The Wooden Spoon Brings Gentry a Dependable Home-Cooked Meal

What the reviews say

The Wooden Spoon carries a 4.7 Google rating from more than 1,400 reviews, substantial feedback for a restaurant in Gentry. Across the sample, diners describe a clean, comfortable dining room, personable service and food that feels made with care. Several reviewers have returned over many years, while others report driving from Bentonville or planning a visit well in advance.

That combination suggests broad appeal rather than a place relying on one signature plate. Reviewers mention an excellent selection that does not feel overwhelming, along with portions generous enough to register as a proper meal. The price level is moderate, and the comments repeatedly connect the experience with solid value.

Home cooking and standout pie

The food is commonly framed as made-from-scratch American home cooking. Catfish earns especially enthusiastic praise in one review, where it is described as notably fresh and clean-tasting. Another diner enjoyed steak tips from a rotating Friday-night special. Homemade lemonade also receives a favorable mention.

Pie is the clearest recurring recommendation. Bumblebee pie appears in multiple reviews, including one from a longtime customer who calls it the standout. That repeated praise makes dessert feel less optional here than it might at a typical lunch stop. Based on the available comments, diners who save room for a slice are following the strongest consensus in the review sample.

Service carries real weight

The service feedback is unusually consistent. Diners describe staff as friendly, sweet, personable and attentive from start to finish. One review recounts the owner personally thanking guests who had left work early to make the trip. Another praises the staff for welcoming customers who arrived shortly before closing rather than making them feel rushed.

Those reports add warmth to the restaurant’s practical strengths. The Wooden Spoon appears to deliver the kind of familiar, full-service meal where hospitality matters as much as portion size. Repeat customers saying it remains as good as it was a decade earlier also point to consistency, though individual visits can always vary.

Plan around the crowd

Popularity is the main caution. One Friday visitor arrived around 5:30 and still encountered a packed dining room with an estimated 45-minute wait. The same review says Friday is the only dinner service and that specials rotate, so current hours and availability are worth confirming directly before making a drive.

For diners who can work around the schedule, the public feedback supports a strong recommendation. The Wooden Spoon looks best suited to an unhurried meal built around home-style cooking, friendly service and pie. It may require patience at peak times, but reviewers regularly describe the result as worth the effort.