Ole Whiskers

Now closed and replaced with a Thai buffet that i not so hot so far. I always liked Olé Whiskers!

…this venue closed on 8/31/14…sad…

Southern-​style buffet in what looks like an old IHOP or Sizzler in an impossible to reach restaurant row with no access from/​to LBJ. Interior is really in need of a cosmetic update, didn’t look dirty but is quite worn and dated.
Overall, this is a sad place. A long buffet stretches out with salad bar and southern favorites, and fried catfish is the feature. The problem is really color, as the salad end has more pasta and slaw than fresh greens, and the fried end is, well, almost uniformly fried-​brown. Fried chicken, fried okra, fried corn fritters, hush puppies, fried catfish, onion rings, roasted potatoes, mac and cheese, some sort of crab-​shell-​cake in a field of uniform beige. Even the bready cobbler desserts melt into the no-​color scheme.
Of course, if the food were exceptional one could forgive the aesthetics, but it isn’t. I realize buffet food isn’t stellar by nature but it doesn’t have to be institutional. The catfish is in strips, not a whole filet to be found, which tells me it’s from a frozen bag of tenders. The pot of gumbo is so overcooked as to be a mush and everything, every bite that I tried, is just not seasoned at all — not even salt and pepper.
The food isn’t terrible or bad, it’s just not that good. And it’s not good value for the price ($ 12+ at lunch), especially compared to the superior variety of just about any cheaper Chinese buffet.

Didn’t like the food. Most of it was deep fried and tasteless. They didn’t have that many options and you would think they would have more seafood like they advertise, but they don’t. I ain’t coming back here

Been here a couple of times in the past,
The food is still good as my last visits.
It’s a buffet so you do have a choice.
Their catfish an crab cakes were good ‚
The time I went they had ribs, chicken, pasta, salad, vegetables, clams, shrimp, an some other stuff.
Besides the inside I dont see why people are complaining.
It may be a little out dated but it’s still functional an the only think they really need to do is redo the booth an that’s about it.
Maybe clean the floors a little bit.
Price was decent when I went in the evening for the buffet.

Oh, man! This place was great! I was here on an early Thursday evening when there weren’t a lot of people here, so yeah, some of the food was a little dry. But overall most of it was perfect and the taste was great. The wings were hot, the ribs were tender, and if you’ve never had one of their crispy catfish tacos, then YOU… DON’T…KNOW!

Had never been to Olé Whiskers because I’m not a big fan of catfish. Came here with someone else. I have to say it’s not as bad as some of the post I’ve read. There’s more to it than catfish. It’s buffet so you’ve got a choice of fish, chicken, salads, vegetables, pasta salad, rice, sausages and more. So there’s lots of good food.
The day we went it was late lunch time and very quiet.
The place could do with a slight makeover as it reminds me too much of those old time 70s style family restaurants. Carpets could do we a clean and so e seating needs reupholstering.
Overall I’d visit again and recommend.

This place used to be great.
Here’s my opinion:
This place will never be good again until new ownership/​employees take over. It is not as clean as it used to be by a long shot. The catfish is not fried long enough, or maybe it some of that tasty Asian catfish that doesn’t quite taste like it did when this place was first opened. Last trip there was just too much for me. I felt like I needed a shower after I ate there last.
I don’t know of a good catfish restaurant now, I wish I did.

CURRENTLY CLOSED ON MONDAYS!
Love this place. Tasty catfish filets and good turnover so it’s always hot and fresh. Lots of other foods gumbo, stuffed crab shells, popcorn shrimp, peal-​n-​eat shrimp, sausage, ribs, fried chicken (legs and strips), salad, slaw, corn-​on-​the-​cob …
… and GREAT CINNAMON ROLLS!

Thumbs down. The building itself is run down so you’re already hesitant. Then the inside is not clean, not DEEP cleaned (carpet filthy, booths stained) or REGULAR/​SPOT cleaned (trash under booths). You get fish, chicken, sides and rolls and they charge $ 11.99. No way. Never again.

Not good groceries. Not bad groceries. Just groceries. Taste a lot like A TV dinner. I left unsatisfied and almost mad at myself for choosing a buffet. Watch out for the nasty gamey black strip in the catfish. Bite into that and go immediately to sick place and loose a turn and money. Your done. I’m done here.

Mediocre at best. All of the fried food taste exactly the same like it’s all cooked in the same fryer. Mac and cheese was bad and the catfish was sub par compared to places like Hook, Line & Sinker or the Flying Fish.

Not good at all. The catfish is slimmy and soft. The chicken has that nasty black crap down by the bone that makes it taste like a dirty penny. The gumbo is runny and taste kinda sour. I will not come back here. But this is what happens when you let mexicans cook southern style food.

Went to this place on Friday and I must say I LOVED it! I had the catfish which was so crispy and good, the sausage, green beans, potatoes, and mac and cheese. All were delicious. Don’t know when’s the next time I will be back here :(. Hopefully soon because this was so good.

Date of Visit: 6÷1÷13
My friend recommended this place one afternoon after a visit to the Arboretum. Neither of us had eaten a meal all day. We just missed the end of the «lunch» period, which ends at 4pm. This buffet is fantastic. I admit I didn’t waste my buffet money on salad, which I eat normally at home. The food is really good, and it’s never-​ending. Fried catfish fillets. Stuffed crabs. Hush puppies (which were a bit overcooked). French fries. Fried okra. Mac N Cheese. Chilled shrimp. I can’t name it all! And yeast rolls on the end! It was a little pricey, but next time I will try to go at lunch. A great place to feed a group of people! A new favorite!

Dont know if I went in at the wrong time of day, but the food was really dry looking. Looked as if it was still out from the lunch crowd. When they should of been putting out for dinner crowd. Employees were playing on there phones rather then checking if customers where doinf fine or maintaining the freshness of the food on buffet line. Bad first and last impression for me, will definitely not be going back.

Great Catfish! Delicious.

All you can eat Catfish and then some.
This Place specialize in All you can eat buffet (mostly Catfish and seafood)
My husband and I had lunch buffet for $ 9.49 per person.
It consist of salad bar, Veggies, Deep fried Chicken, shrimp, Catfish,
Okla, Corn nugget, Stuffed crab, Chicken wings, Chicken nuggets,
French Fry’s, Onion rings, Baked fish, Mash potato’s, Gumbo and beans.
Enjoyed Cat fish and other fried items. Gumbo needed flavor.
Over all 3 stars wish it price was a little bit cheaper.

I would really rate Olé Whiskers at 3.5 stars. The price is good for an AYCE buffet. We went on Father’s Day and it was $ 9.49 a person.
Let’s start off with the salad bar: lettuce, tomatoes, cheese, cottage cheese, croutons, bacon bits (not the good kind), dressing, typical far. All was fresh and good. Coleslaw tasted homemade and good.
Main events: Fried catfish — It was hot and fresh with a good seasoned batter. Was really impressed with the fish. Popcorn shrimp with cocktail sauce = good. Fried chicken, stuffed crab, boiled shrimp, baked potatoes, macaroni, mashed potatoes. Too much food to mention.
Everything we ate was really good and all-​in-​all I was fairly impressed with the buffet. The only thing that knocked of a star for me was that it was pretty warm in the restaurant — so much so that my husband had sweat beading off his forehead. My assumption is that they did this on purpose so you wouldn’t eat as much! And it worked :)
Would I go back? Maybe if I was really craving a little bit of everything otherwise I’d probably stick with someone like Big Shucks.

Important things to know before you read any reviews:
1) The date of the visit to the restaurant: Sunday, 19SEP2010
2) The location: was in fact Olé Whiskers at 9170 LBJ Fwy in Dallas, TX
3) The time of day/​meal: High Noon (in fact, they opened the doors a few minutes early)
4) The comparison category for the rating: Buffet /​Income-​friendly
5) The price: weekend lunch = $ 9.49
It’s important to understand that the rating is against other similar buffet-​style restaurants… not against Olive Garden, etc. That’s like comparing apples to okra… both of which I found on the buffet today at Olé Whiskers (apple cobbler and fried okra).
This will be thorough, so be patient.
Friends invited me to lunch and wanted to take me to Olé Whiskers because they enjoyed it… apparently from back in the days when the first one opened.
I read the reviews here ahead of time and I can honestly say that I would basically toss them out.
The Olé Whiskers, at least at this location, is under new ownership and management. That I know for a fact because my friends are the type to inquire and they are not the type to stay and eat anywhere if they walk in and the place is not clean as a whistle.
We were the first ones through the door and they place was extremely clean. I did not notice any dust on the commercial size coffee urn in the corner (best suited for a small naval vessel perhaps? LOL) or on the faux greenery or anything. It was clean.
The plates and silverware were not only clean, but there was no sign of water spotting or soap residue.
You go right to the buffet, grab plates and utensils and food. You pay when you’re done eating and heading out the door.
The buffet was well-​lit, equally clean, and everything appeared to be properly iced and heated. The presentation was very nice and it was obvious what everything was, as long as you had had it at least once in your life… such as the fried okra, fried corn nibblets, and round/​ball hush puppies.
I sampled a little bit of almost everything and will give my impressions of them all:
1) cole slaw — fresh made daily (I asked) and it is obvious by the unique taste and the temperature (cool but not cold from being shipped or made yesterday, etc. and being refrigerated). This was absolutely delicious and I certainly went back for a second bowl.
2) Potato Salad — also made fresh daily, and while I did not sample this, my friends told me that I should because it is very good. However, I enjoyed the cole slaw so much that I had to make a choice or face calling 911 for transport out of there with all the food I ate. LOL
3) Boiled Shrimp — average size, quite typical for market and any restaurant. Very good… I had a healthy serving of these with some cocktail sauce. Equally good without any sauce. Did not appear to be boiled with any seasonings, such as back home we’d boil with Chesapeake Bay seasoning.
4) Stuffed Crab shell — delicious… able to taste the seasonings, but not overpowering.
5) Fried Shrimp — delicious, dry (NOT dripping with grease like many places)
6) Fried Okra — delicious
7) Fried Corn Nibblets — delicious
8) Ribs — these were good… they were plenty meaty and the meat was great… they were cooked perfectly… the sauce was fairly bland to me… not what folks in Texas, Oklahoma, Memphis or other BBQ places would want… but the choice of sauce (which I believe was homemade daily as well) has nothing to do with the actual meat… which was delicious, first-​quality ribs
9) Pickled Green Tomato salad — absolutely delicious; had two serving of them; made the comment that you could chop this up and have a wonderful relish to use on anything from burgers and dogs to turnip greens without ever adding anything else to it. Made fresh daily; hand chopped.
10) Fried Onion Rings — delicious, dry and crisp… tasty!
11) French Fries — did not try these, but they looked good and I heard other customers saying they were very good.
12) Fried Chicken — I debated with many customers there if these were in fact chicken legs or maybe small turkey legs because they were not the sickly, pitiful looking legs you find on most buffets. They were so healthy in size that I only had one… it was NOT greasy looking, nor did the coating ooze any grease when I tasted a piece. I could taste the seasonings in the battered coating and it was good. The chicken itself was absolutely tasty, hot and tasted like the seasoning and NOT like grease.
13) Fried Catfish — lightly battered with nice seasoning. In the South, people can get pretty snobby about their catfish… but rating catfish based on personal taste for seasonings is amateurish. Everyone likes different things and fixes them their own way. It was tasty
14) Baked Catfish — Divine! Had 2 servings
15) Fresh Hot Cinnamon Rolls with Confectioners Sugar glaze — 5-​stars — almost as good as my great grandmothers! Worth the price alone!!! Had 2… wanted 10 more! LOL ****ADDICTIVE!!!
WELL WORTH $ 9.49 + tax!