Horseshoe Grill has it going on

The Catfish Cabin on US 62 (3085 E. Van Buren) operated in Eureka Springs for 17 years, and many people have fond memories of tasty fried catfish in the rustic log cabin restaurant. Recently the restaurant sold to new owners who, after extensive renovation, reopened as the Horseshoe Grill on March 8.

The owners are Joaquin Aguinaga, his sister, Laura Albarran, and her husband, Roberto Albarran. The Albarrans are also owners of the Horseshoe Grill in Berryville.

“The menu is very similar to the one at the Horseshoe Grill in Berryville,” Aguinaga said. “We wanted to offer a good diversity of foods, hamburgers and fries, grilled chicken and chicken fried steak, seafood and steak, chicken and shrimp with sautéed vegetables and a bit of Mexican food like fajitas, chimichangas and burritos. We try to please everyone.”

Although only open a short while, and before tourist season, the Horseshoe Grill is getting good reviews.

“The staff and food were amazing!!!” one recent diner wrote. “We had a bad experience elsewhere so we came in skeptical at lunch and ended up back for dinner. We had specialty burgers and fries and loaded fries at lunch and chicken fried steak and fajitas for dinner. Everything was fresh and quickly brought out. I can’t rave enough about this place. Even the condiments were awesome. The husband had a large house margarita and he loved it, too. They really helped turn our honeymoon around and I can’t wait to go back!”

Sometimes people can be wary of a really large menu. Can a restaurant really do so many things well? When I ate there recently, I ordered the Memphis grilled chicken with sides of sautéed vegetables and roasted baby baker potatoes. The sautéed vegetables were a big test. Too often I’ve gone to restaurants where they arrive at the table cooked to mush. But these were perfect, and the baby bakers were also a good choice.

My dining companion rarely eats fried food, but decided to try the fried catfish with French fries. She was not disappointed.

“People seem to like our catfish,” Aguinaga said.

I like the fact that the Horseshoe Grill has “comfort food” like fried catfish, fries, mac and cheese and mashed potatoes, but that there are also healthy grilled foods available. Tortilla chips are fresh and not overly salted, and the guacamole is also not too salty.

They have a children’s menu, but no seniors’ menu.

Aguinaga, his brother-in-law, and one other man started working in early January renovating the cabin inside and out. They worked on it 10-hour days until the opening. There is a nicely designed bar area now with a huge flat screen television. The restaurant floor has been refinished, there are new appliances in the kitchen, the bar was built from the bottom up and the restrooms were renovated. The main room is spacious and the log cabin décor is just right. Everything looks very clean and inviting. They put a new roof on the building and painted the outside.

Aguinaga said the first few days they were open were hectic with the staff trying to figure out where everything was. But since then they’ve been pleased from the response from the customers.

“I like serving all the locals, and seeing a bunch of new faces since Eureka is a pretty touristy place,” Aguinaga said. “I enjoy seeing customers relaxing and enjoying their dining experience. We like to give good service. We try to greet every single customer and make them feel good.

“Our prices are affordable. We give a good value to the customer as far as portion and price. When we first opened up, we were just selling beer. Our full liquor license went into effect in early April. We’ve been working on having an interesting drink menu. We serve a cucumber margarita, and Kentucky mules, which is like a Moscow mule with bourbon instead of vodka. We serve top shelf tequila. We have beer on tap and bottled beer.”

The restaurant is on the east part of town where there is a lot of tourist lodging within walking distance. But if you have to drive, no sweat. There is plenty of parking.

“A large parking lot is a good advantage to this location,” Aguinaga said. “We’re really close to a bunch of hotels and lodges. So we are going to reach out to the hotel owners to let the tourists where we are at and they don’t have to struggle to find a parking spot.”

The restaurant is open from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. seven days a week. For current info, look for their Facebook page.