If you like perfectly crispy, juicy, hot, flavorful fried chicken, well seasoned collard greens, spicy cornbread, lumpy mashed potatoes and thick gravy, this is the place to be. Was driving through from Minnesota to Orlando and stopped near Shelbyville for the night. The place where my friend and I stayed recommended the Dinner Table and it was definitely a great suggestion for local food. The restaurant is obviously a local go to and staple establishment. The tables are covered in red and white checkered table coverings, the inside a modest and no frills look. The servers are attentive and keep the sweet and unsweetened tea a flowin'. The buffet includes a salad bar, dessert bar and then the goodies mentioned about. They also have fried porkchops, beans, mac n cheese, cheesey penne in tomato sauce, and some other goodies in the lunch buffet. I filled to the brim and 4 hours later still felt satisfied! Next time, I will want to stop by for breakfast, which I bet is equally great! read more

The Dinner Table - Some of the best fried chicken I have ever had! - Buffets Near Me - Shelbyville, Tennessee

See all

I ate Sunday lunch at The Dinner Table (now Arnie's -same owner) today. They no longer have a buffet and they don't have any military discount. There food service took 30 minutes plus 5-10 minutes to take order or bring drink. When my catfish fillet finally came (they had to go catch first), the side dishes of okra and fries were very small portions. Food served, but no silverware! The restaurant has been nicely remodeled, painted, and was cool. It was not a good experience and needed the buffet back. Almost every customer waited too long for their meal. Sorry, but needs improvement. read more

3.5 stars above average We came on a Sunday during lunch hours. It was pretty packed, but luckily there was a table available for us. It's an all you can eat home cooking buffet. I feel it's above average because it's home cooking. The price wasn't bad, either. For two, plus two drinks, it was around $28. So if you add the tip to that, the price wasn't bad at all. Compared to a lot of other places, I didn't think the price was bad. The way I see it, you can easily spend $10 per person, if not more at a fast food place for just one meal. Now, onto the food. They had a salad bar section with different salad dressings so I really liked that. The day that I went, they had meat loaf, chicken n dressing, fried fish, fried chicken, and ham. I really didn't have any complaints about any of these. I thought it was pretty yummy. My favorite thing here was the fried chicken. Sides: the sweet potato casserole was my favorite side here. It was so yummy and made perfectly. I also thought the mashed potatoes and gravy were pretty good. They also had Mac n cheese, green beans, some corn, and a couple of different rolls/cornbread, and sides. Desserts: they had a lot of options for sweets so that really surprised me. They had some ice cream (the kind you scoop), a few cakes, peach cobbler, and some banana pudding. I didn't really get to try much of the dessert since I was full, but I did get a small amount of the peach cobbler to taste it and it was scrumptious. It's always hard to find some good peach cobbler, but I felt that it was made perfectly here. I also tried their sweet tea and I also thought it was made perfectly. It was nice and sweet just how I like it. read more

I remember the Dinner Table from my youth as being a clean brightly lit establishment on the far side of town that would get absolutely SWAMPED by the church crowd on Sundays. That was 20 years ago or so & somethings are quite different now as the place has moved & changed hands possibly several times since then. My dad works nearby & is a regular here (his cholesterol levels are a testament to that) but this was my first time trying it with him for a Saturday lunch since I was a young kid. The place has the vibe you'd expect, & decent selection of food for the price. I will say the green beans & the assorted hot cobblers were all very good. Most everything else was average or lesser so. Place could use a facelift decor wise & that would go far helping the aesthetic, but the folks who come here daily prob like it fine enough as it is. Positive is that the staff was nice & talkative. read more

I had the worse experience that I have ever had at any restaurant ever. We were given dirty menu's. My wife ordered a grilled cheese and grits, and I ordered 2 eggs over easy and grits. It took 30 to 45 minutes for us to get our food. They were not busy only 1 other couple in the restaurant. When we received our food the grits were overly watery, cold, and uncooked. My wife complained and was treated very rudely. I highly recommend not using this restaurant. read more

My entire family loves the dinner table. We eat there weekly and have never been disappointed. Love the rotating choices of meats and vegetables. Fried chicken is served daily and some of the best fried chicken around. read more

Before Covid this place had decent food. Now the food is always cold. Call me crazy but when I'm paying $14 + for buffet and drink I expect hot food and a good choice of food. If you can't go back to how good your food used to be then just give up. It amazes me people still go here and pay that price for this. read more

All you can eat home cooking for $10 ($11 w/tip)! The main dishes on my lunch visit were fried chicken, meatloaf, and chicken fried steak. A good variety of sides plus desserts! Service was fast on the drink refills. My advice is to get there before the lunch rush because it is very busy during lunch. Across from Shell in the old Burger King building that has changed hands a few times. I hope this one stays! read more

The Dinner Table - the entrance to a restaurant - Buffets Near Me - Shelbyville, Tennessee

Visiting Shelbyville and was suggested that I eat at the Dinner Table for lunch. It was a good lunch experience and the service was wonderful! read more

The Dinner Table - Pretty good lunch - Buffets Near Me - Shelbyville, Tennessee

I am so glad I didn't let the reviews keep me from trying this little buffet. Everything was very good. There were at least 5 different meats as well as a variety of vegetables and desserts. There is a nice salad bar, too. I am not a local but glad we made the stop and enjoyed our meal. The price was very reasonable, too. read more

I have mixed feelings about this restaurant. I have been there when it was good and I have been there when it was pretty sad. I think it depends on how early in the day you get there. It's 'country food' a little on the greasy side. Generally there is a decent variety to choose from, chicken is very good, and the buffet includes desert and tea. Unfortunately the service has been terrible on every single visit. Servers are busy with their friends, kids and phones. I work in the service industry and bad service is always a deal breaker for me. I don't expect much from anyone other than a tea refill and a check when it's time to go. Maybe they should put a carafe of tea on the table? Or have a self serve beverage station? Not sure why they really need servers here. It's a self serve buffet. Breakfast maybe? I can't say. Never make it there before lunch! read more

The food here was pretty tasty, there just isn't that big of a selection. It's also really cheap to eat here and they do not charge taxes. I'm rating a 4/5 because the waitress was really nice but lacked when it came to manners. She never told us thanks or to have a good night when we exited. Maybe that's being kind of picky to some, but I am a waitress, so that is something I judge when I go out to eat. I dont have much sympathy when it comes to having good customer service skills. Anyways.. this place is still really good and I will be back read more

See all

Good food, fresh vegetables-it has reasonable cost, but went up one dollar since my first visit and a choice of 2-3 meats. Always a dessert available. I took my son and he and his 8 year old both liked it. read more

I never knew southern food could be so tasteless. My Pop is rolling in his grave knowing his old adage of "if you mess up chicken and dumplings, you've done had to try to". Not to mention, none of the staff were wearing a mask nor were masks required at ****ing buffet. Unfortunately, I came with coworkers and didn't have the option to just walk out and drive away. Save yourself and your tastebuds (and probably immune system) the trouble and keep driving. read more

I have tried this place twice and both times the chicken was burnt as well as the rolls. It looked like they had an eight year old cooking in the back. It was very hard to believe that anyone would put food out that was this poorly prepared. But there it was. As a side note the corn bread was the worst I have ever "tried" to eat. Hard to believe a place this bad can stay around. read more

Went there for the very first time. On December the 30th of 2018 for dinner. Very friendly service. Down to earth employees. Food was prepared very well. Had many options with a great dessert and salad bar. Will be going back at a later date. Good times without a stuffy atmosphere. read more

There's not many positives about this place. Their buffet consists of one line with not too many options. On my first and only visit I had their fried chicken, which was very dry and the breading lacked much flavor. Their white beans and cherry cobbler were the highlights of my meal, both were very good. The restaurant itself is a little..."dingy" for lack of a better word. Could use a thorough cleaning. I personally will probably never be back. read more

I absolutely love the food here good down home cooking been there several times always super nice people went there for lunch yesterday and going right now great food great price read more

My daughter took me for Saturday morning breakfast and I loved it! My only complaint is food was so good I didn't get to have pancakes. I simply couldn't eat anything else. They had the best bacon I have ever had and I'm not sure how they cooked it, but it's a must try. They had all kinds of breakfast meats, gravy & biscuits, eggs, fried potatoes, pancakes and lots more! I will definitely go back. read more

I would give this zero stars if I could. Horrible, save your $10 of go get a Big Mac at least you know it'll be good. Visiting from out of town and this had 4+ stars. WHY?? A very small buffet with not many choices. Salisbury steak was not cooked through still red inside, the cornbread was made fresh LAST WEEK and no taste. They had sauerkraut with tiny pieces of hot dogs not something you want to see at a southern buffet. Desserts were warm coconut cream pie and disgusting chocolate cream pie. And those looked the best. The only positive would be the fried chicken and hush puppies. The place needs a make over as it was dingy and dirty. KEEP DRIVING AND FIND SOMETHING BETTER!! read more

They quite literally have the best food ever. Down home friendly service and at a terrific price! I have to drive from Cincinnati Ohio to get this food because it's my favorite place! GO THERE!!!! read more

Was disappointed. If you want to eat a lot and are not worried about what it tastes like this might be for you. It is buffet style, all you can eat. Must say it was crowded with mainly working men wanting a big meal. Small parking lot. Had to sit and wait for a parking place. On the up side the staff was very friendly. The mac and cheese, okra, and salad bar were good. Had 2 choices of meat. BBQ drumsticks and meatloaf. The chicken was tough and tasteless. Meatloaf ok, but they were running out. It was later replaced by fish which I didn't try. The cornbread muffins were hard as a brick, and the mashed potatoes were watery and lumpy. Maybe we hit at a bad time, but I've had better. read more

Nice place...friendly folks. My food was good as I had a fried bologna sandwich with fresh cut fries. I only rated them 3 based on fact that they really push the buffet more than anything. I simply can not eat all that food as it was 1:00 in afternoon at lunch. read more