21 Best Southern Restaurants near Lakeland

“I love Cracker Barrel. And Demetra was an our waitress, and is precious!“

“Omg! I haven’t had turnip greens this good since was a teenager (40 years ago). I grew up in the Deep South eating the best homegrown & homemade vegetables around. Sling Shot Charlie’s brings back sweet memories! I can’t wait to go back!“

“The food was delicious! This is no “normal” buffet. I wish we lived closer because we would frequent this place!“

“So order some lamb chops from TrapFusion901 last night at the wine on the river and this is what they gave me for $30. They definitely holds up to their name. When I ordered they told me 25/30 minutes so I go back and start getting more wine while I wait. I went back in 25 minutes, I was about to ask this lady was my food ready but before I could, this older lady from the trap made a comment "why are all these people back her, it's just to much", so trap lady #2 asked me "what I needed" and I told her "I was trying to see if my food was ready". She said "not yet". In my mind I'm wondering how would she know and not know my name. She comes back 3 minutes later to ask me my name. I told her that she should have asked me thar before saying that my food wasn't ready and then I perceived to give her my name. After that she then tells me my food was sitting on the table upfront with trap lady #1. I responded to her that she had just told me it wasn't ready and that food had been sitting there prior to me walking up. So I go to trap lady #1 and got my food. When I opened it I was highly disappointed. The chops were cold and dry. They drowned them in bbq sauce, which I don't like. On top of that it was only 3 chops in there for $30. This is another BOB I don't recommend. If they needed $30 they should have just asked.“

“Home style cookin with great deserts. Occasionally live music and take home dishes as well.“

“One of my coworkers suggested this place he wanted to try out, Southern Hands, for lunch. It's southern-style cooking, and that's an option I don't see a ton of even here in the south. So we swung by to try it out, and the food was fantastic!

The restaurant was in a strip, so I didn't expect much ambience, but there were pictures hung on the wall that gave the place a more homey and friendly atmosphere.

Ordering was quick at the counter, checkout was a tappity tap with the old debit chip card. Dominique took our order with a friendly smile. The crew behind the counter were fast and efficient yet obviously enjoyed working there, as there was muted banter back and forth while they worked.

Food was delivered to the table promptly. It comes in a take-out box, with silverware and a napkin. When you open the top, the first thing you spy is the cornbread. I love cornbread, and the cornbread we got was not too sweet, not too salty, moist and delicious. Under the cornbread was a foil sheet to keep your cornbread separate from the meal underneath, and to keep the food warm in case you were taking the food back to the office or home.

I had the meatloaf, with a side of mashed potatoes and black-eyed peas. I started with the meatloaf, as it was the main reason I was there. Meatloaf can be awesome or awful based on how it's cooked. As you can see from the picture, the meatloaf was landed in juice, with bell peppers and fresh tomato chunks added. It was definitely wet, and did not have a ketchup tophat to disguise flavor issues belowdecks. I don't prefer my meatloaf dry, crisp or with a ketchup cap. So for me, this meatloaf was just right. The tomatoes tasted fresh. the meatloaf had just the right seasoning.

The sides I chose worked to balance the wet of the meatloaf. The mashed potatoes were a bit dry, but I'd opted not to have gravy, because I wanted to taste the potatoes themselves, and gravy can hide a lot of taste issues. When I return I'll likely go for gravy, to see how they flavor it. The mashed potatoes held their own without it, but needed more wet and gravy would supply that. I couldn't tell if the black-eyed peas were fresh or canned. They were good, and if they were canned, I didn't notice; small chunks of bacon were added.

My coworkers chose the Fried Chicken and the Porkchop lunch specials. Their feedback was attested to by the bones they left. There wasn't any meat left on the fowl or the porker. One coworker commented that GOOD chicken doesn't require batter to add flavor, but the flavor is found in the meat, and this was true of the fried chicken. So, guess what I'm going to order on my next visit?

On our way out, I noticed that they also have a van and do catering.“

“Taylor was amazing tonight !!! For some reason we had received an email 15 mins before our set pick up time saying it was canceled ?? We walked in told taylor what was going on and she replaced the ordered in store , and we were still able to leave with our original order with addition to us adding some grapes that looked too good to pass up ! Thanks Taylor for making sure our new years extravaganza wasn't a failure lol and she made sure to give us serving spoons !!! 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼“

“Just left WRB with a HUGE togo order. Julie the manager on duty was definitely on the job!!! I had to ask her if she was the manager because the way she executed my order was phenomenal. I was so impressed with her that I had to tell her so. I will DEFINITELY be back as long as great people are at work!! I dont mind spending my hard earned money on great food and excellent service!!! I opened all of out boxes and had to stop and write a review BEFORE I ate. If you're thinking about going....JUST GO!!!!“

“Piccadilly's was a family favorite for me growing up. It still hits the spot for me. I just went for takeout lunch and ordered the baked fish, greens, Mac n cheese, bread roll and custard pie. Everything tasted great, as I remembered from childhood. All the employees were super nice and helpful. Created a nice atmosphere. Everything was clean and orderly.“

“Seen this restaurant around town a few times, but decided to stop in this time and give it a try. Really nice sandwich and sides were great. Service & Staff was excellent

Vegetarian options: Numerous options on menu

Wheelchair accessibility: Spacious“

“Excellent service. Delicious food!!!“

“I wish there was a 4.5! This was exactly what we wanted on a long car trip. A quick Togo meal (from a drive thru) that wasn’t burgers or the usual fast food fare. It was tasty, quick, surprisingly hot, and relatively inexpensive ($70 for 5 people). We had the fried fish, the meat loaf, the chicken tenders, chicken n dumplings, and a 4 veggie/sides plate. The spicy fried broccoli was different (in a good way). The drive thru clerk was super courteous and sweet. We were a little nervous b/c there weren’t many cars in the parking lot, but we were not disappointed. In fact, having said all that, I’m changing my review to a 5-star, b/c overall, Abbay’s should def be higher than 4.0. I wouldn’t say the food was AWESOME, but it was very solidly good. We’ll definitely be back if we’re passing through. Maybe someday we’ll see one in TX!“

“Great food , great service“

“There was a line when I got there which is a good sign. The food was so good! Nice portion size, especially the cornbread. Nicely seasoned. Good customer service! Just a nice establishment.“

“My 2.5 year old and I went into this location today after an appointment she had at a local hospital. We live over an hour away and I haven’t had Gus’s in over 2 years. I was so excited to come. The service is very friendly. The food of course is excellent and super fresh! It was raining before we left so I went into the restroom to get my daughter ready to leave. She made the comment that the “toilet was really nice.” which I chuckled so told the staff about it as we were heading out. One of the employees, Lucas, let my daughter hug him at her own will unpromted and gave her a small bear he had attached to his phone. It made her day! If you’re deciding where you want to get some Cajun chicken, please go see them. The chicken is the best and the staff is very kind!“

“I’ve had the Buffalo Ranch chicken sandwich and the tenders rolled in Garlic Parmesan and both were absolutely amazing! Would love love for a Slim Chickens to come to Munford/Atoka TN area!“

“I stopped here by chance this morning. I was very thirsty and when I walked in there was a very long line for the food counter. So I grabbed my drink and looked at the food line again. There were people from all walks of life, different shapes and colors. So I figured if whatever they’re serving here can bring all those people together to stand inches apart it must be pretty damn good. So I waited and talked to another person in line. He said he comes here almost every morning for the breakfast and that I was gonna be blown away by how much they give and how good it is. I got a bacon egg and cheese and it was about 2 inches of bacon that was so delicious. I will definitely be going back!“

“My first time at the Poplar location. The staff members including the manager were so friendly and welcoming. The manager suggested that I taste the broccoli salad and it was so delicious that I ended up adding it to my meal. The restaurant was very clean and the food was very tasty. I will definitely go back there again if I am in the area. Kudos to the staff 💕“

“This is my first time trying their breakfast. OMG, it tasted like big mama food on a Saturday morning. The food was very authentic and tasty. I recommend 10 stars⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Go support their business!!“

“Everything was delicious! We both had a special and all the tables we saw had delicious looking food. The service was great too“

“My first time going and it was great I enjoyed the food and our waiter Dmin was very good and polite WILL BE BACK“