Val's Comfort Kitchen — Restaurant in Lynchburg

We were looking for a place to get lunch in Lynchburg and the Google Reviews had Val's rated as a 4.8 stars out of 232 reviews. We figured it should be good so we gave it a try. There were a few people there, but it was after the lunch hour at about 1:45pm. They have a buffet and a couple other selections. I got the buffet and my wife got the 3 piece fried fish platter.

The fish platter had 3 large pieces of fish, however they were overcooked to a dark brown. Taste was ok, but very dry!

The buffet had meatloaf, smothered porkchops, and fried chicken for the mains, about 6 sides, deserts, and a salad bar. Everything looked ok, so I tried each of the mains and got mac and cheese, and green beans. I guess the health department doesn't frequent here because all 3 of the mains were cold. This is a big time no no on a buffet! The meatloaf was dried out, the pork chops had a decent taste but were barely room temperature. The chicken was the best of the 3, but was a bit dried out from sitting too long and was not warm at all. Green beans were complete mush, but the mac and cheese was about the best thing. Like everything else it was barely room temp. I tempted fate and went back for another piece of chicken and some stewed tomatoes. Same result...

So I'm not sure how 232 google reviewers gave it 4.8, but in my eyes, 3 stars was a gift! I think some people equate big portions of food with it being good food... Definitely not a place we would return to. They definitely need to monitor the food temps on...

Fantastic! My family had a reunion planned yesterday at the peaks of Otter that got rained out and we literally had to find a place for 20 people at the last minute! Val said “come on you are welcome here”. Well not only did she and her staff make us feel welcomed they cooked up more chicken, brewed up more coffee, and fed four generations with the best southern comfort food you could imagine. Val even managed to get another patron to render a solo rendition of “Happy Birthday” to my sister that made me think of Teddy Pendergrass. The stewed tomatoes reminded me of growing up in Lynchburg, the pork loin that was more like Shredded pork was delish over rice, the scalloped potatoes had me wanting more. But the fried chicken - I usually stay away from fried chicken as it’s usually so heavily laden with batter and grease but this was THE BEST I’ve ever eaten ever and I’m no spring chicken myself. If you only eat one thing skip everything else and load your plate with Val’s super special chicken. But don’t worry you cN always go back for more. Thank you Val for having us. You weren’t our first choice because we didn’t know any better. Now we do and won’t be making the mistake of going anywhere else ever again, Lynchburg folks. - if you don’t cause Val to be looking for a bigger place soon I’ll be very...

Val's Comfort Kitchen was ABSOLUTLEY AMAZING!!! We stopped by after church today with 12 hungry bellies (6 adults/6 children). We were greeted by Val who let us know it would be about a 15 min wait to be seated and let us know that they no longer offer a buffet. BUT made sure we knew the food was still yummy. Of course we waited...and let me tell you IT WAS WORTH THE WAIT !!! The food was homemade... and absolutely delicious!! Our group had a vast variety of delicious food !! Hamburgers, Cheeseburgers, beef tips, mac & cheese, green beans, collard greens, cabbage, mashed potatoes, broccoli casserole, coleslaw, catfish, hushpuppies, spaghetti, chicken nuggets, fries, rolls, lemon pound cake, sour cream pound cake, and apple pie. Kiki (hopefully thats spelled correctly) was our waitress and she was AMAZING!!! It was Val, Kiki and a gentleman that was cleaning up the dishes (sorry I didn't get his name). YES.... A STAFF OF THREE people that took care of everyone eating. These three individuals were OUTSTANDING!! Even with the rush of people they were so pleasant and very kind. Val.. THANK YOU and your staff for such an ABSOLUTLEY AMAZING late lunch, early dinner. We will DEFINITELY be returning!! They are BEYOND A 5...