Dan River Family - Danbury

I'm not sure what some of the other reviewers were drinking when they reviewed this place but this is definitely not a five star restaurant by any means. Maybe a 4 star if everything was absolutely perfect but the atmosphere alone brings this down a star. We were starving after hiking ten miles and found this place and decided to give it a try because of some of the good reviews and the close location. From the moment we walked in we knew we had made a bad choice. Walked in and didn't know where to go. Found one staff member who was managing the cash register and phones and she showed us to a table. She took our orders and we ordered salads, vegetable soup, the ribeye and mashed potatoes. We were the only people there at the restaurant yet it took fifteen minutes for the salad to come out and another twenty minutes for our entree to arrive. Salad looked like it was made from old lettuce but it was edible. Vegetable soup tasted like it was made with canned vegetables but it was still ok and ended up being the best part of the meal. We were told we would have dinner rolls but only crackers were brought out. After asking three different times for the rolls, the staff member finally brought some out and they were the kind you buy in a package at the grocery, definitely not the kind of dinner roll baked in an oven. We were told that there were no more mashed potatoes so we asked for the baked potato instead. When our main entree came out, it looked like a country steak definitely not a ribeye! It was cut about the size of a thin piece of a hamburger patty. Husband ordered the larger size and I ordered the smaller but they were both the same size and the waitress who brought it out wasn't even sure which one was which. Baked potato was fine, nothing too wrong but it would have been nice to have chives with it. Miraculously, this place managed to have a fly in January hanging out in the dining area and it kept trying to hang out at our table. All in all, I'd sum up our experience as better than a can of baked beans. If you're starving and want something one step above that then maybe this place is worth a shot.

Breakfast this morning was very good. I got the $3.99 special, with 2 eggs, tenderloin, gravy and a pancake. Tenderloin was good, and gravy was homemade. Nice to find a place with homemade gravy. Pancake was good also.

The fried Oreos were good, and our waitress worked extremely hard. But overall, this was definitely a 1-star experience because of how immensely understaffed the place was. We came in at 3pm on a Sunday and it took us 5 minutes to figure out that we had to seat ourselves because no one was there to greet us or tell us. After sitting down, it took an hour to get any food on our table. And when food did come out, the appetizer came out with the main course instead of before, and the beef sandwich I ordered was cold. Some of the other sides were also cold, and the pimiento sandwiches were not thick and chunky as they should be. Drinks were not refilled in a timely manner, and the waitress was unable to remember which plates were for our table and which were for another table. The lighting in the restaurant was also very dim and did not help the restaurant's homey feeling. Would not recommend as is, but if more waitstaff was hired and the pimiento cheese was improved, then this could be a good place for a post-hike meal.

We are staying in Hanging Rock State Park's family camp grounds and Dan River Family Restaurant is relatively close by. We have had the majority of our meals here. They are very friendly and the food is delicious. I ordered the pancakes for my 4yr old son and they brought out a cute bear shaped pancake with chocolate chips. He loved it! I had the garden salad for lunch and everything was fresh and very tasty. My husband loved their 6oz Ribeye on toast with eggs and cheese and grits for breakfast. They also have a kids corner with coloring books and books while they wait for their food. I definitely recommend! during their busy lunch time, just make sure to double check for utensils and condiments if you have a to-go order! We got a large lunch order to go when we were camping and they forgot all our utensils

Ordered food here to go. It was pretty good. Philly Cheese Steak and the grilled chicken plate was great, the fried Oreos are the bomb and their pineapple upside down cake was on point. Staff are very nice and tries their best. Did notice that none of the cooking staff wear gloves at all when preparing the food. Just a slight worry of cross contamination, but not a big deal. They rock a 94.5 sanitation grade. Would reccomend if you're in the area.