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    The Pond House

    4.6 (40 reviews)
    Closed 5:00 pm - 9:00 PM

    The Pond House Photos

    Business Info

    THE POND HOUSE ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Moderate noise
    Outdoor seating
    Good for groups
    Dogs allowed

    Recommended Reviews - The Pond House

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    a lot of vehicles parked in a parking lot
    Kyle V.

    The Pond House was recommended by multiple people so we made our way out of Bainbridge and found this cabin like restaurant off a dirt road in the middle of no where. We were told to get there right when they opened at 5 otherwise we would wait for a long time. We had a table right away at 5 and within 20min, there was a line out the door. I went with the combination plate just so I could try a variety of options. I had the smoked pork chop, fried catfish filet, and a baked potato. It was all very good and the portions were massive for such a reasonable price. Our server was very friendly which seems to be the norm down in the south. The food took quite a while but the place was packed including a table of 15-20 people next to us. Overall, one of the better local restaurants according to the locals but average for tourists. It's truly a southern charm cabin that allows you to embrace where you are.

    Ribs and pulled pork with sweet potato
    Rhett B.

    Out in the middle of a dirt road outside of Bainbridge is this log cabin-esque smokehouse/seafood restaurant. I was referred to the Pond House by a workout buddy. The decor is that of a cabin. Overall, it seems to be a small place. There is fireplace. The chairs remind me of classic days with old wooden chairs. They fit in with the decor but I find them uncomfortable. The menu has a solid combination of appetizers, BBQ, steaks, seafood, and desserts. I chose fried pickles as an appetizer. It took a while for them to come out. Service seemed to be slow and that.was a theme of the night. Anyway, the fried pickles were cut really thin and if it wasn't for the dill flavor, I would swear I would have been eating potato chips. BBQ is my favorite food so I went with the rib and pork combo. What I liked about the ribs and pork was that both were real easy to chew. What I didn't like was the chargrilled flavor. It seems that way makes the BBQ taste more greasy to me than smoking it. But overall, the BBQ was ok. I have had better and definitely a lot worse. The sauce was homemade with apple cider vinegar being a main ingredient. It went well with the BBQ. My 2 sides were slaw and sweet potato. The slaw was diced and mayo-based. It was about the sweetest slaw I have ever had. My sweet potato was small but my expectations might have been too high as I was thinking massive Outback-size sweet potato. The sweet potato was more like home than Outback and I prefer Outback. Sweet tea was refreshingly sweet but my waitress left me sitting with an empty glass for too long more than once. I couldn't tell if she had too many tables to serve or was just not on her game. I would eat the Pond House again. I was told to get a pork chop or steak. For this experience, it receives a 3 from me. It wasn't bad but not exactly great either. Service was slow but I believe there is potential for the Pond House to try it again.

    The Pond House. Ironically there is no pond. A very cool atmosphere though.
    David B.

    A cabin in the middle of the Georgia woods with a dirt road for a main street and a grass field for a parking lot. I have no idea how anyone ever found this place to begin with, but apparently if you cook good food they will come. I ordered the pork chops, and the waitress let it be known I had made a great choice. They were definitely good pork chops. Huge and very tender with a nice smoky flavor and red eye gravy on the side. A little too salty for my taste though. And apparently you can't rush the smoking process, as it took our group an uncomfortably long amount of time to get the entrees... at least 30 minutes. Overall, a nice meal and a truly unique experience that's worth going on an adventure to find.

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    5 months ago

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    1 year ago

    The crab cakes were amazing to me. They are very attentive and caring. We love eating at the Pond House.

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    3 years ago

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    3 years ago

    Great service and the food was very tasty! They are we're good people! Glad to be back soon

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    12 years ago

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    8 years ago

    Best filet I have ever put in my mouth, hands down! My husband said the same for the pork chops! Yummy!!!

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    8 years ago

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    13 years ago

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    9 years ago

    Best steak I have ever had at a restaurant. Service was very friendly as well. My wife had pork chops and they were great also.

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    14 years ago

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    9 years ago

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    14 years ago

    The best undiscovered restaurant in our area the steaks are to die for and the seafood is always fresh

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    The American

    The American

    4.5(158 reviews)
    7.4 mi
    $$

    Love this place. Great service. Great food. We love visiting Bainbridge and shopping afterread more

    As someone who has been reviewing for Yelp for a long time, this has to be the absolute worst…read moredining experience I've ever had. I mean that very seriously. On Saturday, 2/28, I came into the restaurant at 6:15pm with a group of 6. Looking around the restaurant, there were only 3 tables taken. The Hostess wanted to put us a table, but it wouldn't fit us all. We asked her where to sit and she told us to decide on seating. We had to suggest to put a table together and started to move it ourselves, then she helped. Just odd because we had no idea if they had a table to seat us. While waiting for the server, the table in front of us asked for to-go boxes and was told they only have the bottoms, no lids. She brought plastic wrap to cover their leftovers. They were not happy and left without a lot of their leftovers. Our service came out and was very sweet. She honestly was the nicest person at that restaurant and she deserves to go somewhere that she can make better money. She told us they only had beer and wine, but only a few on the wine list. Sometimes if it was asked for, they said they didn't have it. I stuck to a Coke. We ordered as follows: Me: Loaded Baked Potato (yes that's it.) Person 2: wedge salad Person 3: cornbread skillet Person 4 and 5 had burgers. One had cheddar cheese with everything on it. The other had everything BUT pickles. We waited about an hour for our food. Person 5's burger came out and the fries were cold. I'm not meaning lukewarm, I mean COLD. Like out a fridge. They hadn't even been cooked all the way. Person 4's burger came out without cheese. Both of those were sent back to get that fixed. Person 4's burger came back with a piece of half melted (what looked like) American cheese on the bottom of the burger and the burger was BURNT. I mean, hockey puck burnt. When the fries were sent back, we could hear the cook SCREAMING AND THROWING THINGS, yelling that we "weren't right" and he "had just took those up". The server even felt them and agreed with us. My baked potato came out hard. I couldn't really even eat it. It was hard, bland and it was covered in sour cream, even the outside. A runner came over to bring some salt and pepper and I asked her if she wouldn't mind letting us talk to a manager. Everyone there said I was polite in asking, as we just wanted to tell her what was going on, not trying to get anything free. When I asked, she threw her hands up in the air, slapped her hips, rolled her eyes and stomped away. The people around us even looked at her. They also could hear the cook yelling. We did see another couple send their food back as well while we were waiting. The manager comes over and when we tell her everything, she tells us she agrees and that she's working on getting better help, as we could see what she was working with there. We just asked her for the check and asked to go. We hear the manager try to talk to the team and the cook begins to scream and talk down to her. Then, he came out and stared at our table. If looks could kill, we would all be dead. The thing is- burgers there are $18. We didn't get anything hard to make but only the salad and the cornbread were fit to eat. They did comp our meal, but we continued to ask them to let us pay. Instead, we ended up giving the money to the server. She can only do what she can and she was so sweet. I do have multiple people who will attest to everything that happened. That was the whole experience. We walked outside and immediately went to get something else to eat. We came to the American because this was our first time in town and we had heard great things about it! Of course, we had seen it on TV as well, so we were very excited. The next night, another couple we knew went there and had the same experience. She was the only table in there and they still took over an hour and her food was terrible. This is absolutely so disappointing. The American used to be THE destination down here but now, it's the one everyone is telling people NOT to go to. We talked to our hotel host and they said they wished we would have asked because they would have told us to stay away. It's a shame. I really hope they can get some new people in there who care about food and making it good! I'd love to come back if they're able to improve and change my review. I do have 5 other people who are willing to attest to this, so as much as I wish it was an exaggeration, it's not.

    Photos
    The American
    The American
    The American

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    Jill’s Hometown Cafe

    Jill’s Hometown Cafe

    4.8(14 reviews)
    14.2 mi

    Cute little country restaurant between Bainbridge and Tallahassee. Clean, comfortable place with 8…read moretables and friendly waitresses. The food was all good. We ordered fried mushrooms that came out fast. They were hot and juicy. Fried shrimp was perfect. Burgers and chicken sandwich were also good. Cheese grits and sweet potato fries hit the mark.

    This is a little house off the side of a road near a railroad track. I have been here several times…read moreand surprised I haven't written a review. I always start by ordering an appetizer crab claws. They are usually big and you get about 16 of them. They were a little smaller today but still delicious. I do like their tartar sauce and cocktail sauce, which is on the table. The tartar sauce taste just like I would make it and the cocktail sauce has a little less horseradish than I would put in, but it's still very flavorful. The fried shrimp is excellent. My friend likes the sweet potato fries and I like their slaw. The crabcakes Were crabby and not too much bread. Today I had the fish sandwich which was a catfish fillet on a hoagie roll. It came with lettuce, tomato, onions, and dill pickle. The dill pickles were great and I don't like pickles. The catfish was perfectly tender, coated in cornmeal and fried. I always enjoy the trip up to Attapulgus and my service is always spot on. Oh the cheese grits were good. The only thing that I dislike is that the food comes on disposable plates and Styrofoam cups. But at least that way they don't have dishes to do. I'll come back again.

    Photos
    Jill’s Hometown Cafe
    Jill’s Hometown Cafe - Fried mushrooms

    Fried mushrooms

    Jill’s Hometown Cafe - Full Menu

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    Full Menu

    Susie and Sam’s Steakhouse - Blackened Shrimp and Sweet Potato

    Susie and Sam’s Steakhouse

    4.7(37 reviews)
    7.3 mi

    Nice to have a more-upscale dining option for Bainbridge…read more I was pleasantly greeted by staff opening the door, and I proceeded to the bar. Madison splashed up an tasty Old Fashioned to start. Great service at the bar top. For snack time, I had the Classic Filet, medium rare, with a sweet potato, preceded by a salad. Excellent fare. It was difficult to choose from the menu, as I saw other delicious food preparations pass by. I met the legendary co-owner Sam at the bar. He belted out a show quality Happy Birthday for a guest! The historic building has been nicely set up for a restaurant, and it was busy for a Monday evening.

    The building sets the tone perfectly. This was a public library built in 1938 in what I would call…read morethe Neo-Federal style as so many post offices and town Halls. Every town loves a beautiful old building, but nobody really knows what to do with it when it's no longer a library or a post office or whatever, and it usually ends up either being scrapped or thrown away. Witnessed the countless number of beautiful Victorian train stations that have bit the dust over the years. Usually too much out cry these buildings go far away or get knocked over. This however, is a beautiful repurposing. I started out with an appetizer of baked French onion soup. The soup came out perfect with a homemade crouton on top and smothered and Swiss cheese, it also came out in a traditional French onion soup crock. The soup was very mild, not overly peppered as so many are these days. The onions were of mild variety, but not too sweet. It made for an excellent soup. Something else to shout about is their delicious bread. Their used rolls are homemade, you can tell that they were made in a muffin pan because they are indented and shaped like muffins on the bottom. I assure you they are the best yeast rolls. You will have anywhere outside of Paris France. Despite the fact, they have an extensive wine list, I stuck with sweet tea, because I am in Bainbridge Georgia. To the wine connoisseur, I don't think anything will be out of place, but I don't drink that much wine anymore so I can't really say if it's a first rate wine list or not. But all the usual suspects were there and the prices were reasonable. I opted for the surf and turf, because it had several things from the menu that I wanted to try the shrimp on the surf and turf are giant. They came out, freshly braided and fried still hot. It's obvious that they did not come out of a bag, they were breaded on site cooked on site and delightful. The steak was about 10 ounces of New York strip cooked, medium rare. It was hand cut, and did not come out of a bag, it was a little tough, but then again that is a New York strip. If I could've substituted the ribeye, I think that would've been a good choice. The vegetable kebab was part of the plate and I loved it. It was my side item. It was not overdone. It was not tough. It was not the great vegetables, it was everything that a vegetable kebab should've been and was grilled perfectly on a nice bamboo skewer. I also had the delicious side salad. With blue cheese dressing it was an absolute wonder of a salad. Once again, nothing came out of a bag. To finish the evening off, I had caramel cheesecake, also homemade, a good baked cheesecake with a nice thick, crumbly graham cracker crust. The caramel sauce with sea salt was homemade the consistency of it was thick. It did not come out of a squeeze bottle, it was layered down by hand while it was still hot, a very nice touch. Worthy of note, the owner came out and seated me. I had called ahead and found out that they opened at five, I told them I would be there and wanted a table for one at 501 and I got just that. The place is really nicely done pretty not overly fancy perfect for large groups. They have a large staff that takes very good care of you. My server was around just about the entire time, just bringing out my food checking on me making sure I had plenty of ice tea. It was a wonderful experience a couple of tables over from me. Someone was celebrating their birthday. The other owner came out and he's saying to them, this guy should've been on Broadway. He's got a wonderful set of pipes.

    Photos
    Susie and Sam’s Steakhouse - Dining room

    Dining room

    Susie and Sam’s Steakhouse - Incredible dessert

    Incredible dessert

    Susie and Sam’s Steakhouse - Front door of incredible steakhouse

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    Front door of incredible steakhouse

    The Pond House - seafood - Updated May 2026

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