My wife and I have lived in Gainesville for over six years, and we have probably driven past…read moreQuillians Grill & Catering Co. hundreds of times on our way toward Cleveland. Every time we'd say, "One day we need to stop there." Well, we finally did, and we were so glad we did!
For some reason, we always assumed this was mainly a steakhouse. It's definitely not. They have a big menu with plenty of different choices, plus daily specials that give you even more options.
We started with the buffalo chicken tender bites with ranch. These were some of the most tender and juicy chicken tenders I've had. The buffalo sauce had a little kick without being overly spicy. My wife thought it had a little too much vinegar flavor, but I personally really enjoyed it, especially dipped in the ranch. Either way, that plate disappeared quickly.
We also tried the fried ravioli. We order fried ravioli fairly often, and one of my complaints at some restaurants is that you get a lot of fried dough and very little filling. Not here. These actually had a good amount of cheese filling inside, and they were great dipped in the marinara sauce.
For my meal, I ordered the prime rib cooked medium with cheese grits and mac & cheese. It also came with a roll and au jus. The prime rib was excellent. One of the things I really appreciated was how much actual meat I got. I've ordered prime rib at other places where a huge portion ends up being fat. This one had a little fat, of course, but most of that big piece was delicious, tender meat. I poured the au jus all over it and went to work. The cheese grits and mac & cheese were both great sides as well.
My wife ordered the chicken and dressing platter with squash and potato salad, along with cornbread. It was a big plate of classic comfort food and she really enjoyed it.
Then came dessert.
My wife ordered the chocolate chip pumpkin cheesecake, and I ordered the lemon curd cheesecake. When I say that lemon curd cheesecake was one of the best cheesecakes I've had, I'm not exaggerating. It was fantastic. The lemon curd on top paired perfectly with the cheesecake.
We also got to meet the owner, Denise, who was walking around checking on everyone. When she found out it was our first visit, she was genuinely excited to hear what we thought and made sure we had everything we needed. While talking about how good the desserts were, she told us that her daughter is behind all of the baked goodies up front. They had cheesecakes, cakes, brownies, cobblers, cookies and all kinds of other desserts that looked amazing. That's going to be dangerous on future visits!
Our waitress, Olivia, was awesome as well. She was friendly, kept our drinks filled and checked on us throughout the meal without overdoing it. Great service from beginning to end, and plenty of Coca-Cola refills!
The restaurant itself is much larger than it looks from the road. There are two indoor seating areas with comfortable tables and chairs, plus a very large outdoor patio. The inside has an older, rustic feel with lots of wood and darker lighting, which fits the building well.
Good food, big portions, fair prices and a genuinely friendly team.
After driving past Quillians for more than six years saying we'd eventually stop, we've officially corrected that mistake. Now we need to come back and start working our way through those daily specials.
Definitely a GO for us, and we'll be back!
