Reviews

I had heard so much about how great this place is. After all, it’s Paula Deen right? Well we got there about 5:30 and had only a 30 minute wait. Pros- veggies were great and tasted very fresh especially the creamed corn. The candied yams and green beans were great, too. Meat loaf was very good but a little dry. Desserts were all awesome. Cons- we got meat loaf, pot roast, and chicken pot pie. Pot roast was VERY SALTY. And had an odd sweetness as well. Some may like it. None of us did though. Pot pie had very little chicken, seemed like lot of filler. Overall not worth the $125 for a family of 4. We went to the Local Goat a couple Days later, spent $20 less and had a much better experience. Will not go back to Paula Deen’s.

I was not terribly enthusiastic about this group selection as a dining experience...but now I am a believer. The food was wonderful! I enjoy country cooking with a flair, so this hit the spot. The chicken was good, but the smothered country fried pork chops and fried fish were devine. Combined with the creamed corn, green beans, mac and cheese and creamed potatoes, it was a perfect meal for all four in our party (portions are served as a group not individually). If you need more of something the staff will gladly add more to your table. The wait was an hour, but we'll worth it. The wait service was friendly with frequent visits to the table to ensure satisfaction. The $21 per person cost is really a bargain and includes a desert. This was a delight and I will go back.

Everything today was great. We were seated immediately, served right away by a very nice and attentive server- Greg. Every item of food we had was perfect. Every family member raved about the food. We had fried chicken and pot roast. The fried chicken was text book perfect. Crispy outside, hot and juicy inside. The pot roast was butter soft and very tasty. Green beans and creamed potatoes were great as well. The mac and cheese was amazing and the desserts- peach cobbler, brownie and banana pudding were also great. Absolutely nothing to complain about. The price was fair for what we got and not stupidly expense for being in a high tourism area.

Completely disappointed! Only seen our waitress about 3 times. Had to wait 10 minutes just for our waitress to take our drink order. Then they brought the wrong order to our table. Food was gross. Southern food my butt! The best part was the collard greens. Everything else was unseasoned except for the ribs. They were so over peppered that it made me choke and did I have a drink? No! We only got one refill the entire time we were there. Mac and cheese tasted like soap, like really? Who screws up Mac and cheese??? Catfish was bland, chicken was bland, creamed potatoes had bits of raw potatoes in them. Green beans had a weird metallic taste to them. It was all around awful!!! Luckily we didn't have to have the awkward conversation about why we were wasting so much food instead of taking it home, because they don't allow you to take anything HOME!!!! STUPID POLICY! HORRID SERVICE! NASTY FOOD! DON'T. WASTE. YOUR. MONEY!!!!!!!!

Let's start with the Pros: To get to the restaurant you can park in free public parking at The Island, and take a free tram. The tram moves quickly, and drops you off in front of the restaurant. The views from the restaurant were beautiful. The food was great and came out in large portions, sized according to the number of people in your party. We had the peach sweet tea which was phenomenal and had plenty of free refills. Cons: They didn't tell us up front that you cannot take leftovers home. For the price you pay to go family style on the food, we wasted a lot of expensive food. After the appetizer we ordered, and the biscuits, we were stuffed. The fried green tomatoes are great but became too salty after the first one. The biscuits had a great flavor but were a little dry. With all of that being said, we would absolutely try this place again, bit change the way we order.

Be prepared. You can wait over an hour or more to be seated. Don't fret though they have a texting system that will allow you 10 minutes to get back once you have received the message. Location is central to the Island shopping district. Service is family style dishes that the table shares. Wait staff was super friendly and helpful. Ambiance was bright and clean.

I usually base my rating off of my enjoyment of the food, quality of the service and overall feel of the environment. All of the above were wonderful. I doubt you will find a better piece of fried chicken. This restaurant serves family style all you can eat. The one catch is you can't take your leftovers with you. I understand this rule because people would ask for more food just so they could carry it away to eat later. It is completely understandable that there should be limitations but that first serving carried out to the table is ours. We paid for it. We didn't ask for more or try to work the system. We had 4 people at the table. It was enough food for 5 or 6 people. A tremendous amount of food is wasted in this restaurant. It is painful to see the waitress carry away a pound of uneaten meatloaf. This place is more expensive than the average restaurant but, overall, excellent quality of food. Combine that with well-trained staff and dining in a room that feels like your southern grandma is going to pop out of the kitchen and you have an above average experience. I just can't get over the food waste.

Nice place but family shared tiny bowls of the sides, looked like we had 2 teaspoons of each. Food was good though. Never got refilled on meatloaf or potatoes, but they were busy so I get it. Paid $100 for a meal for 3 (with tip) and drove 2 and a half hours through storms because my wife was dying to try it. Guess I expected more food. I did leave full though for sure

Catfish was salty and mostly breading. The sides were good. Their way of ordering is per person and is family style, then no carry out containers are allowed. You can order more and i understand no carry out if you order more but if you order what they require for 16.99 per person and if you don't eat that, they just take it away, no carry out boxes allowed. We will never go back. Waiters attitude wasn't good either.

This place is truly awesome. A wonderful place to eat. I have been for both breakfast and lunch. Food and staff are spectacular. Plus you get to shop Paula's great line of products. What more could you ask for?

Food was great! Spare ribs are a must for one of your two proteins. Unique experience. Per table, you get to choose two proteins, and four sides. Everyone then gets a dessert. All of this plus a nice view for about the same or less than some of the other big chain buffets. Caution, if you try to go for dinner on a Saturday, be ready for an 1.5 hour wait. Also parking is not the best.

Nice place. Food was ok a bit too salty for my taste and the desserts were way too sweet. Service was very good. Liked the pics of Paula's family on the walls. Probably wouldn't go back since it's one of those places where you figure you've been there done that.

Pretty much everything here has some kind of lactose product in it, so I was unable to eat a lot of what they had to offer. However, the food that I did it was all very good. Especially the fried okra. I was there with 5 other members of my family and they all swear by the pork chops. The facility itself was pretty nice but, it was definitely a tourist trap, where you are corralled into the shop area. Which don't get me wrong, it makes sense business wise but, I went there to eat not to buy a checkers set.

Me and my husband went to Paula Deen’s on our honeymoon. We thought the atmosphere was great and the food was DELICIOUS! Our only problem was that it was expensive and we weren’t able to take anything home. We didn’t even finish our meal because there was so much food. My husband said the pork chops were the best that he has ever had. I say, get the mashed potatoes and the sweet potatoes.👌🏽👌🏽👌🏽 With the family style dinning, it would have been nice if there was a cheaper option for smaller parties. There was no way that we could have finished all of those sides and entrees with there only being two of us. After paying over $60 (after a couple of sweet teas, taxes, and a tip) and not being able to take anything home, it’s hard to say if we will be back again solely based on that aspect of our experience.

The food I give it five stars it was 16 of us, the food was just delicious!!! We were full to the max. The only reason why I’m rating with four stars is because our server (igor) was so rude he wouldn’t even look directly at us when he brought out my drink he just sat it down on the table ( the other end) from where I was sitting. As he was taking our order he was even rushing us within moments of sitting down. I will say this place is really nice besides what happened to us, very kid friendly as well. Enjoy!!! And try the pot roast!!!

The restaurant atmosphere and the service was good. The food was just okay. I don't think we would go back and pay those prices when there is much better food available in the area. One of the items we had was rice. It came out undercooked and crunchy. Our server apologized and asked us what else we would like. She brought potatoes and they were very good. The fried chicken is okay, however, it too came out on the cool side and white meat was dry. All in all, the atmosphere and experience are nice, but they need to bring up the food quality to match.

First time ever visiting. Atmosphere was great. Food was fresh and delicious and server was very nice and helpful. You'll definitely have more than enough food to eat. They dont allow leftovers to be carried out because all the leftovers go to the local hog farm. Overall great time and worth the money.

Huge restaurant/retail space. However, as much foot traffic comes into the building, they have 1 men's bathroom with 2 stalls and 2 urinals. It needs more stalls so the lines don't get so backed up. Anyway, after about a 30 minute wait- we finally had lunch. Great tasting food that was very hot and fresh. Waitress looked and acted very worn out and wasn't too friendly. I recommend the creamed corn and the poppy seed salad as 2 of your available sides and the fried chicken and the meatloaf as your 2 entrees. Dessert was a little dry. Looking forward to trying their breakfast offerings now.

Food is amazing! Great food hands down!! The waitress, Kimberly was wonderful. She was a super nice lady and did a great job. I’m giving this place a one star because of the “no taking left overs with you” policy. What kind of rule is that?!!! Not only can you not take the food that YOU paid for but this is so wasteful!!! Food that could be taken home and eaten later is thrown in the trash!! I would love to go back for more of the delicious food but until they change the policies I will not return.

Amazing food family style but well worth it! Paula Deens Family Kitchen is a very beautiful place and service is wonderful! Plenty of choices to choose from and the desserts are wonderful!!

I've been twice during lunch. Both times we were taken immediately to a table and had our drinks and food within 5-10 minutes. I don't understand all these negative reviews, it's been amazing both times I've been. Exceptional service and everything was delicious; however, both times we went around 1:30-2:00 on a weekday, so I can't comment on peak hours during holidays and weekends.

Wow, don't even know where to begin! Buyer beware! Stay away from this place! I thought I would take the family to a fun and unique place for dinner, but this place failed our expectations miserably & we left very disappointed. The cost per adult is 21.99, and for children 5-10 it is 10.99- terribly overpriced! This is basically a glorified buffet. You select 3 entrees and 4 sides per table, then desserts. Granted the food was good, but there was WAY too much!! The clincher is despite the big expense, and huge portions, you CAN'T TAKE ANYTHING TO GO! Our children barely touched their food. Don't know many 5 year olds who eat 10.99 worth of food (oh, drinks not included) I ate a reasonable portion- but there was still tons of food left. They came and asked what we had selected for dessert (as it is included in the price per head) I said we were far to full & would like it to go. At this point we discovered we were not allowed to take anything to go. This was not communicated to us, and we did not see this stated anywhere on their menu. Had we know their bizarre dining policy we would have never sat down.

We have eaten breakfast and dinner here. This review is for dinner. The wait was about 45 minutes at dinner time on a Saturday. The meal is all you can eat but it is not a buffet. It is served family style which presents a problem when you have more than a few people at a table. Everyone has their own unique tastes and it was challenging to please everyone. I enjoyed the meatloaf, creamed corn, and biscuits. The ooey goey cake was good too. The restroom was very clean but it was small for a restaurant of that size. There was a grain of rice on the table when we were seated which means it was not properly cleaned (see photo). The service was good and fast. Our waiter was friendly and he knew his stuff. I will eat here again.

I looked forward to eating at Paula Deans Restuarant for a long time. I was so disappointed. The food was cold. The black pepper bacon was extremely sweet and I couldn't taste or see any black pepper. The waiter brought me the other kind of bacon and it was very bland. The fried grits were very cold and discussing. The cinnamon roll was hard as a brick bat and I asked for butter and got something very sweet.