J W's Steakhouse in
Carmine (TX)

It was absolutely delicious! We love every experience we have whenever we come over from Brenham to eat at JW's. They always have the best steaks! They also have delicious salads, rolls, and sides! Update: We went again this past weekend, and their chicken fried chicken dinner is amazing! It's huge, so I had enough to leftovers!

Very clean rustic feel. Server was so nice and attentive. Great portions and food had good flavor. Worth the drive!

WOW ! Catfish special on Friday. Everything was excellent. Wish I lived here. Would recommend to a friend. Enjoyed this restaurant three times during our stay in Carmine. Excellent every time. Great ribeye, catfish, shrimp, and my wife got the pork chop one night. She loved it. I give this restaurant my highest recommendation.

10/15/2025: We stopped in for a late lunch when leaving Round Top. We were trying to avoid the RT art festival, so we opted for JW's in Carmine. The inside decor is all wood paneling. It's very country looking, so that was appealing. We started with the fried pickles for an appetizer to share. Our group was a party of 3. The pickles were a perfect split for us. The ranch served with the pickles had a tartar sauce undertone taste. It was pretty good. We all had the sweet tea and lemonade mix. It was refreshing. I ordered the regular JW's burger on a classic white bun. The burger was okay. There was no special seasoning to it. I wasn't able to order it medium. From the looks of it, it was "done", so that is a little too done for me. I like mine a little pink. They use leaf lettuce. I prefer shredded. The pickles on my burger were cut lengthwise, and 2 of the strips still had the outer skin on them. Not a fan of that. The fries were good. They had a nice crunch to them. The service was great at JW's. Our drinks were never empty, the food came out fast, and our waitress was very nice. You can't get better than country service. It was a nice change from Houston where everything is hustle and bustle. We all three split a piece of coconut pie. It was okay, but to be fair, I am not a pie person. My coworkers thought it was terrific. If I am out that way again and decide to stop in, I will order something different. Maybe the chicken fried steak. The neighboring table ordered it and it looked good! Our bill for the 3 of us was $71 and some change before tip. That seems on point for 1 appetizer, 3 drinks, 3 entrees, and 1 piece of pie. It was crowded, especially for a weekday after the lunch rush in the country, so they must be doing something right.

There is a lot of noise in here. They put to much vinegar in cocktail and tarter sauce. The ranch is not good they put something in it that gives it a twang that's not good. Steak was good seafood platter was good.

When you have a free day and need a country drive, take yourself to Carmine and treat yourself to lunch or supper at JW’s. It was indeed a treat - my CFS, gravy, mashed potatoes, snd squash were top notch. Tender meat, with just the right amount of crust, fluffy potatoes, seasoned sautéed squash and a lovely muffin on the side. My husband was very pleased with his strip steak- cooked perfectly, seasoned well, tender and juicy. Both came with 2 sides for a great value. Service was prompt and delightful. Busy place for lunch, an indication of how popular this restaurant is.

Best onion rings in have ever had! The burger was awesome as well. Great service.

Absolutely delicious food and the service was wonderful. Our waitress was so nice! The green beans were so fresh and tasty. Loved the cucumber salad and the chopped steak. Will definitely be back next time I'm going that direction!

Quick service, delightful server. Delicious food. We choose steaks with daily sides. Maybe one day, we'll work our way through the menu, but we always cave for their steaks!

Absolutely exceeded my expectations! I ordered the JW’s burger and it was one of the best I’ve ever had — perfectly cooked, juicy, and the sauces were just right. We also tried the baked potato and the homemade onion rings. The onion rings were a standout: super fresh, crispy, and not greasy at all. It was such a great surprise to find this level of quality in a roadside spot. If you’re passing by, do yourself a favor and stop here. You won’t regret it!

Always great home style food in a relaxed atmosphere. Everything we've tried on the menu has been excellent. Our regular favorites - grilled pork chop for my wife and a chicken fried steak for me both always served with a fresh baked roll, side salad w/ranch, loaded baked potato and fried okra.

Super small town with a big steakhouse. Almost every building was is within a couple, three blocks of highway 290, this is a great place to stop if you're going between Houston and Austin or any points in between...Only 244 people at the 2020 census, and by the time we left, seemed like at least a third of them had stopped by the Steakhouse on a Thursday afternoon.. meatloaf was the special of the day and after seeing it being ordered by so many people. I kinda wish I'd had it, but I went with our Big 8 oz hamburger, served on some of the most incredible bread. That bun was awesome, absolutely amazing. And she had a Pattymelt, and even the toast was better than almost any place. Very, very happy and surprised The Onion rings. We did share. They did have cracked pepper in them, which is pretty famous in Central Texas, and I love them that way. The first time, we didn't care much at another place. But from then on, we've loved them for about, 24 years, now.... It's just fantastic.. The building itself is very cool. You get in there, and you get kind of an old wood paneled back in the day type of restaurant, and it was just fun to see all the farmers and landowners and small town people coming in. And having their little individual meetings and break from work and enjoying their meals..

First time here with my son. This place shocked me aT how incredibly delicious the food was! The Salmon and filet were both done exactly as requested, Salad fresh, the onion rings were amazing! Not greasy at all. Tried something new for me which was cheesy veggie. WOW, that surprised me too, it was delicious! Let’s talk about the lava explosion and Italian cakes—-> the BEST I’ve had since I was on the east coast ! Definately going back again and highly recommend. The staff was attentive but not intrusive, we didn’t have to ask for anything, and our waitress answered questions that we had when ordering (since had never been there). Nice experience! Photos: I grabbed quick photos after we had started so excuse the bites out of food ?. Didn’t take a picture if salad. Everything was perfect!

I came here for dinner last night with another person. We arrived at 6:30 and were seated as soon as we walked in. We ordered shortly thereafter. It took over 45 minutes to get our meal (chicken fried steak and a burger). Our waitress did everything she could to let us know a 15 top had put in their order right before ours was put in. (Yay, lucky us.) We were about to leave at the 45 minute mark when our food arrived. It was cold. Not even the slightest bit warm. The order wasn’t even correct. We were so disappointed. We proceeded to tell the waitress there was no way our food was fresh. It tasted like it had been sitting on the counter for over 20 mins. The worst part about this is the owner Jeff was apparently behind the bar and overheard our encounter. Mind you, I was very polite in my sharing my frustrations. Waiting 45 minutes for cold food wouldn’t be acceptable to anyone. The owner nor manager never even came to our table to acknowledge our complaints. I realize this is pretty much the only restaurant in the area so they obviously don’t care about quality or customer service. But seriously. Do better, guys. What a terrible experience. We’ll never be back. Spend your money elsewhere.

I've visited JW about 5-6 times, always during market, and it’s consistently a solid choice. The restaurant offers a variety of well-priced options, with generous portions and good service. I highly recommend sharing the bone-in ribeye with someone, it’s the perfect meal. A couple of minor downsides: while the baked potato is tasty, it can occasionally be a bit dry. Also, most of the starters are fried; it would be nice to see a few non fried options on the menu.

Well another great meal at JWs in Carmine. This is where I picked for my Birthday meal, for chocolate pie and chicken fried steak. The salad here is simple but fresh and not bagged lettuce. The blue cheese dressing home made. Today the vegetable I got with then potatoes was squash casserole was super and not sure how they made it. The building is a part of the lumbar yard that was there a long time, and a few years ago when it was being constructed I remembered being surprised they were building a restaurant just off the road.

We were visiting the area. Excellent steaks and sides. The onion rings are true to what everyone says… delicious. They had a spinach casserole as a side dish that I highly recommend. We got there just after 5pm on a Saturday evening. Easy to get seated. By the time we left almost no tables available. Very popular place. Excellent service.

My sister and I were in Carmine (the locals pronounce it are Carmeen) for a few days just getting away and decided to go here for dinner It was great You wouldn't expect that in such a small town but are filet had a great flavor and was cooked how he wanted it I would definitely recommend! Our server was one of the nicest servers we've ever had!!!

We drove from Houston to try this place and it was worth the trip. We had the chicken fried steak, ribeye, onion rings, and coconut cream pie. Everything was delicious. Prices are reasonable. Service was great.

Small town restaurant offers a simple cozy atmosphere, with a full bar and plenty of seating. During my visit, I only had time to try their renowned onion rings and ranch dressing, but they did not disappoint. The onion rings were perfectly crispy and golden. They're a must-have and simply delish. I look forward to returning to explore more of their menu.

Leaving Houston and heading to Austin?? Make a halfway stop for a full time steak! This place nailed it - got the porterhouse and a NY strip along with the salmon - it's all good at JWs. Service was fast and friendly, environment was log cabin cozy.

The good: The establishment and service were fantastic. The chicken fried steak was great, but I needed more gravy than what came with it. The chicken tenders were fat and looked delicious. The fries were good. The bad: The fish was paper thin and a complete let down. Our hamburger steak tasted great until we got to the raw center. Waitress removed it from our bill and was very professional about it. One serving of okra was dark and over fried. Overall the place is great but had some food inconsistencies.

I am trying to pick off restaurants from my "want to go list" every Saturday, and this one was worth the drive to the country. . The parking was fairly full, but there was plenty of seating. Our waitress handed us menus and brought water while we looked over the selections. My wife got the luncheon chicken fried steak and I ordered the patty melt. . Our food arrived promptly, and it was very good. Besides being delicious, my wife appreciated the smaller portion. She still struggled to finish it. My patty melt was great as well. I too had a hard time joining the Clean Plate Club. . It's a bit of a shame, because their pie case was very tempting. . This will be a prime location during the Round Top Antique Show or while bluebonnet hunting. Our experience was excellent and we'd be sure to stop when near.

The chicken fried steak was amazing. I ordered the 16 oz, and I should have taken half of it home, but I couldn't stop eating it! Service was great, the food was great... I'll definitely be back.

Great all around!!! We ordered appetizer - Corn Nuggets (Awesome!!) & Entrees - Chicken Fried Steak dinner & the Pork Chop dinner (also AWESOME!). Our server was very friendly & personable. Will definitely visit again when in the area!

Can’t put my finger on why they get a five star—just so many things were right. #1- our waiter (a very young man at lunchtime on Wednesday) was just a delight. It was so refreshing to have a young person say you’re welcome when you say thank you, instead of “no problem”. #2– legitimate sweet tea was on point. #3- the burger tasted like fresh Texas beef, good texture #4- onion rings were homemade, although batter was a little soggy—I like a crispier fry. #5- welcoming ambiance—just felt like home. Good job, y’all.

The food flavor of the ribeye was very good, had a nice char-grilled flavor. The staff was very nice and prompt to take care of us. I would go here again. She had the salmon and enjoyed we both had the veggies. Our meal was healthy and the portion sizes we're very large and we appreciated being there! I would recommend, 5 stars!!