I love it. I've lived in the area since 1998, and I only found it this year, while driving by. I had stuffed shrimp and home cut fries, today. It was probably the best stuffed shrimp I've ever had! I also bought a bottle of their Comeback Sauce. If you are not from Mississippi or some parts of Alabama, you've probably never had Comeback Sauce. I highly recommend both the sauce and The Mayflower. read more

An absolute icon in this state. Ok food, good desserts fantastic atmosphere and history everywhere! It's pricey, but it's a must do at least once. read more

My favorite restaurant in Jackson. Wonderful, delicious, fresh seafood. I'd recommend the Redfish Jane, it comes with broiled oysters. The comeback is a must- it is delicious on everything, literally everything. You can bring your own wine and its my favorite place to go on a date. The place has been around forever and knows generations of families by first name. A well rounded experience overall, the Mayflower is so much more than just the food. read more

Rarely have I ever been to a restaurant that I will absolutely never set foot inside again. Let me begin this by saying that when I first saw The Mayflower Cafe's neon lights, I was absolutely mesmerized. It was like stepping back in time and you could imagine a quaint little cafe serving up some delicious dishes with a side of Southern hospitality. After weeks of anticipation, I made the trip back to Jackson and saved up my appetite because I was going to eat at this fabled restaurant. I had read a couple of mediocre reviews, however, I was sure they had gotten it wrong or just went on an off night. I was going to prove them wrong and come away with a great experience about great food....Boy was I wrong. First, our waitress was border-line rude. I looked at the other tables and wished I could swap out our's with one of the others that cared about giving great service. We've all had that one server that has gotten too comfortable and is just going through the motions. Well, my nephew and I got her this evening. Now, mind you, this is a little pricey diner so one would expect a certain level of professionalism. Instead, we were a kept audience to her troubling gossip that she constantly told a co-worker. She took our order and and turned it in to the kitchen. Several minutes later, I heard one of the cooks tell her they were out of the cut of steak I had ordered. She did not know I heard him tell her this and came back over to the table and just asked me would I like to have the filet or something. She didn't give me a reason why but just asked me would I like to have it instead. I had to ask her the reason and she said "oh, we ran out of what you ordered." I'm still laughing to this response. Anyway, the food comes. The steak she brought was decent, however, my nephew's seafood plate was a buttery, oily mess. I only wish I had taken a photo of it. Not being the type to send back food too often , and he was starving, he was able to eat most of it. I ordered tea and I could tell this was not going to get a refill unless I asked for one. And it isn't like they have to walk all over the restaurant, because they serve you over a partition. Finally, after many times by our table I finally just had to hold up my glass like I was raising my hand in school and ask her for a refill. We finished dinner and she brought us our check for $79 for two entrees and maybe an appetizer. I went to the register and it was weird because they guy asked how was dinner, but without a hint of emotion. I said it was OK, not that he acted like he would have had a different reaction if I had said anything different. Next, it got a tad more strange. I put my check on the counter and reached over the counter to give him my credit card and it was like he wanted me to reach even further to hand it to him. Like, I wasn't already in some weird episode of the Twilight Zone..... This was one of the most TERRIBLE dining experiences I have ever had. Interestingly enough, a month or so after my visit to the Mayflower Cafe, I was talking to a friend of mine from Colorado about restaurants in Jackson. The first thing he said was "stay away from the Mayflower Cafe." He too had a similar experience. Anyway, this is a place that I hope has many years of success because downtown Jackson needs all the attractions it can get. If you are in town for just a short time, I would strongly suggest going elsewhere. There are FAR BETTER restaurants in downtown Jackson and nearby Belhaven and Fondren. For locals, you may want to at least give it a try and see what you think. As for me, this Mayflower experience was just as horribly unpleasant as the Pilgrims' voyage to the New World!! read more

The atmosphere is a vintage diner feel. Very casual and clean. But don't let the simplicity fool you. The food is way overpriced. They advertise having the best seafood around, but that is a far stretch from the dishes we were served. The crab "bisque" had a lot of crab meat but it was just bland and watery. Definitely not a rich, creamy bisque. The crab claws tasted like they were fried at lunch time then reheated in the microwave just before serving them to our table. When the waitress asked us if there was a problem with our crab claws we kindly replied that they were not good. We planned to just pay and leave quietly but we had to be honest when we were asked directly. After expressing her obvious frustration with our response she did remove the crab claws from our ticket without us even asking for a refund so that was appreciated. To be fair, the rolls were delicious. read more

So glad we tried the Mayflower this evening! The seafood was so fresh and was prepared perfectly. We had red snapper with crab and broiled shrimp and oysters. Delish! Our server was very nice and took great care of us. Also, the bread pudding was to die for! read more

The redfish was perfect. The lemon icebox pie was even more perfect. Charming little place in downtown Jackson.

My family and I went for dinner here and 3 out of seven of us ended up in the hospital ER at CMMC with food poisoning that night. We traced it to the cooked oyster appetizer (that is what all three ate that nobody else ate). The manager was very difficult to work with and would not refund our money. Also the vibe of the place is odd. Rude wait staff and a clear priority given to "regulars." It also is extremely odd that the whole place is full of only white customers, when the population of downtown Jackson is not. It's old South and backwards. I love the downtown Jackson area, but I suggest finding a different place! read more

I had my favorite, the chicken fried steak and rice and gravy on Friday, February 21 at lunch. The rice was cold, and there the meat was so thin and tough it was hard to cut. My husband got the fried shrimp and fries which was wonderful, but I'm very disappointed in mine. And to top it off, our bill was $42 for lunch! I guess since the Elite closed, they can charge whatever they want. As they said, they are the only restaurant in downtown Jackson that serves fresh seafood. Be a while before I go back. read more

What a great place. THIS is the kind of spot that has proven success since 1935. Sincerely friendly, superb fresh seafood and fair prices. I had the Captain's Platter - awesome fried fish! Couple of friends had a pasta dish, which they liked, but...why order that in a place like this??? Lemon Ice Box Pie was amazing. All desserts home made. Go there and/or put it on your bucket list. read more

Terrible food. I had the seafood pasta, which was wildly over sauced, and the seafood tasted like it came from a freezer. Girlfriend had some grab thing that was covered in worcestershire sauce to the point that it was unedible. Was wildly overpriced. The comeback sauce was disgusting. read more

you can take this rec with a grain of salt though - prior to jackson i've spent the last half of my life on the coast of south carolina and mississippi so i've had some good, fresh seafood for cheap prices. that being said... this place is not that great and way overpriced. considering we live only three hours from the coast, just take a weekend and drive down to the bay or new orleans and have some seafood piled high for reasonable prices. if you ever need recs, i'll give you some. there's some place on county line - sal and mike's that has decent gumbo (better priced and about the same quality as this place). have yet to find a place with a good po boy in this town. and we're only 2 and 1/2 hours from new orleans! read more

Mayflower Cafe has a long history in Jackson. I ordered fried catfish and got broiled fish. OK I can eat this and it was good but not what I was expecting. The come back dressing was good and well this an institution so the ambiance meets the expectations. The rolls were good and so was the rest of my meal. It has been years since I ate here and I will return. read more

Driving through MS on the way to TX, I wanted to find a good local place to eat. Saw this place had good po boys so had to try it out. Loved the inside here, like stepping back in time, and everyone was very friendly. You can tell it's a real local place in downtown Jackson. Heard about their Comeback sauce from food network, so I couldn't wait for the oyster po boy with sauce. Their fries have to be mentioned too, since they were hand cut and delicious. The po boy was on great bread, had a nice amount of fresh oysters, and went through two cups of the sauce for the po boy and fries. One of the best meals on the trip, just hope to be back there soon! read more

Mayflower Cafe - Oyster po boy!! - Seafood Near Me - Jackson, Mississippi

I really liked this place. Our waitress was Brandy and she was great. The comeback sauce is exactly that delicious. Will definitely be back. The bread pudding was amazing. read more

Just stop looking and go to this awesome spot. The sauce on the redfish was nothing short of miraculous.

I have to admit. Best ComeBack Dressing. Good redfish. But the best coconut cream pie in all my travels. read more

Mayflower Cafe - Best Pie!! - Seafood Near Me - Jackson, Mississippi

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What's more "Jackson" than a Friday night at the Mayflower? Bring 2 bottles of wine, though. One for the patio before dinner, and one for dinner. Onions rings, comeback, Redfish Orleans. Looking forward to Capitol St being finished in the near future which should alleviate parking as well. read more

I have been living downtown for several months and I always see people breaking their neck to get inside of the mayflower cafe. I now know why! They have amazing food and a very down to earth staff that gives this place a very homestyle feel. I had the grilled catfish and it was amazing. Try the house dressing if you get a salad. Will definitely return. read more

The Mayflower is one of the best restaurants in America. Not just Mississippi. The Seafood is so fresh you'll weep its so good. Always our first stop in Jackson. Just wish mgt could hold on to our favorite servers. read more

One of our absolute favorites and an icon of Jackson The Lemon Fish is incredible. Cobia (lemon fish) is the crack cocain of fish in my opinion. The Broiled oysters are insane. Don't knock it till you have tried them. Everyone we have taken there raves about the broiled oysters. The Colbert Sauce they put on them is wonderful. Feels like stepping back in time there. Trust me. We eat out frequently and know good food. This place is a local secret. The staff there take great care of you. The fresh fish is the best. Try the Comeback Dressing. It is an original Jackson MS thang! read more

Eww. I tried to like it. Traveling with 2 compadres I saw the neon lights and insisted we try it. The broiled oysters were just breading and greasy oyster juice- no oysters. The place was crowded on a Monday night so maybe it is an acquired taste?!?!?! Everything tasted of worsta.., w-w-w, worstesha-sha-sha. "I can't say worcestershire sauce." A companion got broiled fish and thought it was ok. The picky one of our trio got shrimp and she said they were rubbery, obviously overcooked. Even the dessert pies were disappointing. Like a said, an acquired taste? Cool historic place if they could just find a good cook/chef. And the waitress was a bit surly. read more

I've been eating here since I was a child, when on special Sundays we'd stop on the way home from church. I used to eat the steak or the fried oysters. Both always hit the spot. I love that they bring out the Comeback Dressing and Melba Toast and have no shame about pouring it straight on and eating. Now that I've grown up, I'm wistful when I eat there. It's a pleasant collection of memories that makes every bite of the already delicious food taste that much better. I order the fish now, and as suggested the broiled oysters which are a stunner. It's not inexpensive, but it's family owned and it's a business in downtown Jackson that's open after the work crowd is gone. That's definitely worth supporting. read more

I love restaurants that transport you to a different time simply by not changing one thing. You can see the faces through the decades that have dined at these very tables. The food is delicious and the waitress was very cordial... the comeback sauce was just like my grandma's. I highly recommend this place! read more

The food here was not good. The pasta was incredibly overpriced (like $12 too much) and flavorless; reminded me of Pasta-Roni. I guess New Orleanians should know better than to order gumbo when we travel. Would have loved to get a burger, but they don't offer any. Sad fries. read more

Old Jackson mainstay that always has consistently fresh fish that is prepared wonderfully. My favorite restaurant in Jackson. Redfish with a salad topped with crabmeat is hard to beat. The Comeback salad dressing is the real deal. A must if you are in Jackson. It can be crowded. Can bring your own wine. They do have beer. Would get five stars for food. read more

I almost don't want to write a review because it's already busy and sometimes hard to get a table. The food is great. I eat lunch there and it's excellent blue plate. Monday is the hamburger steak with yams and greens and it's my fav meal anywhere. Everything I've gotten there has been good. read more

OH MY GOD CHICKEN N' DUMPLINGS! i feel like a real southern girl now.

My family and I recently ate at the Mayflower Cafe because it was a local restaurant and we are always looking for something that is not a chain. The restaurant is very small and seating is horrendous. If you are from Louisiana and get any of the seafood dishes plan to be disappointed. The seafood on the platter had NO seasoning what so ever and was coated in bland corn meal. The stuffed flounder was ok but I've had better for less money. Everything was very overpriced. This is definitely a place to go to be seen. I did not personally visit the restroom but my husband said it was gross. You had to climb up a flight of steep, grease covered stairs into a tiny room with only a toilet. No sink! Yuk! The one good thing I will give them is the coconut cream pie. It was delicious! read more

This is a cool little place downtown. They are know for there red fish. It's broiled with shrimp and fried oysters. Shrimp was really good fish was good a little to much butter for me but that's ok. Still a neat place to go very friendly staff. You should check it out when you are in the area. read more

When a place claims to be the best seafood in the state yet serves a gumbo with shrimp fresh from a can I cut my losses at the appetizer and find some place else. At least the service was friendly and helpful. read more

Was so excited to eat here which made the terrible food and poor service extra disappointing. Bone after bone after bone in the redfish filet was extremely off-putting. But asking my 12 year old little girl if she was indeed 12 because the owner "is really strict about that" and then when my oldest step daughter asked if she could be charged for an adult entree yet order a kid's burger, b/c she doesn't eat seafood and they were out of ALL pastas, (along with 6 other dishes,) and was told that they "don't serve sandwiches to adults" , well, I really wanted to get up and walk out. The famous dressing was lackluster, the kids meals were terrible and not one of the hungry, non-picky eaters finished their meals at our table. The onion rings were good as were the baked potatoes and that's the extent of any positive things I can think of to say. The tartar sauce we were originally served was yellow on top which I wouldn't have thought a thing about until my husband was given fresh tartar sauce that was white in color. Absolutely disgusting! When I told the server about the bones in the fish she didn't seem concerned at all. We will not ever be back. read more

Another one of Jackson's iconic restaurants, the Mayflower has been around since 1935. They are known for there seafood and retro atmosphere. Service is prompt and the food is great. read more

Mayflower was suggested by a coworker. If you don't care for seafood don't go. If you like seafood not bad. I had redfish Jane and ruined a shirt dropping one of the oysters on it. But not bad food in a vintage setting. read more

Never again, I've never been treated so badly at a family restaurant. From the time we walked into the time we left horrible service. The lady who greeted us asked how many and threw the menus on the table. I asked is it ok if we move to a table away from the door being that it was cold. She grabbed the menus and said, "you can walk these to your table."We waited 15min for anyone to acknowledge us. When the waitress came she didn't apologize for the wait or ask us how we were doing. She said, "what do y'all want to drink." I was ready to leave at this point but my boyfriend was like, maybe they're just super busy. So we ordered our food and watched the waitress parade around to all the other tables, asking customers how's their weekend, would they like dessert, etc. we couldn't even get her to say hello, let alone ask what kind of dessert would we like. She just dropped the check and said thanks. I was pissed. We walked to the front to pay and she made sure she stood there and waited until we checked out. My boyfriend gave her $15 as a tip. She said thanks without even looking up at us and walked off. Granted we were the only blacks in the restaurant but I've never in my life been treating as such. I will never go back. read more

How To Lose Two Customers in Twenty Minutes I'd review the food for you guys, but they lost me as a customer before I even had a chance to try it. Bar none the WORST service I have ever had, anywhere. PREFACE: I'm not the kind of person to leave reviews (positive or otherwise), but it's been 24hrs and I am *still* repulsed by the service my fiancée and I received last night. That said, I am a simple man. I do not expect to be waited on hand-and-foot. I'm the kind of customer that doesn't get bent out of shape if the order gets screwed up or is completely wrong. Hell, I might even eat what you brought me regardless. Unfortunately though, for this establishment, I do wish to be treated with basic human dignity and respect, and I couldn't tell you why we were treated so badly. My fiancée and I were never greeted when we walked in. No "Hey, how are you," or any other pleasantries were exchanged. Ever. From anyone. The first booth we sat in was what can only described as a death trap. The cushion was in no way attached to the frame. I almost fell on the floor due to this. There was no sign, note, or warning by the staff about this booth. After sitting in this death trap awhile, Waitress 1 comes by us around says, "Be with you in a minute." When she did come back around, she went to take another table's order. Not ours. This wouldn't have mattered much if she would've came on over after getting their order, but she wanted to talk for what seemed like forever. We felt genuinely ignored. After we moved booths (got tired of almost falling on the floor every few seconds, and no one had taken our drink order anyway), we were 'greeted' by a second waitress (Waitress 2). Waitress 2 did not greet us with a "What would you like," or a "What can I get for you?" Nope, the greeting we received was, "Are y'all stayin'?" She had a passive-aggressive tone about it, too. After we responded "Yes," Waitress 2 took our drink orders. Ten minutes pass. Drinks arrive (coke, tea). Five minutes after that, Waitress 1 finally gets to us to take our order. So far as I was aware, all menu items (besides lunch of course) were in play. My fiancée chose the salad and I chose the shrimp pasta. I was then informed that they were out of ALL pasta and all flounder, so naturally I want to take a moment to choose something else. It was nanoseconds before this waitress began to TAP HER PEN AGAINST HER PAD, with this look on her face like she's about to lose her patience. So I hurriedly place an order for a bowl of gumbo, and then she basically yells, "That's IT?" I don't know if I felt guilty or hurried or what in the moment, but I decided to ask if there's any way to add a crab cake on the side along with my gumbo. My mistake obviously because she just stood there, IN SILENCE, not answering my question, gawking at me like she wanted to punch me. I noticed that there was an appetizer portion with (2) crab cakes so I just went with that since it's not a special order or anything. She writes down my order, then storms off to the kitchen without saying a word. I had had it at this point, so I left five bucks on the table for our drinks and we left. I can say, with 100% certainty, that you'll be better treated at a drive-thru. Don't waste a penny on The Mayflower Cafe. read more

The pasta with shrimp was very ordinary and had way too much sauce - looked a bit like soup when it arrived. The shrimp itself was uneventful (no seasoning). My guest's tri tip could have been cooked at home - nothing special about it either (not worth the $24 price). The place is cute and the staff are friendly - but that's not enough for me to come back again. read more

We came to The Mayflower today after 20 years. We had been saying that we wanted to come, but somehow we just never made it back. Boy, have we been missing out! We both had the Blue Plate special. They have different choices every day. Today they had a choice of chicken and dumplings, calf liver and onions, roast beef, or hamburger steak and gravy. Then of course, there were numerous vegetables to select from. You can also have a veggie plate if you want. I decided on the hamburger steak with fried okra and turnip greens and upgraded $1.00 and added a dessert of bread pudding. She decided on the chicken and dumplings with field peas and turnip greens. Each came with a side salad served with The Mayflower's famous Comeback dressing. A basket of bread was also served full of both cornbread and rolls. The food came out fast just as a Blue Plate special should. The vegetables were seasoned perfectly. The hamburger steak was excellent. The chicken and dumplings would have put grandma to shame. The server (Lexie) was very attentive. And the bread pudding was just the right consistency and delicious. We will definitely make it a point to have lunch at The Mayflower anytime we are in Jackson at lunchtime and we plant to try the dinner really soon. If you have never been to this historic Jackson restaurant, you should really give it a try. read more

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The down home fresh food is wonderful, the owner and Candy were friendly and provided fast service. It's been in business since 1935 and that says it all !! read more

I have been going here all my life and have never been disappointed. Make sure if you go for lunch to arrive before 11:30 because the place gets packed. The homemade pies are the real deal. read more