Review: The Carvery (Harry's Hofbrau)

The Rugrat and I were running errands on Tuesday and saw that there was a big "Now Open!" sign on The Carvery, a new restaurant across from the Target shopping center. Mr Wonderful and I have been anxiously awaiting the grand opening, so on Wednesday evening, the three of us headed over there for dinner.

I'm not a big fan of buffet restaurants, but this one is a little different. It's more cafeteria-style: you get your tray and then slide on down past the different stations, and the helpful friendly folks behind the counter dish up whatever you want. This is a meat & potatoes kind of place, very guy-friendly. They have turkey, roast beef, tri tip, chicken, pork -- all different kinds of meat. I opted for a standard Thanksgiving dinner: turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing & gravy. I even got a little cranberry sauce on the side! Then you get a choice of a few different salads, and a white or wheat roll to go along with it. Mr Wonderful got the tri-tip, and Rugrat had the child's frankfurter plate (an oversize hotdog, sliced up, without the bun). All of us enjoyed the food - the meats were tender and juicy, the mashed potatoes were tasty, and the salads were fresh. My only complaint would be that the turkey gravy needed more pepper, but I was easily able to add it at the table.

Prices are reasonable for what you get: it's around $10-11 for a dinner meal (including meat, side dish, mashed potatoes and roll). Lunches, kid's meals and senior meals are slightly less expensive. They also have a wide variety of daily specials if you're not interested in a bunch of sliced meat. Check out the link to the restaurant website for details on what's available each day.

One strange thing to note: when you place your order, the only drinks available at the cash register are sodas, but they DO have a bar area in another section of the restaurant (facing Lone Tree), so if you want a beer or two to wash down your food, you can definitely get that.

Finally, if you go there, be sure to bring a little cash so that you can leave a tip on the table. There isn't a full-service wait staff, but the place is crawling with helpful people who carry your tray to an empty table, refill your drinks, and bring out the kid's dessert (if you've ordered a child's meal). You pay prior to actually sitting down & eating, and there's no place on the credit card slip to add a tip, so leaving cash on the table seems to be the only option.

We were all quite happy with our meal here (even the picky Rugrat!), and we'll definitely be back.