Fayrays

Passing through el dorado in business… Something I never thought I would say… Anywho… This place is excellent, easily best in town. I know that’s not saying much but this place could hold its own in a bigger city. Chef is a Johnson and whales guy and it shows.
1. Had the biggest old fashioned in my life. Granted it was $ 12 but I’m not complaining.
2. Brussels sprout appetizer — get it, best part of the meal
3. Went with meatloaf which was above average but I think I should have gone steak or salmon/​scallops.
4. Get shredded Brussels and corn
Only bad part was the tax on the meal. I think it totalled over 10%!? WTF E! Dorado?
Only place to go in town for a grown up meal.

Interesting place in a sleepy town. I was here on business for a couple of nights. Was glad to find this first and then I was told that it is incredibly hard to find a table without reservation. Somehow we got a table for four. Food was fantastic but it took about an hour to get it. The waiters were apologetic and nice. Thereby cannot give three stars.
We tried a local IPA and Orleans pasta with crawfish, shrimp, and crabmeat. It was delicious.
If I’m here next time, will definitely consider for dinner as the other options are pretty bad.

The service was extremely poor. Our waitress was rude and ignored our table. The dinner salad had one small cherry tomato and one small piece of onion. The rice that came with the flounder was cold and the sautéed vegetables were flavorless. The fish was good but the portion was too small. We wanted to order dessert but our waitress didn’t even give us the chance to order. I do not recommend eating here.

Clean, small, and expensive. Good for a special occasion if you can afford it. The price doesn’t come with 5 corse or obvience. Not for everyone

I thought the hamburger was quite good and was excited they offered an optional fried egg on top. A fried egg in a burger is supposed to be slightly runny and creamy, instead what I got was about the equivalent of practically scrambled eggs on top. The blue cheese was very good. Secondly I would ask for the mayo on the side as it had a big thick layer on both the top and bottom bun, it was just way too much. The artichoke dip was divine and definitely something I would get again.

Oriental salad was a DELICIOUS! I was with a group of 7 ladies, everything was good. My friends all got desserts that looked heavenly, and apparently were wonderful.

An oasis of fine dining in El Dorado: Fayrays sticks out as the one spot on the square that I could go to again and again. Just go, but call ahead for reservations.

Best food in El Dorado! Service was great too! If you don’t like the price of great food and great service then Mc Donald’s is only a mile away! There’s also a great variety of food here. Everywhere else in town all they serve is fried catfish or swine. Glad I don’t have to drive out of town to find a nice place to eat on date night!

Finally… Actually good food in el dorado !!!
So when you walk In this place, it has a small sign too close to the door saying please wait to be seated. No hostess stand or anything. Service was lacking because we awkwardly stood there for a while. When someone noticed us we got sat pretty quickly. Waited a while for our water. Good thing it’s a smaller menu so we already knew what we wanted by the time she reached us. We ordered crab cakes & I got a margarita. When the crab cakes came out they had the sauce on top. With 3 boiled shrimp with a sauce on them too. Preferably I would’ve rather had the sauce on the side. I got the fay Ray snapper with mashed potato & squash risotto. The snapper came with grilled shrimp and HUGE chunks of crab on top. The sides were hefty portions which was great. Risotto was my favorite! Honestly after paying 130 $ for 2 entrees and an appetizer I wasn’t too excited. I would absolutely not consider this a fine dining restaurant from what I’m use to. So it’s not worth the money. Since I haven’t had many good experiences food wise in el dorado I enjoyed it.

I love the house duck.
Taste delicious
Dont foget to add the mask potato with the corn
The price is a little to much compare to big city. But in such a small town like this you can not find any place that have good food and steak like this.

First time we’ve been back since the new owners took over. I was pleasantly surprised the food is much better.
Steak was perfectly cooked with just the proper amount of seasonings that it didn’t overwhelm the quality meat.
Ravioli was also very good.
The Calamari appetizer was as good as can be expected this far from the coast.
The beer was very cold in a frosty mug.

Very good lunch menu, economical for the service.

I was in town for business and tried Fayrays for dinner. The food was good. Everyone at our table had something different and everyone enjoyed it. The drinks are very strong (which is a star all by itself) and the staff was friendly.
HERE comes the but and why only 3 stars.
It is an expensive place for a small town in Arkansas. I was sticker shocked by the prices and I was not even paying. They recently switched owners and I believe name too. I am guessing they survive on business travelers. I can not see locals spending that much on dinner more that once a year.

Visited Fayrays a few weeks back. This was maybe the best food I had in Eldorado in the pass 15yrs which doesn’t really say much. However my fish was over cooked the food wasn’t as fresh as it should have been. Its like it was prepared earlier and set on heat lights then plated as ordered. The bread pudding was pretty good better than my meal of course. 3 stars I will do one more visit in the coming weeks hopefully I have a better experience.

Ok, I was waiting for the 5 stars here… The ambience was very nice but I have to say I’m a water snob. I really don’t like to drink pool water our worse. if you have a nice restuarant spend the money on a water filter. sorry, its just a pet peave. Anyway, down to the food, the server was obviously new and did not know the menu well. This review was from 2012 I have them 3 stars. Returned in 2013 and the sea bass was amazing! I will go here every time in the area. It is pricey but when you are used to travel and expect quality go here. Service was good bit great but food causes 4^th star.

It’s a very small place so you’ll have to keep an eye out for it. You can easily mistake it for a boutique of some sort. We arrived at 8pm and had to wait about 30 minutes for a table. They had several large parties at the time. You may want to call ahead and double check on the wait. Just a few days prior we drove by at a similar time and it was completely empty. We sat out in the front patio and ordered some house wine while waiting. The merlot was great… stay away from their chardonnay.
Prices were reasonable between $ 15-​$ 30. They have a decent selection of wine. I ordered the Cajun tillapia special which was amazing. It was disappointing that my roasted potatoes and vegetables were completely cold (the reason they didnt get 5 stars). They also have a roasted red pepper soup that was delicious… never had something like it! I was there with my husband and his colleague and they also enjoyed the food and service. They were also very accommodating and made sure my 2 month old daughter & I were comfortable.
The service was wonderful and waitresses were very friendly. The owner is usually sitting at the bar making sure everything is running smoothly and walks around to make sure everyone is doing great. We had a great evening!

The food is okay but the entrees are waaay overpriced by $ 5-​$ 10.

I’m not sure what kind of Kool Aid the other reviewers are drinking — maybe its the toxic fumes wafting from the oil refinery — but this restaurant is utterly unremarkable. From crab dip that is nothing more than imitation crab meat mixed with Philly cream cheese to paying $ 12 for a sandwich worth $ 3.50, this is the most ballyhooed «fancy» joint in town.
The red pepper soup was lukewarm and completely lacking flavor and the smattering of potato chips was little more than a garnish.
If paying far too much for diner food gussied up to look «continental» is your bag, by all means enjoy.

After coming to El Dorado for over 50 years, there is finally a place that serves great Cajun pasta, steaks and even snails! Service is excellent and the owner chef makes sure you get the level of spice you desire. We had kids with us and that care was most appreciated.

This place is 5 stars for sure in the little town of El Dorado. Not much to choose from in terms of edible food, but this place served up some great food. I had the goat cheese salad… not bad. The spicy pork (Cajun) pasta was nice. The pork was cooked to perfect, although I could have skipped the onion straw (that’s so 1995). Cool Dead Guy Ale and frosty cold glasses. Above all, you MUST have the bread pudding! I demand it! :)