Southern Palace

My name is Blythe Thatherton. Yes, THE Blythe Thatherton, son of Crenshaw Thatherton. Anyway, I am…read morethe residing president of the Gentleman's Turtleneck club, and I am always looking for a restaurant to host my Turtleneck Society club meetings once a month. Most restaurants laugh and don't really try to help me. However, A lad by the name of C.J. Simmons, manager of Panera Bread just went above and beyond to make sure I was comfortable and I really could not ask for a better person or restaurant to host my monthly meetings.The restaurant, first of all, was immaculately clean and the food even looked clean and fresh. Doth thy Don a Turtleneck to eat a clean sandwich? Why yes, M'Lady. the employees were so friendly, and C.J. even carried our food out to our table when it was ready. My only complaint is that the employees were not wearing turtlenecks! Ha! That's the turtleneck humor for you! I am donning a mustard colored turtleneck, which signifies that I am the president. Let it be known, from this day Henceforth, that Panera bread in statesboro ga has delicious clean fresh food and a clean restaurant, and will be THE location of the monthly Turtleneck society meetings. Thank you Mr. C.J.! Lastly, as we always say, Tis' a Gentleman's Neck to Don A Turtleneck.

Bakery has gone way down hill in both quality and portion size. I've had a few bad experiences at…read morePanera in Statesboro GA, mostly due to poor customer service or bad management, but I never had any issues with the quality of their food or bakery items in the past. The pastries used to be excellent, especially the oversized croissants, bear claws, and cinnamon swirls. So it had been a while, but I used their drive-thorough today to order two croissants and two bear claws. Was I ever shocked when I got home and saw what passes for a Panera croissant and pastry now. Each croissant was about 4 inches across and sliced in half, which I didn't request or want, and they looked like prepackaged soggy grocery store items. The croissants were claggy not flakey. The bear claws were about half the size they used to be and were billed as almond pastry instead. They tasted nothing like the pastries from a few years ago. Just awful, cheap tasting junk. $15.44 for four generic grocery store pastries. Never again.

Hearty Fireside Chili & Rustic Baked Potato Soup

Kickin' Grilled Cheese & Creamy Tomato Soup Value Duet

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New Sandwiches

McAlister's Deli

3.4(42 reviews)

2.3 mi

We just moved to Statesboro and this is one of our favorite places to go for fabulous sandwiches…read moreand salads. The food is really delicious.

Typical chain restaurant but as far as food they have gluten free bread for an upcharge. Also,…read moreSalads, soups and stuffed potatoes as options which is great. Service: always friendly staff here. Some of my favorites in the village work here! However weekend staff are consistently off. I ask specifically for double toasted GF as it gets mushy but they consistently forget. It should be obvious as it's mush if they forget. But the saga continues. Ambiance: typical McAlister's but I will say their wifi and power outlets in eating area have made for a lot of stress free kindness during a few hurricanes.

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Sugar Magnolia Bistro & Bar

3.9(135 reviews)

0.4 mi

The food was AMAZING! We got a pizza, chicken parm, and the tres bon filet - all were soooo good!…read more If you like broccolini, get it here! I believe our server Bailey, she was amazing! And the person (who I believe was the manager) was also amazing! They were both attentive and sweet. (Just don't tell Bailey she looks like Debbie Gallagher from Shameless - even though she does!) Only negative was the wait for the food, but honestly, it was worth it!

My goto spot in Statesboro when anyone comes to visit…read more OGreat food expertly prepared, a luscious cocktail menu, desserts that are off the charts, pleasant and helpful staff, and a tremendous bonus to find out that they locally source as many items and ingredients as possible.

Espresso and bar!

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Coconut Thai Cuisine

4.0(181 reviews)

0.7 mi

One of the best places in GA to eat at! Every time I go, the staff is always super friendly,…read moretalkative, and overall great. Every time I go in with my boyfriend, they know our order by heart. The food is always so good, with my favorite being the massaman curry and basil fried rice. The drinks are bomb too! The place is decorated very beautifully, I highly recommend taking some inspiration from the wall decor. I went to GSU for 4 years for my undergrad, and the last two have been spent there. If I had known about it sooner, I would've been there. Anytime someone asks where they should eat dinner that night, I always recommend Coconut Thai. They have added karaoke nights as well as college nights too! Overall, this place holds a special place in my heart, and I miss it a lot already. Everything about this place is a 10/10. After I got my undergrad degree, they gave us an ice cream to give us good faith and luck on our endeavors. This is the kind of place that I want to share with everyone.

Ordered for pickup through their website for later in the day -- significantly cheaper than…read moreDoorDash, and it was ready right on time with text updates along the way. Food was hot and fresh at pickup. That said, the Pad Thai and Pad See Ew weren't quite what I expected. They actually tasted pretty similar to each other -- mine (Pad Thai) leaned more peanut-forward and tamarind-heavy, his (Pad See Ew) was sweeter with more fish sauce. I'm used to a more orange-hued Pad Thai, but this version was darker, sweeter, and nuttier than I typically like. I did order it hot and gluten free -- appreciated that GF is an option on most dishes, or clearly labeled -- and there was some spice to it, though I could've handled more heat. The Pad See Ew was also very pale compared to the darker, soy-based sauce I'm used to at other spots. Mango sticky rice was the best part of the meal, though I prefer it with a thick coconut cream sauce on top so the rice isn't as dry -- the mango itself was great. Overall, it's fine if you just want to scratch a Thai food itch, but I've had better elsewhere and probably wouldn't go out of my way to order again.

Bar area

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Coconut Thai Cuisine is located in College Plaza. I took this photo on Thanksgiving Night 2025.

Orchid

3.6(103 reviews)

2.5 mi

We had an excellent supper here. The sushi was phenomenal and the salads we ordered were delicious…read more Lots of sushi options!

Our waitress was great but the food was terrible. The fish tasted off, the salad and rice tasted…read moreold. The fish in the sushi also tasted off. Not sure if this is the usual because this is the first time we came here. Would be much better with fresher and higher quality ingredients. We couldn't eat the food- going to go eat somewhere else.

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Shogun Habachi Grill and Sushi Bar

2.7(67 reviews)

1.1 mi

WOW, what a dinner we had tonight. We was the only two they cooked for and let me tell you the…read morestaff and the cook was wonderful. Way more food than we could we. The rice was fabulous along with the vegetables cooked just right. Steak was perfectly cooked with the shrimp. Again more than two of us could eat. Our waiter was excellent as he recommended different thing for us to try and what to put on it. Overall just a great night.... Thank you

Good service anywhere in Statesboro is a rarity, with that said, our standards are not lofty, our…read morelast visit to Shogun was no exception. My wife and I requested a seat at the sushi bar. An employee told us she needed to wipe down the counter. We gave her five minutes to which she never returned and every other employee in the restaurant would not make eye contact or ask if they could help with anything. Disgustingly nasty restaurant. If the front of house is disgusting imagine what the kitchen area looks like. My wife was scared her feet were going to come out of her shoes because the floors were so sticky. In the past the food at Shogun is good but after five minutes of being ignored my wife and I walked out and drove to Tokyo's.

Lemonade

Small portions and hair in salad

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Clear soup

Olive Garden Italian Restaurant

3.3(68 reviews)

1.8 mi

Best Olive Garden! The service is friendly and fast. Perfect choice for Italian food and service.read more

Food: The soup is always a great hit in the winter and I love their Zuppa Toscana. They don't have…read morea lot of gluten free but they do have it and it's appreciated. Ambiance: is a bit of a hit and a miss as it's a chain so there isn't anything special there. Service: Great customer service and very friendly staff. They are polite and helpful. Big points for the manager(s) coming by to check on things and actually help their staff when they are busy!

Fettuccine Alfredo: Our signature alfredo made fresh in-house every day, served over fettuccine.

Minestrone: Fresh vegetables, beans and pasta in a light tomato broth.

Olive Garden Italian Restaurant - Five Cheese Ziti al Forno: Oven baked blend of Italian cheeses, pasta and our signature homemade five cheese marinara.

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Five Cheese Ziti al Forno: Oven baked blend of Italian cheeses, pasta and our signature homemade five cheese marinara.

Cracker Barrel Old Country Store

2.8(84 reviews)

1.8 mi

My brunch was delicious. Service was friendly and helpful. It's always a treat to come here…read more Manager are always friendly too.

Once seated, we waited 10 minutes or so before our drink order was taken. Another 30 mins or so…read morewent by maybe 45 for our food to receive floppy bacon. I asked for it to be more cooked. While that was being fixed the pancakes she left, we took one bite of each before spitting it out due to an overwhelming savory taste to them...which I can only assume they just cooked bacon or steak bites on the flat top then proceeded to pour our pancake batter on meat juice.

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Decor in dining section.

El Sombrero Mexican Restaurant

2.9(72 reviews)

1.6 mi

We had a satisfying lunch at El Sombrero Mexican Restaurant or "El Som" as the locals call it. I…read morethink this place is a rite of passage for people in Statesboro. This is the best restaurant I've been to in Statesboro yet. Here's what my wife and I had: * Mixed Chicken and Steak Lunch Fajitas Over Rice ($11.25) - cooked with bell peppers, onions, and tomatoes, and topped with cheese dip * Lunch Combo Special No. 1 ($9.25) - one chile relleno, one taco, beans and guacamole salad * Guacamole Dip - Small ($4.65) Everything was delicious. This is your standard Americanized Mexican restaurant, complete with complimentary chips and salsa (side note: the chips here are of the thicker, harder, and crunchier variety). I would say this place does the Americanized Mexican restaurant concept well and operates like a well-oiled machine (in business since 1989). Our entrees came out fresh and tasty, but the Guacamole Dip was a bit underwhelming. It looked and tasted like it had been sitting out a while. It was discolored whereas the guac that came with the lunch combo was fresh and vibrant. Service was good. We visited on a Friday for lunch and it was nice and busy, though not absolutely packed. Lots of families. This location on Buckhead Drive is the third and newest of the three "El Som" locations in Statesboro, having opened in 2008. It's relatively nice and known as the "Palace." The original location opened on Fair Road in 1989 and the second location opened in the Publix shopping center on Northside Drive circa 1993-1994.

I enjoyed my experience here ! Started off with wings and they were good and crispy. Ordered a…read morefrozen peach margarita and it was really good , one of the best I've had! My friend ordered the shrimp tacos and she liked them. I ordered the carnitas plate and it was really good and was a lot of food for the price. The queso and guacamole was good also. I would definitely come back

Inside. View from our booth towards the bar and large Aztec (?) painting above.

Small Guacamole Dip. $4.65.

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Outside. Storefront. This is Statesboro's third, newest, and nicest El Som location (Buckhead Drive).

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Cara Z.

246

10 years ago

This is the only Chinese place id ever eat from. I'm b From NJ. I'm born and raised in Jersey and also lived in South Florida. I know good. I moved to South Georgia temporarily. The food sucks. Omg. Horrible. This is literally the only good food... and it's great Chinese! If I were back up North, I'd still order here. I sat in to wait in in my food. Had a drink, and she served me tried noodles with duck sauce in the house. It was clean. I was really surprised. I used to get delivered by orient express, but I had a bug in my food. read more

Jennifer H.

427

8 years ago

I order from them all the time. They are extremely nice and always remember who I am.

Richard A.

11 years ago

Average food and service. There are better Chinese Restaurants in town.

Ariana W.

11 years ago

Delicious Food, but they do not deliver anymore.

Southern Palace - chinese - Updated October 2026

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Chinese Kitchen

3.2

(10 reviews)

The BEST Chinese spot in statesboro. I save my cash just so i can come here to get dinner when i…read morehave cash on me

Great food and the people are very nice! However it is a…read moresmall family business so they do only accept cash or checks. I've been here several times and have yet to order something I haven't liked. Should definitely check it out if you're caving some good Chinese food! :)

Orchid

3.6

(103 reviews)

We had an excellent supper here. The sushi was phenomenal and the salads we ordered were delicious…read more Lots of sushi options!

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I've been here several times now since I've been in the Boro and I've yet to review it! SO WORTH…read moreIT. If you're looking for a quick place to grab a great portion of food, this is the spot. I always get a small plate ($8 and some change after taxes) and they fill it up!! They're so fast and attentive every time! There's also lots of decor to match the vibe of the restaurant. What I ordered: - Lo Mein - Yellow Rice - General Tso's Chicken

No taste to their beef and broccoli . No salt,taste or sour to hot sour soup. Egg rolls were…read moremushy. Very disappointing!!

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3.2

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