Forget ordering separate entrées. At these restaurants, dinner arrives the old-fashioned way: big platters, overflowing bowls and plenty to pass around the table. From Southern fried chicken in Savannah to German-American comfort food in Iowa, these family-style restaurants prove that sometimes the best part of a meal is sharing it.
1. Mrs. Wilkes Dining Room | Savannah, Georgia
Family-style dining is not simply an option at Mrs. Wilkes Dining Room. It is the whole experience. Guests take seats at communal tables, often alongside strangers, while platters of fried chicken and Southern sides fill nearly every available inch. The daily-changing spread can include cornbread dressing, black-eyed peas, candied yams, collard greens, macaroni and cheese, biscuits and more. The Savannah institution serves lunch Monday through Friday, and you will want to plan ahead in another way: Mrs. Wilkes does not take reservations.
2. Monell’s | Nashville, Tennessee
At Monell’s, strangers have a habit of becoming dining companions once the bowls start moving. The original Germantown restaurant seats guests together at large tables and serves Southern favorites family-style, with one house rule: pass everything to the left. Skillet-fried chicken is a staple, joined by changing selections such as pot roast, pork chops, cheese grits, vegetables, biscuits and gravy. Meals are offered for a set price and include the day’s meats, vegetables, salads, a drink and dessert. Come hungry because this is an all-you-care-to-eat affair.
3. The Dillard House Restaurant | Dillard, Georgia
Mountain views come with a serious Southern spread at The Dillard House Restaurant. The North Georgia landmark has welcomed guests since 1917 and continues to serve its Southern Appalachian cooking family-style. Following a renovation, the restaurant is once again welcoming diners while a larger redevelopment of the surrounding resort continues. Depending on the meal, expect generous platters and bowls of homestyle favorites brought to the table for everyone to share. With the Blue Ridge Mountains surrounding the property, dinner here feels as much like a longtime mountain tradition as a restaurant outing.
4. Zehnder’s of Frankenmuth | Frankenmuth, Michigan
Few family-style meals have a following quite like the famous chicken dinner at Zehnder’s of Frankenmuth. Its all-you-care-to-eat feast pairs golden fried chicken with heaping bowls of mashed potatoes, gravy, dressing, buttered egg noodles and other accompaniments, all designed for passing around the table. The massive restaurant has become one of Frankenmuth’s signature attractions, welcoming generations of road-trippers to Michigan’s “Little Bavaria.” There are serious culinary credentials behind the nostalgia, too: the James Beard Foundation named Zehnder’s one of its America’s Classics in 2020.
5. Bavarian Inn Restaurant | Frankenmuth, Michigan
Just across town, Bavarian Inn Restaurant offers its own take on the family-style chicken dinner that helped put Frankenmuth on the culinary map. The all-you-care-to-eat experience centers on platters of golden fried chicken and an abundance of sides, while the larger menu leans into the city’s German heritage with dishes including schnitzel and sauerbraten. The restaurant’s story dates to 1888, when the property opened as the Union House Hotel, and Bavarian Inn says more than 20 million guests have dined there over the years.
6. Ox Yoke Inn | Amana, Iowa
Family-style dining has real historical roots in the Amana Colonies, where communal kitchens once fed residents at shared meals. Ox Yoke Inn carries that tradition into the present with its Family Style Special, serving entrées and sides on big platters and in bowls for the entire table. Diners can choose a combination of fried chicken, roast beef and ham, accompanied by mashed potatoes and gravy, salad, vegetables, rolls and other sides. Better yet, the entrées and sides are refillable. The family-owned restaurant dates to 1940, and five generations of the Leichsenring family have worked there.
7. Plain & Fancy Restaurant | Bird-in-Hand, Pennsylvania
Bringing a crowd to Pennsylvania Dutch Country? Plain & Fancy Restaurant specializes in all-you-care-to-eat family-style dining for groups of 20 or more. Its regular January-through-October feast currently features fried chicken, baked ham and beef meatloaf alongside mashed potatoes and gravy, brown-buttered noodles, green beans, rolls, salads and house-made desserts. A separate holiday feast takes over in November and December. The catch is important: advance reservations are required, and the 20-person minimum makes this one particularly well suited to reunions, tour groups and big family getaways.
8. Blue Gate Restaurant | Shipshewana, Indiana
In the heart of Indiana Amish Country, Blue Gate Restaurant turns a hearty homestyle dinner into a table full of passing bowls and platters. Its all-you-can-eat family-style experience starts with fried chicken, paired with a choice of roast beef, meatloaf or smoked ham. Mashed potatoes, chicken dressing, gravy, vegetables, homemade noodles, bread and dessert round out the feast. Blue Gate describes it as the selection of a buffet brought directly to the table. The family-style offering is part of its group-dining program, with group rates available for parties of 12 adults or more.
