Carolina BBQ & Chicken

Great options but better to go when it’s busy so you get fresh updated good. The staff was good the first time we went but not overly friendly waitress the second time. She did bring our drinks and refill them but not even a hello or how is everything. The rest of the staff were better and the food is as expected for a buffet. I enjoy the many selections to choose from

I-​95 in NC is lined with mediocre BBQ and homestyle southern buffet joints tricking unsuspecting northern travelers like me. This is yet another one of those joints. The servers and staff are super nice, but be forewarned this is southern lunch room steam table food at its worst. Think sugar, salt, fat and cheap ingredients… but not «good» Southern cooking. Everything that is fried is dried to a crisp under heat lamps. Everything stewed is swimming in thick greasy flavorless gravies. Veggies are mushy, likely canned. Desserts are refined sugary sweet school lunchroom fare. Again though, the folks are super nice and the place attracts a crossroads of locals which makes for interesting people watching.

Not a bad place to eat great and cheap. If you’re into Southern cooking this place is for you! When I AM in town visiting family we make it a point to get together and spend some time chowing down on some fried chicken and macaroni and cheese. When in North Carolina eat at Carolinas!

This place is the truth. Almost every single item we got was better than anything we get in the dc area. Not foot the picky eater, they do it all and very well. Right off I-​95 this place will get a stop in every time we drive by. They’re even open Sundays, which can be hard to find in NC. Loved this place

Had my first side of frog legs and enjoyed it along with Eastern NC style collards, field peas and barbecue. The restaurant isn’t far from I-​95 and the hospitality is just right. Would recommend…

I wanted to like this place, I really did. Checked it out on the annual road trip between DC and Myrtle Beach in August 2015, and the idea of stopping for bbq and chicken about ¹⁄₃ of the way there seemed to make a lot of sense.
But this place was just dirty. I can eat in a down-​home place with relaxed standards, but honestly it was shocking how greasy every single surface was. Tables were left uncleared for, it seemed like, as long as a half hour or even longer. Bones, trash, garbage everywhere. It was honestly disgusting, and there is zero chance this place could pass a health inspection. It was a miracle we all didn’t get sick.
I can’t deny that the chicken was impressively good. But honestly I expected to get sick for the next several days after we ate there, and I will never go back under any circumstances. The food could be something to grow on here, but I say avoid at all costs — this tips over from divey and charming into skeezy and shower-​inducing. Ugh. Still feel sort of sick just remembering it now.

Love to experiment with local joints. Granted, if you are looking for «looks», don’t come here! But if you are looking for home style southern cooking, this is your place.
The buffet is nice, variety. 2 types of fish (tilapia and cat fish), shrimp, frog legs, etc. great fried chicken. The pull pork is average. They have rice with gizzards which is extraordinary!
My issue is that they lack bbq sauce variety. They only have 1 type of sauce, tomato n vinegar based. Not my favorite.
But for the price and the food quality, definitely is a place to come!

Okay, for me it’s about the food. It’s not about the bathrooms, the carpet or the general property conditions. It’s about the food. Yep Robert Irvine would likely have a stroke, and drag in some chick to put doilies on the tables. Not sure what the kitchen looks like, but they turn out some really wonderful grub, so really I don’t care.
EVERYTHING was good. I have been here several times on trips to the south and back to the north as it is convenient to interstate 95. I try to time it for lunch or dinner. I could go on and describe the Fried chicken (great), Frogs Legs (great) Fried catfish (Great)Oysters (good, but not great), Collard Greens (good) Desserts.
Let me talk about the desserts. They do look a bit sad, but they do make me happy. They have a chocolate devils food cake with a whipped frosting that reminds me of the Devil dogs, I used to buy from the bakery for 6 cents a piece about 55 years ago. Tasty, but it looks like it’s been mauled by a bear. But hell, who cares. It’s the south, it’s an all you can eat buffet with a really good selection of pretty good quality food. For under 10 bucks I’m there dude! They have another location in Emporia Va, I have not tried… Yet

Disclaimer: I am not a buffet person.
This place is gross. The food is disgusting. The ONLY thing I had that tasted halfway decent was the sweet tea. The servers were cleaning the floors the entire time I was there, yet the floors were still disgusting.
You’ve been warned.

This is a local «chain» with locations in Rocky Mount, Emporia VA & here. The location was once a Shoney’s, then I believe some Asian place, I first experienced this restaurant in the Emporia location.
The #1 thing that bothers me at with this place is the lack of welcome/​information when you enter the facility. There is no signage telling to seat yourself or wait to be seated. The second thing that bothers me is the lack of a menu. The «menu» is a bunch a square printed signs that at this location are over a kitchen window. I guess they expect everyone to eat from the buffet.
As for the buffet they have a fair (not great) salad bar selection. Main bar is full of southern favorites — fried chicken, bbq, fish, and southern vegetables. (translation: vegans aren’t going to like the options.)
The server was polite and checked on me multiple times.
Just a few tweaks are needed in the way this chain does business to make it a better dining experience.

Now this joint right here is the BOMB! The fried chicken is thumbs up delicious. Service good, and that strawberry cake so so worth going back for.

WOW! What a selection of food on the Buffett. Fried and BBQ chicken, seafood, catfish, frog legs. Need I say more.

What a pleasant surprise. Was on a road trip getting hungry, figured southern bbq was our best bet. At the time I did not know this was a chain, saw bbq, and went for it.
Face palmed when I realized I walked into an all you can eat buffet. Almost exclusively a bad thing if you want decent food.
Let me tell you, it’s good! Way beyond expectations. Almost everything I tried from the hush puppies to corn bread to bbq chicken pulled pork etc. Quite delicious and also surprisingly not greasy.
The place is run down, the service (if you could call it that at a buffet) was almost literally non existent (our initial water was never refilled, plates piled on the table until the end and our check was haphazardly dropped on the table mid meal) but I didn’t care at all.
Was it the best bbq I’ve ever had? No. For $ 10 though i felt I was getting a tremendous deal and the food far exceeded both my expectations and the price point. Not too shabby.

A work buddy brought me here. I am glad he did. Great food and atmosphere. I will definitely be back. I had to tell myself to stop. Everything was so good. The unsweetened tea was incredible as well!

All I can say is that the BBQ meats on the buffet were surprisingly better than I thought they might be. Let me say that the staff was super nice and very attentive.
—however—
This place is in serious need of repair, cleaning and upgrade. If Chef Robert Irvine walked into this place he’d likely take a sledgehammer to everything. The men’s room has leaky pipes, water all over the floor and a sink that was clogged and overflowing.
The ceiling tiles have stains all over, especially by the entranceway. The area between the buffet tables is simply not picked up with large chunks of food and debris everywhere creating a slip hazard.
Carpets in the dining room covered with food, stains, crumbs abd completely worn through, holes in the upholstered booths, and the walls destroyed from years of friction. If you can get past the appearance you might enjoy a couple of the items on the buffet. I do not think I will come back. I am definitely worried about the potential for gastrointestinal stress in my immediate future.

Stopped in during a drive from South Carolina to the DC area. Arrived at noon and took advantage of the buffet. Everything I tried was VERY good and there was a nice selection of southern cooking. Great collards, beans, wonderful minced pork BBQ, BBQ chicken, fried chicken and coleslaw. Peach cobbler was fantastic. Prices were low and the service was friendly and fast. Lots of locals dining there which should be a good sign. Located only about two minutes from I-​95.

I stopped here while driving from Norfolk, VA to Orlando. I used to live in Roanoke Rapids, and it seemed like a good thing to do.
My family is from Down East, NC and we know NC BBQ. The chopped pork BBQ here is adequate (it ain’t Wilbur’s, but it ain’t bad), but the coke slaw is something to rave about. It’s perfect!
I will definitely be back.

Walked in, saw the buffet they were serving and walked out. I’m sorry but this place needs to up its standards. Food looked pitiful, everything looked over fried.

Had the Buffett and tried most offered
The fried chicken is awesome, butter beans and collards rocked! Nice assortment of all things southern:) We will definitely make our way back.

Howdy out there to all my travelers and North Carolinians folks! If y’all have not heard about Carolina BBQ and Chicken then let me tell ya’ll about it. It’s an all you can eat southern buffet place right off I95 south right off exit 173.
My mom bought me here after an evening of errands for some take-​out. As I walked in for the very first time, it felt like a food festival was going on in here. People were everywhere picking up plates, eating utensils, ordering/​fixing plates either to dine in or for pick-​up.
There are three stations, one that has various vegetables (corn, string beans, collards, cabbage, peas, butter beans… etc) another that has meats, chicken (fried, baked, or BBQ) and fish, hush puppy/​corn bread which are my favorites and last but not least, the salad, fruit, and deserts plus more.
The prices are very reasonable for an all you can eat. Adults pay $ 9.00, seniors $ 8.00, Children ages 0 – 5 $ 2.00, 4 – 10 $ 5.00. They also have a breakfast buffet every Saturday from 7:00am — noon.
If you have not eaten all day and you are hungry then you will be able to satisfy your hunger here.