Big Apple Cafe

Best bar atmosphere in Murray. Restaurant portion (which has live music sometimes), bar part and an outdoor bar with corn-​hole = a nice place in the middle of a run-​down college town.

We’ve been going here since it was located in Tennessee. Great owners, staff is always great and friendly. Food is cheap and good (it isn’t gourmet) but I think you will be pleasantly surprised with nearly everything on the menu. The make me suffer salsa is making me hungry just thinking about it. The Smoo is one of my favorites.

Great place. Wonderful staff, great food, & amazing atmosphere. Love going here for lunch, dinner, or just to hang out with friends. Favorite family pub.

I’ve been eating at The Apple before it was even in Murray. It doesn’t matter what you get, it’s good! The chili, gumbo, bean roll, chips and salsa, sandwiches, tostadas, drinks, everything. Nothing fancy about the service. Friendly is what counts. Laid back is what it is. Sports on tv. Noise in the bar. Love this place! You won’t get this anywhere else which makes it a must try when in town. A lot of college students here. If you want to avoid that try lunch instead of dinner. I only wish they would update the bathrooms. They definitely make you feel like you’re in an old bar. Just haven’t been taken very good care of. It won’t stop me from going just wish there was as much attention to keeping up the place as there is on the food!

The food is mediocre, the drinks is what people go there for. If you don’t mind smelling like an an ashtray on the way out, you’ll like it.

Although I’ve been in Murray for 7 or 8 months, I had not really visited Big Apple Café. Many, many years ago, I visited its previous incarnation «down South,» but its current location is quite different. I’ll touch on a few aspects:
The physical space: very large, and pragmatically divided. The bar is a separate room from the dining areas, and there is a dedicated area for live music that does not require half the dining room be cleared in order to have a show. Like most bars /​restaurants in Murray, smoking is allowed indoors. However, Big Apple Café has dedicated part of the dining room as non-​smoking, so that is at least a step in the right direction. Hopefully, the city of Murray will eventually ban smoking indoors, but I don’t see it coming very soon.
The food /​drinks: Adequate to good. They have a full bar, with quite a few beer selections on tap. Likewise, the menu is diverse, and while some items have been merely adequate (wings, chicken bites), others have been excellent (the steak sandwich on ciabatta bread). Overall, it serves more as a restaurant than a bar, so their food will satisfy a wide range of preferences. The prices are affordable, as well.
The staff/​people: I have always had excellent service here, whether I have been sitting at the bar or at a table. They always seem well-​staffed, and I have not had to wait or «chase down» a server. They are also unfailingly friendly.
There is only one negative, but I found it a bit disturbing: the police. Murray is a small, college town. I can only assume the police are bored or have time on their hands. I left the Big Apple after a music show (Bawn in the Mash) one Saturday night and was shocked to find at least three police cars just trolling through the parking lot, doing laps around the place, and otherwise actively attempting to «nab» anyone that seemed like an easy DUI or PI mark. While I don’t condone drinking and driving, I found this to be almost predatory — the implication was that anyone walking out of the place at closing was a «suspect» and that did not sit well with me.
I asked around and found that this is common behavior for Murray police, especially on the weekend. I understand there is a need to keep the roads safe from inebriated drivers (especially prevalent in college towns), but trolling parking lots seemed like a bit much, to me. Luckily, Murray is small enough that I can walk to several nearby watering holes.
Give Big Apple Café a try, especially during the week!

Cool atmosphere. Good margaritas. The food definitely leaves something to be desired.

This is one place where everyone in my family is satisfied with the menu, my hubby an I get nachos, and the enchilada trio (which are the best enchiladas ever, though the rices leaves something to be desired), my son gets a fresh sandwich on a delicious ciabatta roll, and my 3 year old gets the biggest hot dog you’ve ever seen. This is not gourmet, this is laid back college food, with a great alcoholic beverage

Had some lunch at the Big Apple, Nacho’s and Guinness.

Cheap Beer, Apple Burgers are the best, but not a place to go for great service

6 dollar pitchers!!! YAY!!! That alone will get me to come back.
Always end up at this place when I’m in town to visit the wife’s parents. Not going drinking due to the parents though. :)
I like this place for some reason. It’s very college. Which makes sense because Murray State is within sight and this is about the only bar in town. It’s a simple warehouse type building outside but inside it’s kind of cozy-​ish.
I’ll say one thing… beware if you’re not used to people smoking inside. I don’t have a problem with it but coming from CA. where you can’t smoke anywhere to somewhere that has people smoking EVERYWHERE is quite a shock to your system. When I left here I REEKED. Not a big deal though.
Anyway, cheap and good food. And did I mention 6 dollar pitchers?

4 Stars, but it’s relative to what it is (a college town bar/​café) and where it is (Murray, KY). Really good sandwiches, salads and Mexican food. Had the «smoo», some would call it a burrito, as one of my friends said. Try it with the homemade red jalepeno hot sauce. Very nice selection of beers.

beer joint

Fun place to hang out. The food is extremely good. If you want something light try the Green Chili, unique flavors and an excellent choice. My best friend’s favorite is the Smoo which is a bean roll covered with green chili. Bean Rolls have been popular since the restaurant opened. The sandwiches are killer, many come on bread from the local bakery. I have been going to the Big Apple since it opened in Puryear, TN, many years ago and the food has remained consistently good. It is a family run business and worth a visit.

This brings back memories from college.
First off, I’ve never eaten here. I know it’s Big Apple CAFE, but barely any student in Murray knows that they actually are open during the day and serve food. Yet on most nights (Thursdays being the big night) this place turns from a so so restaurant to the most packed bar in Murray. On Thursdays and the weekend they usually have live music playing. It’s definitely not a fancy place by any means, but if you’re looking for a chill place in town, then look no further than The Apple.

Stopped by for lunch and because I had to download some stuff for a meeting and this place had internet access.
Nice salads, very friendly staff.
Looks like a pretty laid back place. Neat sports memorabilia on the walls.