Murphy’s Steakhouse in Winchester specializes in big, thick beefsteaks. The menu covers a lot of other options, but order the steak, pure and simple.
From the front, the gleaming white building doesn’t look very big, but once you’re inside the front door it opens up into a large dining hall. The light from the front windows bounces off the pressed-tin ceiling and illuminates the herd of animal heads gazing down on the diners. The former general store is so old-school that the chalkboard menu at the antique hostess stand almost looks high-tech.
This is a secret place that folks in Bastrop and Fayette counties have kept close to the vest since the 1990s. The menu includes burgers, fried oysters and shrimp, and even pasta, but like I said, get a rib-eye, sirloin, or New York strip. The award-winning onion rings are almost a meal in themselves. A trip to the salad bar is worth the journey, but it is pretty basic and includes a pot of flavorful pinto beans.
The unincorporated community of Winchester is about 20 miles northwest of La Grange, and was founded in 1857. At one time the village boasted four churches, seven general stores, two drugstores, two doctors, a hotel, a butcher shop, a saloon, a lumberyard, a blacksmith shop, a gin, a post office, and a barbershop.
Not much is left of the once prosperous town that cotton built except Murphy’s Steakhouse, which also serves the 232 residents as the post office.
Murphy’s Steakhouse is at 204 Thomas St. off of FM 153 in Winchester, about 13 miles northeast of Smithville. Doors open Tuesday through Saturday from 11am to 9:30pm. Weekends can get busy when the area’s scenic country roads fill up with daytrippers. For more information, go to eatatmurphys.com or call 979/242-3433.
1,667th in a series. Everywhere is a day trip from somewhere: Follow “Day Trips & Beyond,” a travel blog, at austinchronicle.com/daily/travel.
This article appears in September 1 • 2023.
