The Traveling Hobo Cafe — Restaurant in Watkinsville

This review might be a little biased as I eat here once every other week. The food is awesome, and the staff is phenomenal. Why is the food awesome? Their meals are made with the freshest ingredients. 2. Made the way the customer ordered. 3. Made ready to eat, and hot off the grill. 4. The wait to me is part of the nostalgia of the business. The wait allows one to look over the whole menu, soak in the environment of all the old antique photographs on the wall, and allows one to enjoy the smooth cold chill of lemonade as one quenches their thirst. The lemonade the customer decides how sweet or unsweet they want it. 5. The staff no matter how busy or slow they are, they find time to take an interest in the individual. The Traveling Hobo Cafe is a neighborhood restaurant with the small town feel like Watkinsville, your home. 6. This is not fast food, THIS IS GREAT FOOD! Expecting a burger in 5 minutes that's McDonald's, want a burger that is big, fat, juicy, great taste and designed for YOU, that's Traveling Hobo. 7. The name says it all, the restaurant is designed for one to kick back get off their feet, rest, eat, chill and visit with friends. One does not have friends get to know the staff they will take care of you. 8. Go in hungry, try their appetizers, and then main course dishes, but save room for their banana split. 9. Not a burger lover no problem, check out their salads, or grab a hot dog, or dig in for monster finger licking good wings they have something for everybody. 10. Yes there is a child menu for the kids too. You got 10 great reasons now to go visit your favorite Neighborhood Hobo spot. Next time your there tell them Scuba Reaves sent ya, who knows you might find me in there drinking water or an unsweet tea both with a splash of lemonade, eating a variety of dishes on their menu, and being served by the friendliest, courteous staff, the best Georgia has to offer. I guarantee you, like Scuba Reaves, you will love to eat here too. Whatcha waiting for? Come on down and eat in town at The...

The food is good & it was served hot & fresh. I realize that the food is cooked to order so I anticipated a bit of a wait (which is not a problem) but what I did not realize is that call in orders seem to take precedence over walk in customers. There were 2 other people in line in front of me but the cashier taking orders stopped twice to answer the phone to take & ring up call in orders. So in essence the people calling in orders cut in line in front of us, the folks waiting to be served in person. The second person that called in kept giving the wrong credit card number so after patiently waiting for the other 2 people in front of us to be served along with the other call in order, we now had to wait for this person to read their card number to the cashier 3 times. After the second failed attempt she logged out & informed the customer on the phone they could pay when they came in which they apparently did not want to do. So we had to wait for her to log back into their order & re-enter another card number. I'm assuming they would never offer to take the order of someone that just walked in the door in front of other customers that had been previously waiting so I'm not sure why someone calling in an order takes precedence. The employees were working hard & I realize food service isn't the easiest job in the world but there definitely needs to be a better way to manage call in orders vs in person orders. In my opinion a business should never prioritize someone calling on the phone vs a customer in person in your...

Prompt friendly service. The fried pickles are really good.

Update a year later. I have upgraded my review to five stars on all three levels. This is something I don't do too often, but yesterday's experience was great. The food was outstanding. I ordered the Fried Shrimp Basket with a side of fried dill pickles. The price was reasonable; I received ten large shrimps, with light batter and not too greasy, just right! Same for the side of fried dill pickles. My dining partner has fried artichoke po boy and loved hers. She said that the battered fried artichoke hearts were so good, she wished that she could just order a whole backet of those. While I waited for the food, about 15 minutes because it was so busy at lunch time, I had time to watch the kitchen prepare meals. This small bistro (because it is a small local restaurant) is very well run. There were just three people turning out orders and food for about a continuous group of 30 people. This team of three women were impressive the way they worked together. Everything synchronized. They were all busy but friendly and courteous. The locals were friendly and courteous also. The atmosphere is one where it is simple but warm and cozy. Makes me want to go back. Parking is a little tricky but doable. I highly recommend the Traveling Hobo for fried southern treats at reasonable prices. Well...