Donnie’s Country Cookin’

The only reason I am rating 3 stars is because I plan on coming back to try something else. So I came in on a Thursday during lunch hours 12pm it didn’t really look crowded but it was no free tables at all. I ordered the pork chops with a side of Mac and cheese and yams. Let me first say DO NOT GET THE PORK CHOPS. I don’t know where they get there meat from but the slices of pork chops are so thin and not a lot of meat on the bone. The pork chops are really breaded from the flour and no seasoning what so ever. The Mac and cheese needed help so I added some s\p and it was OK. The yams were very bland. So the price is veeeerrry reasonable for 6.50 $ you get 1 meat 2 sides and a drink. Can’t really go wrong with that in my opinion. Again I plan on coming back just to try something else.

I get the concept here at Donnie’s, they are trying to operate like Farmers Basket — LenoxMall food court, but this place does not measure up at all. I went during lunch hour and the place was packed* with the elderly and County Sanitation workers so, there you go…

When I just want some meat and veggies with sweet tea, I head for Donnie. Casual atmosphere, good food, reasonable cost, good service… All good

Up until recently, I had been a weekly repeat customer of Donnie’s — a small, stark, Southern Style, Piccadilly Type, Korean-​owned restaurant in an older Kroger Shopping Center located in South East Brookhaven, Atlanta near Buford Hwy. I had been going to Donnie’s for lunch consistently on Fridays since the summer of 2009. Friday is the day they serve baked turkey as one of their meat choices. I would also get dressing, a roll, two vegetables, and a drink — and on occasion I would even get two plates, with one being for later in the day. It has never been anything spectacular. I just thought it was a good deal for $ 6.50 (up from $ 5 in 2009). I avoided lunch the other days of the week and in the morning because their fried meats are way too greasy for my taste. Friday was okay until recently. I’ve been having some food-​sensitivity issues as of lately. Due to this within the last couple of months I had been getting the dressing placed in a separate container and asked that it be filled only half-​full. I would either eat it later after reheating to a really hot temperature or give it to one of my coworkers. They charged 25 cents for the extra Styrofoam container. I thought the up-​charge was slightly high but it was still within reason. All is okay until Donnie tells me there is a new rule two Fridays ago. Price for a separate small container half full of dressing rather than on the plate is now an extra $ 1.60 or $ 1.80 and some change. I immediately walked out of the restaurant only to see all the other employees just staring in shock. Donnie was the only one who had a problem with this as other employees didn’t seem to mind in the months prior. Apparently Donnie has too many customers and doesn’t need a few of his repeat customers. I would not recommend Donnie’s if you’re looking for something good to eat with the exception of lunch on Friday nor would I recommend if you have a special request because of a food sensitivity. Donnie can charge what he wants since it’s his restaurant and I can say what I want because this is my review.

So first of all I came in 1 minute before closing and the staff was really nice about it. My baked chicken was a little dry, but it is fine for the last pickings of the day. My cabbages and green beans were good, but a little over cooked. Not sure what meat they use for seasoning, but they were just fine. The collards were frozen and bland in my opinion. The mashed potatoes were definitely boxed. For 1 meat, 4 sides, cornbread, and a drink I paid $ 9 and this could easily last 3 meals for me. For the price, I will return.

I come here for lunch often and the is good. In the summer it’s very hot inside because I don’t think they use the air conditioning. They use fans and the just moves the heat around. My co-​worker doesn’t like to go here because it’s to hot inside. Could use more smiles from the staff to feel welcomed. Other the that this place is ok. The price for lunch is $ 6.50 that’s a meal with a drink. That’s what brings me back.

I have eaten here a few times but I had to wait to introduce my Grammie who is a true southern cook before I could leave a review. It lacks the complete 5 stars because there is nothing like the «stick to your bones» southern cooking that your Grammie can make happen on any given Sunday… but…she gave Donnie’s her approval. The service is always great, nice and friendly, but sometimes when eating at the restaurant it can be quite hot indoors, I usually take it to go.
Ive had the roasted chicken breast, chicken tenders, and country steak for my meat options. I have had the macaroni and cheese, cabbage, green beans, collard greens, and sweet corn for my veggies. This is some of the best country cooking I have had in Atlanta. Everything tastes just like I had grown up own minus my Mom or Grammie’s few special touches. The cornbread lacks completely being a true southern cornbread that we are used to cooked in a cast iron skillet, these are more like cornbread muffins, sweet, almost sugary, but not bad.
The price can’t be beat. You can have a meat, 2 veggies, and a drink for about $ 6.00 and it is a hefty portion, I can usually create 2 meals out of it. I grew up living off of sweet tea but as I’ve gotten older I’ve moved to unsweetened. It is hard to find a well brewed unsweetened tea in the south because no one really gives it much attention if it’s not filled with sugar. Donnie’s iced tea is freshly brewed, even my 2 ½ year old nephew snagged my unsweet tea and finished it off. This will easily be my go to place for southern food, especially if I want a full vegetable plate.

Maybe if I liked this kind of food more I would rate it higher. The people I take here who are into the southern kitchen really like it. As for me, meh.

This is a great place for lunch of you only have a short amount of time. During the lunch rush, you can grab your tray, get your food and pay for the meal in a matter of minutes.
For less than $ 7.00, I got the chicken tenders, mashed potatoes and gravy, mac and cheese, a roll and a drink. And none of it was bad. It was way better than frozen food, it was hot, and it was fast. There’s nothing about it that tastes fancy, and many times, I don’t want fancy. The restaurant isn’t fancy either; expect to sit at some wobbly tables.
Parking is plentiful, but can be quite busy in that Kroger shopping center, so be careful!

I stopped into Donnie’s right at 12pm and they had a big lunch crowd, which I expected. The line was long but they kept it moving, so I was in & out in about 5 minutes! Awesome! I went with the beef tips with rice and fried okra & Lima beans. I was most excited about the beef tips because it’s one of my very favorite Southern dishes. I have to say, they were definitely not as good as my family’s recipe, but they weren’t bad. There wasn’t much depth of flavor– they weren’t browned before they were slow cooked, but they were very very tender. The white rice the beef tips were served over was plain– could’ve used some salt & butter. The fried okra was good. I’m almost certain it was cooked from frozen but I really don’t care. Mind you, I’ve never met a fried okra that I haven’t liked, fresh or frozen. The Lima beans were frozen too, but they were just plain and under seasoned– thinking they weren’t cooked with meat which usually lends a good bit of flavor to veggies cooked southern style. You get a choice of cornbread or roll– I opted for the roll and it was just ok. They give you PLENTY of food, and a drink is included in the price so it’s a good value. Five people in line ahead of me ordered the fried fish, so I will be back to try that. I’ve definitely had better food at other meat & two restaurants, but I wasn’t disappointed with Donnie’s. Almost forgot to mention the best thing I had-​banana pudding! It’s not the traditional banana pudding with meringue, but a more «instant» version with whipped cream on top. It was very very good! But much like fried okra, I’ve never met a banana pudding that I haven’t liked either.

Sort of a hole in the wall place at the end of a shopping center. Eclectic mix of people dining here.
Baked chicken was very good. Crispy skin and juicy and tender meat. I got the mashed potatoes with gravy and the fried okra and sweet tea. The gravy was not very good and the okra was from a freezer I believe and not crisp. Tea was okayish.
I wish I could say more for the sides here but if I were to come back I’d stick to the chicken.
Five star baked chicken and one star sides.

I drive by this place all the time but decided to visit after reading the reviews. Yes, I understand that you get what you pay for, but in this case, I have to say just pay more.
My first mistake was coming outside of the lunch or dinner rush. So it was obvious that the food had been sitting for a while. The chicken pot pie was so dried up I almost asked them to add water and TRY to get the skin off of it. I ordered the baked chicken, mashed potatoes and cabbage. The food wasn’t so salty that I couldn’t eat it, though salt is indeed the primary flavor you’ll taste. The chicken was so dry that I couldn’t finish it. It sat so long under a heat lamp that some pieces crunched as if I had bitten into bone. It was meat. And it stuck in my throat where I had to use the soda just to completely swallow each bite.
Over cooked chicken, boxed mashed potatoes, gravy from a packet, and not the saltiest canned cabbage I’ve ever eaten. For the price, I can’t give it a one star rating, but you’ll definitely get a meal whose price point should fall within $ 6.50.

If you like Styrofoam, and cheap, overcooked vegetables, this place is for you. At five dollars for a vegetable plate with drink and bread and taxes, the price is pretty good, and the servings were generous. However, the quality was at the bottom of the barrel.

I went here for breakfast this morning. If you’re on a budget and just need some cheap food, this is your place. However, if you’re looking for a real southern breakfast keep looking.
I ordered the sausage patty biscuit plate but they didn’t have sausage. The eggs were horrific. Take an egg, cook it with absolutely no seasoning, then put it in the sun for about an hour so it gets good and dry, yep. Then make some grits, take those grits and run water over them to render them void of all taste, yep. Then make a biscuit, but dunk it in oil so it really soaks it all in, yep. Serve all of this with a shot glass of water. Congratulations, you just made a better breakfast than what’s offered at Donnie’s «Country Cookin»

I’ll come here for lunch often the food is very good very good price sheet very well cooked season very healthy I would really recommend this to anyone to come here to eat. Today I had turkey dressing collard greens, kernal corn & roll w/​a drink of a &6.50

This food sucked! While customer service was great, the food lacked taste. I ordered the pork chop and it was so dry. The sides were nothing to write home about. I will say the food was at a reasonable price and apparently there were a lot of regulars doing the lunch hour.

When I factor in wait time, service, quality, and price, I give 5 stars! I’ve been searching for great and affordable comfort food in Atlanta for almost 2 years and I have found it here! I’m very much looking forward to becoming a frequent customer here!

This place is a Korean family run Southern style meat and two like you find in small towns throughout the Southeast; except here you have one of those right here in the city on Clairmont near Buford highway. The food you get here is essentially a cross between comfort food and army /​prison food; however, the price is right and the portions are generous.
The quality is decent and the vegetables seem to come from a can or a frozen package. The choices here can be healthy or not so healthy; however, baked chicken is almost always a meat option.
Perhaps really deserves 3.5 stars; however, I will round up to 4.

I’d give Donnie’s 3.5 stars, not quite four-​star worthy, but I enjoyed it.
Yes, there are tons of better southern joints in Atlanta, but the staff is friendly and the price just can’t be beat! The price for a meal (meat, two sides, corn bread, and a drink) is $ 6 even — tax included; and they’re pretty generous with the portions.
Donnie’s is set up cafeteria style, just grab a tray (or to-​go box) and select your fixings! You can either go with the ‘meat’ meal (one meat, two sides) or the veggie meal (three veggie entrees). I chose the ‘meat’ and decided on the ‘country-​fried’ pork chops. I only thought I would get one ‘fillet’ (they’re already quite large individually), but the server behind the counter picked up two, and then gave me two very healthy servings of mac and cheese, and mashed potatoes with gravy.
I was pretty ravenous, thus I forgot to take pictures until I was halfway finished, but take my word for it — it was a lot of food. Fairly decent food. The mashed potatoes and mac and cheese, were solid, I’d liken it to the food in the food courts at the mall. The country fried pork chops tasted exactly like country fried steak, so if you’re a fan, check Donnie’s out. Your wallet will thank you.

Dear Donnie,
My life has changed a lot since we first met. I have change jobs, apartments, and boyfriends. I still get excited thinking about the Friday pork chops + broccoli stir fry + mac-​n-​cheese.
Now, I’ve moved and we are far apart that I cannot enjoy those good «fixings». Plus, I have really tried to clean up my diet and support sustainable farmers and eat as home as much as possible. However, that $ 5.50 plate got me through during some pretty dark times in my life (lol). Thanks for being there…
I know the focus is to offer southern plates that are easy on the wallet but it would be great if the restaurant supported GA farmers and got better quality meats and vegetables.
Your Most Valuable Customer at the Clairmont Rd location (2009 – 2011)

Trying to give it three stars – but it won’t let me! Help! Sometimes you need fried okra and collards and green beans and cornbread and sweet/​unsweet tea. The nice people at Donnie’s dispense those things in an utterly unpretentious way – which is as it should be.
Workers come here. The lot held a UPS truck, a county truck, some regular olé trucks, and the restaurant was nearly full with people who mostly seemed to be on their lunch breaks. Cakes looked good but I did not try them.
Only quasi-​complaint I have is the traditional bean garnish of chopped tomatoes and onions was there – but it was a side salad and could only be gotten as a full side dish. Alas! Tradition violated in such a traditional venue.