size portions at a good price. Will definitely be back.

The food was good but not extraordinary. Good service by the waiter. My party has waited over 45 minutes to get their food. The restroom is dirty.

Not bad, just not as great as I thought it would be based on other reviews. Service great! Atmosphere is old warehouse, seemed artificially staged but ok.
Ordered the fried pickles app-​they were ok.
Ordered the SMALL onion rings. Order is huge, fresh, enough for 4.
Gumbo was ok-​nothing great. Lacked flavor-​added hot sauce.
Grilled chicken salad was smothered in onion straws, looked like processed chicken, nothing special here. Wouldn’t recommend.
Go worker got the Cowboy Burger. Said it was alright.
Not bad overall. ³⁄₅ stars.

Delicious Texan food in Texas sized portions, I almost always leave with leftovers. When ever friends or family comes to town I take them here. I do wish they had a bigger bar area, to watch sports at, but it’s okay sized. Great shrimp and seafood, is what I usually get, but I have enjoyed most everything I’ve tried.

I travel to Nacogdoches for business often and am always looking for great food, yet something a bit different. Clear Springs was awesome! I took my food to go, but I could tell it would be a fun, lively place to dine in. Food came out quickly, and staff was all very nice and helpful. Best part: the food was terrific!
Most definitely will be back on my next trip through Nac!

Food is pretty good, and the atmosphere is fun. Old building next to the train tracks, used to be a cotton gin, if I’m told correctly.
Anyodd, in terms of food it’s all pretty much Southern comfort type food. Think chicken fried steak and catfish. They do have salmon and some healthier dishes, too.
Main room is big and can be a bit noisy. Expect at least one crying baby. If you can, avoid this and sit in the bar area.
They do have drinks and beer, which is nice.
Ample parking.

Passed my test! Love the onion rings. Cute ambiance. Looking forward to coming back.

Great spot for seafood and cheap beer. The atmosphere was comfy, the place was clean and the service was outstanding.
My grilled combo platter featured two grilled catfish fillets and three shrimp en brochette. All were tasty and the food was obviously prepared fresh in house. The beer was cheap at $ 3 a bottle, and my biggest complaint is that there is no draft beer — bottles only.
Though I was there for dinner, the menu featured a number of affordable lunch specials that will bring me back if I’m in town again.
Deep East Texas isn’t known for its great restaurants, so this place really stood out.

OK, maybe a 4.5, but I’m rounding up because this place made us happy. This was a Unilocal win for sure as we were looking for places on the road where we could get some good solid dinner on our trip. In the old part of town, in a renovated old building next to the train depot, this place exudes old school charm. Plentiful parking is a plus. Don’t get discouraged by the number of cars out there. They share parking with another place that is on the back of the building.
Check out the specials board hanging in the main dining room. They have several off menu items up for your consideration. The menu is pure Texas diner. Burgers, chicken fried steak, chicken fried chicken, you get the idea. They also have steaks. Now, for the rating… DANG, that’s some good food! Everything we tried was VERY good. The steak was actually exceptional, as were the onion rings. The portions here are huge, so be ready. You cannot complain about teeny serving size. Top highlights for me are the CFS and the steak done rare. The CFS is perfectly rendered with great breading and good seasoning. The steak done just the way I like it, mostly rare but with a good sear on the outside was delicious and tender. It was one of the best steaks I have eaten in years, no joke.
Service here is friendly and prompt. Never had to ask for a refill. When we asked for extra things like hot sauce or more gravy, that arrived post haste. The prices here are also very reasonable, especially for the size of the portions and the quality of the food. I sure wish this place was in Humble instead of Nacogdoches…

Lets begin with AMAZINGLY AWSOME! Had to come back to Nacogdoches for work. I felt compelled to try Clear Springs again. Surly they can’t be that good. Well they were!
The bartender remembered I liked a warm glass for my beer, that deserve two thumbs up
I tried the chicken wings defiantly enjoyable
And almost went for seconds!
Had the 8oz sirloin with the shrimp brochette (shrimp wrapped in bacon with jalapeño). They were AWSOME excellent flavor, shrimp cooked properly it was Amazing!
If you don’t try this place it is your loss!

This is down-​home country style café/​restaurant with a little bit of everything on the menu. They advertise the best fried catfish around. The inside is very big with a lot of tables. A lot of fried foods on the menu and a small selection of salads and other healthier fare.
I’ve been here twice and had their «skinny» chicken dinner with rice and broccoli on one occasion and mozzarella sticks with a small house salad on another occasion. Both were great and the service friendly. The wait for our food was extraordinarily long the other night on a not-​so-​busy Sunday which is my only complaint.
Will probably return next time we’re passing through town.

Side salad with blue cheese was good! I expected «chunky blue cheese» to be chunkier!
Onion rings delivered… although we got them after our meals! Try the cajun ranch with them! Yumm!
Hubby had the CFS and he enjoyed every bite, but I honk he liked the coleslaw, toast, an potatoes better! He savored the cole slaw and i tasted the the garlic mashed potatoes! Wow! Lots of flavor!
Tea was sweet, lemon is fresh! Everything we saw looked fabulous!
Long wait for the bathroom! Wait to get in was supposed to be 30 minutes but was only 15 – 20! Great service, interesting place!