The Royal Peasant — Restaurant in Athens-Clarke County Unified Government

Extremely popular tavern-style bar/restaurant. Lunch time and we waited about 30 minutes for a table to open for us. We were a party of 3, all seniors at or near 70, so we were quite fatigued from standing around waiting for a table. Any table. Also. It was so loud! Everyone was yelling their conversations to be heard amongst the bedlam. I think hearing protection should be provided at the door. My old friends brought me here because I mentioned that I had been craving Fish & Chips for several weeks, so they brought me here to satisfy my craving. Now they do ATTEMPT to be a British -style pub, but being a world traveler ( Navy career), I was so disappointed. Especially disappointed with my Fish & Chips, double portion. The coating was more greasy than crispy and the fish beneath it were not the plump Cod or Haddock that I expected. I'm sure it was Cod. But it was slimy and thin, like the off-cuts that are trimmed from the real fillets. I should've ordered a burger. Instead. So the next time, I'm going to treat my friends to some GOOD Fish & Chips so they will realize what good food tastes like. This place has an established clientele and almost customers seemed to know most of the other patrons. But I won't ever be one. Now the brightest part about this eatery-bar was the servers: Two serving ladies rushing to service the packed tables, both inside and out! I was impressed at their performance and the speed and accuracy of their service. So, to summarize, a loud wanna-be pub with not- so-good Fish & Chips, overcrowded tables, and long waits for them. I think the cook should maybe travel more and learn how proper Fish & Chips are...

The Royal Peasant tastes of its name... Meaning peasant-like, which I assume to be unseasoned and bland, like their food. I hate to sound so critical, but the place just didn't live up to its expectations and the great things we had heard about it. The restaurant consists of a tiny indoor seating area with a bar, and a larger (but still very small) enclosed outdoor patio area with a space heater. The service was okay, relatively quick for how busy they were at 5 p.m. on a Saturday, and the waitresses were friendly enough. It was the food that was really the issue. I ordered the "Peasant Pie O' Day," which on this particular day happened to be chicken and noodle, and my wife got the typical burger and fries. Both were very subpar. The crust of the chicken and noodle pot pie was pretty good, light and flaky, but the actual filling consisted of flavorless noodles with a few carrot chunks and some grisly chicken pieces (it was real chicken, I'll give them that) in a small amount of watery broth. The burger, according to my wife, dripped with grease and also lacked seasoning and flavor. The skinny fries tasted like Wendy's, but less salty, if you're into that (I'm not, personally...). Each of our meals was $14. (Campbell's Chicken and Noodle soup, by comparison, costs about $1.26 and tastes better.) Maybe some of their other dishes are fantastic?? I guess I don't (and won't) know, as we don't plan on going back. However, if you do decide to try this place, I recommend not getting...

We came on Memorial Day weekend for a special occasion as I was seeing a cousin I hadn't seen in many, many years. We chose Athens as it was about halfway between them and where we were, and I chose the Royal Peasant as my cousin's husband is British and I though it would be fun. So much for the setup.

The place wasn't busy when we arrived and I thought it was quite cute. We were seated right away and ordered drinks, then an appetizer and finally lunch.

I had Bangers & Mash, my cousin's husband had Fish & Chips and the ladies had salads. All of the food was top-notch! We were not disappointed.

What really mad the day for us was the server, whose name sadly I do not remember. But she took care of us in fine style, making recommendations, checking on us to make sure we were good and adding her commentary whenever she came by. She definitely made a special day even more special.

This was my first time in Athens, and hopefully it won't be the last as it was a darling town (and this coming from a Gator fan). If I do, the Royal Peasant will surely be on...