The Cracker Barrel Fish Dish You're Better Off Not Ordering

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Cracker Barrel has come under serious fire from customers, investors, and the overall post-pandemic economic climate, which accounts for many of the reasons Cracker Barrel is failing. But the misfortunes of the stock market and inflation aren't the only culprits of waning popularity. There are plenty of dishes at Cracker Barrel that aren't worth the rising prices you see on the menu. And one such Cracker Barrel dish we think you should avoid completely is the lemon pepper rainbow trout. Consisting of two lemon-pepper seasoned grilled trout fillets with a choice of two sides, the lemon pepper rainbow trout dish is one of Cracker Barrel's healthier, low-calorie dishes. 

Customers trying to avoid breaded and fried menu items, which account for the majority of this Southern soul food chain's specialties, will naturally be attracted to a main dish that only has 410 calories. Unfortunately, the fish has got a bad reputation among diners. In a Mashed survey, a whopping 37% of respondents thought this was Cracker Barrel's worst dinner menu item overall. Perhaps alongside hearty comfort food dishes, lemon pepper grilled trout is especially underwhelming. While the survey didn't ask for the reason why customers didn't like it, reviewers on Reddit complained about their fish being over-seasoned to the point of being borderline inedible.

It seems as though healthy food isn't Cracker Barrel's forte as ostensibly simple side dishes like cooked carrots, corn, and fresh fruit also ranked low with us. Worse still, considering it's a Southern comfort food restaurant, their chicken dumplings are the popular side dish you should avoid ordering at Cracker Barrel. In fact, Cracker Barrel's buttermilk biscuits were voted the worst fresh biscuit from a chain restaurant. If you want good fish dishes and incredible biscuits, Red Lobster is a better choice; their cheddar bay biscuits are among the top chain restaurant biscuits according to Tasting Table's ranking.

The dishes that Cracker Barrel does reliably well include many delectable breakfast items, such as their buttermilk pancakes, loaded hashbrown casserole, and iconic Country Boy breakfast. For that matter, you can buy Cracker Barrel's buttermilk biscuit and pancake mix at grocery stores and online. And, in a ranking of store-bought biscuit mixes, Cracker Barrel ironically won a top spot. 

We also gave rave reviews to Cracker Barrel's 2025 fall menu, with delicious dishes like cinnamon roll skillets, butter pecan French toast bake, and herb roasted chicken in a lemon herb butter sauce really tickling our taste buds. Customer favorites on Reddit include Cracker Barrel's pot roast, grilled chicken tenders, hashbrown casserole, chicken fried steak, and turkey and dressing dinner.

Static Media owns and operates Tasting Table and Mashed.