Mrs. Wilkes Dining Room

Someone from this business manages this listing.

5,149 reviews

#5 of 758 Restaurants in Savannah$$ - $$$, American, Vegetarian Friendly

+1 912-232-5997+ Add website

Hours

Mon

11:00 am - 2:00 pm

Tue

11:00 am - 2:00 pm

Wed

11:00 am - 2:00 pm

Thu

11:00 am - 2:00 pm

Fri

11:00 am - 2:00 pm

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What is Travellers’ Choice?

Tripadvisor gives a Travellers’ Choice award to accommodations, attractions and restaurants that consistently earn great reviews from travellers and are ranked within the top 10% of properties on Tripadvisor.

Ratings and reviews

4.5

5,149 reviews

#5 of 758 Restaurants in Savannah

Travellers' Choice 2023

RATINGS

Food

Service

Value

Atmosphere

Food and ambience

Local cuisine, American, Vegetarian Friendly

“Today, the meat selection was fried chicken, pulled pork, and beef stew.”

“Save room for dessert; there’s always banana pudding and often peach cobbler...”

“... barbecue pork, sausage and red Savannah rice, friend chicken and beef stew.”

Location and contact

107 West Jones St, Savannah, GA 31401-4507

Downtown

+1 912-232-5997

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Monday - Meats

Fried Chicken

Sausage

Beef Stew

Monday - Veggies

Cabbage

Snap Beans

Macaroni & Cheese

Does this restaurant serve Sardinian food?

Yes

Unsure

Details

Manage this business?

PRICE RANGE

$1.00 – $44.00

CUISINES

American

Special Diets

Vegetarian Friendly

Meals

Lunch

FEATURES

Buffet, Seating, Highchairs Available, Wheelchair Accessible, Table Service

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4.5

5,149 reviews

Excellent

3,942

Very good

764

Average

294

Poor

Terrible

Debbie B

25 contributions

Great place to visit

Mar 2020 • couples

This is our 2nd trip to Savannah and Mrs Wilkes. Our last trip was 2005. It is every bit as good as we remembered. Of course the price is much higher now at $25 pp, cash or check only. It is all you can eat, family style. You eat at a large table with strangers if you are a small group. We arrived about 10:30 and waited outside in line in the rain until they opened at 11. Parking is at a premium so arrive early or ride on city transportation. Street parking is a meter, $1 per hour, two hour maximum. The meters take one dollar bills or credit card. You get 4 meats, approximately 16 vegetables, tea or water, cornbread or biscuits and dessert.

Written 5 March 2020

This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

WBreskin

Washington DC200 contributions

Truly a Lifetime Experience

Dec 2019 • none

We like everyone stood in the massive line to dine at Mrs. Wilkes Dining Room for lunch. It was well worth the wait. The food, classic southern cuisine, is exceptional. Their fried chicken is world class. The meatloaf, stew are also exceptional. And of course the exceptional menagerie of side dishes are wonderful, particularly the biscuits Seating is communal and there is no menu' $25 a person for everything, and I mean everything. The woman who served us were wonderful, very attentive and nice. Sitting with strangers enjoying this wonderful food creates a very friendly and pleasant environment. You truly feel like you are part of something special, and you are. No place defines Savannah culinarily more than here -- a must go.

Written 1 January 2020

indianaseth

174 contributions

Best fried chicken in town

Oct 2020 • couples

My wife and I stopped here for the first time and things were a little different due to covid. There was no inside seating but outside tables were first come first serve. We ordered fried chicken meals, we initially ordered 2 but the lady told us one meal is plenty enough food to share. We waited about 30 minutes for the foot,, in which time we got a table outside. The menu listed a 4 piece meal with 3 sides, but when my wife went in to pick the food they gave us 5 sides and 9 pieces of chicken saying that the cook wanted her to have some extra. The fried chicken was the best we've had in Savanah, and the sides and deserts were good as well. We will definitely be back.

Written 20 October 2020

Becky

12 contributions

So much food in one order!

Oct 2020 • couples

What a nice group of people and fabulous food! Ordering is done by walk up or calling ahead. We walked up at 1245 pm. Said it would be one hour. We ordered one lunch which was four pieces of chicken, two sides (we ordered butter beans and savannah red rice) a biscuit, piece of cornbread, and pound cake and a drink. So we walked up and down Jones Street looking at the beautiful homes and sat in one of the squares for a few minutes. Got back at 135 pm and the food was ready. The sweet gentleman said he gave us a few extra sides to try. Well there were 12 pieces of chicken in the bag, the sides we ordered plus green beans, field peas, extra butter beans and extra cornbread! Thank goodness wr only ordered one lunch for the two of us! The fried chicken was delicious and the sides quite good. A lady who we found out later was Mrs. Wilkes' granddaughter couldn't have been nicer. She helped us find a table (which are now outside) and made sure we were comfortable. Then when another table became available she came over and helped us move because she was sorry about us not being in the shade and it was a hot day. SO KIND! would love to experience this place with the boarding house dining but was glad to eat this wonderful food made by such nice people.

Written 22 October 2020

Michael S

Rocky Mount374 contributions

The Best Fried Chicken and More

Apr 2021 • none

There are so many great things to say about this restaurant – which because of covid has outside seating only - but it starts with the delicious fried chicken: tasty, flavorful skin and moist succulent chicken. We have not tasted any better. But it doesn’t stop there. The portions are more than generous. One order includes a bag with nine pieces of chicken, more than my wife and I could eat. Each order comes with three sides but they always – always – provide more. We had a total of seven tasty sides with our one order and we saw families with two or more orders with stacks and stacks of sides cartons. And the banana pudding is to die for. To top it off, when we were called to collect our order, it was given by Ms. Wilks grandmother. Yes, there is a line and a wait. We arrived at 11:15, fifteen minutes after opening, and still waited fifty-five minutes in line to give our order and another 15 minutes for it to be ready – yes the chicken is served hot and freshly cooked. But it was well worth the wait; we would do it again in a heartbeat. In fact, we definitely will next time in Savannah.

Written 11 April 2021

Chyng H

53 contributions

Get there early and read all the reviews!!

May 2021 • couples

You should read all these reviews before you go during Covid. We arrived around 10:15 and there was already a line. Best to have one person in line and one saving a table. They will start taking your order before 10:45 or so. There is a menu at the front but have no fear, they will give you more food than you order. From the time we placed our order to the time we got our food was about 30 mins. The two of us ordered 1 fried chicken lunch special, added a piece of chicken, banana pudding, and an extra iced tea. The total was $36!! They only take cash, check or Venmo. The lunch special comes with 4 pieces of chicken (we got at least 7-8) and 3 sides (we got at least 8 sides total). We couldn’t finish the food and we were very full! The meal comes w a biscuit and cornbread - soooo good too. My favorites were the fried chicken (obvs), white rice and gravy, yams, and the okra and stewed tomatoes!

Written 5 May 2021

Michelle C

9 contributions

Don't know what all the fuss is about

Oct 2021 • none

I honestly don't know why everyone raves about this restaurant. The food is quite mediocre, they're extremely wasteful because they just throw in extra food, even when you don't order it or want it, and the process for ordering and getting your food is time consuming. My friend and I were told about this place so we decided to give it a try. We were told to show up around 10:30am to get in line outside. We got there at 11am, and the line was already down the block. It took us almost 2 hours to even get to the front of the line to place our order! The woman who takes orders is a chatty Kathy, and every few parties, she just up and disappears into the restaurant (all of the orders are hand written, so she has to walk them back to the kitchen). Once we finally placed our order (1 chicken meal to share), we were told we'd be called when it was ready for pick up. By now, it was 12:50, and we were starving, so we crossed our fingers the food would be worth the wait. At almost 2pm we finally got the call and we hustled back to the restaurant from down the block. Once we got there, we paid our $32, and got a literal box of food. We'd ordered the 4 pieces of chicken with 3 sides (which is pretty much the only combo you're allowed to order), but we got 6 sides and 10 pieces of chicken. It was such overkill, and everything we tasted was so bland that we ended up throwing out 80% of it! It's no wonder this place takes so long to make the food... they're making more than necessary and they're wasting tons of Styrofoam containers in the process. This place is a dredge on the environment... and it wasted 3 hours of our vacation time - time that we'd preferred to have spent enjoying more of the beauty of Savannah. We're not quite sure why the owner, Marcia (who, by the way, is a lovely woman) doesn't upgrade the ordering process to a more modern way using an online pre-ordering system. It sure would save us visitors some valuable vacay time!

Written 23 October 2021

sumaksito

Houston55 contributions

Unique experience

Dec 2019 • family

It is great that Mrs. Wilkes was open on December 24, as we were unsure we would be able to get there any other time during our trip. We had prepared for it, so we got there at 10:30am, about 30 mins before they opened. There were at least 40 people ahead of us already. We waited outside for a good hour, but between chatting and checking in on our dog we left in the car, the wait didn’t feel so long. Once we got to go in, we just followed the lead of a server who makes sure we get seated somewhere at one of their big 10 – 12 person tables. By the time you sit down, the dishes are already set waiting for you, and the warm meats arrive soon after. What a treat, so many delicious sides and meats: yams, lima beans, collards, fried chicken, bbq pork, beef stew, corn, corn bread, black beans, rice with sausage, potatoes, etc. etc. etc. I’m an introvert but didn’t feel awkward sitting at the table with strangers. Everyone was very pleasant, you just make small talk but for the most part just enjoy the food before you. Whole experience takes about 40 minutes, at which point you get up, walk to the front and pay (IN CASH ONLY). The food was an amazing spectacle of Southern cuisine, and the experience is very unique. The service is friendly, and the house itself is very homey and comfy so it makes you feel almost at home while eating. Great place.

Written 16 January 2020

littlemac4

Washington DC122 contributions

Great Unique Lunch Spot

Mar 2021 • none

Even with outdoor dining, this was wonderful. Located on a residential street in the historic district, with one price only - currently $25. Unless you are a glutton, one serving will easily feed 2 people with leftovers. The fried chicken is juicy and tender. The sides are very good. You select 2 sides but receive extra sides and extra chicken. They set up tables out in front and on the porch. You can enjoy looking at the lovely mansions while you eat. Arrive early (11-2 only) before the line forms. At 11, we still had a 45-minute wait.

Written 19 March 2021

@i_therefore_conclude

Orange County2658 contributions

Superb southern lunch

Feb 2021 • couples

Our tour guide highly recommended this place for a truly Southern lunch so we made a mad dash to Jones St to beat the lunch crowd. We got there right at noon and was told the wait for pickup was a solid hour. Of course we said sure we’ll wait! And yes folks, the wait was truly worth it. We ordered their $25 lunch special of 4pcs fried chicken + 3 sides: gratin potatoes, okra and creamed corn + pound cake slice + biscuit + cornbread and sweet tea. We picked up way more food than what we ordered and enjoyed outdoor/sidewalk dining complete with the sound of horse/carriage rides and walking tour groups gawking. Real friendly customer service, clean restroom, cash and Venmo only. Condiments, to-go bags, styro plates generously provided . Most of all, the fried chicken tastes so moist and tender and skin perfectly and sinfully crispy. Truly one of the best fried chickens I’ve ever enjoyed. Their creamed corn is fantastic and OMG do not leave Savannah without trying their banana pudding . My husband also enjoyed their pound cake slices. What a great lunch! 5 stars all the way!!

Written 13 February 2021

seslee

Savannah10 contributions

A fun, unique experience

Apr 2019 • none

Sitting around large tables give guests an opportunity to meet interesting people from around the world. The traditional Southern food is served family-style where bowls and platters are passed. Each visitor can serve themselves the dishes that appeal to them and pass along the others. This is a wonderful way to sample many dishes and visit with others. The restaurant is in a former boarding house. If this appeals to you, do not miss this experience.

Written 21 January 2020

Jerry K

130 contributions

Lots of food

Mar 2020 • couples

We were lucky as we arrived in a rainstorm at about 1 o'clock so we walked in and were quickly seated. This, we were told, was not usually the case. The food was already on the table. Main courses include barbeque, meat loaf and fried chicken. All were good and the fried chicken was particularly well done. There were probably 12 sides the the sweet potatoes, the cabbage and the dirty rice particularly notable. The others were ok but not special. The food was plentiful but most it was filling but not up to the restaurants reputation. Mrs. Wilkes is worth trying but I am not sure I would stand in the line that is required to eat there

Written 7 March 2020

RRad

Louisville5 contributions

Best Fried Chicken!

Mar 2020 • none

If you are looking for the good southern fried chicken about that you have only heard about - Mrs. Wilkes is the place to go! They are only open Monday - Friday from 11am - 2pm. Expect to arrive around 10/1030 to get in line. The line is long but moves pretty quickly. They only accept cash. The experience is worth it! You sit at a family style table with folks from all over and pass food around to fill your plates. The staff are efficient and so kind! ProTip: the bowl that looks like spiced apples ... is rutabaga!!

Written 9 March 2020

Tracy G

28 contributions

Are you kidding me - great value for lunch and terrific fried chicken

Sept 2020 • none

My husband was desperate to have Savannah's best fried chicken and we found it at Mrs. Wilkes. Although they are take-away only right now, the $25 lunch offer was just unbelievable with many pieces of delicious chicken, several sides, boiled peanuts, pound cake, banana pudding and corn bread with 2 iced teas. You can't beat that deal and the food was super delicious, especially the chicken and the creamed corn.

Written 28 September 2020

Beverly Y

Danvers86 contributions

Fun and Friendly

Feb 2020 • friends

The lines can be long but not in February, we waited twenty minutes. The wait is always worth the dining experience. The diners are escorted in to one of the house rooms where your meal is awaiting. The diners immediately can begin with many entrees and countless sides. The experience is entirely Southern.

Written 1 March 2020

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MRS. WILKES DINING ROOM, Savannah - Downtown - Updated 2024 Restaurant Reviews, Menu & Prices - Tripadvisor