Not usually a fan of buffets, but this one was good. Barbecue is N Carolina style (vinegar) and tasty. Fried chicken was crispy but moist and tender on the inside. As always, some misses (corn sticks dry, but corn nuggets tender and moist). Good service and reasonable price.
Danni531
Stopped in to grab lunch traveling from South Carolina to New Jersey. My husband and I were greeted immediately with the warmest hospitality by the crew. They took our order, engaged in small talk, thanked my husband for his service in the Marine Corp. My husband ordered the pulled pork special which was amazing and I requested the pulled turkey and couldn’t pass up an order of collards! Can I tell you everything was delicious! Location was clean. If we were local we’d frequent often. Highly recommend and not far off 95 for those traveling. Thank you to the warm friendly team at the sunset avenue location!!!
163jodym
We live in Louisburg, NC and were visiting Rocky Mount for the day. My father grew up in Rocky Mount and used to eat there when he was younger. He wanted barbecue and said let's go to Gardners because they have the best barbecue. I really wasn't expecting it to be as good as it is. We got the buffet and I tried a little of everything. I'm not exaggerating when I say EVERYTHING I put in my mouth was delicious. It's been a long time since I could say that a restaurant was that good! The collard greens were so good that I told my dad that I could make a meal with just collards. I am a great southern cook (told by all my family and friends...lol) and am very critical of restaurants...especially with chicken and dumplings because I make my own at home. When I tasted the dumplings...I was VERY impressed. I tried to taste a little of everything but I couldn't get to everything because I filled up on collards and dumplings! I have been asking my dad and family since then to make a trip back to rocky mount just to go to Gardners but it just hasn't worked out yet. So tomorrow we are going and I'm SUPER excited! I did taste the barbecue and slaw and they were delicious as well. If you are looking for some good southern food stop here...you won't be disappointed!
Sunny S
My family and I are all Native North Carolinians (for many generations) and have been loyal Gardner's patrons since I was a small child (now 50), but we had not been in a number of years, because of moving to a different part of the state. We went back today (7/24/2021) because we had been talking about how much we missed eating there. We drove over an hour just to come back and eat here..... tragic mistake that we will NEVER repeat again! We know exactly what Gardner's traditional BBQ, slaw, stew, chicken, & chicken & pastry are supposed to taste like. NOTHING that we tried to eat tasted like food..... to be honest, it was the most horrible food I have ever tried to eat! The BBQ did NOT taste like BBQ, it did not even taste like pork. Whoever is fixing this BBQ does Not know what BBQ is supposed to taste like or how it is supposed to be fixed in NC! The stew was tasteless (except for the horrible aftertaste it left in my mouth. The coleslaw tasted funny. The chicken & pastry had so much salt in it, I had to spit it out in my napkin. Hushpuppies are extremely easy to fix, but these people don't know how to fix these either! They had no taste at all (I've been fixing hushpuppies since I was 8, so I know how they are supposed to be fixed). I eat 7 bites out of my plate of food and had to stop because of beginning to feel sick on the stomach. With it costing $11.49 per person on Saturday, it is in NO WAY Worth what we paid for it! The other people with me eat only a few bites from their plates also before we got up, paid, and left. The whole way the restaurant is set up now is horrible! They have the bathrooms set up right near where people are sitting and eating, which is not sanitary. Yes, the bathrooms are shut off from the eating area, but germs travel when toilets are flushed. The bathrooms used to be in the entry way where you had to enter double doors before you would be in the restaurant. The whole place has been so badly rearranged from the way it used to be that it is very hard now to maneuver around people to get to the check out or the food. The whole restaurant looks horrible! Anyone who used to go there years ago will understand what I mean. Whoever owns this place now obviously has no true restaurant experience. We do not believe in wasting food, but sometimes food is just inedible! Gardner's used to be a wonderful place to eat where large families would come over and eat several times a week, but now, even on a Saturday afternoon, the parking lot is 3/4 empty (that should have sent up red flags for me). I have never been so disappointed in the way a restaurant has collapsed into failure as with Gardner's. PLEASE, don't waste your time or money going here. It is not worth it! I know many reviewers from up North have given it good reviews, but in honesty, they don't realize what down South food is supposed to taste like....... It is not supposed to taste like this!!
Marcuswife2010
Traveling from Va to go to Enfield NC for my Brother funeral but stopped at Gardners because in the past I always loved their turkey bbq. I ordered a combination plate, two piece fried chicken dark with fries, banana pudding, cobbler, and potato jacks. They forgot my jacks, left out my banana pudding and told me they only serve cobbler on the buffet. Then that needs to be taken off your menu for takeout if that is the case. After waiting 45 minutes for them to correct my order I get to the hotel and my potato jacks are burned, and my chicken was hard. Really was frustrated at this point because it started to rain and was not going to waste another 45 minutes so I wasted over $23.00. I will not be returning I rather drive to Ralph and suffer eating the pork bbq because I get turkey bbq and Gardners are pretty good but this visit was very disappointing
Ron Krodel
Besides all the good food these people put out at their restaurants... They also sell the best collards at a local store and man they are GREAT !!!
688shelleya
This is my second time to visit and always the best southern bbq. Juicy and melt in your mouth. The bbq sauce is amazing. Service is perfect and oh the best sweet tea. I also loved the yams, slaw and green beans.
arsavage2000
Dined in on Father's Day. Due to COVID, the menu has changed however the selections were good. Food was good as well.
Camille L
Not sure how they did it but serving COLD barbecue sandwiches with undercooked French fries makes the 10 minute wait even worse. Lots of other fast food options at this exit. Don't stop here.
Brian N
Everything I had at the buffet was very good, and as you would expect, and it was clean, orderly, and with good variety. The salad was good and lots of toppings. The fried chicken, though was super. Huge pieces of juicy white meat and I found myself searching for a bite with coating on it. If I had a bigger stomach ...Great value and friendly people.
We stopped on the way to the Outer Banks due to good reviews from Tripadvisor. Lunch was a buffet - hard to pass up. Great quantity of selections. BBQ was only a small part of the selections. Eastern NC style sauce; chopped BBQ. Ate so much we couldn't partake of the desert buffet.
michelle w
Stopped in for a late dinner and was very happy with everything we ordered. Both got bbq pork (great flavor and seasoning) and 3 sides plus hush puppies. I enjoyed everything and was not able to finish it all. I'd definitely return.
CaptainJWCourtney
Very happy your enjoyed your everything. We source our hogs locally and mix & pull by hand in the traditional Eastern NC way.
DavefromColMD
People like you have kept us going since 1972. We greatly appreciate this review.
Marguerite H
Just driving through the area and decided to try a local restaurant instead of fast food. I ordered the BBQ plate special and my husband has the shrimp boat. Both came with cole slaw, hush puppies and drink for $5.99. This would have been a bargain if the food was decent. Perhaps I just got a bad plate - but I had to pick around my pork bbq to get a bite without grisle and fat and the flavor just wasn’t there. Cole slaw was an odd yellow color and the worst I’ve ever had. I was not fond of the hush puppies either (they were extremely greasy). We ate the fried shrimp (which was passable) and went across the parking lot for a slice of pizza - so we found a happy ending after all ?
Not usually a fan of buffets, but this one was good. Barbecue is N Carolina style (vinegar) and tasty. Fried chicken was crispy but moist and tender on the inside. As always, some misses (corn sticks dry, but corn nuggets tender and moist). Good service and reasonable price.
Stopped in to grab lunch traveling from South Carolina to New Jersey. My husband and I were greeted immediately with the warmest hospitality by the crew. They took our order, engaged in small talk, thanked my husband for his service in the Marine Corp. My husband ordered the pulled pork special which was amazing and I requested the pulled turkey and couldn’t pass up an order of collards! Can I tell you everything was delicious! Location was clean. If we were local we’d frequent often. Highly recommend and not far off 95 for those traveling. Thank you to the warm friendly team at the sunset avenue location!!!
We live in Louisburg, NC and were visiting Rocky Mount for the day. My father grew up in Rocky Mount and used to eat there when he was younger. He wanted barbecue and said let's go to Gardners because they have the best barbecue. I really wasn't expecting it to be as good as it is. We got the buffet and I tried a little of everything. I'm not exaggerating when I say EVERYTHING I put in my mouth was delicious. It's been a long time since I could say that a restaurant was that good! The collard greens were so good that I told my dad that I could make a meal with just collards. I am a great southern cook (told by all my family and friends...lol) and am very critical of restaurants...especially with chicken and dumplings because I make my own at home. When I tasted the dumplings...I was VERY impressed. I tried to taste a little of everything but I couldn't get to everything because I filled up on collards and dumplings! I have been asking my dad and family since then to make a trip back to rocky mount just to go to Gardners but it just hasn't worked out yet. So tomorrow we are going and I'm SUPER excited! I did taste the barbecue and slaw and they were delicious as well. If you are looking for some good southern food stop here...you won't be disappointed!
My family and I are all Native North Carolinians (for many generations) and have been loyal Gardner's patrons since I was a small child (now 50), but we had not been in a number of years, because of moving to a different part of the state. We went back today (7/24/2021) because we had been talking about how much we missed eating there. We drove over an hour just to come back and eat here..... tragic mistake that we will NEVER repeat again! We know exactly what Gardner's traditional BBQ, slaw, stew, chicken, & chicken & pastry are supposed to taste like. NOTHING that we tried to eat tasted like food..... to be honest, it was the most horrible food I have ever tried to eat! The BBQ did NOT taste like BBQ, it did not even taste like pork. Whoever is fixing this BBQ does Not know what BBQ is supposed to taste like or how it is supposed to be fixed in NC! The stew was tasteless (except for the horrible aftertaste it left in my mouth. The coleslaw tasted funny. The chicken & pastry had so much salt in it, I had to spit it out in my napkin. Hushpuppies are extremely easy to fix, but these people don't know how to fix these either! They had no taste at all (I've been fixing hushpuppies since I was 8, so I know how they are supposed to be fixed). I eat 7 bites out of my plate of food and had to stop because of beginning to feel sick on the stomach. With it costing $11.49 per person on Saturday, it is in NO WAY Worth what we paid for it! The other people with me eat only a few bites from their plates also before we got up, paid, and left. The whole way the restaurant is set up now is horrible! They have the bathrooms set up right near where people are sitting and eating, which is not sanitary. Yes, the bathrooms are shut off from the eating area, but germs travel when toilets are flushed. The bathrooms used to be in the entry way where you had to enter double doors before you would be in the restaurant. The whole place has been so badly rearranged from the way it used to be that it is very hard now to maneuver around people to get to the check out or the food. The whole restaurant looks horrible! Anyone who used to go there years ago will understand what I mean. Whoever owns this place now obviously has no true restaurant experience. We do not believe in wasting food, but sometimes food is just inedible! Gardner's used to be a wonderful place to eat where large families would come over and eat several times a week, but now, even on a Saturday afternoon, the parking lot is 3/4 empty (that should have sent up red flags for me). I have never been so disappointed in the way a restaurant has collapsed into failure as with Gardner's. PLEASE, don't waste your time or money going here. It is not worth it! I know many reviewers from up North have given it good reviews, but in honesty, they don't realize what down South food is supposed to taste like....... It is not supposed to taste like this!!
Traveling from Va to go to Enfield NC for my Brother funeral but stopped at Gardners because in the past I always loved their turkey bbq. I ordered a combination plate, two piece fried chicken dark with fries, banana pudding, cobbler, and potato jacks. They forgot my jacks, left out my banana pudding and told me they only serve cobbler on the buffet. Then that needs to be taken off your menu for takeout if that is the case. After waiting 45 minutes for them to correct my order I get to the hotel and my potato jacks are burned, and my chicken was hard. Really was frustrated at this point because it started to rain and was not going to waste another 45 minutes so I wasted over $23.00. I will not be returning I rather drive to Ralph and suffer eating the pork bbq because I get turkey bbq and Gardners are pretty good but this visit was very disappointing
Besides all the good food these people put out at their restaurants... They also sell the best collards at a local store and man they are GREAT !!!
This is my second time to visit and always the best southern bbq. Juicy and melt in your mouth. The bbq sauce is amazing. Service is perfect and oh the best sweet tea. I also loved the yams, slaw and green beans.
Dined in on Father's Day. Due to COVID, the menu has changed however the selections were good. Food was good as well.
Not sure how they did it but serving COLD barbecue sandwiches with undercooked French fries makes the 10 minute wait even worse. Lots of other fast food options at this exit. Don't stop here.
Everything I had at the buffet was very good, and as you would expect, and it was clean, orderly, and with good variety. The salad was good and lots of toppings. The fried chicken, though was super. Huge pieces of juicy white meat and I found myself searching for a bite with coating on it. If I had a bigger stomach ...Great value and friendly people.
Restaurantji Recommends
We stopped on the way to the Outer Banks due to good reviews from Tripadvisor. Lunch was a buffet - hard to pass up. Great quantity of selections. BBQ was only a small part of the selections. Eastern NC style sauce; chopped BBQ. Ate so much we couldn't partake of the desert buffet.
Stopped in for a late dinner and was very happy with everything we ordered. Both got bbq pork (great flavor and seasoning) and 3 sides plus hush puppies. I enjoyed everything and was not able to finish it all. I'd definitely return.
Very happy your enjoyed your everything. We source our hogs locally and mix & pull by hand in the traditional Eastern NC way.
People like you have kept us going since 1972. We greatly appreciate this review.
Just driving through the area and decided to try a local restaurant instead of fast food. I ordered the BBQ plate special and my husband has the shrimp boat. Both came with cole slaw, hush puppies and drink for $5.99. This would have been a bargain if the food was decent. Perhaps I just got a bad plate - but I had to pick around my pork bbq to get a bite without grisle and fat and the flavor just wasn’t there. Cole slaw was an odd yellow color and the worst I’ve ever had. I was not fond of the hush puppies either (they were extremely greasy). We ate the fried shrimp (which was passable) and went across the parking lot for a slice of pizza - so we found a happy ending after all ?