Lady and Sons Restaurant
 

I want to stop for lunch in Georga at the lady and sons restaurant. She is the lady on the cooking channel Paula Deen. Has anybody been there???

We went there last summer and were disapointed. There seemed to more focus on hearding people in & out quickly than there was on the food. The food was okay at best (though the sweet tea was awesome - I could have drank a tub of it!). I would recommend Mrs Wilkes (also in Savannah) over Lady & Sons. You eat family style and there is lots to choose from - the food was better it is was an experience as well as a meal!

Will have to respectfully disagree strongly with snowrooster on Lady & Sons! Have been there several times, and the food is wonderful! Yes, you may have to wait in line for awhile, but Paula Deen's food is the real deal, fabulous Southern comfort food, and it's the first place I go in Savannah! :-)

Perhaps we would have had a better experience if we had not opted for the buffet & ordered off the menu. Dh is a huge friend chicken fan and he was quite put out that they didn't include chicken breasts at the buffet - just wings, thighs & drumsticks. Seemed like they were cutting corners (and we got there as soon as they opened for dinner so it wasn't as if they had already been picked over). They also gave you your desert in a tiny little ramekin (no deserts at the buffet). I love banana pudding, but the size of the serving was like a teaser! Now I just make my own . . . hmmmm, guess I need to update my grocery list!!!

Snowrooster, we do have the buffet, which has always been superb, really, but we also try things from the menu ... like the fried green tomatoes, always! The best ... They do serve small dessert portions; I was a little disappointed in that myself. Have never tried Mrs. Wilkes but intend to sometime. :-)

I just remember the long lines waiting to get in. Her sons were there, and that made it fun. Paula herself, arrived, driving her SUV, right before we left. My sister had the fried chicken and loved it. I missed Mrs. Wilkes, and sure would love to go back, and try that too.

We really enjoyed dinner at Lady & Sons in March. Contrary to popular advice, we ordered off the menu - because the offerings were just so appealing! Food was magnificent. Especially the fried green tomatoes. We got dessert "to go".

Despite the place being very, very busy, it was not all that loud, we were not rushed, and service was attentive.

It's best to stop by when they first open to put your name in. Though they do not take reservations, they will tell you what time you will be seated. There's plenty to see/do/shop while you wait.

Or, if you take the Paula Deen tour (we very much enjoyed that), you'll receive VIP Passes for making reservations.

djkbooks lists the critical point: call in advance or stop by early in the morning to sign up for a seating time, then be there! It is like boarding by groups at the airport. We were seated within 5 minutes of our time. At just about 12, they came out and told everyone who had just shown up and was standing in line that there were no more places for lunch that day.
There was much gnashing of teeth.

I liked it a LOT better than I expected, since I am not wild about Paula Deen. The fried chicken on the buffet was delicious and the butter beans were wonderful. I didn't notice the size of dessert because I was too full!

I too, was disappointed by the quality of food for the price at Lady and Sons Restaurant. MH and I ordered from the menu. The food was all good but not much different from the local fair near here. However, the price was far different.
You can eat better food in Savannah for the same money.
The other thing that disappointed me was the noise level. There were no curtains in the 3rd floor dining area and the clanging of dishes and pushing of chairs was reminicient of a cafeteria at lunch. One is not paying cafeteria prices for this food.
If you want an authentic

We loved the buffet brunch at the Lady & Sons. I remember being miserable when we left because we were so full. The one thing that I really liked about it was the quality of the food and ingredients used to prepare. It definitely was not your average buffet. I to thought the dessert serving was small, but when I tasted how rich it was (chocolate butter cake) it was more than enough. Would highly recommend it. I remember the fried chicken was very good but do not recall if there were breasts or not and it did not really matter.

I have never eaten at Lady and Sons but I've been hearing recently plenty of people saying they were unhappy with it.

If any of you also ate at Mrs Wilkes, how would you compare the quality of food at the two places? I loved Mrs Wilkes--she was still alive when we lived there and was in her dining room daily. Her kids/grandkids now run it and hopefully it hasn't changed an iota. I know they had their "fingers in the pot" even back then so hopefully it stayed as good. At any rate, I'd love to hear from anyone who has eaten at both places, which they liked better and why.

We stay in Savannah every April and love to eat at both Lady and Sons and Mrs. Wilkes Boarding House. As djkbooks says you show up at Lady and Sons and they tell you how long the wait is and when you should return. We go shopping or strolling down River Street, then return at the designated time. For the first time in April 2006, we did not have to wait in line at Mrs. Wilkes Boarding House--we walked right in at 11:45, a first for my family. We always enjoy the food at both places although we think the desserts are better at Lady and Sons. For the amount of food you get at both places--the price seems right. We enjoy sharing the table with travelers from all over the country and Savannah, too, at Mrs. Wilkes, and we enjoy the food with just our family at Lady and Sons. My family loves the "flat" cornbread at Ladys and Son. We usually have the buffet with a side order of fried green tomatoes.

WE used to love the "country" cooking at the S&S Cafeteria, but it is now closed.

NOT TO BRAG ... but I lived in Savannah from 1992 to early 1997 and witnessed firsthand the transformation of the city as you people "discovered it' ... I had a front-row seat, in fact, as a writer / editor at the Savannah Morning News. Our offices were two blocks from the first City Market location of Lady & Sons, where Paula moved after the flea-bitten Best Western out by the Army airfield canceled her lease. For a brief time, when she didn't have a commerical kitchen but had a catering job to fill, she'd borrow the one at a motel on I-95 out by the airport where my roommate was food & beverage manager. After they opened on Congress Street, we'd walk over for lunch and go right in ... even if there was a line of tourists, the locals always got waved through. Paula worked the room, filled the tea, handed out the deserts and hugs ... in other words, same Paula. But the current location from the first time I set eyes on it bothered me ... too big, too busy, too programmed. And no locals get waved through anymore because, frankly, I don't know any who bother.

As for Mrs. Wilkes ... here's a TIP only locals know to avoid the lines if you don't mind missing the sit-down with strangers / say a blessing / pass the peas / take your dirty dishes to the kitchen experience -- THEY DO TAKE OUT IN THE BACK. Go to the end of the block, down the alley and through the back gate. They'll lead you into the kitchen and fill up styrofoam to go boxes until they're bursting! Get a sweet tea as well and walk two blocks to Forsyth Park and eat under the Live Oaks! You'll have leftovers and no pressure to hurry up and and make room for the next seating standing outside in the heat ...

I would love to go to Lady & Sons just b/c I watch the show, read the magazine and cookbooks. On and on.

The tea sounds like it must be good.

Newsboy, thanks for the tip I guess, but why on earth would I want to avoid the "pass the food", "take your dishes out to the kitchen", etc. That's half the fun of the place!

We've really enjoyed Mrs. Wilkes for lunch (not so much for breakfast). Fried chicken does NOT get any better no matter how much Lady and Sons may charge for theirs. And I loved all the vegetables.

We once planned to eat at Lady and Sons, but got an odd reception at the door -- no one able to give us a rough idea of how long it might be. We weren't too thrilled with the surroundings, and didn't like the long line standing at the buffet which looked like not a lot of choices. We also decided for the price we wanted something other than a brightly lit cafeteria type place, and the place almost next door looked better, so we went there and had a wonderful meal. Now I forget -- the Bistro?

Don't waste your time. Nothing but a tourist trap!

Bistro Savannah. Good choice on both counts, Neo--selecting that, and <i>not</i> doing Lady and Sons.

We lived in Savannah 91-96, Newsboy, so saw the same transformation. It was pretty astounding. On return visits, though, I got the sense that the city had become somewhat complacent. The squares weren't as beautifully planted nor as well maintained. &quot;If we build it they will come&quot;...but only if we keep it nice! :)