Very disappointed with this location. Appears that take out area was in the process of closing early but the customers were unaware. They stopped serving hushpuppies without any notice after paying at a kiosk. There was NO customer service and the staff was unprofessional. No matter your profession/job you can still show some humanity. You have to do better.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 3
Service: 1
Darlene Harris
I was so disappointed with the food and service was terrible. I had two orders of collards and it were salty. Then , I had waited for ever to get it .Vegetarian options: My collards were so salty. I was going to call them and tell them to remove it. It was very salty. The peas were good and yams. I had ordered two orders of collards.
First time eating here and it’s really not worth paying 10$ and some change. They’re good but not good enough to be the price they are.Love their turkey bbq though.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 3
Service: 3
Lynn W.
This Gardner's location should not be called "Flagship store"! Food at this Flagship location has really declined and quality steadly lower during the last two years. Barbeque is horrible & doesn't taste like southern BBQ at all; appears & tastes seasoned with water vs apple cider vinegar! The chicken is fried TOO hard and almost cuts your mouth when eaten. The service inside for buffet is good, but the food is not good and the options have declined to basically chicken and BBQ choices -- none are good. Run from the "TAKE OUT" area - the regular Cashier is rude, slow & has no customer service skills, and most days after a certain time of day they require customers to type their own order into a Kiosk and pay with a Card - no cash accepted. One of the managers, Tamika D., needs to go back to Management 101, as she demonstrated worse skills than the cashiers, and a bad example of service.
i've been coming to this barbecue joint for years now. Years ago this restaurant was the place to be. The food was good. The buffet was good. The service was good. Except for the barbecue not being made over hot coals I had no complaints here. But then they started having real smoked, pulled pork on the buffet alongside the oven cooked, pulled pork. I was a happy camper. fast for a few years and for some reason things have changed. The service is still good, but the food quality has gone down considerably. The buffet just doesn't look the same or doesn't taste the same. I can't put my finger on it, but the food quality has gone down tremendously. recently stopped here on the way to Maryland. We got 2 quarts of pulled pork to go. We got home and opened the container. It was mostly grease and fat. I heated up a small portion just for the sake of trying it and I couldn't eat it. It was so greasy, I just threw the whole thing away. I spent a small fortune on that barbecue, but I couldn't eat it. I hope they get their act together. I did get their fried chicken and it was very good along with the cabbage.
Erin Jones
So, we celebrated my grandmother 85th birthday. Thanks to Gardners bc another establishment was not willing to accommodate a group on Saturday. So they get a 4 ? for food only because I'm picky but the selections just were a little slim picking for my liking and they ran out and we had to wait on things several times. But what I did eat. I enjoyed. (And maybe a bit pricey, but for the amount of food people waste I understand). 5 ? for service. I really want to give it a 4, BUT manager Tim and Tamika made everything alright for me. Theresa's another manager that was visibly not as friendly or inviting but I didn't let him ruin our visit. So I guess that's the 4 ? for atmosphere. Bc really ALL the other staff waitresses and all were great, helped us with everything we needed and allowed me to come in early and set up. The party was a success and I would come back to have another small family function here.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 5
Monica T
Garners has excellent food. The service can be hit or miss in the Takeout area but the taste of the food keeps me going back. I have been eating here for over 30 years
Any time I go home to NC (born & raised), my husband and I have to eat here. It's tradition. This time I did take-out. I had a thigh & leg plate with green beans and potatoes, while my husband had breast and wing plate with mac & cheez and cabbage. Plates come with hushpuppies, which are delicious by the way. The food is so delicious that it is usually busy here, but it's worth the wait. The staff is always so sweet.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Boiled Potatoes, Cobbler, North Carolina BBQ, And Hushpuppies, Potatoes, BBQ, Potato Salad, Chicken Pastry, Turkey BBQ, Fish, Brunswick Stew, North Carolina Fried Chicken, BBQ Sandwich, BBQ Buffet
Colin Rackley
On the pricey side but worth it if you dont get to eat Eastern N.C. style Barbecue often. This really meant something to me , as we used to eat Gardner's at Easter. While visiting my Grandparents in Nash County - That was in the 1980s. Just love all the Corn Sticks , Hush Puppies , ... everything. Its too bad my family lives far away now.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: And Hushpuppies, BBQ, North Carolina Fried Chicken, BBQ Buffet
Reg F.
This normally my/our spot when I attend events in that area. The food is normally great!!! This time, not so good. Some of the food was burned. Service was slow & when we relayed our concerns to the manager, the were still left unanswered. He said he could give us 10% off our meals. The only problem with that is that all 7 of us at the table, qualified for 10% off already!! The other problem is that neither of us ate because the food was so bad. Even though we didn't eat, we still were given a bill!! We all paid & left quietly. After that, I contacted the company by phone several time over the next few weeks & was promised several times that the owner/higher level management would reach out to address our concerns. It's been months now & this was our favorite spot, it that area. It pains me to write this review not it is, what it is.
Mary Holloway
Was on the way to a church service and stopped by to grab a bbq sandwich. I will be back soon.
Wonderful food and customer service
Very disappointed with this location. Appears that take out area was in the process of closing early but the customers were unaware. They stopped serving hushpuppies without any notice after paying at a kiosk. There was NO customer service and the staff was unprofessional. No matter your profession/job you can still show some humanity. You have to do better.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 3
Service: 1
I was so disappointed with the food and service was terrible. I had two orders of collards and it were salty. Then , I had waited for ever to get it .Vegetarian options: My collards were so salty. I was going to call them and tell them to remove it. It was very salty. The peas were good and yams. I had ordered two orders of collards.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 2
Service: 1
Recommended dishes: Potatoes
Excellent home cooked comfort food. ?
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Cobbler, BBQ, Turkey BBQ, Brunswick Stew, BBQ Buffet
First time eating here and it’s really not worth paying 10$ and some change. They’re good but not good enough to be the price they are.Love their turkey bbq though.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 3
Service: 3
This Gardner's location should not be called "Flagship store"! Food at this Flagship location has really declined and quality steadly lower during the last two years. Barbeque is horrible & doesn't taste like southern BBQ at all; appears & tastes seasoned with water vs apple cider vinegar! The chicken is fried TOO hard and almost cuts your mouth when eaten. The service inside for buffet is good, but the food is not good and the options have declined to basically chicken and BBQ choices -- none are good. Run from the "TAKE OUT" area - the regular Cashier is rude, slow & has no customer service skills, and most days after a certain time of day they require customers to type their own order into a Kiosk and pay with a Card - no cash accepted. One of the managers, Tamika D., needs to go back to Management 101, as she demonstrated worse skills than the cashiers, and a bad example of service.
Great food
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Cobbler, Potatoes, Potato Salad, Chicken Pastry, Fried, Brunswick Stew, BBQ Sandwich, Salad Bar
i've been coming to this barbecue joint for years now. Years ago this restaurant was the place to be. The food was good. The buffet was good. The service was good. Except for the barbecue not being made over hot coals I had no complaints here. But then they started having real smoked, pulled pork on the buffet alongside the oven cooked, pulled pork. I was a happy camper. fast for a few years and for some reason things have changed. The service is still good, but the food quality has gone down considerably. The buffet just doesn't look the same or doesn't taste the same. I can't put my finger on it, but the food quality has gone down tremendously. recently stopped here on the way to Maryland. We got 2 quarts of pulled pork to go. We got home and opened the container. It was mostly grease and fat. I heated up a small portion just for the sake of trying it and I couldn't eat it. It was so greasy, I just threw the whole thing away. I spent a small fortune on that barbecue, but I couldn't eat it. I hope they get their act together. I did get their fried chicken and it was very good along with the cabbage.
So, we celebrated my grandmother 85th birthday. Thanks to Gardners bc another establishment was not willing to accommodate a group on Saturday. So they get a 4 ? for food only because I'm picky but the selections just were a little slim picking for my liking and they ran out and we had to wait on things several times. But what I did eat. I enjoyed. (And maybe a bit pricey, but for the amount of food people waste I understand). 5 ? for service. I really want to give it a 4, BUT manager Tim and Tamika made everything alright for me. Theresa's another manager that was visibly not as friendly or inviting but I didn't let him ruin our visit. So I guess that's the 4 ? for atmosphere. Bc really ALL the other staff waitresses and all were great, helped us with everything we needed and allowed me to come in early and set up. The party was a success and I would come back to have another small family function here.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 5
Garners has excellent food. The service can be hit or miss in the Takeout area but the taste of the food keeps me going back. I have been eating here for over 30 years
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 5
Service: 3
Recommended dishes: BBQ, Fried, Turkey BBQ, Brunswick Stew, BBQ Sandwich
Restaurantji Recommends
Any time I go home to NC (born & raised), my husband and I have to eat here. It's tradition. This time I did take-out. I had a thigh & leg plate with green beans and potatoes, while my husband had breast and wing plate with mac & cheez and cabbage. Plates come with hushpuppies, which are delicious by the way. The food is so delicious that it is usually busy here, but it's worth the wait. The staff is always so sweet.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Boiled Potatoes, Cobbler, North Carolina BBQ, And Hushpuppies, Potatoes, BBQ, Potato Salad, Chicken Pastry, Turkey BBQ, Fish, Brunswick Stew, North Carolina Fried Chicken, BBQ Sandwich, BBQ Buffet
On the pricey side but worth it if you dont get to eat Eastern N.C. style Barbecue often. This really meant something to me , as we used to eat Gardner's at Easter. While visiting my Grandparents in Nash County - That was in the 1980s. Just love all the Corn Sticks , Hush Puppies , ... everything. Its too bad my family lives far away now.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: And Hushpuppies, BBQ, North Carolina Fried Chicken, BBQ Buffet
This normally my/our spot when I attend events in that area. The food is normally great!!! This time, not so good. Some of the food was burned. Service was slow & when we relayed our concerns to the manager, the were still left unanswered. He said he could give us 10% off our meals. The only problem with that is that all 7 of us at the table, qualified for 10% off already!! The other problem is that neither of us ate because the food was so bad. Even though we didn't eat, we still were given a bill!! We all paid & left quietly. After that, I contacted the company by phone several time over the next few weeks & was promised several times that the owner/higher level management would reach out to address our concerns. It's been months now & this was our favorite spot, it that area. It pains me to write this review not it is, what it is.
Was on the way to a church service and stopped by to grab a bbq sandwich. I will be back soon.
Good country food!
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 4