Mrs. Wilkes’ Dining Room

Mrs. Wilkes is a staple every time we visits Savannah‼
The food is freshly prepared DAILY, as some of the cooks come in at 4:30am to begin baking biscuits and cutting collards greens! WOW!
This establishment should have had a reality show years ago, so other restaurants can see how longevity and personality are TRULY DONE!
The customer service is PERFECT & they ALWAYS interact with diners to make sure EVERY need is met. What else can you ask for⁉

Date of visit — 4÷24÷2016
If you want a REAL down home southern dining experience for lunch… This is the place to go if you are in Savannah. Just make sure you have cash or your checkbook because they DO NOT TAKE PLASTIC! As long as you are in the line by 2 PM you will get served BUT they may be running low on some items by that point.
This place has been here for a LONG time and has a lot of history. As you walk through the dining area you will see large groups at every table. Guess what… That is by design because it is «Family Style» dining. We had some friends with us and made some new friends at the table.
BRING AN APPETITE because there are so many dishes brought to the table getting passed around the table. Here are the highlights of what we were served.
Fried Chicken — 5 — This is some of best Southern fried chicken I have ever feasted on.
Collard Greens — 5 — Just a touch of sweetness and these greens are cooked just right.
Black Eyed Peas — 4 — A wee bit softer than I prefer mine bu the flavor was great.
Mashed Potatoes — 4 — A wee bit salty but the texture was great.
Potato Salad — 5 — Reminded me of what my dad would make.
Macaroni Salad — 5 — Almost identical to what I was taught to make.
Dressing — 5 — Southern dressing just like I was taught to make it.
Creamed Corn — 5 — One of the best I have ever tasted.
Mac n Cheese — 5 — Just like I make it at home!
Stewed Okra — 5 — Better than what I make in my own kitchen!
Lima Beans — 4 — A tad more salt than I used at home but cooked perfectly.
Yellow Squash — 5 — Cooked just the way I like it.
Sweet Potatoes — 4 — A tad too sweet for me personally.
Jambalaya — 3 — It would have been better if they had used Andouille sausage.
BBQ — 3 — No smoke flavor but the BBQ sauce was your traditional GA style BBQ sauce.
Beef Stew — 5 — This will make you forget the name Dinty Moore.
Corn Bread — 5 — Real corn in the batter. So nice when I come across a place that makes it like it is supposed to be made.
Biscuits — 4 — A wee bit dense but a nice flavor.
Sweet Tea — 5 — I tasted it and it is your typical GA Sweet tea but not sickening sweet like make places serve it.
Banana Pudding — 5 — My only complaint was the size of the dish.
Peach Cobbler — 5 — Too small of a serving. So far it is the best Peach Cobbler I have been served in a restaurant.
Would I return? OH HELL YEAH! The food was fabulous and Mrs Wilkes took time to pose for a picture with me. This foodie was in Southern Foodie Heaven!
A Florida Foodie

I probably ate the best meal of my life here. What a total treat. The wait is totally worth it — so be patient. We were served Fried Chicken, BBQ pork, Okra, Mash potatoes, creamed corn, string beans, this dressing to die for, sweet potatoes, banana pudding and peach cobbler — that I can remember it all LOL. Please go, you will not regret it, you will leave full and happy and with the memories on your taste buds for the rest of your life.

Worth the wait! Where else can you try every southern staple and as much of it as you’d like for $ 22?! The owners and waitstaff are wonderful so polite and willing to help with whatever you’d like. The minute you sit down your table is set and all of the food is out and ready. Everything is family style so if you have a smaller group you make friends and sit with others. Make sure to save room for the peach pie and banana pudding.

For $ 22 per person, it’s a good deal. After waiting on line for however long (for us, we waited just over an hour in the sun — but were kept hydrated with water they provide) you get brought in and sat at a communal table with up to 9 people, with 21 different dishes brought out to you.
Yup, you read that correctly. 21 different dishes to try, eat as much as you want. Want seconds? Thirds? Go for it! The sweet potato is fantastic. However, not every dish is nearly as great. (The dessert they brought out later — peach cobbler and banana crème pie — was wonderful, though)
Your drink options are limited: water, sweet tea, unsweetened iced tea. But you’re so overwhelmed with food, you don’t even notice.
This is without a doubt one of those places that the company makes the experience. My table has one family of four and another couple and everyone kind of kept to themselves. Other tables seemed to be having a bit more fun, meeting people etc. Perhaps it’s a bit more fun with a more outgoing group?
Either way, I thought the food and experience was good but not great. I’m glad we went, but if we’re back in Savannah I’m not sure I’d rush to go back — we had other meals that were better and didn’t require giving up our morning to eat lunch!

Great place to eat while in Savannah… if you’re willing to wait for it (it’s well worth the wait)! Down home southern comfort at it’s finest, hands down the best you can find.
Everything is waiting for you as you walk to your table of ten. You literally sit and eat with strangers but leave feeling you made a friend or two along your journey. The staff were courteous and the lady who is granddaughter of the owners was a charm. The food is bountiful and delicious and we will be back again, just next time I will more conscious of the time spent waiting in line.

SCAD Parent’s Weekend brought us back to Savannah with my sister and another opportunity to enjoy a family lunch at Mrs. Wilkes’ Dining Room. We had an amazing time. Mrs. Wilkes’ is AN EXPERIENCE. You do not come here if you are in a hurry or are anti-​social. You wait in line, you sit at a family table and you play nice with the other people sitting at your table with you. You pass the food and then more food. You are courteous about the last bite and you ask others politely if anyone else wants it because you really want it. Best part is, you can always ask the servers for more of anything you want. If the child in you comes out, then you pick out the sausage pieces and leave the dirty rice behind. :D
As to the food, if you love fried chicken, you must eat at Mrs. Wilkes. Is it the best chicken ever, maybe not — but it’s darn good chicken! The mac n’cheese, creamed corn, buttery mashed potatoes, well anything and everything is good at Mrs. Wilkes’.
It’s a right of passage for anyone visiting Savannah and I highly recommend the experience.
Enjoy!

I honestly cannot fathom how people can give this place a 5 star rating. I can only assume that people rate this place high and feel like they like it because they think they should… because everything about this place is awful.
First off is the wait. I got into the line this morning happily ready to wait because I was convinced I was going to eat the best fried chicken and southern food in Savannah. I waited over an hour in the pouring rain for nothing but disappointment.
When you finally get in you are sent to one of the table. There are ten tables (two rooms with five tables) which seat ten people at each. The tables are pre-​set with all of the food and drinks. You choose a seat and wait for it the table to fill up with guests to begin eating.
As myself, my brother and our 8 new dining friends past the 20 or so dishes around we found some to be unrecognizable (think veggie mush). I filled up my plate with as much food as I could fit and dug in!
The famous fried chicken was lacking in flavor and spice. It was not crispy at all! It could best be compared to the pre cooked chicken you buy at the grocery store near the deli aisle.
The Mac and cheese was bitter and dry.
The cucumber salad, which looked deliciously refreshing, had so much salt on it I could not eat it.
The mashed potatoes were watery and bland.
The green beans were straight from the can with no added seasoning.
The stuffing and the jambalaya were just awful.
And that’s were I stopped eating because I couldn’t force anymore. Everyone at the table was pretty quiet as they picked at their plates. They passed around a few side dishes trying to figure out what it was but by the looks of their faces it was not good. I did not participate.
Dessert came out and you were offered banana pudding or peach cobbler. Each serving was about the size of a golf ball. I had a spoon full of peach cobbler and a teaspoon of half melted ice cream on top. It was alright. but why not give me an actual piece?
The entire meal felt so rushed. We were there for maybe 25 minutes total. You could just tell they wanted people in and out.
We paid on the way out. $ 22 a person for one of the worst meals of my life. And the guy at the cashier station has a tip basket in front of him which he points to as you’re paying. Very very rude.
The only plus side to this entire experience was the sweet tea.
Do yourself a favor and avoid this tourist trap. There are so many amazing restaurants in Savannah with great service, great food and no wait!

We waited in line for two hours and could not help
But wonder if we were caught up in the hype. Thank goodness it wasn’t a sweltering hot or rainy day because the shade from the giant trees barely protected us from the sun but we couldn’t wait to enter the door and be escorted to our table With ten other hungry patient folks. The food was abundant and delicious. Every southern dish you could imagine — collard greens, blackeyed peas, Mac and cheese, cabbage, Lima beans, green beans, cornbread dressing, pinto beans, mashed potatoes, BBQ pork, beef stew, fried chicken, and more that I can’t remember. So much food that you forgot the line. And just when you thought you couldn’t eat anymore they bring dessert. Worth the wait. Worth the price. A Savannah experience to remember.

While the food was good southern homemade cooking, the setting, wait, cost and structure was not worth it.
22 items to pick from served family style. Tables are in groups of 10. Hopefully you’ll get everything passed around but generally your neighbors are nice and want everything as well.
The fried chicken, creamed corn, mac & cheese were the best. I really did not try anything I did not like. Food 5 star.
For dessert we had choice of blueberry pie or banana pudding.
The meal itself was extremely rushed and once the staff you were done you were done. I hadn’t even cleaned my plate before they brought dessert. Who could get stuffed when your pushed out the door. You had to bus your own plates. For $ 22 it was not worth the get out mentality.

The first thing that everyone said when we told them about our Savannah vacation was: «You have to go to Mrs Wilkes!» So, we prepped for it by skipping breakfast and walking over and lining up at 9:30 am in the hope that we’d be in the first seating. We made it to the 3^rd table.
The long wait was part of the experience and it helped that most of the people in line with us shared tips on Savannah.
Each table seats 10 and they seat you at a table full of dishes: fried chicken, bbq pork, chicken stew, creamed corn, biscuits and corn bread muffins, pitcher of sweet tea, lima beans, black eyed peas, coleslaw, baked beans, sweet potatoes, potatoes au gratin, rutabaga, yellow squash, rice, okra and corn, cabbage, jambalaya, collard greens, cucumber salad, and banana pudding for dessert. It’s $ 22/​head + tip. Cash only.

We’ve been visiting Savannah 4 times per year on business since 2010. And Mrs. Wilkes Dining Room is, simply put, the BEST Southern food you’ll ever experience.
Opens at 11am, Mon — Fri only (closed all major holidays). If you arrive after 10am, be prepared to wait at least an hour. We’ve waited in line as long as 2 hours, and didn’t regret a moment of it. The wait never feels too long; everyone in line is more than happy to meet others waiting along with them and chit chat the entire time, which makes the time fly by pretty quickly.
My words couldn’t do justice to the happiness my pallete experiences every single time we dine here. Every item is fresh and obviously prepared with the love Mrs. Wilkes intended (rest her soul). The cream corn is HANDS DOWN my favorite, closely followed by the BBQ pork, mac and cheese, and fried chicken. To die for.
Also, Ronnie and Marsha Thompson always make us feel like celebrities/​their children when we visit, which is always the highlight of every visit! Their son took over running the business upon Mrs. Wilkes passing in the 90s, and thank God that he did. This place is a national treasure (President Obama, and also several very well known celebrities rave about this wonderful place) and anyone traveling through or near Savannah should not pass it by without stopping in!

Get in your car and drive here right now. Even if you’re hundreds of miles away. It’s worth it.
My family drive to Savannah from Hilton Head on one incredibly soggy day. We knew we were going to have to wait in the rain, but had no clue the level of downpour we’d stand through. It was biblical. The entire time, I’m thinking «there’s no way this is going to be worth it». I was wrong. The fried chicken is the best I’ve ever had. The mac & cheese was so damn good. The sweet tea, diabetes in a cup… just the way it should be.
When you go, go early and bring cash. You’ll have to wait in line, but that’s ok. The meal is served family style, and is basically all you can eat. Don’t feel like you need to cram everything into one plate; they’ll bring you more of an item if you ask. Just enjoy. It’s so, so good.

Arrived at 10:17am Monday and already there were about 130 people before us. You gotta be kidding me. 43 minutes went by fairly quickly until we found out there was no chance we were gettin in.
The next 2 hours was pure hell. Trying to find quarters to feed our meter was impossible. So we said hell with it, let’s just get a ticket. Luckily, nobody ticketed us. 1.5 hours into it, I start getting cranky and started a fight with my partner for no apparent reason. The sun got hot and I was starving. Feeling annoyed and dehydrated, I started hating everybody around me. So sick and tired of listening to other people’s crap.
One local young couple on their exercise route passed by us and said «all this for some stupid fried chicken!» They were right, what the hell was I doing here.
I believe there were 8 tables that sat around 8 – 10 people. And they let people in as entire tables cleared. Your eating time is about 30 – 35 minutes I would say. I sat in a table that had 8 chairs and there were only 7 of us. The old man at our table insisted we pray before eating. It was nuts.
When you’re hot, angry, annoyed, dehydrated, pissed off, and hungry, there’s nothing better than stuffing yourself with awesome hot fried chicken. By 3 chickens in, you forget about the long ass line.
The best thing for me was the cold cole slaw and luke warm mashed potato. All the veggies are heavily salted and the dessert has a ton of sugar. I guess that’s southern cooking. Most of the sides are luke warm but the chicken was hot hot! I ate a total of 4 legs, 2 thighs, and 2 wings. If it wasn’t for the strange people sitting at my table, I could’ve probably eaten 6 more legs and 3 more thighs.
The food was good. But the experience was priceless. Make sure you have plenty of quarters and cash. It’s $ 22/​person including tax. I think kids under 12 is $ 10.
Bring water, hat, and maybe even a folding chair!
Make sure you strategize well before going. Because once you sit down and see all the food, your brain is gonna go into panic mode. Be sure to attack chicken first and skip all the stupid carbs and useless veggies. Only eat a Tbsp of each and keep eating more fried chicken!!!
I would never come back here. No food is worth waiting 2 hours for, I was so miserable and hungry.

Mrs. Wilkes’ oh my! The experience and southern food served here is well worth the wait! You’ll want to make sure you arrive early about before 10 AM since a line does quickly form and it gets long. Doors open at 11AM and they slowly starting letting people in and seating them at their tables. Each table has 10 seats, and it’s family style dining passing each item around the table. The amount of food they serve is plentiful, so there’s plenty for everyone to go around. Just to give you an idea our table only managed to finish the mac and cheese plate out of the 20+ different plates. All the other reviews listed for Mrs. Wilkes’ Dining room are spot on so I’ll quickly go over some of the winners and losers.
Winners (The good stuff!): Sweet potato, mac n cheese, stuffing, beef stew, barbecued pork, mashed potatoes, and the banana pudding desert!
Losers (Could’ve been better): Not too many… only the fried chicken, and biscuit.
The biscuit I had was a little rough, and dry but if you mix it with the awesome gravy they have it’s incredibly tasty. The chicken wasn’t too surprising it honestly looked like old left overs, but I still tried it out and the result was meh… I don’t like cold chicken.
Now onto the good stuff that you must try! The sweet potatoes served here are easily the BEST sweet potatoes I’ve ever had. This was possibly the most popular item at our table alongside with the mac n cheese. And finally don’t forget desert… you’ll have an option to pick, and I went with the banana pudding desert! Rich, creamy, delicious, a lot of texture going on here… You just have to try it if you make a stop to Mrs. Wilkes’. Overall well worth the wait, the long line, and a great experience.

The food and experience does not live up to the hype. If you’re standing in line right now wondering if it’s worth the wait, I would say leave and go somewhere else. Wish I could have my time and $$ back.
If you still want to check it out for yourself here are the details…
$ 22 per person with tax included a table of food, sweet tea and a choice of dessert.
Arrive before 10am to minimize wait time and have a better chance of getting in on the first seating.
It’s family style dining, meaning you are seated at a table with others and share all the food on the table.
Mains: fried chicken, BBQ pork, beef stew
Sides: black eyed peas, sweet potato, Mac n cheese, collard greens, pasta and peas, mashed potato, creamed corn, biscuits, corn bread, green beans, okra salad, beans, coleslaw, cucumber salad, white rice, dirty rice, gravy
Dessert: banana pudding or blueberry cobbler
The food was mediocre at best. The fried chicken looked old like it was sitting out over night and the breading was soggy. The fried chicken coming out of the kitchen on our way out looked WAY better than what we got. The pork was dry and the beef stew was bad.
The only thing we enjoyed were the sweet potato, cornbread and cucumber salad. Not worth the wait nor the price. And the dessert was not good.
Parking close by is metered and only accepts coins so bring change. $.25 for 30 minutes with a 2 hour limit.

I’ve been angling to go to Mrs. Wilkes’ since I first read about it in the original «Roadfood» book twenty years ago. Alas, my travels never took me near Savannah … until last week. I have family in Florida and I decided to do a road trip. What, you don’t take detours for good food? It was also a chance to go to a city to which I’ve never been.
Thanks to the internet I was able to find the place easily. I also got there super early. By 9:30 people were beginning to line up so I took my place in the queue, having brought my Kindle to pass the time but chatting with others in line. The line grew … and grew … and grew. Keep in mind that this was a Thursday morning in March. There’s not a lot of shade around so I can only imagine how brutal this wait must be in July. You have been warned.
Finally the doors opened and we early birds were ushered inside. We were greeted by the sight of a fully set and loaded table – there were easily twenty bowls heaped with food. We were seated, the manager led the tables in a quick blessing, then out came the platters of fried chicken and the bowls started making rounds.
I’m not crazy about sweet tea, a glass of which is at every place setting (you can get unsweet tea or water as well). I drank two glasses and would have had more. The fried chicken almost made me cry, it was so good. I ate things I normally avoid – collard greens, mashed sweet potatoes, black eyed peas, etc. – and relished them. In addition to the chicken beef stew and BBQ pork was offered. I had those too. Everyone was taking a Thanksgiving approach and taking a little bit of everything. Nothing was less than awesome. If a bowl or pitcher was getting empty, out came another one. At the end of the meal, little dessert bowls were brought out, filled with banana pudding or blueberry cobbler with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. It was a small, sweet, perfect ending to literally one of the best meals I’ve ever had.
If you’re a picky eater, impatient or don’t like sharing tables with strangers, you won’t like Mrs. Wilkes’. If you’re a vegetarian or vegan, don’t even bother coming; you won’t be accommodated (a lot of the vegetables are flavored with meat). Otherwise, skip breakfast, come early, bring cash and be sociable, and you will be rewarded. Well worth the twenty-​year wait for me!

This place is a little bit of a tourist trap… but totally worth it. Here is my roller coaster ride of an experience…
The place opens at 11am and when we arrived at 10.45am there was already a line of maybe 100 people around the corner of the block. This might indicate a restaurant so cool, so awesome, so interesting and unique that people just HAVE TO SEE IT… however considering everyone in line just screamed «I’m a tourist, please hike your prices, serve me crap on a plate and I’ll take my selfie and love it» — I was immediately suspicious.
Having heard horror stories (well, horror stories to me) about people turning up at say 12pm and not getting seated until 2pm, my alarm bells were already ringing. Score so far? 1. In fact, if I was able to score this place ZERO at this stage I would have. But let’s not judge a book by the size of the line of tourists lining up to look at its cover. Let’s talk about the food and the service…
**Another hour passes… We still haven’t come close to getting into the restaurant. Kill. Me.**
Ok… Now let’s talk about the food and the service… AMAZING and worth the wait. It’s that simple. The food was by far the best and most authentic Southern style I’ve ever had. The food was served family style and it was so nice to sit with a group of strangers, share a great food experience and hear everyone’s stories.
There was soooooo much food, but all it fantastic. I would highly recommend this place, if you’re willing to wait in line for an hour or two in Savannah’s heat. I’m usually the last person to wait for a seat at a restaurant but this place was worth it. Having said that, I don’t think I will go back. It was great, but not 2hrs of waiting great.

Excellent!
No big words, but BIG on great tasting southern food. I was happy to finally experience the delightful staff and mouth watering food. Wait in line and you will be happy you did!

FAQ’s:
Is this place really as good as people say?
— YES. Come here.
Do I really have to wait in line for a hour?
— Yes, at least a hour. No matter what time or day you come, there will be a line. People prefer to get there earlier (10am) so they’re the first ones seated.
How do I pay?
— $ 20. Cash only. If you want to tip a certain staff member, give them the money directly. Else, the tip jar gets evenly divided between everyone.
How’s the food?
— It’s delicious.
Tell me more.
— There are about 26 Southern dishes. Here’s the list:
* Protein: friend chicken, bbq brisket, beef stew, black-​eyed peas, lima beans, baked beans
* Veggies: collard greens, stewed cabbage, creamed corn, rutabaga, green beans, cucumbers, yellow squash, okra gumbo
* Carbs: biscuits, mash potatoes, dirty rice w/​sausage, plain rice, sweet potato casserole, mac & cheese, cold macaroni salad
* Dessert: creamed banana wafers, blueberry cobbler
* Drinks: ice tea or water
* Condiments: gravy, hot pepper sauce
What were your favorites?
— I love me some Southern sides– creamed corn, that sausage with the dirty rice, rutabaga, and baked beans!
Any Other Comments?
— The meat options vary daily, yet there is always dat fried chicken.
— Communal sitting– 10 to a table. Get to know your neighbors, folks.
— Service is very friendly. My friend and I were the only ones left at the table, and the waitress didn’t rush us at all. There was still so much food, and she asked if we wanted more mac & cheese.
100% recommend this place for anyone in Savannah. Come here for a Thanksgiving meal any time of the year.