Murray's BBQ & Seafood in Lagrange, Nc — Restaurant in Goldsboro

OVERALL SCORE: 3/5

Cost: $8 - $16 per person

Food: 2 Atmosphere: 5 Cleanliness: 4 Staff: 3.5

Experience: Very Average

FOOD Southern Style/Homestyle Country Fry. I've had many BBQ and much country fried foods around NC and I know what good BBQ is. This ain't it. The food here isnt bad, but it's nothing noteworthy either. The chicken was overcooked and the BBQ was so dry a good ol' southern sweet tea is almost required. The tea is spot on however, to Nobody's surprise as it is considered an art form around these parts. But nothing of the dishes I tried were outstanding enough for me to want to tell my friends about it. The delicious desserts were spot on to be sure, but the quality of the entrées left much to be desired.

STAFF All the staff was courteous, and eager to greet customers. I really felt welcomed. That is to say, What little staff that was or should have been there for a Saturday Evening Dinner. That is entirely the fault of upper management and certainly not to the detriment of the experience of the staff. That said, the seemingly overwhelmed wait staff was unable, but not unwilling to be as attentive as they should be able to. Glasses were empty, plates were left, floors were unkept at a handful of tables.

ATMOSPHERE I very much enjoyed the atmosphere, I felt like a guest in someones very nice home. The whole place had the vibe of a diner at an old train station. Very preserved and aged quite well. The seats were comfortable and unworn and the old wooden countertops on many areas of the restaurant were very nice on the eyes. It wasnt too bright, not too loud, and walking by I could hear the sound of work and laughter from the kitchen. I could definitely see and appreciate a potential appeal to older patrons or quiet families looking to sit down and enjoy catching up over a hot meal. I was very, very comfortable.

SUMMARY Murphy's BBQ & Seafood is your average run-of-mill southern style restaurant. The food isn't anything to right home about. The home cooked taste is there but some of the dishes were overcooked or dry. You don't come to a place like this for the food. You come for the atmosphere. Its saving grace is certainly the friendly staff. Even the cooks greeted and welcomed me as they walked by to restock the buffet line. The wait staff seemed a bit inattentive but not for lack of trying. They seemed to care about their customers but the lack of additional staff seems to be a Burden on the present team members. I may be back again in the future and update my review after another shot. For now, I give Murphy's...

So glad to research and find out that MY FAMILY JB Rhodes is TAKING OVER THIS DUMP‼️ I just read about 4 previous reviews that were submitted within the last 4 months…Tuh! Keep reading… Who pays Gratuity BEFORE service to NOT be served??? We had a party of about 20-25 ppl. I am a NATIVE of Goldsboro. My family decided to chose this place to hold our family repast after my uncle’s burial. I paid the deposit for their “room” for us to eat. Whitney is an awesome employee and person. She made sure I was booked and taken care of at the front BEFORE I even walked through the door. I received better service from her, in her absence, then we did once we arrived - where do they do that at…this dump! We, along with other people wanting to eat, waited over 10min for utensils, many of us went back and forth to find our own silverware. We had a “private room” we paid a deposit for…we waited so long that the AWESOME, WHITNEY (whocame back into work to help) finally helped us by bringing in a few pitchers of tea. We had dirty plates LINED up because it took SO long for someone to come and check on us. When I finally decided to speak with the “manager” LEE, she states “Be Patient Hun, we only have 1 person working that whole side.” Excuse me? Did you inform me of that BEFORE I booked my party? Did you inform me of that BEFORE I paid the deposit? Did you inform us of that BEFORE we paid at the front of the day of?

Further more Lee, you do NOT speak to your paying customers in that manner when an issue as occurred. YOU could have helped your establishment serve the customers. Instead, you and the man in the wheelchair decided to WATCH everyone. As I stated before I am a Native of Goldsboro so my hometown folk may think this treatment is ok however, I do not. You should NOT charge GRATUITIES before they server has done their job. Take those GRATUITIES and find more employees before...

We've been going here almost every Friday night, but tonight was our last. Last Friday I ended up with severe stomach pains about an hour after we left and the food just didn't taste right. Tonight all the food was awful! Everything had been cooked and had sat there and got cold. You see steam coming up from everything, but don't let that fool you. The steam is just from the hot water under the buffet pans. The steak tasted as if it was boiled or baked, then grilled just enough for grill marks. The shrimp were hard, mashed potatoes were so dry they were pasty, no matter how much thick gravy was put on them. Even the salad from the salad bar didn't taste quite right. We took a couple of people with us, and one of them only took a couple of bites of the food they put on their plate and quit eating because it was so bad. My tea glass was nasty! What I thought was foam from possible fresh brewed just been stirred tea turned out to be old food from the possibility of the cups being stacked together from a previous customer and not thoroughly cleaned. The thought of that really grossed me out and turned my appetite. The waitress apologized after I showed it to her and brought me a new glass of tea. It isn't the same good quality food that it used to be, but they aren't ashamed of their prices by any means, which is way over priced for the poor food quality! I don't normally make reviews, but this is a...