Mrs. Wilkes Dining Room

912-232-5997
Our Website
107 W Jones St | Savannah, GA 31401

Family-owned since 1943, this busy Southern diner serves ample lunches to guests at communal tables. Most Southern towns used to boast a boardinghouse where you could find a simple, quiet room and a communal dining room that offered at least two hearty meals a day.

Boardinghouse food was de rigueur daily fare for locals, among them young, working class laborers, schoolteachers, bankers, washerwomen and middle-class merchants alike. The menu changes daily so regulars can have something different every day.

In 1943, a young Sema Wilkes took over a boardinghouse in historic downtown Savannah. Her goal was modest: to make a living by offering comfortable lodging and homestyle Southern cooking served family style in the downstairs dining room.

Mrs. Wilkes picked up where the previous proprietor left off, cultivating relationships with nearby farmers who dug sweet potatoes for her in the fall and shelled whippoorwhill peas in the summer. Stop by and enjoy the special pleasure of a meal shared with neighbors and strangers.

Customer Reviews

Wonderful food, the service was pleasant and very attentive. My sweet husband, though not meaning to offend me, said its the beat food he has ever had. Lol, only a little offense taken. Was easy to find with GPS even though the sign was small. Loved the family style, communal seating, we enjoyed visiting with the locals and the out of towners at our table. Bit pricy but VERY well WORTH IT. Hubby claims the BBQ pork was the best! I liked the okra and the sweet potatoe souflee

Reviewed by Jody G. on 02/2016, courtesy of Google

Mrs. Wilkes’ Dining Room has been running since 1933 in the same location, own and run by the same family. We made an annual visit when we came south to Hilton Head. On our latest visit, we were seated by her great grand son and greeted by her granddaughter at our table of 10, five couples from different parts the country. It was a feast of Low Country Cuisine. We counted over 20 items on the table. Our cheerful wait staff came running with a plate of corn bread and biscuits, my utmost favorite. She greeted Arthur having remembered serving him 2 years ago.

She came back many times to refill our water, tea and biscuits or any item that was polished off. In particular, I loved the vegetable which were very basic but done to perfection. Though we were strangers to one another, but we felt we were sharing a family dinner. It went without saying, the meal ended with a desert and a cup of pipingly hot coffee. After this sumptuous meal, we went for a walk, admiring the stately homes with different architectural designs and visits many little parks. We renewed our acquaintance of famous river walk and sampled over 20 flavoured peanuts at The Peanut Shop.

Reviewed by Maria W. on 03/2016, courtesy of TripAdvisor

Wow! Let me start off by saying that I HATE TO WAIT. With that being said, Mrs. Wilkes’ is WORTH IT! I found this place in “1,000 Places To See Before You Die” and I can see why it made the list. This is the epitome of home cookin’.

Everything is served family style to large tables seating 8-10 people. Everything, and I mean EVERYTHING was DELICIOUS. I hope Mrs. Wilkes will adopt me because I wanna eat there every day. The main dishes of meat loaf, fried chicken, barbecued pork and beef stew were all great. Lots of different veggies, my favorite being the black eyed peas. The biscuits were excellent, as was the cobbler for dessert. Unsweet tea (yeah, I know, but I’m still a Southern boy) filled my glass. The service was very efficient. $20, cash only, and, like I said. worth the wait. Like the Terminator, I’ll be back.

Reviewed by Jerry H. on 01/2016, courtesy of Yelp

I couldn’t have asked for a better experience. Be prepared to wait, cash only ($22) and wear stretchy pants. I thought the food was wonderful – so many choices of sides. The staff and family couldn’t have been more accommodating. Worth the money, wait and a few pounds!

Reviewed by Kaitlyn M. on 02/2016, courtesy of Google