We arrived on the 13th of December 2025 to celebrate a familial birthday at 5:30 in the evening. The tables felt tightly packed into the space giving no illusion of an intimate affair. Bruce was quick with serving drinks, answering questions, and making recommendations. The dish he recommended above all others was a shrimp linguini in a house made pesto sauce. Two of our party ordered it. Things went smoothly until the entree’s were served. The two shrimp linguini dishes had become meatball marinara. When the waiter returned to ask about the meal I said “these two didn’t get the dish they asked for.” Bruce replied “the kitchen ran out of the shrimp linguini and made this instead.” I replied “they should have been told and given the option to choose another meal.” Bruce snapped back and rudely replied “They didn’t tell me and I’ve made it right by removing it from the ticket, what do you want me to do about it?” Not wanting to ruin the birthday girl’s evening by making a scene I let it go. Had it not been for that I would have asked to see the manager, explained what had just transpired, and walked out. Two unredeemable mistakes occurred. 1 the kitchen failed to communicate with its staff and 2 the waiter basically slapped a dish on the table that nobody asked for and 1 of them certainly did not want and didn’t give us even the option to order a different dish and have the kitchen expedite it. Completely unacceptable behavior from the restaurant and our waiter whom claimed to have been a butler for many years. I find it hard to believe a man who has served as a butler, the very pinnacle of service and hospitality, would ever find it acceptable to deliver a dish nobody asked for. I certainly don’t. As for the food we did order, it was fine and the desserts were delicious. Nothing extraordinary about it though. I don’t think we’ll be back.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 3
Service: 1
Joe Kowalewski
One pretty frustrated diner here. Fortunately, since it was my wife’s birthday, her meal was cooked well. Mine on the other hand, a failed attempt. I got the 16 oz ribeye, med rare. First one comes out…looks gorgeous. Cut into it…pushing medium well. For the cost, no thanks. Please fix. Next one comes out full of raw fat, plate covered in blood because it had not been rested, and blue on the inside. They appeared to sear one side on the grill and kissed the other side for a few seconds. To spend $200 and not eat dinner is frustrating. Our waiter, Nicholas, avoided the fact that I had not eaten and instead was pushing desserts on us; which I paid for as well. Not that I expected a comped dessert, but seriously? The Cinnamon Toast Crunch crème brûlée is something that should never see the specials list again. Outside of the brûléed top, there is nothing crème brûlée about this dessert.
I expected better service from this well regarded establishment, but left frustrated and stewing for the close to one hour drive home.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 1
Service: 2
Scott B
Perfect in every way . Food was perfectly prepared and service was excellent. Beautiful building and premises.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Robert
Celebrated our anniversary with a terrific meal at the Willcox. It is always a treat to dine there when celebrating
L
The Wilcox Restaurant was absolutely amazing! The atmosphere, the food and the service were top notch! Best restaurant I've been to in a long time! Bruce our server was like no other! Again top tier service and who had a great personality! Food was outstanding! I could go on and on about this place. It is a must if you're in the Aiken, SC area for sure!
Michael
Just a great meal! I'll waiter. Bruce was fabulous. He's got the skills and the personality to make your evening wonderful! Ours was!
Elaine
Great experience. Absolutely loved the ambience of the restaurant. The food was great and our waiter, Bruce was fabulous!
Beth
We enjoyed a beautiful brunch, and everything we ordered was absolutely delicious. The brunch cocktails were perfect, the pancakes were some of the best we ever tasted, as was the chicken and waffles! Our party also enjoyed the BLT, the catfish sandwich, and the Willcox breakfast. Everyone agreed their dish was superb. I'd venture to say there isn't a bad thing on the menu, but the chicken and waffles is a sure win!
Chuck
If you're looking for a dining experience in Aiken that specializes in great food, great service, a well stocked bar scene with conversation if you want, with customers enjoying themselves, all in a venue with local themed southern charm, this is the place!
Monique
Every aspect of our dining experience was great! We shall return the next time we drive over from Bluffton SC.
We love the Willcox! The food was excellent as well as the service. We have had superb service with Evan, Josh, and Nicholas as well as many others. They are top notch!
Craig
We loved the Willcox! Had a wonderful server, delicious brunch! We have definitely found a new favorite!
Sam
We stayed at the Willcox for our mini honeymoon and had dinner there both nights. Saturday we sat out in the lobby/lounge and Sunday we were seated in the dining room. Both nights, we were blown away with how tasty the food was! The most impressive dishes of our weekend were the salmon and the ribeye.
Joan
There were five of us and every single person loved their entree! We shared some sides and we also had a cheese board and calamari to start. Of course we shared two desserts. The vibe on Friday night was great.
Courtney
Had a fantastic experience at The Willcox Restaurant. Their filet was absolutely amazing and had a wonderful espresso martini!
We arrived on the 13th of December 2025 to celebrate a familial birthday at 5:30 in the evening. The tables felt tightly packed into the space giving no illusion of an intimate affair. Bruce was quick with serving drinks, answering questions, and making recommendations. The dish he recommended above all others was a shrimp linguini in a house made pesto sauce. Two of our party ordered it. Things went smoothly until the entree’s were served. The two shrimp linguini dishes had become meatball marinara. When the waiter returned to ask about the meal I said “these two didn’t get the dish they asked for.” Bruce replied “the kitchen ran out of the shrimp linguini and made this instead.” I replied “they should have been told and given the option to choose another meal.” Bruce snapped back and rudely replied “They didn’t tell me and I’ve made it right by removing it from the ticket, what do you want me to do about it?” Not wanting to ruin the birthday girl’s evening by making a scene I let it go. Had it not been for that I would have asked to see the manager, explained what had just transpired, and walked out. Two unredeemable mistakes occurred. 1 the kitchen failed to communicate with its staff and 2 the waiter basically slapped a dish on the table that nobody asked for and 1 of them certainly did not want and didn’t give us even the option to order a different dish and have the kitchen expedite it. Completely unacceptable behavior from the restaurant and our waiter whom claimed to have been a butler for many years. I find it hard to believe a man who has served as a butler, the very pinnacle of service and hospitality, would ever find it acceptable to deliver a dish nobody asked for. I certainly don’t.
As for the food we did order, it was fine and the desserts were delicious. Nothing extraordinary about it though.
I don’t think we’ll be back.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 3
Service: 1
One pretty frustrated diner here. Fortunately, since it was my wife’s birthday, her meal was cooked well. Mine on the other hand, a failed attempt. I got the 16 oz ribeye, med rare. First one comes out…looks gorgeous. Cut into it…pushing medium well. For the cost, no thanks. Please fix. Next one comes out full of raw fat, plate covered in blood because it had not been rested, and blue on the inside. They appeared to sear one side on the grill and kissed the other side for a few seconds. To spend $200 and not eat dinner is frustrating. Our waiter, Nicholas, avoided the fact that I had not eaten and instead was pushing desserts on us; which I paid for as well. Not that I expected a comped dessert, but seriously? The Cinnamon Toast Crunch crème brûlée is something that should never see the specials list again. Outside of the brûléed top, there is nothing crème brûlée about this dessert.
I expected better service from this well regarded establishment, but left frustrated and stewing for the close to one hour drive home.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 1
Service: 2
Perfect in every way . Food was perfectly prepared and service was excellent. Beautiful building and premises.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Celebrated our anniversary with a terrific meal at the Willcox. It is always a treat to dine there when celebrating
The Wilcox Restaurant was absolutely amazing! The atmosphere, the food and the service were top notch! Best restaurant I've been to in a long time! Bruce our server was like no other! Again top tier service and who had a great personality! Food was outstanding! I could go on and on about this place. It is a must if you're in the Aiken, SC area for sure!
Just a great meal! I'll waiter. Bruce was fabulous. He's got the skills and the personality to make your evening wonderful! Ours was!
Great experience. Absolutely loved the ambience of the restaurant. The food was great and our waiter, Bruce was fabulous!
We enjoyed a beautiful brunch, and everything we ordered was absolutely delicious. The brunch cocktails were perfect, the pancakes were some of the best we ever tasted, as was the chicken and waffles! Our party also enjoyed the BLT, the catfish sandwich, and the Willcox breakfast. Everyone agreed their dish was superb. I'd venture to say there isn't a bad thing on the menu, but the chicken and waffles is a sure win!
If you're looking for a dining experience in Aiken that specializes in great food, great service, a well stocked bar scene with conversation if you want, with customers enjoying themselves, all in a venue with local themed southern charm, this is the place!
Every aspect of our dining experience was great! We shall return the next time we drive over from Bluffton SC.
Restaurantji Recommends
We love the Willcox! The food was excellent as well as the service. We have had superb service with Evan, Josh, and Nicholas as well as many others. They are top notch!
We loved the Willcox! Had a wonderful server, delicious brunch! We have definitely found a new favorite!
We stayed at the Willcox for our mini honeymoon and had dinner there both nights. Saturday we sat out in the lobby/lounge and Sunday we were seated in the dining room. Both nights, we were blown away with how tasty the food was! The most impressive dishes of our weekend were the salmon and the ribeye.
There were five of us and every single person loved their entree! We shared some sides and we also had a cheese board and calamari to start. Of course we shared two desserts. The vibe on Friday night was great.
Had a fantastic experience at The Willcox Restaurant. Their filet was absolutely amazing and had a wonderful espresso martini!
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