Fred's Market Restaurant — Restaurant in Plant City

Outstanding! Sitting on the grounds of a farmers market I only expect that the vegetables are farm fresh (sure taste like it). If you like good ole Meat and Three country cafeterias do I have a place for you!

But wait, this is all you can eat, home style, southern comfort cooking (some call it soul food) made like my granny made way back in the 60s and before. The way friends and family; heck, I try to cook! Americana at it's best with local flavor!

Pile that plate up, indulge, then head back for more if you like. Or back to try from that other batch of wonder that you sailed past the first time to grab your favorites.

Come in and do carry out. I was told "we don't sell by weight. If you get the lid to close, your good to go"

Prices. Extremely reasonable for the offering. Might seem a bit high until you feel your belly or struggle to lift the bag with your to-go plates.

Breakfast for one with separate (huge bowl) of cat head biscuits and gravy. Two cctually ate breakfast on it two days for! $27 INCLUDING TIP

4 suppers later that day. 4 big eaters. Fed all four with plenty of left-overs for everyone's lunch the next day! $65 with 15% tip . I'll bet there are frugal options if you ask but we didn't.

Speaking of 15%, that's what you get off if your military. Active duty, retired, guard or reserve, which ever. Bet it's the same for fire and police, but didn't ask.

Best bang for your buck I've come upon in ages. Stick to your ribs food like Grand ma made. No petit portions. All you can eat specials for dining in on several days a week. Ask for details. For those familiar with Birmingham Metro fare: better than Nickies West used to be/is; every bit as good as Home Plate Diner has ever been. Different but as homey as the Bright Star!

Loosen your belt a notch before you drop by but you will not be disappointed and your wallet won't scream in protest. Your honey's eyes will bug out when you hand them their plate you took out or when they see the buffet!

As Mister Wilson used to say: "I...

If I could give this place a zero star I would have. My family has been begging me to go to this place for months and I finally gave in today and went. They normally go to a different location but we were the closest to this Plant City location. Let me start off by saying that we were told it was going to be a 15 minute wait and 45 minutes later we were sat. The floor was absolutely filthy and sticky to a point where it almost broke my flip-flop off my foot. I went into the bathroom and the stall doors were so low that I could see the top of a ladies head inside using the bathroom. That is just absolutely insane. Where is the privacy here? I am seeing multiple other reviews on here stating the same thing. The lines were absolutely ridiculous do to the space for the buffet as it was so tight people couldn’t get around one another. The staff/workers that were putting the food on the buffet were absolutely rude and screaming at you as they were butting in front of you instead of asking to get through. The food was not great at all, had zero flavor and most of it was over cooked and hard from being over cooked. The biggest complaint here is the air. The restaurant had multiple thermostats that all read 80 or above on the wall. For a restaurant this is absolutely insane. To have this amount of people all smashed in a small restaurant and not having the air down especially in Florida is not ok. I didn’t even get through a half of a plate and I was sweating. I had to use most of the napkins on the table to wipe up the sweat that was rolling down my forehead on my face. I’m never hot like that so for that to be happening it was way beyond hot in there. I went and spoke to the manager and was told “Well I don’t know what to tell you, the air is down as far as it goes.” I explained that the price that they are charging they need to or should have already invested into a new A/C. She didn’t care one bit. I would never ever go back...

I tried Fred's breakfast buffet today for the first time ever. I'm a longtime customer but it had never occurred to me that Fred's was open for breakfast. I was searching for a local place serving Shrimp & Grits and Google offered up Fred's. Spoiler: they don't serve Shrimp & Grits.

As usual, this is Southern Soul Food at its best, breakfast style, so bring an appetite. I knew there would be grits and biscuits & gravy, but was delighted to see that their famous fried chicken is also part of the breakfast buffet. The grits were silky smooth with a hint of cheese. Absolute perfection. A deliciously juicy/crunchy fried chicken thigh rounded out the plate.

The sausage gravy on a biscuit was a home run. The biscuits were rich and fluffy. The link sausage was good. The smoked sausage had an odd tangy flavor.

Fred's also serves their fried green tomatoes for breakfast. I was raised eating them from the Farmer's Market outside of Atlanta and this is a favorite dish. Farm fresh green tomatoes have a tanginess that, sadly, I've never experienced at Fred's. I think their supplier only offers commercialized tomato varieties bred for yield and resistance to shipping damage, and not for flavor. The sausage gravy would probably liven the flavor up, but fried green tomatoes aren't the same without the tangy zip.

Since it's a buffet, you'll be able to find plenty of delicious options to fill your plate. Just don't plan on doing much physical activity afterward. 😋😉

NOTE: The other Fred's locations appear to be managed very differently from the original Plant City location. The chicken is inferior at the Lakeland store, for example (good crunch but no flavor). I had a good meal in Bradenton (Riverview?) but only went once for lunch, so haven't sampled many of the...