The Old CookStove

Any time you leave the buffet and you're doing the little forward lean on your way back to your car, so you know that's the good stuff. Great food, tons of options, friendly service. Fried green tomatoes, cheesy rice and brocolli, and lemon pepper chicken wings were a highlight.

We go to the Old CookStove a couple of times a year. We travel 61 miles to eat here. They never disappoint. Wonderful food and a great staff. On one of our trips, my wife inquired about how something was prepared. The kitchen staff came out to give my wife step by step cooking instructions. We love the place and we will continue to come visit. And for the record, I hate buffets. This is the one buffet that I will willingly eat at.

I'm not sure I'm doing myself a favor by telling you how good the food is here! LOL We arrived about 4:30pm on Friday and already found a church group from Muscle Shoals (party of 12) and another group of 7 ahead of us by the time we got there (they had opened up 30 minutes earlier). When you pull up to Reeder Road you see a sign for the restaurant. Google maps told us the wrong place to stop. We had to go further down the road past a bunch of cute place houses for children and small sheds. At the end of the road it opened up into the parking area for the restaurant. It was packed with cars and a bus! There were a group of people waiting outside to be seated. You must go up and inside to the register up front to give the hostess your name and the number of people in your party when you get there. THEN you can sit and chat with the locals. I lived in Huntsville for many years so I'm considered local even though it's been about a decade since I've been home from out west. We sat and waited for about 45 minutes before we were called with another party that also happened to be there celebrating a birthday. We got in and went to the buffet. On Friday nights they have a seafood buffet. All I can say is... It was AMAZING! I ate until I was about to pop! The food was SO good! Even the "worst" were average while the best items were some of the best food I've eaten anywhere (which is saying a lot as I've been all over the US)! Some highlights were the chicken wings (I don't know what seasoning they used but they were AMAZING), ham (delicious and juicy), lima beans (I don't even like then but those were good!), blackeye peas, green beans, fried okra, cream corn (homemade), mashed potatoes (homemade), fried fish, fried clams, hush puppies (no onion in them but they were still amazing), seafood stuffed mushrooms (so good it took us a bit to even get some to try!), shrimp cooked in garlic butter sauce, tarter sauce (homemade), vanilla ice cream (homemade in bucket churn with ice and salt), coconut cake (homemade like Nana's), peanut butter delight (think dessert pudding that tastes like the inside of a buckeye that's been thinned out a bit to pudding consistency), brownie (homemade), and fresh tea. Even the average tasting food: mac and cheese, chicken tenders, grits (cheese and ham flavor), and their biscuits and cornbread were still good. For a TINY restaurant, in the middle of nowhere, run by a group of lovely Mennonites you couldn't ask for a better meal. With the price being about $14 per adult I know we will be back before we leave the area!

A quaint little off the main track country buffet featuring home style, absolutely delicious eats. The place is REALLY clean and the staff is helpful and friendly. I sampled ham, country steak (with white gravy) various casseroles, veggies and several deserts. Everything (with the exception of chicken livers which were dried out) was delicious. I am sure I'll go back at some point!

Wonderful traditional cooking out in middle of nowhere, 20 min off I 65. Worth it even if you have to charter a helicopter to drop you off! Small salad bar but delish! Pickled beets, fresh cucumbers & delish shredded ham and shoestring style fresh radishes. Friday night seafood buffet had delish grilled shrimp, stuffed crab, fried oysters, and ham. My fave veggies were stuffed mushrooms, fried green tomatoes,, creamed corn and sweet potato casserole. That last item was perfect, not overly sweet. The best was melt in your mouth cherry cobbler, homemade vanilla ice cream and fresh strawberry topping. Coconut cake was also finger lickin good! My test of a really good meal is I could not tear myself away from my plate to go get my piggish second helping of mushrooms and fried tomatoes! I did go back for some light and tasty cornbread with homemade apple butter on top. Don't forget the Dutch Oven bakery and bring ice and ice chests to carry back their fabulous pies, cheesecake and cakes! My friends love their Colby cheese. Enjoy, and it closes by 7 pm!

My wife and I were introduced to the Old CookStove some months back by some friends from church. Well let me tell ya, this place is amazing. It has been a long time sense I've had home cooking like this. Now mind you that my wife is a great cook, but a lot of this food reminds me of my Mother and Grandmother's made from scratch home cooking. My wife and I have made this our new go to place. Their salad bar is not your typical salad bar with iceberg or Romaine. It's not a very big salad bar so don't expect 30 items. The hot food is simple and basic good stick to your ribs fill you up comfort food. You will not be disappointed with the Old cookstove. Oh and their Coconut cake is to die for.

Great food, easy going atmosphere, polite staff, just a good place for a relaxing Saturday meal.

Wonderful buffet. Lots of choices to please everyone. I loved the homemade ice cream and cobblers.

It had been some time since my last visit to the buffet style establishment. A lot has changed. Upon arrival you may be slightly confused as to are you at a lumber yard? After driving through the stacks of windows and piles of planks you arrive.The establishment is fit for large parties with plenty of seating. Our group of 12 was seated in about 15 min. The eating options were for those with a narrow taste and looked like vegetables that were taken from a can. They also tasted this way as well very bland. The desserts were in disarray with crumbly cake and pudding options.The biggest reason for the low rating was the messy state of the dinning area. Plates and utensils were not clean and we asked that a whole stack of plates be taken back to be washed. Floors were not swept and it was generally dirty. The porch area was also very unkempt and generally junky.My high hopes for good vegetables was dashed at the cook stove.Additional troublesome item was a septic leak that created an additional stink as you arrive and leave. This was my final visit to this once nice establishment.

Delicious buffet! Homemade goodness! Fresh salad bar items! I could not try everything! No problem as we will be going back soon! Continuous crowd so some dishes were gone most were refilled! Ham, meatloaf and so much more! , Awesome hot sweet potato w/marshmallow dish which was my absolute favorite! Homemade creamed corn! My second favorite! Fried green tomatoes...oh my!!! Desserts... layered coconut cake homemade ice cream w/topping choices! And so much more! The atmosphere is like eating at home! So many families dining! A great experience! I didn't give it five stars because I was disappointed that there was no bread refilled while we were there and some of the dishes that went low were not refilled at least while I was eating! They were extremely busy and everyone was trying their best, so I am not faulting them for that but I thought I should not give five stars for that reason! Altogether it was a very cool and enjoyable experience and we are going back!