Green Tomato Buffet

There’s another larger, newer Buffett on a busier road about 5 minutes from this one. I won’t name names but this one has fewer options but higher quality food, so I go here. The chicken and sides simply just taste better, more home style less mass produced/​canned taste. It’s no Ritz Carlton lunch buffet but it’s always tasty

horrible buffet!!! I brought some of my family members that came to visit GA and we had to choose this area because it wasn’t as full as the other restaurants around the area… when I brought them here I became so embarrassed because I had never visited such a horrible buffet in my life this was. I had to apologize to my family members bc god the food was gross and the restaurant itself was outdated NO WONDER this place was empty during lunch time

I won’t be back. Listen to all the bad reviews unless there is a full parking lot and they are rotating the food frequently. Can food, water potatoes, can’t do it…

Let’s be honest. There are at least a couple dozen of these country style, usually Korean-​owned all-​you-​can-​eat buffets in the Atlanta metro area. I’ve tried most of them at least once. For the most part they are fairly mediocre, with perhaps a bright spot here and there on their steam tables, or with staff and/​or owners who seem to care about their customers. Now, when I say mediocre, I’m not talking about bad food. I am just saying that you certainly should not go there expecting a fine dining experience, either in service or food — you basically get what you pay for, and you can fill up for a decent price. (See Lee J.‘s review for someone who feels like I do. Hope you’re enjoying Florida, Lee.) There are a couple that I frequent because to me they are a cut above the crowd. Green Tomato is one of them. I try to go there at least once a week when I am in town.
I get what some of the other posters are saying about the décor, run-​down feeling, etc. But to me, that sort of qualifies it as a «hole in the wall» kind of place, and I always love finding a hole in the wall that serves food that I like. And I love a good locally owned place. Just as important, I feel quite comfortable there. Others may not agree, and that’s OK, we all have different tastes. And yes, I wish that some of the veggies weren’t cooked for so long. But I’ve lived in Georgia all of my adult life, and that’s how many (if not most) folks from Georgia like them. Again, this isn’t haute cuisine, just down home cooking. They have pickled beets and often Brussels sprouts, which I appreciate. So even though I love this place, the state of the décor and the sometimes inconsistent waitresses contribute to my giving it 4 instead of 5 stars. I am quite picky. Just ask some of my former staff.
So what do I like there? Here are a few of my favorites:
— I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the chicken noodle soup, better than any that I’ve had at ANY other restaurant, regardless of price. To me, the only chicken noodle soup that compares is homemade. Spoiler alert: If it’s been sitting a while, the noodles can get soggy (surprise), but it still tastes good.
— Fried fish, including catfish. Very tasty and I haven’t had fried fish anywhere else that was less greasy. And even better, unlike most of this kind of restaurant, they have it not just on Friday, but also on Saturday and Sunday. In my opinion, for the money, you won’t find a better bargain.
— Fried green tomatoes. Again, low on the greasy scale. And while I wish they were cut just a little thicker, I love them.
— Dressing (or stuffing or whatever else you may call it). They usually have it on Sunday & Wednesday. At most places it’s just too dry for me, can’t eat it without a swig of tea to go with it. Not here — it’s perfectly moist (for my taste).
— Roast beef. Usually on Wednesday. A bit on the salty side for me, but ummm, good, can’t…resist…
— Chicken pot pie. They don’t have it often, but I like it.
— Chicken wings. I have to admit that they have been on the buffet only once (last week) out of all the times I’ve eaten there, but they were excellent.
Desserts:
I don’t usually have dessert (normally I’m so full I can’t even think about dessert), but they always have several, including pudding, cobbler, ice cream (the real stuff that they scoop out for you) and what is, I believe, their version of pineapple upside down cake.
The people:
The waitresses can sometimes be hit or miss, especially if you’re not a regular (and there are a lot of regulars). But on the whole, they’re good folks. My favorite? Ms. Christine, hands down. She’s not a good waitress, she’s an EXCELLENT waitress, takes care of you to a T. Even better, she’s a good-​hearted person, a bonafide sweetheart who always makes you feel welcome, and it’s not an act. Or, if she IS acting, she should be in Hollywood. ;-) She possesses that rare combination of qualities that, if you owned a business, you’d love for all of your employees to be like her.
The owners are a Korean couple. I especially enjoy talking with the wife, she can be quite interesting. She also is in charge of the cooking — I understand that most of the food is from her recipes, and she’s quite proud of the food she puts out on the buffet.
If you’ve persevered and read this entire review, I appreciate you’re sticking with me, and you should be able to tell that I really like this place, warts and all. For around $ 7/​$ 8 every day, all day, I challenge you to find a similar place that’s a better value. If you know of any, please let me know, I’d love to try them out.

Don’t waste your money. Overcooked, overpriced, and overall disgusting. The décor is outdated, complete with a giant mirror along the back wall. I agree with what others have said — this place looks like the before version of something on Restaurant Impossible.

Well, I must beg the pardon of all those would-​be connoisseurs of fine food. It’s a funny thing to me that anybody would even go in here expecting a five-​star rated establishment. That it’s not. «BUT!» If you want simple, down to earth, inexpensive country cookin’, this place is fine. The crowds we encounter every time we go there can’t be wrong. We go there at least once a week. Sometimes twice! We love it and for those of you who didn’t like it; go some place else. That leaves more food for those of us who do. Some people have been so stereo typed by Yuppie TV commercials that they wouldn’t know good food if their life depended on it. We enjoy Green Tomato very much and will keep going as long as they are open. Unfortunately we are moving to Florida and only hope to find a place like Green Tomato there.

Can you give 0 stars? Wish I would have read Unilocal first. Wow how could a place be in business with that terrible of food?

So I’m going to try not to sound repetitive, but I agree with what Lisa P.‘s review had to say.
You ever seen the show Restaurant Impossible with Robert Irvine? Well this is one of those places that would’ve and maybe even should have been on it. For those who haven’t seen this show, he comes into restaurants that are doing poorly and turns them around, by changing the décor/​interior and getting rid of the garbage food that they cook. Anyways, this place has the most outdated décor, just mediocre food, and the waitstaff wasn’t exactly the best either.
This being said, for the price, it is a cheap buffet $ 6.50/pp, but like someone else mentioned, you certainly get what you pay for, and it might be worth your money to spend a little more and go to Ryan’s.
The food tasted like it had been overcooked and sitting out there for hours, hard chicken, and bread. Everything looked processed or canned, nothing looked fresh. Ugh!
I don’t even have words to describe it, but this is one place you DONT need to go «see it to believe it» you just need to take the word of all of us Unilocalers who have been there and save yourself the trouble! Trust me, you’ll thank us later! :)

The atmosphere reminded me of a time gone by. The wait staff reminded me of the staff from the TV series Alice.
The food: not bad, not great. They had fried catfish which I love and hadn’t had in quite some time. The sweet potatoes and black eyed peas were good. And their take on hush puppies was surprisingly good.
Overall, we got what we paid for.

I like the fried green tomatoes.
That’s about all.

My home cooking is better than this place, don’t go here and don’t waste your time. There was not one thing here that I can say was even mildly good. In fact, this place is so bad it doesn’t even deserve a review! Garbage! Minus 5 stars!

BARF! I hate this place! it has terrible food and ther servers all have meth mouth!
Dont waste your time!