Mrs. Wilkes' Dining Room

This is one of the best restaurants or food experiences that I've been to and most definitely the place to go in Savannah. It's all about the southern food and hospitality. The family style meal is worth the wait. The fried chicken is about the best that I've had. The side dishes are delicious as well and the biscuits.

Food was amazing! Worth every minute of standing in line, everything is already set out on the table for you as soon as you are seated. Fried chicken, fried okra, collard greens, EVERYTHING was amazing. It's a family style restaurant that feels like being at a Sunday family dinner. I could not recommend this place enough.

It was definitely a unique experience. This dining is shared among strangers in a family style. There were so many side dishes. It is impossible to list all the foods they served there. Their fried chicken is famous. It was very good. I especially liked the beef stew, fried chicken, and collard greens.

As you are eating from the many dishes, the wait staff would bring out more dishes. You can also request the dishes you like more.

The dessert choices were peach cobbler or banana pudding. The buffet includes sweet tea. I enjoyed this new experience, but I felt rushed.

Pretty good but maybe not quite worth the hype. This lunch/early dinner family-style Southern dining experience is supposedly a "must-do" when visiting Savannah. People line up at 10, an hour ahead of doors opening (11 AM). And cuz there's only about room for 80 to 100 customers, if you're not in the first group, expect to wait an hour to eat.

Service is efficient, simply to move diners through. You're eating with strangers, though most folks are nice and the focus is on passing dishes and eating quickly. If you like talking to people, this communal eating is for you.

The main meats are fried chicken (moist & crunchy), bbq pork, beef stew. I actually thought the stew was the most flavorful protein, and fork tender too. Along with the meats, cornbread and biscuits are placed on the table. Sweet tea is also provided before you're even seated.

The side dishes require their own paragraph! I remember: Cole slaw, black-eye peas, au gratin potatoes, mash potatoes, batter-fried okra, collard greens, green beans, stuffing, stewed tomato & okra, rutabaga, buttered noodles, Spanish rice, and mashed sweet potatoes. The best items were au gratin potatoes, collard greens & fried okra. The other sides were meh. At the end of the meal, they bring out small dishes of peach cobbler & banana pudding.

The key thing to remember here is that they will keep bringing out food as long as you want it. But if many of your table mates are finished eating and leaving, it can be awkward to keep eating.....so allot about an hour to chow. Is it worth $30? Probably, but know what to expect and if family-style eating isn't your thing, don't.

I can get behind the idea of a communal table with a Southern feast that will put me in a coma for days, but I can't support an hour and a half wait to come to a table of room temperature food.

My partner and I lined up at 11am and there was already a long line to the corner of the block. At some point, a lady came out and started preaching about the history of Mrs. Wilkes Dining Room, how it started as a boarding house that fed its patrons, you get the idea. While waiting, the lady passed around Mrs. Wilke's recipe books for all the dishes we would be served at the table. Many of the recipes in the book were simple without many ingredients, great for normal people and a bad sign for foodies and chefs.

When we got to the table, the table was set but we didn't know we could immediately dig in. By the time we started eating, the food was lukewarm. The only food that was hot was the chicken when they brought out fresh chicken. The sides and chicken were pretty average in taste but there was a large variety of sides including collard greens, mac & cheese, sweet potatoes, etc. The only thing that was served at the right temperature and was pretty good was the sweet tea which was cold and mildly sweet.

Your experience is contingent on your table mates. My partner and I were seated with one family, an elderly couple, and two locals. The family didn't care to be bothered, but the elderly couple was happy to chat about Georgia's history. Some tables next to us had diners that were more compatible with one another and those diners stayed longer and ate more. For $30, you need to eat a decent amount and have good table mates to make it worth the money and the wait.

If you're looking for mind blowing food, Wilke's is not the place. But if you're betting on a communal experience with strangers and good conversation, wait on line at 10am and get yourself a seat at the table. Personally, I wouldn't suffer through the wait again.

Mrs. Wilkes' Dining Room is all-you-can-eat for $30 per person. So come hungry, because they are not kidding. Your large communal table, which you'll share with others, will groan with many varieties of southern food. Just when you think it cannot hold any more, a couple of extra items will be laid down. Staff will come around to top off beverages, and ask if you want anything replenished. Our table asked for more fried chicken, and a whole platter of piping hot pieces appeared quickly. Dessert will be brought out at the end.

My favorites were the fried chicken, cornbread, fried chicken, cole slaw, fried chicken, creamed corn, fried chicken and butter beans. Did I mention fried chicken? My not-so-favourites: uber sweetened tea, kinda tasteless pork with sauce, underwhelming peach cobbler topped with, weirdly, a whipped topping instead of ice-cream.

Just be prepared to wait in line!

As has been previously stated bring cash and get there early. We got there at 10:20 on a Friday and didn't get seated til 12. Not much to do in line except for people watching. Other than the line to the restaurant was a pretty quiet street. It was encouraging to see that people could barely walk when they left the restaurant. Easy to find, just look for the long line. Served family style with the food already at the table when you are seated. Over 20 side dishes, fried chicken, pulled pork. I was so excited I forgot to take pictures.

Best fried chicken I can remember. The sides were okay, perhaps I didn't pay too much attention to the sides after eating so much chicken. Skip the desserts, stick to the chicken. Would get there before 10:20

Came in for lunch and was beyond pleased with the food, the atmosphere and the service.

I recommend to arrive before they open because they always have a long line - but I is worth the wait!

It is family style service so you share a large table with other guests. They must have placed over 25 different food items for us to share. I tried to take small portions to be able to try everything, but it was impossible. The fried chicken was amazing well actually everything was delicious.

Bring cash because they don't accept any other type of currency.

I don't know that I have the words to truly do this place justice.

After having missed out on Mrs. Wilkes last time we came to Savannah, this time it was first on our list!
This is family style dining and seatings, so you line up out front and wait, then you're ushered in to a dining room with fully laden tables just waiting for you to dig in.
We sat down to a meal easily blowing away any Thanksgiving feast you've ever had. Fried chicken, pulled pork, beef stew, sweet creamed corn casserole, mashed potatoes, cornbread stuffing, gravy, au gratin potatoes, stewed okra and tomatoes, biscuits, yams, collards, cornbread, black eyed peas, butter beans, fried okra, cole slaw, green beans, steamed cabbage, rutabaga, banana pudding, and peach cobbler. All of it delicious, all of it fresh, all you can eat, refilled on request.

The meal is $30 per person and they don't take credit cards but they do have an ATM on site.
Clean bathrooms, friendly staff, this place was amazing.

Came here based on the recommendations of the locals and passed by it as well while on the same block when I saw a long line. I looked it up and saw all the raving reviews. I had to give it a shot while I was in Savannah. We waited around an hour and thirty minutes to be seated. We were afraid there would be a cutoff while we were waiting, but I'm glad that didn't happen. Since it is family style, just know that you'll be sharing a table and food with strangers. If you want to be seated at a normal time, stand on the line earlier.

The meal felt like I was at a Thanksgiving table. All southern food that you think will be served were there like vegetarian, vegan, and meat dishes. It was good and I can see why people like to return. The chicken wasn't dry, which was great. I enjoyed eating all the vegetable dishes too. All in all, if you're in town, be sure to check this place out.

This place is a MUST when you're in Savannah. BUT remember to bring cash or a check. They do NOT take plastic.

You will wait to get a table for this place unless you start lining up at 10:30 AM. We got in line around 11:05 (they open at 11) and waited for about 90 minutes (in the heat of mid-June) - but it was so worth the wait! The fried chicken is THE BEST I've ever had. But before you even get to that, you are seated in groups of 8-12 people as it's family style dining. There are 18+ side dishes already sitting on the table when you're seated. Then they bring out your fried chicken and biscuits. After you're stuffed with traditional southern food, then you are given dessert.

I cannot say enough good things about Mrs. Wilkes' Dining Room! It is a bit more expensive at $30/person, but with all the food you get, you roll out in a food coma for $30.