Just had breakfast w/the family here...great value - you get what u pay for; generous quantity and cheap price with average quality and good atmosphere. Nap time now.
(3)
Lin T.
Authentic southern cooking! If you get the one meat and pick three sides you are almost promised to leave happy and full! Overall an enjoyable experience here.
(5)
A T.
Enjoyed our dinner. Very reasonable prices. Quick service. Many choices. Kid friendly. Reminded me of good homemade food like Granny used to serve.
(5)
Molly T.
The food here was amazing. The dining area was not the best but the food makes up for it. They give you large portions for a great value & the staff is very friendly. It was good old fashioned southern cooking.
(4)
Crystal C.
This place is great! Please read my full review at examiner.com/restaurant-… . If you like reviews like this, don't forget to subscribe by clicking the link below the headline!
(5)
Katrina C.
Fried chicken, mashed potatoes, cornbread, sweet tea were all worth of 4 stars...but the fried okra was a letdown. Great prices, service and super quick. No real complaints from a Southern food fanatic.
(3)
Nancy S.
We eat out a lot and this was the worst meal I've had in a year.. I ordered fried catfish, fried squash, collard greens and cheesy potatoes. It came with cornbread. The collard greens were acceptable. I could not recommend any of the rest. Even the cornbread was disappointing. My husband ordered the chopped steak with onions, Lima beans, collard green and fried squash. The steak was dry and tough, however he loved the Lima beans. The waitress and staff were friendly. I don't like to give bad reviews but we were expecting "grandma's cooking" and it fell way short.
(1)
Annie R.
I was really excited for this, the whole down home southern cooking thing typically is hard to mess up. They do it here. The biscuits were dry, the eggs were runny, I mean breakfast is pretty hard to mess up. Totally disappointed.
(2)
Jim F.
If you love country cooking you gotta try one of the Lizards Thicket locations. Great veggies to choose from and some Of the best chicken fried steak ever!
(4)
Benjamin S.
Lizard's Thicket serves up no frills, stick to your ribs, southern cooking. This is where your Granddad comes to eat and spread his paper out across the table. No they don't have a mozzarella and tomato basil appetizer and that's just the way Granddad likes it dammit. So don't go expecting those sorts of dishes... But Granddad might be on to something here. You will have to try hard to pay more than $8 for a heaping, hearty dinner, the waitress will keep your tea filled but won't hover around, and the restaurants are generally nice places to hang out and have a good meal.
(4)
Mary B.
When I'm in the mood for a good salad, I go to Lizard's Thicket. The fried chicken salad is so delicious! It's also huge. Occasionally I'll get a meat and three but the salad is what really stands out. All of the other food is mediocre and tastes canned. Service is usually friendly and fast.
(4)
Tameka G.
We came in town to visit and found this place on yelp. It turned out to be a good choice. I ordered the fried chicken (crunchy and very flavorful), fried squash (flavorful and slightly crunchy), mashed potatoes and gravey (pretty good), grilled mixed veggies (basic), cornbread (dry) and some carrot cake (slightly dry but decent). Great portion sizes if I ever come back to Columbia I'd grab another plate.
(4)
Sarah F.
I order out from here alot. My family loves the meat and veggies. On Wednesdays check out the meatloaf and spinach. It is soooo good but order before 5 or else they run out of it quick. There sweet tea is really good. The only thing that I don't recommend is their chocolate cake. It is very dry. Their banana pudding is the best dessert that they have there.
(5)
Mike M.
My wife doesn't like it but I do! I love southern food with a lot of bacon in it! Their breakfast is amazing and they do have some great burgers. Ok I'll mention it anyway, wonderful cole slaw, very southern the way they make it. I try to get here whenever I can
(5)
Ria H.
They have really good fried catfish! I also had a slice of grilled pound cake which was also pretty good. Next time, I will skip the greens because they were really crunchy and didn't really have any seasoning.
(4)
Dennis F.
Great service and good food we had the Rib Eye Steak with choice of 3 side for 15.95 cheap!!
(4)
Laurin N.
It was okay. The fried okra and chicken fried steak was good but my macaroni was too salty.
(3)
Melissa Y.
No frills here...just good food. For the price you do get a lot.
(3)
Sari L.
The food was served quickly and it was fresh and hot. Our server was friendly and attentive. The veggies were great but the fried chicken was disappointing. While it was hot, it was tough and stringy. Great banana pudding! Carrot cake as dry.
(3)
Adrienne C.
I enjoy the variety offered here (esp. when u r tired of the regular fast food joints) . . . No frills, but good value for your dollar. Fast and friendly and Southern fried. What's not to love? Would have given 4 stars, but can be inconsistent with quality and service . . . Varies a lot location to location and even day to day.
Decent food and lots of it. I had the hamburger. Large burger with hearty portions of lettuce, onions, and tomatoes. French Fries were were crinkle cut type. I had a side of Lima Beans. Low prices compared to what I am used to with a good crowd. Would visit again!
(4)
Rick T.
We live in the south, this place claims to have good southern comfort food. It does not even come close. Over cooked fried flounder, burnt hash browns, dry biscuits, and coffee that tasted like hot water. Yuck!
(1)
Dan O.
Here I had one of the worst meals out I have had in years. The fried chicken was not bad but everything else was a complete and utter letdown. Th stuffing was extremely dry. The macaroni and cheese had almost no cheese on it. The rolls were store-bought and stale. When I go to a southern cooking joint and order rolls I was hoping for something that was at least made in the restaurant. I will never go back to another Lizard Thicket.
(1)
Beverly S.
Couldn't have been too memorable. I forgot what the place was like. I didn't die of ptomaine poisoning, so I gave it a 4.
(4)
Trish D.
I am a huge fan of Lizard's Thicket! Very friendly and family-like atmosphere with good Southern-style comfort food. I've tried almost everything, my favorite main dishes include the fried chicken, fried catfish and turkey and dressing. My favorite sides are the collard greens, mac and cheese and mashed potatoes, to name a few. And they have the BEST sweet tea! Definitely, great food at a great price!
(4)
Josh A.
How can you beat $7 for 1 meat and 3 veggies, aka side items? I had the Country Fried Steak, Mashed Taters, Collards, and Black Eyed Peas. The peas were close to the best I've ever had, very fresh and crisp. Collards were very good as well, just a slight hint of vinegar and smoked taste. Matter of fact, I didn't have a problem with any of the food. It was all great. The only problem was the service was a little slow. Then again, we are in the South.
(4)
Kay H.
This is REAL Southern cooking at a great price. Don't go in there expecting health food (except salads and baked chicken). Fried chicken and country-style steak and fried flounder are our favorite entrees. Favorite sides include fried okra, squash casserole, potato salad, green beans. YUM!!
(5)
Tennille C.
The food was great. For the price you get a lot. The service was good also. For my southern cooking when i visit Columbia, I'm going there.
(5)
Erica A.
When you're in the mood for comfort food, this is the place to go. It's not easy to find a very-family-friendly restaurant where the food isn't total garbage, but Lizard's Thicket manages to combine casual dining with good cooking. Unfortunately, "comfort food" and "healthy food" don't overlap, and this is no exception. Luckily, there are some tasty veggie sides to offset the grease of the fried meats. There are lots of locations around Columbia, so one of the biggest downsides is that my kids always bug me to pull in when we're driving by one.
(4)
Lana C.
The black eyed peas and Lima beans were great, but not worth the awful service or the dirty & crowded room.
(2)
Dave S.
I give Lizard Thicket 5 stars only because the prices are so low. It's your basic southern style meat and three. I ate here a lot for lunch when i was working in the area. Food comes out fast and very good, great selection of southern cooking.
(5)
sonewa w.
This was a like a southern cooking place, reminded me of a converted Jo-Jo's or Denny's. The food was fine for breakfast. Prices were reasonable. The Country Ham "salty" was really good, just needed to be cut a little thicker so that it would not be so easy to over-cook it. Some parts of the ham were perfect, other sections were dryer. Overall, an okay place for breakfast, but nothing special.
(3)
R M.
Lots of food for the price but all prepaired ahead and not great.
(2)
Sara P.
Fried chicken, lima beans, macaroni and cheese, sliced tomatos. YUM! Decent southern cookin, regular ol country atmosphere, service is decent. Giving it a 4-star b/c my mouth is watering thinking of the fried chicken, limas, mac and cheese, and sliced toms w/ salt. Oh, and an endless glass of sweet tea!
(4)
Carolyn H.
My guy, his parents and I had dinner here one Sunday night while visiting Columbia. We stumbled upon this place when we realized that our original destination (Little Pigs) was closed due to a fire. We were sorry to hear about Little Pigs, but we really loved Lizard's Thicket. Each of us went for the meat plus three veggies. I ordered the turkey with dressing, okra & tomatoes, collard greens, and pan-fried apples. Everything was tasty, with a feeling of authenticity despite being quick-serve. I cleaned my plate (which is unusual), and I felt soul-satisfied with the meal. I don't live in Columbia, and now that I'm back in DC, I wish we had a Lizard's Thicket in the neighborhood.
(4)
LaShawn W.
Southern food at it's best! The must trys are: Pan fried apples, collards, fried chicken, and mac and cheese is the bomb! This food would go for at least double in Chicago! This is a no frills resturant, nothing fancy, so if you are looking for really good food without all the frills this is the #1 spot!!!
(5)
David D.
It might not be out of a can, but by the time they're done with it, it might as well be. I was born and raised in South Carolina, and I have to say, this is NOT good southern food. Unless, of course, you think good southern food includes overcooking everything and smothering things in grease and salt. And the coffee-- try burnt water.
(2)
Kathleen W.
I get heartburn thinking about it, but that it why I love it! If you want to pretend to be healthy go for their salad (i think the house is the one I'm talkin' about) it has tons of cheese and goodness with a guilt free name, "salad".... yummy in my tummy. I could go for some of that right now. The West Coast may be healthy but I'd trade my wheat grass for green beans cooked with bacon any day!
(4)
Kevin S.
Meat-and-three, this is the place to get your fried catfish or chicken with greenbeans and okra. Definitely try the fried bologna breakfast, and their biscuits have to be tasted once and you'll not soon forget them. It's a chain, so don't expect gritty down-home atmospherics. Instead think faux country decor, but good mass produced vittle. There are about a dozen other stores around town, and it's quite reasonably priced.
(4)
Greg T.
Crappy, out of a can "cooking." The name is the best thing about this chain.
Takes Reservations : No Delivery : No Take-out : Yes Accepts Credit Cards : Yes Good For : Breakfast Parking : Private Lot Bike Parking : Yes Wheelchair Accessible : Yes Good for Kids : Yes Good for Groups : Yes Attire : Casual Noise Level : Average Alcohol : No Outdoor Seating : No Wi-Fi : Free Has TV : No Waiter Service : Yes Caters : Yes
Sam W.
Just had breakfast w/the family here...great value - you get what u pay for; generous quantity and cheap price with average quality and good atmosphere. Nap time now.
(3)Lin T.
Authentic southern cooking! If you get the one meat and pick three sides you are almost promised to leave happy and full! Overall an enjoyable experience here.
(5)A T.
Enjoyed our dinner. Very reasonable prices. Quick service. Many choices. Kid friendly. Reminded me of good homemade food like Granny used to serve.
(5)Molly T.
The food here was amazing. The dining area was not the best but the food makes up for it. They give you large portions for a great value & the staff is very friendly. It was good old fashioned southern cooking.
(4)Crystal C.
This place is great! Please read my full review at examiner.com/restaurant-… . If you like reviews like this, don't forget to subscribe by clicking the link below the headline!
(5)Katrina C.
Fried chicken, mashed potatoes, cornbread, sweet tea were all worth of 4 stars...but the fried okra was a letdown. Great prices, service and super quick. No real complaints from a Southern food fanatic.
(3)Nancy S.
We eat out a lot and this was the worst meal I've had in a year.. I ordered fried catfish, fried squash, collard greens and cheesy potatoes. It came with cornbread. The collard greens were acceptable. I could not recommend any of the rest. Even the cornbread was disappointing. My husband ordered the chopped steak with onions, Lima beans, collard green and fried squash. The steak was dry and tough, however he loved the Lima beans. The waitress and staff were friendly. I don't like to give bad reviews but we were expecting "grandma's cooking" and it fell way short.
(1)Annie R.
I was really excited for this, the whole down home southern cooking thing typically is hard to mess up. They do it here. The biscuits were dry, the eggs were runny, I mean breakfast is pretty hard to mess up. Totally disappointed.
(2)Jim F.
If you love country cooking you gotta try one of the Lizards Thicket locations. Great veggies to choose from and some Of the best chicken fried steak ever!
(4)Benjamin S.
Lizard's Thicket serves up no frills, stick to your ribs, southern cooking. This is where your Granddad comes to eat and spread his paper out across the table. No they don't have a mozzarella and tomato basil appetizer and that's just the way Granddad likes it dammit. So don't go expecting those sorts of dishes... But Granddad might be on to something here. You will have to try hard to pay more than $8 for a heaping, hearty dinner, the waitress will keep your tea filled but won't hover around, and the restaurants are generally nice places to hang out and have a good meal.
(4)Mary B.
When I'm in the mood for a good salad, I go to Lizard's Thicket. The fried chicken salad is so delicious! It's also huge. Occasionally I'll get a meat and three but the salad is what really stands out. All of the other food is mediocre and tastes canned. Service is usually friendly and fast.
(4)Tameka G.
We came in town to visit and found this place on yelp. It turned out to be a good choice. I ordered the fried chicken (crunchy and very flavorful), fried squash (flavorful and slightly crunchy), mashed potatoes and gravey (pretty good), grilled mixed veggies (basic), cornbread (dry) and some carrot cake (slightly dry but decent). Great portion sizes if I ever come back to Columbia I'd grab another plate.
(4)Sarah F.
I order out from here alot. My family loves the meat and veggies. On Wednesdays check out the meatloaf and spinach. It is soooo good but order before 5 or else they run out of it quick. There sweet tea is really good. The only thing that I don't recommend is their chocolate cake. It is very dry. Their banana pudding is the best dessert that they have there.
(5)Mike M.
My wife doesn't like it but I do! I love southern food with a lot of bacon in it! Their breakfast is amazing and they do have some great burgers. Ok I'll mention it anyway, wonderful cole slaw, very southern the way they make it. I try to get here whenever I can
(5)Ria H.
They have really good fried catfish! I also had a slice of grilled pound cake which was also pretty good. Next time, I will skip the greens because they were really crunchy and didn't really have any seasoning.
(4)Dennis F.
Great service and good food we had the Rib Eye Steak with choice of 3 side for 15.95 cheap!!
(4)Laurin N.
It was okay. The fried okra and chicken fried steak was good but my macaroni was too salty.
(3)Melissa Y.
No frills here...just good food. For the price you do get a lot.
(3)Sari L.
The food was served quickly and it was fresh and hot. Our server was friendly and attentive. The veggies were great but the fried chicken was disappointing. While it was hot, it was tough and stringy. Great banana pudding! Carrot cake as dry.
(3)Adrienne C.
I enjoy the variety offered here (esp. when u r tired of the regular fast food joints) . . . No frills, but good value for your dollar. Fast and friendly and Southern fried. What's not to love? Would have given 4 stars, but can be inconsistent with quality and service . . . Varies a lot location to location and even day to day.
(3)Elaine C.
For the price, the food was okay. I had the hamburger steak covered with sautéed onions. Enough for two people. Squash casserole was very good. Waitress was very nice and helpful. My husband had chicken fried steak. He said he'd had better , but it was okay. We were staying within walking distance so it was convenient. We might eat here again. Not totally crossing it off the list.
(3)Jennifer B.
Decent food and lots of it. I had the hamburger. Large burger with hearty portions of lettuce, onions, and tomatoes. French Fries were were crinkle cut type. I had a side of Lima Beans. Low prices compared to what I am used to with a good crowd. Would visit again!
(4)Rick T.
We live in the south, this place claims to have good southern comfort food. It does not even come close. Over cooked fried flounder, burnt hash browns, dry biscuits, and coffee that tasted like hot water. Yuck!
(1)Dan O.
Here I had one of the worst meals out I have had in years. The fried chicken was not bad but everything else was a complete and utter letdown. Th stuffing was extremely dry. The macaroni and cheese had almost no cheese on it. The rolls were store-bought and stale. When I go to a southern cooking joint and order rolls I was hoping for something that was at least made in the restaurant. I will never go back to another Lizard Thicket.
(1)Beverly S.
Couldn't have been too memorable. I forgot what the place was like. I didn't die of ptomaine poisoning, so I gave it a 4.
(4)Trish D.
I am a huge fan of Lizard's Thicket! Very friendly and family-like atmosphere with good Southern-style comfort food. I've tried almost everything, my favorite main dishes include the fried chicken, fried catfish and turkey and dressing. My favorite sides are the collard greens, mac and cheese and mashed potatoes, to name a few. And they have the BEST sweet tea! Definitely, great food at a great price!
(4)Josh A.
How can you beat $7 for 1 meat and 3 veggies, aka side items? I had the Country Fried Steak, Mashed Taters, Collards, and Black Eyed Peas. The peas were close to the best I've ever had, very fresh and crisp. Collards were very good as well, just a slight hint of vinegar and smoked taste. Matter of fact, I didn't have a problem with any of the food. It was all great. The only problem was the service was a little slow. Then again, we are in the South.
(4)Kay H.
This is REAL Southern cooking at a great price. Don't go in there expecting health food (except salads and baked chicken). Fried chicken and country-style steak and fried flounder are our favorite entrees. Favorite sides include fried okra, squash casserole, potato salad, green beans. YUM!!
(5)Tennille C.
The food was great. For the price you get a lot. The service was good also. For my southern cooking when i visit Columbia, I'm going there.
(5)Erica A.
When you're in the mood for comfort food, this is the place to go. It's not easy to find a very-family-friendly restaurant where the food isn't total garbage, but Lizard's Thicket manages to combine casual dining with good cooking. Unfortunately, "comfort food" and "healthy food" don't overlap, and this is no exception. Luckily, there are some tasty veggie sides to offset the grease of the fried meats. There are lots of locations around Columbia, so one of the biggest downsides is that my kids always bug me to pull in when we're driving by one.
(4)Lana C.
The black eyed peas and Lima beans were great, but not worth the awful service or the dirty & crowded room.
(2)Dave S.
I give Lizard Thicket 5 stars only because the prices are so low. It's your basic southern style meat and three. I ate here a lot for lunch when i was working in the area. Food comes out fast and very good, great selection of southern cooking.
(5)sonewa w.
This was a like a southern cooking place, reminded me of a converted Jo-Jo's or Denny's. The food was fine for breakfast. Prices were reasonable. The Country Ham "salty" was really good, just needed to be cut a little thicker so that it would not be so easy to over-cook it. Some parts of the ham were perfect, other sections were dryer. Overall, an okay place for breakfast, but nothing special.
(3)R M.
Lots of food for the price but all prepaired ahead and not great.
(2)Sara P.
Fried chicken, lima beans, macaroni and cheese, sliced tomatos. YUM! Decent southern cookin, regular ol country atmosphere, service is decent. Giving it a 4-star b/c my mouth is watering thinking of the fried chicken, limas, mac and cheese, and sliced toms w/ salt. Oh, and an endless glass of sweet tea!
(4)Carolyn H.
My guy, his parents and I had dinner here one Sunday night while visiting Columbia. We stumbled upon this place when we realized that our original destination (Little Pigs) was closed due to a fire. We were sorry to hear about Little Pigs, but we really loved Lizard's Thicket. Each of us went for the meat plus three veggies. I ordered the turkey with dressing, okra & tomatoes, collard greens, and pan-fried apples. Everything was tasty, with a feeling of authenticity despite being quick-serve. I cleaned my plate (which is unusual), and I felt soul-satisfied with the meal. I don't live in Columbia, and now that I'm back in DC, I wish we had a Lizard's Thicket in the neighborhood.
(4)LaShawn W.
Southern food at it's best! The must trys are: Pan fried apples, collards, fried chicken, and mac and cheese is the bomb! This food would go for at least double in Chicago! This is a no frills resturant, nothing fancy, so if you are looking for really good food without all the frills this is the #1 spot!!!
(5)David D.
It might not be out of a can, but by the time they're done with it, it might as well be. I was born and raised in South Carolina, and I have to say, this is NOT good southern food. Unless, of course, you think good southern food includes overcooking everything and smothering things in grease and salt. And the coffee-- try burnt water.
(2)Kathleen W.
I get heartburn thinking about it, but that it why I love it! If you want to pretend to be healthy go for their salad (i think the house is the one I'm talkin' about) it has tons of cheese and goodness with a guilt free name, "salad".... yummy in my tummy. I could go for some of that right now. The West Coast may be healthy but I'd trade my wheat grass for green beans cooked with bacon any day!
(4)Kevin S.
Meat-and-three, this is the place to get your fried catfish or chicken with greenbeans and okra. Definitely try the fried bologna breakfast, and their biscuits have to be tasted once and you'll not soon forget them. It's a chain, so don't expect gritty down-home atmospherics. Instead think faux country decor, but good mass produced vittle. There are about a dozen other stores around town, and it's quite reasonably priced.
(4)Greg T.
Crappy, out of a can "cooking." The name is the best thing about this chain.
(1)