McCutchen's Magnolia House

This restaurant is inside a sort of cute bright blue house in downtown Scottsboro. It looks quaint outside and I think the dining experience is supposed to be evocative of dining at grandma's house, but the rather dirty, dim, and run-down looking interior doesn't convey that same message.

So the majority of the gravel parking lot is kind of behind the house. I entered through a side door and was immediately greeted by a hot bar. I'd later figure out this wasn't the "main" entrance, but it's clearly a common one given its proximity to the parking lot and as someone else entered shortly after me.

I'll be honest, I wasn't expecting a hot bar / cafeteria style set up here. Maybe my bad for not looking more closely at reviews, idk. I did later figure out they do have a menu you can order from, but I was never offered one. Instead, the lady working behind the hot bar just looked at me like I'd grown three heads as I stared at the bar in befuddlement.

I was committed to trying the place, though, so I buckled down and tried to quickly figure out what to order. It's not at all clear what's available to you in what portion and for what cost -- is it a meat and two? Three? Can I have a vegetable plate? What about multiple meats? Is there bread? Dessert? Who knows!

I would later see a blackboard at the actual front of the house that had the offerings for the day written on it...but once again, doesn't help if you enter on the side from the parking lot.

They were out of a lot of items at around 1:15 on a Friday. I don't hold this against them *too* much as they do close at 2, but it was still a little disappointing. They were out of chicken tenders and fried fish and the hamburger steaks looked unappetizing to say the least...so I asked if they could do a vegetable plate to which they agreed.

I wound up selecting mashed potatoes, buttered carrots, macaroni and cheese, and savory rice from the dishes that remained on the hot bar. I was informed that rolls would be out of the oven in a few minutes. I asked for a sweet tea to drink but was told a waitress would come take my drink order...even though the drink cups and the machine were like right next to the hot bar. Just seems weird to have cafeteria style food service but then a waitress for drinks. But off I went to find a table to seat myself. They were doing a decent business despite being near to closing but I found a two-top that wouldn't lead to me taking up too much space.

The waitress who was supposed to come get my drink order took several minutes to do so, which presented yet another problem as I wanted to start eating my food before it cooled off too much. She did eventually come by and get me a large glass of sweet tea, which wound up being far and away the best thing I had. It was really good sweet tea and I gulped it down...but no refill was forthcoming until I was taking my last bite, at which point she reappeared too late.

Sadly, the food was largely...not good. The buttered carrots were the worst offenders. They tasted like hospital cafeteria carrots. The macaroni and cheese was very watery and had a suspiciously Kraft cheese-like flavor. I got up after a few minutes to get my roll, which was fresh and warm. Definitely a Sister Schubert baked-from-frozen, but those are honestly fairly tasty, so whatever. The hot bar lady was abruptly a lot nicer when I came to get my roll and she offered me some of their homemade flavored butter, which I accepted, but upon examining it back at my seat I was put off by the texture and temperature and so just ate the roll plain. The savory rice had some extra veggies in it, which was kind of nice, but it was oddly on the fairly-spicy side, which was...fine, but unexpected. Still, it was the most flavorful dish, so that was something. The mashed potatoes were the best food item. They were creamy and buttery and a pleasant texture. That's probably the only thing I'd reorder if for some reason I ever find myself here again.

On the bright side, it was cheap, at only like $11 for lunch. But I didn't enjoy really any aspect of my experience, and the sweet tea and mashed potatoes were pretty much the only saving graces. I'm glad to cross another establishment off my list "to-try" list, but that's about it for here.

This is a super cute lunch location. Very friendly service. Menu is very casual, meet three type, sandwiches, lots of options. They do close early so don't wait till late in the day. Decor makes you feel like you're eating at grandma's house.

Food was good, very grandmother's house vibe. However I can guarantee my grandmother would not like me having to change my baby on the bathroom floor, so adding a changing table to the bathroom would be ideal.

Magnolia House was built in the 1890's , a beautiful old Victorian . Could it use some TLC ? Yes! Nothing that a $150,000 restoration couldn't fix if you'd like to donate that to the owners. But it has great bones- huge, high ceilinged front porch, grand staircase and large patio area. A deep clean wouldn't hurt either but it is an old house. The food? Great! A meat and 3 that was authentically Southern. We had chicken & dumplings and grilled pork chop with possibly home grown veggies and scratch made roll and cornbread. "The best home cooking I've had in a while"! my enthusiastic hubby said ( should I be insulted?!) The ladies behind the counter were working their fannies off to feed the lunch crowd- kudos! The tables extend into every room. We'll definitely be back!

I wasn't expecting this place to be really good but I was pleasantly surprised! My parents ate the buffet and really liked it. I had the grilled chicken sandwich with fries and it was great. The waitress was super nice. Highly recommend if you're in town and want a cheap, tasty lunch!

We ate here for Valentine's Day and we were not disappointed...the food was AMAZING!!!! The staff was friendly and attentive! The atmosphere was good too! The surprise you will find is the inside is still set up just like a house, which makes the place very unique! When you enter you will not find an open floor, you will find tables spread through multiple rooms! Thanks guys for a great meal on a special day!

New to town. Had to run errands in town and happened upon this restaurant for lunch. Great food! Very pleasant staff. Kitchsy decor. Love the concept of food pricing and ordering. The pork chop I had today was wonderful. Tender, moist and a lot of flavor. Fried okra and mashed potato were my 2 veggies. Going to try this place again on another day as they change their menu daily.

Blah- the atmosphere is like grandmas ghetto house, the food tastes like aunt Linda's just okay Sunday dinner, and the service is somewhat strange. I had a burger - it was not very tasty. My wife had the salad sampler. It was gross and premade. Would not recommend. Two stars because I didn't get sick.

Enjoyed lunch here. Chicken and dumplings, Mac and cheese were excellent. The Mexican corn was just the way I like it.

Love the food and the atmosphere of this place. Never had a bad time. The food is always great and the service is good. They have some of the BEST homemade strawberry butter I have sleeve had. If you are ever in Scottsboro, I suggest making a stop by the Magnolia House just to get the experience.