Cypress Inn Restaurant

Interesting old time restaurant that looks like something from little house on the priery. They seem to have a buffet for breakfast but I am really Leary of buffets and so I got pancakes. They were really good, although the center was a little underdone because they were pretty thick. The coffee was good, and our server was very competent. The sausage was good as well. It is cool to be able to sort of step back into time and find these places.

Excellent buffet for good down home Southern cooking. Best swamp cabbage I have ever eaten prepared in restaurant. Friendly staff and atmosphere. Excellent value !

Good prices and a nice lunch buffet. My first trip here was great the food is kinda bland but has a nice southern charm to it. My second trip I came right after the buffet ended and right when the waitresses social lives began. It took 15 minutes to get my drink and after my food came not a sole checked on me but the gals all swapped stories watched videos on their phones and talked about finding other jobs. I just hope not to see them at the next place I eat.

Come by every time i pass through Dixie County. Food is always great. Service is almost non existent. Server couldn’t tell me enough times it was her third day. Kept wiping her face on her shirt. (ew!). Waited and waited for 3 kids cheese burgers. Finally got 3 hamburgers no cheese and cold fries. Never came back to check if we needed anything. Think I’ll look for a new place.

Cypress Inn is a down-​home Southern style restaurant tucked away in the western outskirts of Cross City, Florida in the shadow of a large (and very noisy) sawmill. You smell pine oleoresin in the air mixed with the delicious scent of seafood or chicken frying in the restaurant’s fryer as you walk in from the parking lot. The building itself looks like it hasn’t changed since the 1960s and salutes the heyday of independent roadside motels and restaurants prior to the advent of the Interstate. A window has been painted to proclaim «Jesus is the reason for the season» despite it no longer being anywhere near Christmas and inside on the menu you’ll find «freedom fries» instead of French fries – it’s that kind of place and should be embraced for it, too.
The interior is beyond description: impressive and liberal use of pecky cypress paneling (hence the restaurant’s name), an ancient cash register, local newspapers for sale on the front desk, gumball machines, and lots of taxidermy. Deer heads watch you from all corners and woodwork is plentiful, fitting given its location next to a sawmill. It’s dim, almost dark in some corners, yet homey and inviting.
My friend Eli recommended the Cypress Inn thus: «don’t be a wuss, get either the frog legs or the quail – you can get ribs anywhere». So I ordered quail which came with three sides (but oddly no form of bread at all). I chose greens, mashed taters with gravy, and pickled beets as my sides. The quail was tenderly battered with a frying batter that was spiced with pepper and just slightly with salt and would, frankly, be perfect also for fried chicken. Quail is a small bird and has about as much meat on it as a squirrel, and you have to fight tooth and nail to claw that meat out of the bones around it, but it’s worth the effort. The mashed taters were fine, the beets very good – a strong (in a good way) vinegar pickle – and the greens were absolutely the best greens I’ve ever had. I am really surprised no form of bread was included though: cornbread or a roll or something, you would think.
I had a chocolate pie for dessert which the waitress said they made in-​house: this was not exceptional but did have the taste that it was homemade, though the crust wasn’t that good the chocolate filling was alright.
The staff is very nice and friendly though I can see them getting behind possibly on a busy night, like Fridays when they have their seafood buffet which I hear is a big draw. Their breakfasts are legendary locally apparently, too. Check them out.
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Update and Edit: After a second visit on a Saturday when they had their country dinner buffet, I upgraded Cypress Inn to a full five stars. Why? The buffet, while much less extensive than Olé Time Country Buffet (Lake City) or Sisters’ in Branford, nonetheless was a steal for around $ 10, included a variety of desserts (pies and cobbler) and had some of the very best fried chicken I’ve ever had – plus things that ran low promptly were refilled. And the staff is just super-​sweet, like really the nicest ladies. So five stars because you can’t beat this for country cookin’.

We stopped here on our way from PCB to Central Florida. I love small, off the beaten path places… and Cypress Inn fits the bill. We came in for a late lunch… the fried shrimp, greens and slaw were ALL fantastic. Great iced tea… and very reasonable prices. Definitely a repeater.

Stopped here for dinner with the wife while traveling, service was good and very polite, but food was less than stellar.
Menu is a lot of southern comfort foods with some gulf seafood as well. We tried the shrimp basket and the special quail dinner. Shrimp were good and crispy, and came with hush puppies. Coleslaw was a bit lackluster. The quail dinner was a very generous portion, with 6 halved quail. Quail were served battered and deep fried, but the breading wasnt too crispy, and they were a bit bland and rather greasy. Probably wouldn’t order quail again. Greens were good southern comfort food, mashed potatoes and fried eggplant were not as good.
Prices were fair, with dinners in the $ 10 – 16 range, with lot of burger and sandwich options at lower prices, but also a few more expensive steak dinners in the $ 30 range.
Location is good, seems like an old hang out thats been in Cross City a long time. Definitely a neat Old Florida place on the highway, but the food we tried was kinda hit or miss. Maybe stick to more traditional southern foods if you stop by.

Great coffee, great food, quality service! Old country house made from beautiful cypresswood. Very nice staff, wonderful salad bar and variety on the menu. Very reasonably priced for such good quality! Recommend! Ask for Cheryl! Dr Y. C. Leon

Had lunch at the Cypress inn today with friends. The food was mediocre, the place was filthy and the waitress was unenthusiastic. We all agreed we would never go back.

We’ve only been here for breakfast, but its solid country breakfast food. Average pricing, friendly service.
The ham and cheese omelette I had was very tasty.
They have a lunch counter, and buffet,
Nice place, and its been around a LONG time.

Great local cuisine, from burgers and fried chicken to frog legs and quail. They offer quite a lot of seafood as well. The waitress was friendly and capable; I felt as if I should call her Mom!
I ordered the fried catfish which came with 2 sides. Options included okra, mustard greens, potatoes, applesauce, and many more. My catfish was delicious – crispy outside and tender inside. With 3 large fillets, there was more than enough. There were 3 hush puppies on the plate as well.
My husband downed a generous serving of meatloaf. He describes it as flavorful – just like home.
This is not a fancy place. Our dinners arrived on china but the «buttery spread» for my baked potato was in a single-​serving plastic tub. The salads were iceberg lettuce with some tomato and other veggies.
Prices are very reasonable. Our dinners were around $ 14 each. Burgers and sandwiches are considerably less.
Considering that this is almost the only restaurant for miles around, we were happily surprised that it’s so good! If we pass through again, we’ll definitely stop here again.