Home Plate Cafe - Hot Springs Village

What a great experience! This cozy little place has all kinds of home-style cooking with delicious flavors and fast, friendly service. We started off with a 3-choices appetizer, settling on fried zucchini, cheese sticks, and fried pickles, but easily could have done fried green tomatoes or mushrooms. Tough decisions had to be made. I had an open-faced roast beef sandwich with mashed potatoes, black-eyed peas and greens. It was all fantastic! Still, I envied the other meals my family ordered, with some good looking sandwiches, soup, and fries. We didn?t get any dessert, but I got a nice treat at the end when the bill arrived. This meal was cheaper than any with all of us eating out in a long time. We?ll definitely be back, and we don?t even live here!

Sunday meal was super. Turkey and dressing, caramelized carrots. Wife had the apricot pork chops delicious. This place is really busy lots of people. If your visiting like i was, it made for a nice memory

So delicious! Busy, but no wait. Excellent food. Highly recommend the pancakes. Crispy edges and whole blueberries. The eggs benedict were the best I have eaten. Perfect hollandaise!

As for the food, it was very mediocre, reminiscent of cafeteria meals at best. The instant mashed potatoes, lackluster mac and cheese, and greasy chicken fried steak left a lot to be desired. My catfish was served raw, and when I brought it to the waitress's attention, she said the cook thought it looked done, but acknowledged he might be mistaken. How disappointing! The dessert tasted store-bought, which added to the feeling that there was nothing homemade or freshly prepared. Given the lack of acknowledgment from the staff when we first arrived, we should have left right then and there. I’m baffled as to how this place has over four stars — perhaps it’s because the locals don’t have many other options and haven’t had different experiences. *Update: Management responded to my review without any understanding of our concerns. They seem unaware that you have to walk through the dining area to find the hostess stand. They also believe that having good reviews somehow invalidates my experience. The waitress did say she'd relay our feedback to a manager, but ultimately just stated that the cook thought it appeared fine. No one should serve mashed potatoes with a scoop and canned gravy. I could go on, but I feel it’s pointless; it’s clear they aren’t interested in making changes.

The new owner has greatly improved the place! I'm excited to try her upcoming bakery. Additionally, the entire staff is friendly and very helpful.