Ozark Folk Center Iron Skillet Restaurant

The Skillet has great views from the windows; we enjoyed watching a dozen squirrels, one groundhog, and myriad birds busying themselves on the beautiful grounds outside! The staff is also fantastic; easily 5 out of 5 stars on service! (They pulled this review up from 2-stars to 3.)Alas; the food was disappointing. My Skillet Chicken Pot Pie looked great - but had such a rubbery crust that I could barely cut it. Frankly, it was hard to choke down. The small Salad Bar had old items on it, and I struggled to fund edible items. Credit where due; my wife got Fried Chicken Strips w Beans, and they were both fresh & good. Both of our desserts were lacking. My Lemon Tart was tiny & bland, and my wife didn't eat much of her S'Mores - even though dessert is normally her favorite part of any meal.

The buffet was good, but the food off the regular menu is even better. I've eaten here several times now and I thoroughly enjoy the environment.

The service staff are very friendly and attentive. The main dining room has a beautiful cathedral ceiling. Relics from decades past decorate the dining room. The dinner buffet on this particular night included sliced roast beef, hamburger steak, teriyaki chicken with rice, bbq chicken wings, mashed potatoes, fried sweet potatoes, fried potatoes, corn, turnip greens, brown gravy, and baked cabbage wedges. Yeast rolls and cornbread were available as well as a salad bar. This restaurant offers real butter in little sealer cups for customers' use. IMO this puts them a step above many other restaurants that use margarine instead of butter. Desserts included some kind of cobbler and a pudding parfait. Their iced tea is fresh brewed. Although the buffet isn't a large buffet, the selection of meats and vegetables are ample for a pleasant meal reminiscent of grandma's southern home cooking.

This is a special place next to the Ozark Folk Center. We dined in for lunch and I had the wild rice and vegetable plate. It had snap peas, carrots and broccolini. Delicious! My daughter had the ranch chicken sandwich with "sweet" fries. Tasty! A special lemonade with rosemary was unique and a winner. Great staff, great food, prices are very reason

Semantics or lies? Let's begin with the "stir fry." The "stir fry" is described as having "seasonal vegetables," but it was not stirred, nor fried. It was pre-cooked wild rice with a frozen vegetable blend, heated loosely in a skillet. The "seasonal vegetables" were the kind you buy at Wal-Mart with the giant soggy carrot rounds and broccoli and whatnot. "Seasonal" translates to "current" for most folks, so when we were presented with off brand Uncle Bens and Wally's frozen veggies, we felt duped. I guess the vegetables were grown in A season, and then packed, frozen and freezer burnt in A season. But not necessarily THIS season. To add insult, we ordered the "stir fry" sans meat, and it was still $11.00. Totally understand food inflation, but at least pitch us some extra carrot sponges. We appreciated the option to have something that was gluten free and vegan, but lordy, just call it what it is. Like "Wild rice bowl with vegetables." For other orders, the Caesar salad was tiny and the dressing was like a balsamic version of Caesar. Not awful, but not really great either. At least the tiny salmon filet was reported to be good. Somebody else in our party ordered a sandwich. It was okay. Another person ordered the veggie burger, which, interestingly, was probably the best entree at our table and the most reasonably priced. And finally there was an order of fried jalapeños. It was good, priced well, and the only thing served in a skillet at a place called "The Skillet." We'll skip it next time.

Having a nice restaurant at the Ozark Heritage Park was made it very convenient to be able to enjoy the venues at a leisurely pace and not worry about getting hungry and leaving the area to eat, since there definitely wasn't anything close by. They offered simple but well prepared food at a reasonable price, averaging $9. We ordered the sampler, which was chicken and dumplings, pinto beans, greens, fried okra, a slice of tomato and onion, and a corn muffin. Along with that, grilled chicken breast and bacon on a bun with sweet potato waffle fries. Both were presented nicely and both were prepared well. Nothing to right home about, but solid good meals. The ambience was nice with floor to ceiling windows and a view of a nice fountain and plants. Service was good as well.

Very quiet environment, lots of open space and really enjoyed watching the squirrels play outside on the feeders. Not much to say of the food. Biscuits were hard and we arrived around 9. The gravy was really good and they had chocolate gravy. Coffee was kind of cheap tasting to be honest. Very much cafeteria style breakfast buffet. Bathrooms were clean and tables were distanced enough from your patrons. With tip we paid $30 for two people for breakfast. Kind of steep if you ask me. Especially for the poor quality of the food. More about atmosphere and the animals here than anything.

Amazing food! I asked the waitress if the fried catfish was gluten and dairy free, she went and double checked for me and assured me it was gf and df, made with a corn base. It was absolutely delicious and left wanting more!

Service was ok,breakfast the food was cold none of it was good,wouldn't recommend the breakfast.

Great service and lots of delicious selections on the breakfast buffet. Food kept hot and fresh and drinks refilled quickly.