Mary Mac's Tea Room - Atlanta, GA

Posted By Michael Stern on June 27, 2003 4:26 AM

We lifted a fried chicken breast off the plate and bit into it. As the crust crunched, juices spurted everywhere. It had been a while since we had dined at Mary Mac’s, and we had forgotten just how moist the chicken is. Full-flavored, inside and out, dark meat or white, this just might be the best fried chicken in the South.

Mary Mac’s Tea Room inspires superlatives. An old-fashioned urban lunch room in the heart of Atlanta, it offers a broad menu of dishes that exemplify Dixie cooking at its best. You can start your meal with a bowl of pot likker – that’s heaps of soft turnip greens wallowing in their flavorful cooking liquid – sided by a cornbread muffin. Entrees include such classics as baked chicken with cornbread dressing, pork barbecue with Brunswick stew, and country-fried steak with gravy.

The list of side dishes is a joy unto itself; many customers come to eat a four-vegetable plate with no meat at all. Stand-outs include a sweet potato souffle that is spiced Christmas-sweet, macaroni and cheese in which the noodles are suspended in an eggy cheese souffle, fried green tomatoes, hoppin’ John, and crisp-fried okra.

An airy place with soothing pastel yellow walls and tables covered with white oilcloth, Mary Mac’s offers old-style tea room service, which is great fun. When you sit down, you are given an order pad and menus. Once you’ve made your decisions, you write your own order and hand it to your waiter or waitress who, in the meanwhile, has brought you an immense tankard of what the menu lists as the table wine of the South – sweet ice tea.

Overall Rating

Pot Likker

Tomato Pie

Cornbread Dressing with Gravy

Broccoli Souffle

13 out of 13 people found the review helpful. Was it helpful to you?

No Yes

Posted By Doc Wesley on July 11, 2011 6:23 PM

We have eaten Sunday lunch at Mary Mac's about six times a year for the last ten years. We'd go a bit more often, but it is an hour drive.

Everything we've ever ordered has been wonderful. On Sundays, they provide a bread basket with homemade corn muffins, rolls, and cinnamon buns! (You can buy a whole tin of the cinnamon buns on the way out.) I assume most folks take the option of choosing a meat and two or three veggies. Every meat choice we've had has been very good. The vegetables are outstanding: the broccoli souffle is fabulous, as are the greens, cabbage, etc.

Be prepared for a long wait on Sundays unless you get there by about noon. We've had dinner there a few times and there has been no wait. Highly recommended.

Overall Rating

Cornbread Dressing with Gravy

Broccoli Souffle

Fried Chicken

4 out of 4 people found the review helpful. Was it helpful to you?

No Yes

Posted By Peter Vinelli on August 7, 2003 10:54 PM

Stick with the old stand bys and you'll be very pleased. Fried chicken, chicken livers and okra were hits. Homemade yeast rolls and corn bread muffins are worth going off the diet.

Country fried steak tasted more like salsbury steak and baked chicken was just okay.

I didn't like the mac n cheese but others at our table thought it was good. Fried green tomates and cornbread stuffing were great side items.

Overall Rating

0 out of 0 people found the review helpful. Was it helpful to you?

No Yes