Carey Hilliard's Restaurant — Restaurant in Garden City

We went to the restaurant on Hwy 80 first. With 4 tables seated in the restaurant and a group in the back, we were told there would be a wait. Waited ten minutes, saw random employees just wandering, and we decided to move on to Hwy 21 instead. Same kind of atmosphere...maybe 4 tables with people seated...employees seemed to be present, but not really working. Multiple tables sat empty and completely trashed the entire time we were there. No one was cleaning or prepping tables.

Our waitress greeted us by letting us know how exhausted she was and tired and worn out she was. This was a common topic of conversation throughout the dinner. After bringing all the food, then taking another order on what sauces everyone wanted, she was sure to let us know that once she finished that, she'd be wrapping silverware and looking to leave, that we were her last table and she would have to clean up after we left. This was at 8pm.

The hush puppies have gotten ridiculously small, as has the portions of seafood. There are a lot more fries on the plate and with the new menus came a price increase, which isn't surprising except when you realize your paying more and the quality of service has slipped.

These two restaurants at hwy 80 and hwy 21 reflect poorly on the entire brand and need to be managed better. For an establishment that has shown consistency for so long to slip this bad, it's incredibly noticeable. Won't be long before this long time staple goes the way of Johnny Harris or other restaurants that allowed their lackluster service dictate who would be willing to patronize the establishments. I won't be visiting either of these...

When my husband and I walked into the restaurant, we stood at the front to wait to be seated. No one greeted us and there were several behind the counter who looked right at us and then continued talking to others. Finally I heard someone from behind the counter ask the waitresses who's turn it was, and the lady who's turn it was to get a table told us to pick a seat down the first aisle. There was barely anyone in the restaurant. It was a little after 9. The waitress took our orders but mine came out wrong. We assumed it must've been the kitchens fault because my husband and I ordered the exact same thing, oysters, scallops, and flounder. I received a deviled crab in stead of my oysters but was almost half way through my meal before she came back to check on is. Finally she came and we told her. She said my bad I put the order in wrong. She said she would fix it and a lady came a few mins later with a few scallops. Our waitress never came back. We never got a drink refill do to wash down all the fried food and we could barely eat any of the seafood it was so horrible, especially the oysters. They were absolutely disgusting! It was like eating greasy batter! No oysters just batter! I can't believe we paid $54 for that food! My husband and I usually tip very very well but we only gave those lady $7 and she didn't even deserve that!! We will not be going back! I wish I would've taken pics of the food! Now we are at home sick from this food! I'm hoping it's not...

I grew up on Carey Hilliards and have eaten there since the early 70s. We moved away from Savannah 35 yrs ago, but when we come back to visit family, we always end up at Carey Hilliards. Everything they serve is good, but don't laugh, I really come for a cherry coke and onion rings. Not just any cherry coke, they put the cherry syrup in themselves like at an old soda fountain shop. The onion rings are handmade to order, not prebreaded and fozen. On this particular occasion, the restaurant seemed a little short staffed. Our server, Tianna, had a busy job handling the whole left side of the restaurant. I observed that while she interacted with each table, she was very efficient and did an awesome job with everyone's order. I have a preference for "thinly cut" onion rings as an appetizer, and she made sure that happened for me. Our table also had fried shrimp dinners and chicken fingers. Everything came out fresh, hot, and crispy! Tianna kept our drinks full and made sure we did not need anything.

Thank you, C.H. for being a family oriented restaurant. Thank you to those in the back who prepared our enjoyable meal. Finally, thank you, Tianna, for being so attentive, not only to us, but everyone you had to serve single-handedly. May you excel in all...