Rocky Mount Restaurant Guide

I go down to Rocky mt deer hunting quiet often and always have my son with me we can never skip a chance at Gardners the friendly people and they great fried chicken keep up the good work

Every time I return to Gardner's I leave happy as can be. The food is always good and the tea just delicious! This is true NC BBQ at it's best and the slaw is just amazing. This is a destination restaurant! I encourage everyone to visit one of Carolina's finest BBQ establishments! Enjoy!

My first time here on Friday afternoon 17 April 2009 will probably be my last, at least it will not be a "destination' restaurant. That night they had the additional "seafood buffet" besides the regular menu of bbq and fried chicken. The buffet was $10.99 which is rather high for the area. The chicken and the bbq were excellent as were the collard greens although they were chopped almost to a mush. The vegetables on the buffet that my wife and I tried were very bland and watery with little flavor. Squash had been boiled to death with no taste, green beans had little taste, the potato salad was like poor mashed potatoes with some mustard added I was more than a little disappointed so I did not try any others. As to the "seafood" the baked crab cakes were much more cake than crab, the deviled crabs were mostly way overcooked bread filler, however the fried shrimp were surprisingly good. I dared go no furthur. About the worst thing was the "chicken and pastry" now there was a true disappointment!! It appeared ok but it turned out to be just a pan of "pastry", I found two little bits of chicken not much larger than one joint of my little finger in a very large pan which, judging by the level in the pan was freshly brought out. That is the absolute truth, I could not believe it (Chicken and pastry being one of my favorites.) If you go there stick to one of the relatively inexpensive plates from the menu that features either the bbq or the fried chicken. As to the vegetables that come with it---good luck!!! The service was pretty poor although the folks were quite friendly. However there were five or six of them standing around shooting the breeze by the cash register as we made two or three trips to the buffet and they just ignored the dirty plates until one or two had piled up!! Would I go there again?? Probably if I was really hungry...I would get a nice bbq sandwich and fries!!!! Leave the buffet alone!! Also a restaurant always deserves a second chance...sometimes things improve dramatically. I will most likely try again.

Our family drives the 2 hours every few months just for the buffet. I pass by many other BBQ restaurants, none that can compare with Gardner's.

Food=great. Service=friendly. I would love to make the BBQ sauce they give with your order. Tangy, hot and spicy.

Outstanding buffet. Food is always well prepared and tasteful. Love the BBQ, coleslaw, and cornsticks. Good sweet tea. Catering service is excellent!

I think all the reviews are on the mark as there are three locations as I understand it. I have seen all three and they are different in size, staff appearance and social skills. All in all, if you love barbecue this is a good place to go. I wouldn't brag up the people skills/communication or appearance as that clearly depends on who you get and which site to visit. As for the food, any of the locations will please you.

Driving from Washington, DC and I was truly happy that the BBQ and Hushpuppies were hot and good!!!! Good Customer Service also.....

I love this place! Me and a good friend of mine make a trip every so often from Maryland just to come down, eat, and buy enough pints of BBQ to last us until the next time we venture down again. The staff is so friendly and courteous and they always get a kick out of hearing that we just came down to get BBQ. The food is excellent from their famous BBQ to the all-you-can-eat buffet. We just came back with 16 pints and can't wait to go back!!!

My husband and I have been eating at this restaurant nearly 20 years and have found the food and employees to be very good.Was the reviewer having a bad day?

FOOD IS TERRIBLE & THE WORKERS ARE RUDE AND HATEFUL! I WON'T BE GOING BACK! TRUST ME! DON'T GO HERE!!!