My wife and I were on our way back from Texas and wanted a sit-down dinner and Dowd's sign we both thought that a good catfish dinner sounded good Decor: Good. It was rustic but clean. Staff: Good. They were friendly and attentive. Our glasses...of sweet tea never ran dry. Food: Average: My wife ordered the 4 piece spicy catfish dinner and I ordered the senior spicy combo (chicken strip and catfish) dinner . For her sides, my wife had fried okra and slaw. The okra was good but the slaw we could never figure out exactly. For my sides I had the cheesy corn and fries. The fries were good, but the cheesy corn had no taste or texture. We really did enjoy the hush puppie that came with our meal. My chicken strip was good but my wife and I both agreed that the catfish was a bit dry and only one of my pieces of fish had any seasoning at all. If that was spicy I would hate to see their regular seasoning. Summary: I would not hurry back to visit again, unless it is to give their BBQ a chance.More

Although it was dinner time it was not very crowded. We were able to get a table right away. I had shrimp and my husband had salmon. Both were juicy and hot. The sides were plentiful and complemented the entrees.

We have eaten here many time over the years. This time was different. Our waitress Savannah was the only good thing about the visit. She provided excellent service. The food was terrible though. We both ordered the catfish, shrimp, and chicken tender combo and a...hush puppy appetizer. The hush puppy appetizer was cold and several were to hard to eat. I had fried okra and French fries all of which were cold. The shrimp were not fresh and were also cold. The catfish and chicken were tolerable and somewhat warm. Also the meals were supposed to come with hush puppies and the kitchen did not put any on the plates. Eating here was always the highlight of our yearly trip to the area. It was a wasted $36. Won’t be back.More

We arrived after 1 PM before 2 on Sunday packed with Church crowd. Wife ordered rotisserie chicken, and I got two fried catfish and pulled pork. The chicken was several hours from fresh and dried out. Catfish was wonderful, pulled pork had taste of refridgerated...onions (some could not stand) I buried it in the KC type sauce and it was good. Service was excellent and attentive with drink refills and a to go cup. Maybe best in Rolla, but we would drive on next time. Every other gas station has Chester's ChickenMore

We were camping at Riverfront, and decided to come into town to eat dinner. We all love catfish and BBQ so we decided to stop here. The catfish was amazing. My husband had the smoked turkey, okra and pinto beans. I had the catfish, chicken...strips, okra and cheesy corn. It was all delicious, big portions, fresh and hot. The grandkids enjoyed the brownie sundae! Yummy! We will be back!More

Nice variety of entre options in addition to catfish and BBQ. Big selection of desserts, too. Lots of room, too, so they can handle large groups. But almost everything is fried.

Headed here for the state's best catfish on a family trip. We were greeted immediately and shown to our table. We had not sat down and the server asked for a drink order. We hadn't even seen the menu yet. Ordered the catfish dinner with...different sides. Comes with pinto beans, which were just ok. Cole slaw seemed homemade. Other sides that lacked were cold fries, fried frozen onion rings and cheesy corn. The corn was supposed to come with pieces of brisket yet ours did not. Our server, whom called us (all older) "Hun," said it "usually has brisket in it." So this night was different. All ordered the award winning fried catfish. Was good but things like cold fries and a cold baked potato paled the dinner. Likewise we were rushed throughout the meal. Had not finished dinner and our server asked about dessert. We all looked stunned and said no thanks we were full. Had we had time to digest we might have ordered dessert. But rushed from beginning to end. Not worth it for the hush puppies which were gummy and some hushpuppy sticks on the TINY plates we were given. Not a lot of food for $12,99. The senior deal might be worth it. But cold baked potato, no bueno. And don't call us "Hunn" unless you are 80.More

I had the senior catfish lunch which consisted of one piece of catfish and a shrimp and a chicken tender. Plus 2 kinds of hush puppies, one of which had a great coating with jalepeno in it.

Lunched with a group of 8, service was not quick, especially for a menu of mostly already prepared foods (smoked meats). One person did have chicken strips which were very dry. Pulled pork sandwich was lukewarm and not much larger than a slider, spouse had...same experience. Sides (coleslaw and baked beans) would have almost fit on a large tablespoon. Desert (pie) was not very good either - chocolate meringue - are you kidding me? All in all, not what I expected. They need to up their game before we go back.More

It is better than McDonalds but not by far. Fish had very little flavor! I had a catfish po’boy. Very large filet but zero flavor, salt before the batter would be a tremendous help. My husband had the brisket and he said it was horrible...and also zero bbq sauce or rub on the meat. It looked like a roast from my seat. The salad was the best part. This is our third time here and it is still average at best. Probably will not return.More

Not a mask in sight...not the hostess, not the servers, not the cashier. Maybe show a little respect to your customers.

I have never seen a catfish place that actually uses previously frozen fish to prepare their dinners. It was similar to pudding in a cornmeal batter. I couldn't eat it and I am a big fan of fried catfish. My wife ordered the BBQ brisket....Where I come from when you BBQ meat you actually put BBQ sauce on it. Not here. They give you a COLD bottle of sauce in a squirt bottle. The loaf of bread was tasty but they brought out a loaf the size of a hot dog bun to share for two people and never offered more. I ordered BBQ beans and they brought it out in a little tiny bowl and I got about 4 spoon fulls out of it. If the beans had any BBQ in them I couldn't taste it. Maybe I was supposed to use the squirt bottle? The side of corn was also obviously frozen at one time and was basically just mush like a jar of baby food. The coffee was average. The best part of the meal was the soda my wife ordered. Too bad they didn't offer a refill. After all was said and done, I feel I could have received a better meal just about anywhere in town for much less money.More