Matthews Cafeteria

Food is so bland. My husband goes there often and kept saying its decent you gotta try it. So one day for lunch we went. It was very crowded and I think it must be good. I sat down to eat and boy was it bland and badly prepared. I wasted money once again. If you want real home cooking go to Papa Lou’s in downtown Fayetteville! The prices are good on the pockets!

This company catered my company’s event today. They cater every year. The food was absolutely fantastic. It was seasoned well and laid out in a very nice way. The staff was very professional. I will definitely eat here in the future. Thank you for having such great food.

Found this little place while visiting Stone Mountain. Hard to decide what to get, so I got a little sampler. I had some fried chicken, roast beef and the best part was the strawberry short cake. This was really good food, and the prices were great. If you are visiting Stone Mountain, the 4 mile drive is well worth it.

This place has consistently served excellent food for many years. I’ve recently moved back to the area after 15 years, and I was not disappointed! I will be back very soon!

Solid meat & three. Matthew’s is Southern cafeteria dining: Fried chicken. Hand-​crafted pies and banana pudding. Strawberry shortcake. Chicken & Dumplings. Mashed Potatoes, Broccoli Casserole, Turnip Greens, Sweet Potato Soufflé, Green Beans… Turkey & dressing. I could go on. But you really need to visit this old Tucker fixture to capture the full experience. It feels like a slice of the old south because that’s what it genuinely is. Southern comfort cooking done right.
These folks have been doing the same thing for fifty years. And there’s nothing wrong with that when the «same thing» is a true love of Southern cooking and feeding it to an appreciative Southern public. The building has never changed. In over fifty years, it’s still the same. It’s clear they’re putting their energy into their kitchen. I’ll happily return. Holler if you’re coming with.

Great choice of food in cafeteria line. All good. Let us sit and visit as long as we wanted with Atlanta friends. No traffic, parking lot next to building. Enjoy.

I ordered the chicken and dumplings with string beans. Both were seasoned nicely. There was a nice serving of dumplings.

Everything I’ve had so far from there has been great… Especially the creamed corn, country fried steak, and the chicken pot pie. Grab a strawberry shortcake and a sweet tea– both are amazing.

Highest review, extremely well deserved. This third generation kitchen of love is not to be missed. Current caretaker Michael Greene is a loving and charming host. There is nothing bad here, yes the fried chicken is divine, cream corn like no other I’ve had before, the lima beans smoky deliciousness and the pecan pie a perfect end to a perfect meal. This is the stuff that foodie dreams are made of. I will be dreaming about this place back home in Chicago. in the meantime I’m going to squeeze in another visit Sunday before I go back home… See you then Michael save a hug for me!

I would definitely stop in Matthews for some good country vegetables while in the area. The lima beans and green beans are both well seasoned and tasty. The mac n cheese was really the best I have had in a really long time, full of real cheese and served piping hot. The creamed corn was so sweet it tasted like a dessert. The squash was a little lifeless and not as well seasoned as I would like. We also tried the fried chicken which was a bit dry, but it typical for cafeteria warming tray chicken. The cornbread muffin was just okay but I would skip that next time. Perfect southern sweet tea was definitely refreshing and the peach cobbler deserves an honorable mention. Matthews is a quaint historical location which makes it enjoyable for nostalgia and small town dining experience..

The reviews i see seem to be pretty good. Most of them seem to be regarding lunch or dinner which is what I should have tried. I came for breakfast and am not very satisfied. Service and the food was just ok. The hole in the wall atmosphere that others appreciated I cared nothing for. The tablecloths were dingy faded and several tables were available but not thoroughly cleaned, and the restaurant had a stale odor in the air. Nothing to write home to mom about. The meal items were layer out cafeteria style and the selection was not that vast, the basics ham grits sausage bacon etc. I got 2pieces of ham that seemed to have been sitting out to long grits and eggs and a diet coke total 6.10

Food was as expected for a cafeteria. Fried chicken was really good as other folks have mentioned. I really can’t add much more to describe the food that others have not already mentioned.
The thing that bothers me, though, is that their current food inspection score is 80. If you look at their historical scores, they have never scored out of the 80s. This is why I rated them with 2 stars.

So… read a lot about Matthews… and finally had the opportunity to visit… and, boy, I am glad we did! Matthews is an old school, local cafeteria… red vinyl table cloths… and a hole in the wall atmosphere… as wifey said, «this feels like your kind of place.»
OK…so…cafeteria style… I got white meat fried chicken, mashed taters and tomatoes & okra… with a lemonade and, of course, dessert of chocolate pudding… a southern dinner if ever there was one! The chicken… really, really good… highly recommended! The taters… real…and thick… you actually need a bit of gravy (I hate that for us!) to loosen them up a bit… and the tomatoes & okra… well, perfect!
The chocolate pudding left a bit to be desired… but…hey, this is southern cooking… which means it don’t have to be perfect!
Wifey even liked it… even though it is not totally her style!

Hi. My name is Tiffany. And I am a fried chicken addict.
Matthew’s Cafeteria is a cafeteria, which is pretty self explanatory, given the name. I went on a Sunday afternoon around 1 PM and the line wove toward the door. However, the line moved relatively quickly, and it gave us some time to decide what we wanted to eat.
Seating isn’t too hard to find, being a cafeteria. There are many large tables that are good for large groups. We were able to seat our entire table of 6, and noticed that there were groups double our size eating together at one table.
First, the desserts and appetizers. Why they put desserts at the beginning of the line is beyond me… I picked out a pecan pie, although I struggled to choose a dessert out of all the other desserts on display. I didn’t pick up an appetizer, which includes
Next were the meats. I couldn’t choose between the fried chicken and the fried pork chop, so I got both! I got a chicken thigh (dark meat) and a pork chop. Most reviews complained that the meat was dry and overlooked from the overhead lamps, but I fortunately did not have that problem. They ran out of chicken thighs when I got to that part of the line so they brought out fresh ones directly to our table for those who ordered them. The hot sides were at the end of the line, where I picked the creamed corn and the mac and cheese.
Chicken Thigh — hot and crispy and juicy. Perfect 5.
Pork Chop — tender and crispy and easy to cut. Even better with a dash of hot sauce.
Creamed Corn — Just ok, wasn’t a huge fan. It had a grits-​esque consistency that I didn’t really appreciate.
Mac and Cheese — really hit the spot. However, it was just average and nothing special.
Pecan Pie — Loved it. Super sweet and rich, it was just slightly too big for one person after the full meal that I had. I’ve had better, but this really hit the spot.
This is very close to my church so don’t be surprised to find me here every Sunday afternoon.

Yummmm! We tried this place for dinner on a weeknight because we had a LivingSocial deal for it. We were NOT disappointed! It’s a spacious cafeteria-​style restaurant where you go down the line with your tray and order things a-​la-​carte.
I got the bbq brisket, which was fork tender and succulent, and it had great sauce! I also got the turnip greens (yum!), the lima beans (yum!) and the cherry cobbler (OMGeee yum yum!). Hubby got the fried chicken breast, which they made special for him so it was hot and fresh. He said it was good but still missing some seasoning. He also had the rice and gravy, lima beans, and cherry pie. He was not a fan of the cherry pie — he thought it tasted commercial — and instead split my homemade cherry cobbler with me.
Prices are really affordable too! Together, both of our meals, including our desserts and drinks was only $ 24. Can’t beat that! We already have plans to go back, and we’ve already invited friends to go back with us! Can’t wait to return!

We were passing by Tucker on the highway and thought we’d try this spot. We found it because it was featured on Diners, Drive-​Ins and Dives. Perfect timing to because my fiancé and I were hunger.
Though it is called a «cafeteria» I was not expecting a line to get your food. The one hassle with that was not know how much money you would spend by the end with all the meat and sides. Yes there is a sign but it isn’t listed throughout the line.
Food wise… very impressed. The brisket was awesome along with the mash potatoes. Jimmy liked the greens and fried chicken. Loved the sweet tea too.
It was a nice place. Good southern food.

Place was amazing as a first time Atlanta visitor! Asked a coworker to take me for a true «southern» lunch and he swears by this place. It was so awesome!
First time I ever ate in a cafeteria setting, but I didn’t mind at all. It’s pretty neat.
I got fried pork chops (didn’t know you could fry pork chops…) green beans. Mashed potatoes. Tried his turnip greens. It was food definitely made with love. The mashed potatoes were some of the best I’ve ever had in my life.
Really happy he picked this place. It was a greAt find.

Oh how I miss my Mama. I grew up in Southern GA where southern food was what you had for dinner EVERY day. It never ceases to amaze me how something as pedestrian as a «fried green tomato» gets jazzed up by a chef and raved about by these city going folk. In my quest to find better food than I can cook in my own kitchen keeping in mind that I was taught Southern food by a bunch of non-​chefs, I visited Matthews Cafeteria. Suffice it to say, I’m still cooking my own food.
I have to agree with the other posters; over cooked, under-​seasoned and over hyped. I guess I could get over the seasoning but even the texture of the food seemed to have a single note — mushy. Good dressing does not require eating with a spoon. Good dressing starts with good cornbread. You can tell theirs started off bland and went downhill from there.
Good — the turkey was actual pieces of bird instead of that congealed, formed sliced luncheon meat you get from most places. It was boiled turkey, not roasted (not a compliment). That was
evident too. Sweet potatoes were good. Who doesn’t love that old school jellied cranberry sauce.
Bad — dressing was BLAND. The whole thing reminded me of a stew with the super soft dressing and the chunks of turkey. Green beans could be eaten by a one-​year old. No teeth required.
Not sure this was even worth the $ 11.13 price tag. I am now done with triple D on Food Network. This was not worthy of a shout out. They say to come out and get food like your grandmother would make. I am proud to say neither one of my grandmother’s would serve food like this.

My husband and I just ate lunch here. Unfortunately, the chicken wasn’t on the menue. I had the Salisbury steak, it was good, but not five stars. My husband had the fried pork chops, they were tasty, but I’m not crazy about floured anything unless it’s chicken.
I love blackberry cobbler, but we ended up getting the bottom of the barrel, kind of thick at this point.
I would try them only to see what all the great reviews were about the fried chicken. Other then that, not sure I would.

This is Southern cooking at its BEST! My personal favorite is the fried chicken. It’s just good stuff!
If you like Green’s theirs are really good. A good test is trying them without any hot sauce first. Theirs definitely passed this test. They are full of flavor. The deviled eggs are good too and it would be awful of me to not recommend their excellent Mac& Cheese! Just yummy!