For context, Sumter, SC is not a geographical place known for a burgeoning cuisine environment, when compared to a place like New Orleans for example. With that, Willie Sue's comes in as a top dining choice for the region. Reasonably priced. Not remarkably tasty, yet far from unpleasant. If you must dine in Sumter, Willie Sue's shouldn't disappoint. The bar at Willie Sue's does seem to maintain a certain position about a select cohort of it's patrons. It seems they have decidedly omitted certain brands of spirits from their selection. Hennessy in particular was said, by the bar staff, to be a spirit that the bar manager didn't see the benefit in making available to patrons. Oh well, I guess people like legendary Hollywood Director, Martin Scorsese, Congressman and world champion boxer, Manny Pacquiao, and famous French-American opera singer, Lily Pons would have to enjoy their Hennessy elsewhere when they come to town. "B-Dubs here we come! We hear your nachos are really nacho-y." read more

I was really surprised by this place. Ordered some steaks and the were cooked perfectly. It's been a while since I received a steak cooked the way I ordered it. Can't say enough good things about this place. read more

Willie Sue's - Bars Near Me - Sumter, South Carolina

Portions are very small and over priced. I ordered the ribs tonight and they had plastic pieces from the brush they use to put BBQ sauce on the ribs. Ribs were also very dry and fatty. They refunded the ribs, but charged me double for my drinks I realized when I got home. My daughters had burgers and they had so much salt on them they could not finish them. My Dad had blackened chicken and it was a 2 oz piece of chicken for 16.99. One of the worse places I've been in SC! read more

Went here for Easter with my 1 year old and my spouse... Food was just ok. Waitress was great. Gift card machines were down & that was the only reason we went there because honestly, there are better places to eat for $100 read more

We had Family visiting us from Utah, Brother, Sister-in-Law, Their daughter, husband and four children. Haven't seen my brother and Sister-in-Law in 15 years, and wanted to treat them all to some Great South Carolina food, Well I have to tell you the food was as good as ever, With a group of 12, they put us in a section where we could enjoy our meal and have some good Quality time together, we lined up the tables so we could all sit together without having our backs to each other. I would have to guess it was the so called manager on duty Friday April 9th 2021, between the time 1:45-2:30pm, that approached us in an unprofessional manner, yelling orders for us to put the tables back where they were, that we could no rearrange the dining area, If it would of been my call, I would of left and NEVER CAME BACK. This guy needs to be washing dishes instead of dealing with customers, My wife and I have been to Willie Sue's with my sister several times and have always had Great food and a good experience, But this Manager (AKA dish washer) has me looking for another place to eat, I hope you get rid of this person before he puts you slap out of business, Willie Sue would not be please with this person and would of walked him to the door. read more

My friends and I recently had a bachelorette dinner at Willie Sue's. We are not from the area and didn't know what to expect. The service was the best. The manager, Tommy, and our waitress Susan (along with the others who helped out) were GREAT. We enjoyed the food and equally loved the staff. They were friendly, accommodating, fun, and went above and beyond to ensure that we had a good time. I will certainly be heading back to Willie Sue's on my next trip down this way. Thanks again for a great experience. read more

I was with my family and another family so we had about a medium size group. The food came out great everybody seemed to like what they had. I had the grilled chicken and it wasn't dry at all. The waitresses were really nice and very attentive. Only reason I gave 4 starts and not 5 was because my waitress could have done better making sure we had refills on our drinks. Other than that never had an issue read more

Made a visit here with my daughter and two grandkids. The kids were a little antsy, which didn't help with the patience level we needed for this restaurant. I tried alligator tail.....which was interesting. It was pretty fishy tasting and had a strong fishy smell. Wasn't sure if it's supposed to be like that. With some fish that means it's not fresh, but since I've never had alligator tail before I had no idea. Some of the bites were very grissely, but many others were not and easier to eat. The dipping sauce they add is good. My daughter ordered cheese sticks and they were yummy. We both ordered our meals with side salads. However, only one salad was delivered and it was delivered with the wrong dressing. By the time I was able to flag down our server and let her know about the salad issue, she went to correct it, but our entrees were at the table before she was able to get our salads to us. As a result I received a very large salad several minutes after my entree. The salads....even as a side are enormous and include a large croissant w/ a kind of butter/honey type sauce drizzled on top. They also have a lot of different veggies included. I ordered their Scallops dinner with the crawfish succatash. It was ok. The scallops were good, and I liked the spicy flavor of the sauce in the succatash, but I was disappointed in the crawfish. They tasted chewy and didn't have the flavor I've come to expect of good crawfish. I think they were either very low quality or not fresh. Since the crawfish was the main reason I ordered the dish, I was disappointed. My daughter ordered a burger and enjoyed it. Overall, I was disappointed since I didn't enjoy the crawfish and the service ruined the ability to enjoy our salads. read more

Great service. Great food (I had ribs w/specialty sauce on the side, a salad & mashed potatoes and fried pickles for an app). Cheap beer. And good atmosphere. If I was local I would definitely come back! read more

Fried pickles are the best I've ever had. Not too greasy and perfect amount of kick. Buffalo Chicken sandwich is great too.

Willie Sues has great Filet Migion and Aligator bites. The atmosphere is inviting and the management is good.

This was actually my 3rd visit. We drive 45 minutes just to eat here. The atmosphere is cozy and the wait staff is right on the money. The food is absolutely awesome! The portion size is plenty...the salads, to me, are the best part. Best salad ever! The crescent rolls are to die for! I went tonight with a group of 11 people. With that being said, there were a lot different entrées in the table. Every plate was cooked as ordered. I can't say enough about it! Simply amazing! read more

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Very good food. We have had better but, not too bad. The steak tips were different doneness. Wine was very tasty. The waitstaff can be a little slow, took a while to get our check. read more

Awesome place... love the food there... the staff is great... a true gem to the local area... I will miss this place when we move.

Our first time eating here, we had a great meal, our server Jessica was very attentive and efficient. Our only complaint, we asked for one roll and was told we had to buy 5 rolls, really?? Never heard of that before and that is why I did not give 5 stars. Need to change that! read more

Try the candied "bacon", which is actually pork belly and it is AWESOME! Great selection of bourbons from the bar. Try the Ultimate Burger, topped with a variety of choices so you can customize it. read more

Overall a great family dining establishment. Shrimp and grits were fantastic, along with the gator bites and seafood pasta.

Went there with my wife. First impressions were decent decor but the music was much to loud. The next small issue was the glare from the exposed bulb above our heads. We were seated near the bar and there was a cold draft that kept coming over the booth, I ordered the prime rib medium rare with mashed potatoes and a bowl of loaded baked potato soup. The soup was very bland lacking salt and not very creamy as one would expect. My prime rib came out completely cold. My guess is it was cut and sat on the plate while my wifes entree was prepared. I sent it back and the replacement was warm. The aus jus was overly sweet. The mashed potatoes were hot and served in a small cup size bowl. The had the consistency of a reheated left over baked potato mushed up. They really needed to add some butter or cream. My wife ordered the Ezra Pan Seared Scallops and sauteed mushrooms. The entree came with 3 scallops. The mushrooms were forgotten and delivered when my 2nd prime rib was brought out. My wife was still hungry after finishing her dinner. So she ordered the red velvet cake. The size of the slice was adequate but they failed to get the color correct. My wife took 2 bites and said she was done. I took a bite and the cake was cold from the refrigerator, dried out, and crumbly. Our server was adequate with a level of service I'd expect from ihop / dennys etc. There was no enthusiasm and the level of attention was subpar. There was no lack of servers. When we arrived there was at least 1 server for every table. While we waited for refills no less than a dozen servers walked by ignoring us and half a dozen servers stood around chatting by the bar. Overall it was quite disappointing. It seems that they aren't ready for prime time and the staff is lacking training and discipline. read more

Very good food love the staff very friendly really enjoy my self and would go back very soon

Always have a great time when we go to Willie Sue's! Great food and great service! Love their salads and rolls! We will be going back again as always! read more

A wonderful meal and great atmosphere! Highly recommend! The meal was wonderful, I had a ribeye that was cooked to perfection.

Very great place nice bathrooms very friendly waiters food is amazing desert is amazing also very cheap to i highly recommend this place

Steaks tend to come in fatty. The salads are good and the rolls are some of the best in the world. Pricey place though. I go with the wife and never get out of there for under $50 which is expensive for Sumter. Also, had a problem once with a steak that was just inedible. Manager said "we'll do better next time" and that was it. No credit or new steak. Good place but just be careful. read more

The food and service are always good but more than once it has smelled like dirty (soured) sponges. Maybe rinse the mop and use fresh soap. It's hard to get excited about the food when it smells dirty. read more

This place was kind of weird, but the food was good. We were over-served. Let me explain what I mean by that: when we pulled up for an early dinner, there were almost no cars in the parking lot. However, there was a gravel lot next to the main lot that was FULL of cars. My co-workers and I started questioning what that gravel lot might be used for, since there are pretty much no other businesses around. I made a joke that maybe the cars belonged to the staff of the restaurant, but that seemed impossible. Once we came in to Willie Sue's and got a table, we all agreed that I must have been right, because you could not walk 2 feet in this restaurant without running into a server, bartender, manager, hostess... you name it. The staff here is huge. We were at our table for an hour tops and had a minimum of 9 different people come to our table to bring us napkins, water, check on us, see if we wanted dessert... Other than the over-service, we did like the food and the prices weren't bad. I was impressed with the portions, it seemed like a real southern menu, so far too rich for me to eat at more than once. The salad that came out first was delicious, I loved the house dressing, although I prefer not to have cheese on my salads. However, the little croissant that comes with the salad is EPIC. It is like a dessert to die for. It is drizzled in some kind of frosting/honey that you might dream about forever. It is weird to serve it with the salad, but who cares, because it's going to be the best thing you eat all night, maybe even all week. Unfortunately, the rest of my meal was so overshadowed by that croissant, that I was a bit underwhelmed by my entree; half a rack of ribs. I felt that the rib meat was too soft on the inside but too dry and charred on the outside, making for a poor texture combination. I don't typically order ribs, in fact I've only had ribs about 20 times in my life, and I would rank these lower on the scale of ribs I have tried. However, my side of seafood succotash was brilliant. I'm a northerner so I've never had succotash, and I would absolutely want this again, if I could find it anywhere. Overall, a good southern food experience, and if I return to Sumter, I will hit up Willie Sue's, even if they have to roll me out the door afterward. read more

My hubby and I finally went and tried Willie Sue's for our anniversary dinner, and we were beyond satisfied. They take your phone number at the hostess both so they can send a text when your table is ready. We sat at the bar until the phone buzzed. The bar is a large 3 sided and nicely done in warm colored wood, with a metal pole for rest attached. They have 12 taps with a variety of beers, and the tap poles are coated in ice (always a fun feature). We got our table in about 15 minutes, we remarked on the lovely rustic wood beams and embellishments. It really is an attractive Restaurant. Looking at the menus you can smell the newness of the plastic coated pages, and the food descriptions all sound delightful. We got the gator tail appetizer, which was good, but all the fried battered was a bit heavy, we will definitely be going back soon for beers and a plate of nachos. Choosing an entree was a process, since I wanted to try more than I could. I chose the seafood pasta, which was beyond fantastic, I was full but wanted to keep eating it, I refrained so I could take half of it home for lunch. Hubby got the tuna fillet, which he was equally impressed with, it was perfectly cooked and seasoned. I can't forget this one detail, the salads are served in chilled plates, which I absolutely love! Overall, we have deemed Willie Sue's as what we feel is the nicest, best Restaurant in Sumter. We will return. read more

Excellent restaurant! Cheeseburger is fabulous! They have fine menu with something to please any and all of their guests. The beer, wine list & spirits list is also a real winner! We received outstanding service and professional courtesy during our entire visit. We even had the pleasure of meeting Willie Sue's Grandson, one of the Owners & Executive Managers! Great fellow!!! Willie Sue's is a superb restaurant! Highly recommended!! read more

Decent southern food. Sometimes heavy on the oil with some dishes (salmon). Alcohol selection is excellent. Customer service is usually decent too. read more

Shrimp Po Boy was a huge let down. Very bland no spice what so ever. The nachos and Willie Sue's salad however were good. The second time I was there with a large party the wait staff was not experienced enough to handle it. One of the servers bit my head off when I asked her if I could order a drink bc she was not waiting on my side of the table and proceeded to be rude in explaining where her responsibilities were and were not. Also they sat us on the patio in June with no AC. I don't know if that is their only designated space for large parties but if so I would not recommend it in the summer months especially with the drainage pond right next to it. read more

Some people I work with love this place. Me, not so much. Food is OK, prices are a little on the high side for what you get. Been there a couple times in large groups. Service gets really slow then. Overall, it's a place I'll go back to, just not frequently. read more

12/27/2015. Atmosphere is nice. Staff is friendly. This was our second visit and I have to say the sandwiches are pretty skimpy for the price. I had the prime rib meat on Texas toast $12 (subbed salad for fries +$2). There were two thin slices of beef, probably less than 1/4 pound. Hubby had burger - that was way better than mine. Fries with the burger were hot and plentiful. On our first visit, hubby got the succotash with crawdad. That was the worst side dish ever and should be avoided. Dagwood sandwich was also skimpy. read more

Two times was enough for us. The food the first time was meh. The second time was not good either. I think the restaurant is gorgeous and the service was decent. I wish they would've taken as much time with their menu and food presentation, as they did with the interior. I'd recommend they keep it simple, southern food and step away from the duck and alligator. They should look at breakfast...a good southern breakfast in such a pretty restaurant would be a winner. Just my thoughts. read more

Very disappointing. My husband and I recently moved here and were excited to bring out of town family here for dinner (since I had talked it up so much from when we initially visited in August). We went around 6 pm on Sunday and it was surprisingly not busy. There were a total of 6 in our party, 4 adults, a 2 year old and a 7 month old. My husband arrived a few minutes before us and they were seated at a large booth next to kitchen and the hostess brought a high chair over for our little one. The booth was so tight I could not hold my baby to nurse him, so since there was no one around, I pulled up a chair next to booth to nurse him before I put him in high chair. The manager quickly came over and told us that we were not allowed to "cap" a booth and that we were blocking the other tables from being seated around us. She said since they weren't busy it wasn't a big deal, but if we decided to come back we couldn't do that. She was abrupt, and could have handled the situation differently. She might have offered to seat us at a different table so that we would not have been in the way. I do not necessarily feel it was our fault that the hostess seated us at a booth next to the kitchen when we asked for a high chair. Our server was great, as was some of the other wait staff. My salmon was overcooked (I ordered medium), dry, and very fishy. I didn't eat it, and frankly, after the way the manager treated me, I really did not want anything else. For as slow as they were, the restrooms could have been better attended to- I trash can was overflowing with paper towels. There was no follow up from the manager, who was going around to all of the tables to see how their meals were. We also had to ask to have the salmon taken off the bill. The rest of our dinner party seemed to enjoy their food, but sadly we will not be returning, and would not recommend visiting, and they do not seem kid-friendly. read more

We've been wanting to try this place since seeing it in the guide to Sumter. Finally got the chance tonight. We took our chances on a Saturday night & didn't make reservations. No problem. We thought we'd have a long wait based on the cars in the parking lot. Only about 10 minutes, maybe less. You've got to be kidding me! I've waited 10 minutes to place my order at fast food joints! My husband had their prime rib (rare) & baked potato with a dinner salad, while I had the marinated ribeye (medium) with roasted red potatoes. Both cooked perfectly. Excellent, friendly service. Delicious food. Nice atmosphere. Bar area a bit noisy, but no more than others. While we didn't have anything fancy/difficult, it was VERY well prepared. We liked much of what we saw throughout the menu. Plenty of variety. Note: some of the dishes "are as described", no substitutions (Steak tips served with rice). There is plenty to choose from though. Made the mistake of having dessert - good thing our server brought two spoons - Brownie Sunday was way more than a single serving. While not the best brownie I've ever had (I make a mean brownie myself) it was plentiful & good, plus the chocolate sauce was fabulous. prices were very appropriate for the quality food and portion sizes. I have to agree with another yelper on those crescents served on the side of the salad - amazing. I haven't had one so fluffy & fresh in a very long time & it was drizzled with warm honey butter! This is a very nice place and we will certainly be coming back - probably often! read more

Good locally own restaurant. I love their chicken and steak soup. Eat here and you will be serve with a friendly waitress on top of their excellent food. read more

Had the Ash's bacon cheese chicken grill and fried pickles very delicious. Would definitely go back again.

I love this place... Moved to Sumter in April and have been here twice for lunch and once for dinner. Excellent service every time, quality and yummy food, big portions. They obviously put a lot of time and money into building the place and decorating -- they did the same for the menu and service. read more

This place was a pleasant surprise. Great variety to choose from. Service was on point and all the servers were polite and friendly. The food came quickly and the portions were generous. I ordered the full burger and it was great. Fries were slightly undercooked, but everything else was delish. My friends ordered both the shrimp and the salmon, and they really enjoyed it. I will certainly be back to this restaurant as I avoid the chains in Sumter. read more

Best restaurant in town! They always have the best food, customer service and atmosphere! Their croissant rolls are AMAZING!! The raspberry chicken salad is my go-to meal! read more

I can only write this review from the customer service I received about purchasing a gift card over the phone. The manager was so helpful, very quick, and very nice on the phone. I had asked to purchase a gift card and have them mail it to me to send to a relative for a Christmas present. He exceeded my expectations and the gift card arrived very promptly. Thanks again!! read more