Only Open For Lunch, This Iconic Georgia Restaurant Still Has People Lining Up For Its Fried Chicken

If you're seeking out the best fried chicken recipe and happen to be in Georgia, we've got the place for you. After researching reviews, recommendations, and awards, we located the best fried chicken restaurants in all 50 states, and the Georgia title went to Mrs. Wilkes' Dining Room in Savannah.

The story of Mrs. Wilkes' Dining Room began in 1943, when Sema Wilkes gained ownership of a boarding house in downtown Savannah. Over 80 years later, the venue is now known as one of the area's top destinations for fried chicken. But if you want to visit, you should know the business has very limited hours. Mrs. Wilkes' Dining Room is only open Monday through Friday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. — and not on Memorial Day, the Fourth of July, Labor Day, Christmas Day, or New Year's Day.

With fried chicken that will make your mouth water, it's understandable that lines would form, and customers have even written about the wait on Tripadvisor. "We listened to advice to arrive an hour before they open at 11am and even at 10am there were about 8 people camped out already and wait[i]ng in the line is FUN and the food was divine, staff super nice," one person wrote. Another added, "We arrived about 10am to stand in line till it opened at 11am. There were a handful of people we talked to while waiting." One Yelp user recommended patrons arrive "no later than 10:15 a.m."

Mrs. Wilkes' Dining Room is worth standing in the line, not because it has an extensive menu, but because its menu has been fine-tuned to provide its customers with the best-quality goods. Among its select offerings are fried chicken, sausage, beef stew, and meat loaf. For sides, customers have their pick between a plethora of veggies, including cabbage, snap peas, black-eyed peas, beets, squash, and collard greens. You can also get mac and cheese, butter beans, rutabaga, rice and gravy, mashed potatoes, candied yams, or red or brown rice. Other tasty options include coleslaw, potato salad, apple salad, and macaroni salad.

While these sides may seem fairly basic, Yelp users have raved about the experience Mrs. Wilkes' Dining Room offers, with one writing, "There wasn't a single item I tasted that wasn't absolutely phenomenal. Service was SO friendly and what you think of when people say 'southern charm'." Others have spotlighted its fried chicken, saying it's "worth the hype because it was the best fried chicken I've had in my life" and describing it as "perfection." Another proclaimed, "The fried chicken was mind blowing with it being juicy throughout and the green beans were divine. Just cannot say enough good things!"