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Majestic Pizza & Steakhouse in Benton: One of the Best Salad Bars in the Kentucky Lake Area and BEYOND!

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The Majestic Salads and Iced Tea

The Majestic Salad Bar Salad and Iced Tea

When you’re in the Kentucky Lake area, you should check out The Majestic in Benton. Whether you’re looking for a delicious lunch or dinner, this restaurant is one of our favorites. Read on and I’ll tell you why!

You know how some restaurants are simply more enjoyable to dine in than others? They’re spacious, comfortable, and have an ambiance that’s in all ways enjoyable. The servers are friendly, the food delicious, and the experience… well, as perfect as it gets.

That’s Majestic Pizza & Steak House in Benton (the “mailing address” is Benton, but the physical location is Draffenville) in a nutshell!

Ironically, one of the things I love best about Majestic is a ridiculous simple one: Most of the times we’ve eaten there (which is numerous, numerous times) they allow you to sit wherever you want to sit. The times they do seat you, they’re better than most places in that there isn’t a host/hostess who seems bent on sitting all of the guests pretty much on top of one another (PET PEEVE!).

Some of my favorite restaurants tend to do this and, holy catfish, do I wish they’d see the error of their ways. People want to enjoy their meal without being able to hear every single thing the diners beside them are saying.

Majestic seems to “get this” when so few do.

Majestic House

If we’re being honest, I love pretty much everything about this restaurant. It’s beautiful, the workers are friendly, and the food is consistently delicious.  Majestic (like most all non-national-chain restaurants) does not provide a gluten-free menu, but I have gotten pretty good at knowing what I can and cannot eat. If you (like me) have to eat gluten-free for health reasons, please know that they do not claim any of their food as being “gluten-free.” If you’re in the boat I am, you’ve come to expect this with the majority of restaurants – we simply make the smartest choices we can make and pray over the food we’re served!

Cheeseburger (Off Bun) at Majestic

Majestic Cheeseburger “Off Bun” with Mayo and “Fixings”

You can actually order a burger (either on or off bread) with the salad bar – it’s more expensive, of course, but it makes a delicious dinner.  Their burgers are wonderful – you can honestly taste the quality.

Their steaks and baked potatoes (white or sweet) are also fantastic. I mean… extra extra extra fantastic!

Speaking of multiple “fantastic”s – their bread (which comes with outrageously delicious strawberry butter) is as good as you’ll ever see, smell, or taste in any restaurant in the world.

Majestic Steak and Baked Potato

Again, if you eat gluten-free for health reasons, I cannot vouch for any of the food – even the food I regularly eat while there.  Having said all of that, I will say that the following foods have not caused me any issues (and I am extremely sensitive to problems with gluten):

  • Hamburgers/Cheeseburgers “OFF BUN”
  • Steaks
  • Baked Potatoes
  • Baked Sweet Potatoes
  • Just about everything on their amazing salad bar

Majestic Salad Bar Kraut and Cucumber Salads

If gluten isn’t a concern, you’ll also love their lunch or dinner buffet (different from the salad bar, of course). Something I’ve noticed (even though I never eat off of the food buffet), the price is lower than many other buffets you’ll find.

And the food always looks incredible!

While I always get the salad bar at lunch, I’ve gotten steaks and hamburgers or cheeseburgers (off bun) other times and they’re always amazing.

I can’t say this enough times, however, just because I haven’t had an issue doesn’t mean Jack for anyone else. If you have to eat gluten-free (as with every restaurant), proceed with the knowledge that nothing on their menu is marked or even considered gluten-free. The fact that I’ve never had an issue in a restaurant that serves pizza, for crying out loud, is pretty awesome.

If you’re one of the LUCKY ones who doesn’t have to eat gluten-free…. knock yourself out! This wonderful restaurant has a huge selection of food and it’s all delicious. Before I had to give up gluten, I was absolutely in love with their pizza. If memory serves (and it almost always does when it comes to UK Basketball, baseball, and food), their pizza is phenomenal.

As a salad fanatic, my favorite thing about Majestic Pizza & Steak House is their extraordinary salad bar. It’s possibly the best one in Western Kentucky – possibly even beyond.

My Work of Art from the Majestic Salad Bar

They don’t just have the usual suspects – big beautiful lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, etc… they have “above and beyond” delicacies that rock my very world:

  • BIG beautiful and delicious pickled beets
  • Pickled okra
  • Miniature corn
  • Green olives (an obsession)
  • An assortment of cold “salads” that taste like a plus-size Amish lady spent all day making –  these are the things dreams are made of. There’s a kraut one and a cucumber one that I could sit down and eat buckets of. BUCKETS. You can see them in the pictures here but words and photos both fail to describe how wonderful they are.

Even their iced tea is fantastic!

The next time you’re in the Kentucky Lake area or Land Between the Lakes, you’ll want to schedule and plan lunch or dinner (or both if you really want to show out) at Majestic Pizza & Steak House.

Address: 244 US-68, Benton, KY

Grilled Shrimp and Blackened Catfish at The Pond in Aurora

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Grilled Shrimp and Blackened Catfish at The Pond

Grilled Shrimp and Blackened Catfish at The Pond

I’ve written about The Pond in Aurora many, many times on Genuine Kentucky and know beyond the shadow of a taste bud that I’ll write about this restaurant many more times in the future.

What can I say, I have a thing for wonderful food, charming ambiance, and uncommonly friendly people.

The Pond Menu

The Pond’s Menu (With the Adorable New Logo)

The problem with writing restaurant reviews for favorite restaurants is the feeling that you can’t possibly cover all of the things you want to cover. Seriously, everything is so delicious and the service is so above par that I have to pause every now and then to make sure I’ve covered everything.

However, due to time constraints (translation: my cats are getting hungry and restless), I’m going to simply stick with a few new (and maybe not so new) menu items we’ve tried.

  • The Grilled Shrimp. I’ve ordered the grilled shrimp many times over the years and it has always been great. See, here’s the thing – I am an avid cook and food blogger. I cook every single day of the week – usually more than once – so, when I go out to eat, I like to eat things I don’t normally fix at home. Shrimp is not on the home menu very often simply because of the price (Have you bought a bag recently? Holy cats, Kroger thinks I have a money tree I guess!), so when I can find it in a restaurant, I order it right away. Problem is, a lot of restaurants don’t have grilled shrimp available. The Pond is one of the few who do.  Like I said, the shrimp has always been fantastic but, somehow, it’s even better than ever. It has a more “grilled” flavor and it is the best shrimp in the world.
  • Blacked Catfish. When I had to give up wheat and gluten, I had to part ways with one of my favorite things in the world (at most restaurants, anyway): Fried Catfish.  I just started getting Grilled Catfish instead, which was also delicious. I’ve fallen hard for the blackened catfish at The Pond however – it’s a total knock-out.
  • Salmon. My husband, who loves salmon like I love catfish, was delighted to see it on The Pond’s menu and has ordered it each time we’ve been for the past few months. I tried it and can certainly see why he has remained so loyal to it. It’s wonderful.
  • Naturally, the baked potatoes, beans, and coleslaw are as delicious as always.

When you’re at Kentucky Lake or the Land Between the Lakes, you have to go to quiet little Aurora and have dinner at The Pond. New logo, new name but same outstanding food and service.

Tell them Joi (“Joy”) at Genuine Kentucky sends her love and will see them and their catfish and shrimp very soon.

~ Joi

P.S. A word about the grilled shrimp – the shrimp comes with a little package of cocktail sauce. DO NOT mess the shrimp up with this cocktail sauce. No, no, no… don’t even think about it.  Not only does the shrimp not need it, the sauce is simply not on par with the deliciousness of the shrimp. It’s a packaged sauce, kind of like the kind you find in stores, and it simply doesn’t deserve to be seen in the company of this wonderful grilled shrimp!

Hushpuppies at The Pond

The Pond Restaurant in Aurora, Kentucky (Previously Willow Pond)

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The Pond Blackened Catfish, Coleslaw and Loaded Baked Potato

Loaded Baked Potato, Blackened Catfish, and Vinegar Coleslaw

As you can tell from the multiple Willow Pond (in Aurora) reviews on Genuine Kentucky, this is one of our favorite Kentucky Lake Restaurants. The food is consistently delicious and the people couldn’t be any friendlier if they were your own family. None of that has changed (or is it ever apt to), but the name HAS changed. This legendary Kentucky Lake restaurant is no longer Willow Pond…. it is now The Pond.

Some people get kind of confused when it comes to the Willow Pond restaurants near Kentucky Lake – so I’ll just give a brief recap:

  1. There was a Willow Pond in Calvert City that was pretty darn good. While the Willow Pond in Aurora has always been my favorite, this restaurant wasn’t at all bad. Unfortunately, the Calvert City Willow Pond is closed now – for good, apparently, because there now a new business in their old location. This Willow Pond had different owners than the Willow Pond in Aurora.
  2. The Willow Pond in Aurora (my favorite since Day 1) is still standing strong and delicious. It is simply now going by the name The Pond. The signs out front have not changed yet, but trust me… it’s not The Pond. We ate there a few days ago and the overall-wearing frog (pictured below) assured me, the change is a done deal.
  3. There is a Willow Pond in Eddyville that is… for lack of a better word… horrible. The last time we ate there (out of severe hunger and desperation), we actually sat in a shocked kind of silence trying to tally up all the things they did wrong. Everything was cold, everything was bad, and the servers were aloof and acted kind of detached. Not that I wouldn’t try to detach myself from the food served, too, but still. The Eddyville Willow Pond owners are NOT the ones who own the Aurora restaurant. They aren’t even the ones who owned the one in Calvert City (though I wish they were in case we were ever hungry and desperate in that area again).

{Review Continued Beneath My Buddy the Frog….}

The Pond's (Aurora) Welcome Frog

While The Pond (this is going to take some getting used to after years of typing Willow Pond in Aurora!) has a little bit of everything on their menu, they are famous for…

  1. Fried Catfish
  2. White Beans
  3. Red Pepper Relish (for the beans)
  4. Grilled Catfish
  5. Grilled Shrimp
  6. Fried Green Tomatoes (appetizer)
  7. Vinegar Coleslaw
  8. Their Hush Puppies

After our recent visit, I’m going to do my part to make sure they become equally famous for their blackened catfish and loaded baked potato, but before I get to that, a few words about the above legends. The red pepper relish and vinegar coleslaw have, literally, ruined a lot of other restaurants for me. I find myself in other restaurants, eating their beans and thinking, “Beans are better with The Pond’s red pepper relish…” Or I’ll take a bite of coleslaw and think, “Not as good as The Pond’s…”

A few years ago, I had to completely stop eating wheat and gluten (health reasons – my body made the decision, not my brain). Before that fateful moment, The Pond’s hush puppies and fried catfish had ALSO ruined other restaurant’s attempts as well.

When I had to give up wheat, I had to give up fried catfish and hush puppies at The Pond. I was quickly and greatly relieved to discover that their grilled shrimp, blackened catfish, and grilled catfish are phenomenal.

In fact, when we were there this past Saturday, the blacked catfish was better than ever. It was simply too good to be true and I told it so.

Yes, of course I talk to my food. Try not to judge me – all I can do is ask you to try.

I also branched out this time and ordered the Baked Potato “loaded,” which proved to be one of my smarter moves of the year. It was extra, extra delicous – the entire meal was, to be honest.

But the thing is… with The Pond… I would expect no less.

William Shakespeare said, “A rose by any other name would smell as sweet.” Joi (that’d be me) says, “A Restaurant this good… by any name it chooses… will knock your knickers off.”

I never claimed to be as eloquent as Mr. Shakespeare.

The Pond is located in Aurora, Kentucky – perfectly situated between Kenlake State Resort Park/Kentucky Lake and The Hitching Post and Old Country Store. I hope you’ll make The Pond your dining choice when in the Land Between the Lakes region or anywhere near Kentucky Lake or Lake Barkley.

~ Joi (“Joy”)

P.S. One more example of how good The Pond is and how much we love it: We live in Owensboro, Kentucky and have actually made the trip to Aurora JUST to have dinner at The Pond. What’s more, we’ve done it more than once.

What’s MORE… we’ll do it again!

The Pond Blackened Catfish and Loaded Baked Potato

 

 

The Pond (Formerly Willow Pond) in Aurora: What Makes This Kentucky Lake Restaurant So Special?

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Blackened Catfish at Willow Pond, Aurora
It’s been a while since I wrote my first Willow Pond in Aurora review (8 years to be exact!) but the review still gets visitors. In fact if you click the link, you can read the raving comments of others who’ve visited and loved this wonderful Kentucky Lake restaurant.

Special note before I continue with this review… I often refer to this particular Willow Pond as the Willow Pond in Aurora – I’m not trying to be wordy (I don’t have to try to be wordy, just ask my husband). There is a Willow Pond in Eddyville and it is nowhere near as good as the one in Aurora.  Different people run the place, different people work the place, and different people cook in the place. I want to clearly distinguish between the two because the Willow Pond in Aurora is excellent and the one in Eddyville? Well, you’d be better off at Wendy’s.

Back to Aurora and back to the “right” Willow Pond.

{Review Continued Below….}

Willow Pond (Aurora) Vinegar Coleslaw
Recently, I found myself (yet again) recommending Aurora’s Willow Pond to someone. A woman contacted me, through e-mail, asking for suggestions – she and her family planned to be in the Kentucky Lake area, for the first time no less, and wanted to know where I recommended lodging, eating, and shopping. As I sat typing out a nice long e-mail to her, I found myself raving about the Willow Pond restaurant in Aurora.

After sending the e-mail, I started thinking, What is it about Aurora’s Willow Pond Restaurant that makes it so special? Why do I always feel 110% comfortable and confident sending people their way? What separates them from a lot of other restaurants? Why is it the perfect place to eat if you’re visiting Kentucky Lake, Lake Barkley, or the Land Between the Lakes?

Fortunately, I never task myself questions I can’t handle, so I came up with the answers.

The FOOD Sets Willow Pond in Aurora Apart.

A lot of catfish restaurants (all that I’ve been to anyway) offer deals where you get your choice of meat, white beans, hush puppies, coleslaw, and your choice of fries or a baked potato. Each of the sides at Willow Pond (in Aurora) are superior to other restaurant’s sides. Period. I’m a nice Southern gal, but there’s no way to sugar coat this. Their beans? Better than other restaurants. Their coleslaw? Better than other restaurants. Their hush puppies? Okay, this is where I get sad.. I was always addicted to their wonderful hush puppies until I had to start eating gluten free. But, memory serves me well and their hush puppies are much better than other restaurants. Their baked potatoes are always perfection, as well. They have something else that sets them apart, too – red pepper relish! A bottle sits on each table (and is even available to purchase) and it is Heaven on their white beans. HEAVEN. Mind you, the beans are delicious without the relish, too.

The coleslaw is available two ways – made with vinegar or made with mayonnaise. To be honest, I’ve never had the mayo one in all the countless times I’ve been there. I don’t have anything against mayo coleslaw – but the vinegar coleslaw is so crazy delicious I just can’t wander away from it.

{Review Continued Below….}

Willow Pond (Aurora) White Beans and Red Pepper Relish
Willow Pond’s fried catfish is (again, going by memory) also better than you’ll find anywhere. Fortunately, since I have to eat blackened and grilled these days, their non-fried catfish is also great. Because their fried catfish is the stuff legends are made of, I was honestly broken-hearted about having to give it up. However, one bite of their grilled catfish and my poor catfish-loving heart mended right up. The grilled and blackedned are as delicious as the fried, and that’s really saying something huge.

Something else on the menu that’s out of this world is their grilled shrimp. Delicious! It doesn’t need any cocktail sauce – that’s how flavorful it is.

Even the iced tea is consistently great at Aurora’s Willow Pond!

CONSISTENCY Sets Willow Pond in Aurora Apart.

Pet peeve – when you never know what to expect from a restaurant one visit to the next. One week the food’s a 10, the next it’s a 3.  This week the people are friendly, the next they’re all but rude. What once was on the menu is now nowhere to be found. (Seriously, though, how is barbecue chicken “seasonal?”)

Aurora’s Willow Pond is as consistent as the word, itself. Consistent is always spelled the same – it never changes. You know what to expect, c-o-n-s-i-s-t-e-n-t.  This Willow Pond is delicious each and every single time.  As consistent as c-o-n-s-i-s-t-e-n-t. It doesn’t matter what day of the week it is, it doesn’t matter what month of the year it is. The food refuses to be anything but delicious.  The prices refuse to be anything but reasonable. The restaurant, itself, refuses to be anything but the very definition of comfort.

{Review Continued Below….}

Willow Pond Grilled Catfish and Baked Potato

The PEOPLE Set Willow Pond in Aurora Apart.

The hostesses and servers are just as consistent as the food. Some of the faces may change from time to time but the “heart” of the restaurant never changes. There is an unmistakable atmosphere of happiness and southern hospitality flows through the air. We’ve eaten at this Willow Pond far too many times to even begin to count and we have never (not once, mind you) encountered a single worker who was rude or seemed in any way less than happy to be right where they were, doing right what they were doing.

They make you feel welcome and the smiles on their faces when guests walk through the door are not fake.  They are genuine.  About a month ago, we were enjoying a wonderful meal as the restaurant began to fill up. There was an event at nearby Kenlake and apparently there was a great turnout.

The servers and hostesses were incredibly busy but it never registered on their faces. It was as though their smiles and hearts didn’t realize how busy their hands and feet were! A very large group came in (ten people, in all) and the servers worked, happily, pulling tables together and talking to everyone about their visit to Kentucky Lake.

Not one single face “registered” the crazy pace of the evening and not one responded with anything but a smile and kindness to each and every guest.  They almost reminded me of how I am when all of my family gets together on holidays.

Mind you, I’ve never been in the restaurant business (even though my kitchen often feels like one!) – but I can’t help but think that the staff often takes on the character, mindset, and possibly even “heart” of the owner. In this case, it would make perfect sense, because the owner is what we call “good people” here in Kentucky. Very, very good people.

It appears to me that the heart of the owner resonates with each member of his staff.

People like that? You bet they set a restaurant apart from the rest.

{Review Continued Below…}

Willow Pond Grilled Shrimp and Baked Potato

The CHARM Sets Willow Pond in Aurora Apart.

We’d been going to this Willow Pond for months before I put my finger on what I loved so much about the restaurant, itself. There are other restaurants in the area that also serve great food. There are even a few that also have ridiculously friendly “good people.” And yet…. Whenever my husband and I would discuss where we were going to eat supper while in the area, we almost always came back to Willow Pond in Aurora.

It feels good to be there.

The restaurant, itself, is spacious, cozy, very comfortable, colorful and… well… charming. Very, very charming. I love the checkered tablecloths, I love the floral tablecloths, I love the fruity tablecloths, I love the country decor, I love the front porch, I love Ole Sam the Resident Buzzard (pictured below) a lot , and I love the I love the down home vibe of the entire restaurant.

I enjoy being there. Period.

{Concluded below Ole Sam…}

Ole Sam, the Resident Buzzard at Willow Pond Aurora
Next time you’re in the Kentucky Lake, Lake Barkley, or Land Between the Lakes area – you know where to go for supper. When you go, say “Hi!” to Sam for me.

Heck… I might even be there, myself.

Check out Aurora’s Willow Pond on Facebook to stay on top of their hours. Like all businesses around tourist areas, the days and hours change throughout the year.

A Tale of Three Willow Pond Restaurants

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Willow Pond Restaurant in Aurora, Kentucky

Willow Pond Restaurant in Aurora, Kentucky

I’ve written A LOT about the three Willow Pond Catfish Restaurants near Kentucky Lake and Lake Barkley. Admittedly, I’ve written far more about the Willow Pond in Aurora, Kentucky than the other two simply because it has always been my favorite.

Unfortunately the “other two” is now the “other one” because the Willow Pond in Calvert City is no longer in business. I don’t have every single detail, only the fact that it closed down after being hit by lightning last summer, never re-opened, and that there are no plans to ever re-open.

This is REALLY bad news, for several reasons:

  • The restaurant had wonderful food. While the Aurora restaurant was always my favorite, the one in Calvert City was a close second.
  • The Willow Pond in Calvert City was perfect for diners who couldn’t get into the legendary Catfish Kitchen. The Calvert City Willow Pond was just minutes away and I’m sure, over the years, saved many people from starving when the wait was too long at Catfish Kitchen.
  • The wait at Catfish Kitchen will assuredly become longer (insert frowny face emoji).
  • The next closest Willow Pond is in Eddyville, and it’s just dreadful.

The only good news I can think of:

  • It’s not a bad drive to the Willow Pond in Aurora (near Kenlake State Resort Park). It’s a beautiful, quiet, and very friendly restaurant with delicious catfish, beans, grilled shrimp, hush puppies, and baked potatoes.
  • The Cracker Barrel in Calvert City is one of the best Cracker Barrels I’ve ever been to (and I’ve hit MANY in my time). Quite frankly, the fried catifsh at Cracker Barrel is as good as anyone’s fried catfish and the grilled catfish might be the best you’ll ever have in a restaurant. The flavor is perfection.

The Willow Pond in Aurora

I’ve written MANY reviews of the Willow Pond in Aurora, Kentucky. You can find everything you need to know about this restaurant (which happens to be one of my favorite places to eat in all of Kentucky OR any state):

The Willow Pond in Eddyville

Eddyville Willow Pond Catfish and Baked Potato

Willow Pond (Eddyville): The Butter that Wouldn’t Melt

It always pains me to have to write a negative review about a restaurant in Kentucky. I’d much rather focus on the positive. However, restaurant reviews are meant to help people and, in that vein, I feel like I have to tell you this: Until changes are made, you’d be much better off eating somewhere other than the Willow Pond in Eddyville.

If we’d read the words above before we gave this restaurant a second chance, it’d have saved us time and wasted money.  That’s why I even bother to do negative reviews, to save someone else from making the same mistake we made.  After all, time and money are both too precious to waste.

A few years ago (it could have been as much as three), we ate at the Willow Pond Restaurant in Eddyville. Nothing was as good as the food in Aurora or Calvert City’s Willow Pond restaurants.  The baked potatoes were even “nuked” as the server said, as opposed to Aurora’s Willow Pond where they arrive at your table fresh and hot from “BAKING” – as a baked potato should be.

A few nights ago, we were in Calvert City and, before learning that it’d closed down for good, planned to eat at Willow Pond.  When we saw that it was closed, we headed on toward Owensboro (home) and figured we’d eat somewhere along the way. We realized that we could stop in Eddyville and give their Willow Pond a second chance – after all, a couple of years can make a lot of difference, right?

Wrong.

The restaurant is beautiful, I will give them that, and our server was perfectly sweet. The young girl who seated us, although friendly enough, did what I call one of the cardinal restaurant sins – the restaurant was completely empty except for one single couple sitting at a booth. Did she seat us somewhere where we (and them) could enjoy a little privacy? Heck to the no.. she put us directly at the booth behind them – back to back.

In an empty restaurant.  Why can’t managers train their staff to do anything but that?  It’s as though they think they’re collecting diners… “Oooh, I’ve got a set! Better put these together…”

“If they don’t arrive together, don’t put them together.” – (apparently said no manager ever)

The menu is a little bit different from the Willow Pond in Aurora or the one that was in Calvert City, but the “mainstays” are the same.

Well, in theory.

I ordered the blackened catfish – which oddly enough was far redder than black. I immediately wondered, what’s he so embarrassed about?  I’d soon learn it was the potato. You can’t really tell from the picture above, but the “blackened” catfish was as red as could be.

Thing is, though, he was the highlight of the meal. He didn’t taste bad. As I told my husband, he kind of brought about feelings of indifference – not so bad that you’d spit it out, but not so good that you’d order it again.

The beans weren’t that great, to be honest. Watery and flavorless. Fortunately, the red pepper relish on the table saved the day. Pour enough of that onto beans and suddenly it doesn’t matter how they taste… or in this case, don’t taste.

The coleslaw was okay. Chopped to high Heaven, but at least it tasted alright.

The biggest problem, ironically, was again the baked potato. With each miserable bite, I kept wondering, “How do you mess up a baked potato?!?!?”  I bake potatoes and sweet potatoes at home all the time and I can tell you that a baked potato is as simple as turning on the oven (conventional, not microwave), piercing and oiling up the potato, salting him (my personal approach), and baking him either in or out of foil for an hour.  Take him out of the oven, let the butter melt across him and have yourself a baked potato party.

SIMPLE.

Yet, here my husband and I both sat trying to cut through cold potatoes.  We had to “cut” the butter in with our knives because neither potato was hot enough to melt the butter.  The potato tasted like it’d been cooked a day (or two… not saying three is out of the question) beforehand and had been kind of sitting around waiting for its big moment.

I’m not saying that IS what happened, I’m just saying that’s what it tasted like. Fresh was the last thing I’d have accused this potato of being. No, actually, I take that back, warm is the last thing, but fresh was right there with it.

As I’ve said in my restaurant reviews before, when people choose your restaurant, they’re trusting you. They expect their experience to be pleasant, their food to be good (and warm!), and their money to be well spent.  As things are, the Eddyville Willow Pond is simply not a good choice.  If this ever changes, I’ll let you know.

If you’re in the Kentucky Lakes area and want catfish, these are your best options:

  • Willow Pond in Aurora (grilled catfish, fried catfish, grilled shrimp..)
  • Catfish Kitchen  (fried catfish and even gluten free fried catfish!)
  • Cracker Barrel in Calvert City (fried or grilled catfish)
  • Kenlake State Resort Park (fried catfish)
  • Lake Barkley State Resort Park (fried catfish)
  • Kentucky Dam Village State Resort Park (fried catfish)

The Majestic Pizza & Steak House in Benton is also a great restaurant. Outstanding pizza, steak, salads, and their buffets are legendary.

When the couple we were practically seated with left, three really loud adults and a child came in and were seated… you guessed it… in the booth the couple had just vacated.

It just boggles the mind – to have that many seats and keep sitting people on top of one another. It does not hurt a server to  have to walk an extra couple of feet to take care of her diners. Her tips depend upon her diners having a great experience, after all. Set her and the diners up for success.

And, for crying out loud, bake your baked potatoes.

 

 

"When reading about a Kentucky event, please be sure you check the date. Old events are not always deleted from the website. If you have an event you'd like to see on Genuine Kentucky or a 'Made in Kentucky' food or product you'd like reviewed, please contact us! " ~ Joi ("Joy")

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