Joyce & Family Restaurant — Restaurant in Fuquay-Varina

Ok, so would I go again? Yes, if I wanted southern comfort food. It was quite good, although I would absolutely love it if they went back to unlimited buffet style instead of the current price per pound. It would become a regular spot to hit when going out for dinner.

Pros: 10/10 People - Friendly. Willing to help you figure out how to go about getting food and stuff. It's cafeteria style, so nobody waiting on your table or anything.

10/10 BBQ ribs - delicious and cooked great. The meat practically fell off the bone and although one small piece was a bit dry, the rest of what I got was not. 7/10 Fried chicken - not bad, but honestly I was expecting more flavoring with reading the other reviews. 10/10 Smothered pork chops - I've never had smothered pork chops before, but these were great. (Part of the reason I wished it was one where you could go back and grab more) The gravy was subtle, but wonderfully flavored, while the pork chop was cooked very nicely. 10/10 Mac and Cheese - I'm super picky about the home style Mac and cheese, but I didn't have any complaints other than the crust on the top (they are baked) was a bit too salty. But what was underneath it was delicious. Very cheddary. Would even consider just ordering it to add to a meal at home. 7/10 Boiled cabbage - nothing to write home about, but it tasted very good none the less. Would probably add that to any future order as the light pepper flavor was pleasant. 8/10 Hushpuppies - Just tasted like small corn bread... But that is how I like hushpuppies. 7/10 Pickled beets - Normal, what I expect. Nothing amazing about them, nothing bad about them. 10/10 Key lime pie - Yummy!

Cons: 1/10 The floor - Maybe they had just freshly cleaned the carpet... I'm hopeful that was the case... Otherwise the carpeting is disgusting. My flip flops stuck with every step. Apparently you couldn't feel the stickiness of it if you had normal shoes on though. (Which is what makes me optimistic about it only feeling sticky due to it being wet from a freshly washed carpet. 5/10 Interior - Could definitely use a freshening up. Kind of a bleak depressing, falling apart feel to the space. A new paint job with a brighter appearance would improve the feel of the place. I definitely understood why the front desk person seemed to be surprised we were eating at the restaurant. Honestly wouldn't take others to the place, but would be open to buying the food there and going to the park to eat it. 5/10 Exterior - Looks old and needs repair. If I wasn't so adventurous with food, I probably wouldn't have gone there. 3/10 Dinnerware - Styrofoam to-go boxes and plastic utensils... Yeah, they really seem to be a to-go place that happens to have a restaurant sitting area. Doesn't help the atmosphere.

Overall: The appearance of the place probably keeps a lot of potential customers from trying it out, which is sad because it has good southern comfort food. Like add some grits to the menu and it would have everything that really comes to mind when thinking southern comfort food. I just can't recommend eating at the location, as the appearance would be off putting to some people. Otherwise, they do good with making the food and are friendly, those are the most important things. That's why I give a 5/5, because the food is great, the price is good, and employees are nice. Heck, you could buy enough for a family and serve it as your own homemade meal without anyone being the wiser if you were ever in a pinch and needed to impress some guests. I'm sure you would get lots of...

Appearance/Cleanliness. 3/5. This building was once a Golden Corral restaurant 10+ years ago. Like Joyce & Family Restaurant, they are both buffets. The problem with buffets however is the large usage of plates and cups per customer. Most two person tables may use 5 - 8 plates/dishes/bowls and maybe 4 cups. And as a result you have a large amount of dish washing taking place. Rush the dishwashing process or over pack the washing trays and dishes don't become completely clean. Both cups I requested were cloudy and had food residue/particles floating within the cup. Our table was sticky as well. Please carry a spray bottle of disinfectant or wash the tables properly.

Service. 4/5. I believe the workers (mostly family members) need clearer roles and better management. I had the cashier seat me. The owner bring me my drink when no one else was doing so, and then the hostess serving me and refilling my drinks throughout my meal when others weren't coming to clear plates. Come time to leave, no one knows who's going to ring me up for dinner. Everyone else was standing around and talking.

Food. 4/5. The fried chicken is very addicting and good. Loved the mac and cheese as well. I do wish there were more options available with this being a southern buffet (fried fat back, pulled pork, pinto beans, cornbread and fried catfish instead of flounder would be nice). I don't understand why desserts are kept locked away in the back though and only your waitress can bring them to you. It would be nice to serve myself dessert whenever I wanted (and however much I wanted). AND GODBLESS THIS PLACE for putting a sign up saying "no children allowed at the buffet alone". THANK YOU Joyce! Can't tell you how much I hate bad parents who let their kids run wild at Golden Corral, shoving their snotty little hands into everything and all the food...contaminating everything. Not at Joyces! Buffets could learn from this place.

We'll give it another shot! Loved the fried...

My husband and I visited Joyce and Family Restaurant a couple of months ago after a doctor's appointment. We had visited several years ago and everything was delicious. The place was clean and somewhere you would want to return too. Our return visit will be our last! Unfriendly cashier, the place needed the air conditioner repaired, the buffet by the pound was a surprise and expensive! But the worst part of the experience was the two flies swimming in the butter beans, trying like crazy to escape! I kind of wanted to escape myself. I tried to get the attention of the attendant who was taking care of it, but he never made eye contact and disappeared quickly. At this point, my husband and I had already fixed our plates, and as the cashier mentioned at the beginning, this is indeed a do it all yourself! I looked in the buffet at what we had chosen and saw no swimmers in what we had. Yeah, I know gross! But all day at dr's appointments and no food kinda makes you not make the best choices. When we got to the register, I said quietly to the cashier, what I had seen. As she's taking our money, she nodded her head with a so what attitude and said, I'll let them know. Luckily the bottle drinks were sealed. So we sat down at a greasy table, tried to eat what we could, no one asked us if we needed anything. Then we left with no notice from the cashier. If you like swimmers in your beans, this is the place for you! Otherwise,...