The food was great. The service was great. Try to stop in everytime I am in Chattanooga.

Are at this restaurant with my mom. We both had the buffet, which was small, but had several choices. Everything that we had was really good! My mom has been looking for a country style cooking buffet for a while and she was very excited that we found Fernando's and that it was so good! They also have a full menu that we could have ordered from, but we did not even look at it as we came for the buffet. The servers were very nice and attentive. The only annoying thing was that the phone kept ringing off the hook and the checkout girl was too busy to be able to answer it often. The noise was a bit annoying. Everything else- A+ read more

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There was a cockroach on the table still moving, veins in the shrimp, residue on the "clean" silverware, and the tables were sticky. there was mold on the ceiling that was caving in. The chicken was a literal breaded tire. and the pizza was covered in grease. There was definitely health code violations here, the buffet was tiny. I WOULD NEVER COME HERE AGAIN AND NEITHER SHOULD YOU. read more

looks like crap, smells like crap, tastes like crap, must be crap. That was exactly this trash can of a buffet. I'd rather eat a thrown out cork in a dumpster. Staff was excellent. Im so sorry for the good people that have to work here, I hope food is not part of their benefit program. read more

Tried this place on the evening of 6/10/23. At about 6:00 pm local time . It's a small " mom and pop" type place with lots of locals . If your traveling like I was it was kind of a cool feeling to sit amongst the locals . The atmosphere inside is basic but not in a bad way.... Just kind of simple. Trust me it's not a glitzy place at all .... Almost has a throwback feel. The staff is genuine and attentive. Very down home. They serve food from their menu which ranges from breakfast to burgers to regular southern fare. They serve breakfast all day . I did not order the breakfast but what I saw on the tables of people who did ... it looked great ! For a do's also has a Buffet bar. It's very small but very adequate. It was the buffet bar I ate from . It had a modest salad section with lettuce and most of a salad component I had some of their crab salad that was on the bar and it was fantastic. As for the hot food they offered a variety of meats such as BBQ, fried chicken , fried fish, and nice chunks of ham cooked with pineapple. I had the BBQ and fried fish and a little piece of the ham. All was good but the ham was really good. For sides they had Mashed potatoes and gravy, Mac and cheese, broccoli casserole, pinto beans. I had the potatoes and gravy which was very good . I also had the Mac and cheese which wasn't as good . It didn't taste cheesy and wasn't seasoned at all . . My waitress brought me cornbread with plenty of butter and that was good . On the bar they also had a dessert section but I got nothing from there. I did see that it contained jello, fresh fruits, chocolate pudding, and banana pudding. Over all this place was pretty good .... Polite staff nice local atmosphere and pretty good food . Trust me you could do worse . So if ya want some local southern food I'd pick this place . I will be back here next time I'm in Chattanooga. read more

Cold food, the Buffett doesn't match what the website post. No bread. Food had been sitting under the warming lights for a while. Food dried out. Salad was the best part of the food read more

This was my first visit here ever. It's in East Ridge, TN. My experience? Great service - Great Food and Great Place. Yes, that just about sums it up for this restaurant. I was greeted as soon as I walked in the door and seated near the front entrance. I highly recommend getting their buffet here. While, you are at it, ask for the 10 percent discount you get just for checking in here using the Yelp App. I see others were charged $7.99 for their buffet but I was charged $8.99. Maybe they have gone up on their prices or dinner buffet is one dollar more. Anyway, as you walk in, bathrooms are up front. So, you can wash your hands before you enter the restaurant. How cool is that. As you open the second inside door, you will see 3 bars in the back. One is a salad/soup bar, one is a pizza bar and the other is of course the hot bar which is the most popular. After choosing my buffet items I sat down and my waiter asked if I wanted any bread. So, I got their cornbread which was excellent. You can get a salad along with desert too here. Both, were delicious and the buffet items I chose really had Fernando's hitting a "home run" with me. They also kept my drink full at all times while I was dining in here. Their cornbread was soft and delicious. Their spaghetti tasted great just like mama makes. Oh and I can't believe I was able to get sweet potato casserole with marshmallows here. It's worth coming here just to get that. In summary, I will definitely come back one day. I parked in the back which is what I recommend. Don't forget to ask for the ten percent discount just for checking in on Yelp when you leave. Final thoughts: I don't know why there are a hand full of bad reviews. The food was great. In fact, I wish there was a Fernando's close to where I live. I'd be a regular. I saw nothing wrong. I mean everyone was nice and friendly to me including the hostess who is also the cashier. So, congratulations on a 5 star review. read more

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The buffet was good food but not very hot. I think it would have been better if we had gone a little later in the evening because we ate at 5pm and it seems it probably sat there for a while. We also had the Italian cheesesteak and it was excellent. The service is fantastic and the prices are reasonable. I hear their pizza is really good too. We will definitely be coming back. read more

Very few choices for the money. The server was very slow and selective about the customers to served.

We decided to try this place out instead of going to Cracker Barrel, but we should have just gone there instead. Slow service, and once the food came out it was all just barely warm. Pancakes were inedible, but the skillet was pretty good, would have been much better hot. The portion sizes were big. read more

Fernando's - #4. Two Egg Any Style with 2 Chocolate Chip Pancakes Meat Skillets - American Near Me - East Ridge, Tennessee

Worst French toast EVER!!!!!!! Three slices of DRY WHITE TOAST. Fernando's PLEASE hire a real chef/cook. I laughed for twenty whole minutes after opening this (delivered by Door Dash). If you don't know how to make simple French toast, get the heck out the kitchen. If I could score less than one star I would. read more

Fernando's - this is Fernando's version of French Toast???? Three slices of dry white toast??? I kid you NOT - American Near Me - East Ridge, Tennessee

We had the misfortune to eat at Fernando's Sunday evening about 4:00 pm, 5/22/22. I had the buffet and it was good. My wife ordered a Hamburger and fries. After 45 minutes, my wife hadn't received her food. I complained to our waitress (after I was able to make interrupt her from fraternizing with her coworkers). Apparently, our inept waitress didn't turn in my wife's food order. My wife didn't receive her food for over an hour after she ordered it! Also, I had to trail down employees to get condiments. No refills on our drinks until we were ready to leave! Fernando, please pay more attention to your business. Our waitress needs to be fired! You can locate my check because they took 48 cents off because our food too long. See read more

Fernando's - The receipt from my visit - American Near Me - East Ridge, Tennessee

I have yet to actually eat in the restaurant. I've ordered a few times from Wait'rd or GrubHub. I love that I can get breakfast delivered when I just don't feel like going out on a weekend morning. The food comes pretty quickly and the pancakes and potatoes are good. I ordered poached eggs once, but wouldn't do that again. By the time they got to me, they had pretty much steamed cooked to hard steamed eggs. Not their fault. I've even ordered oatmeal and it was just perfectly comforting. Dinner as been hit or miss. They gyro was really good, but the meatloaf was not. Mashed potatoes are yummy and plentiful. You can get a typical meat and three here. My understanding is that it is owned by someone who also partially owned Family Table, which was a staple with me and my ex a few years ago. It is comfort food, for sure. read more

Fernando's - American Near Me - East Ridge, Tennessee

Let me start by saying I dislike buffets so this review might not be all that good. It's mainly based off the others in our party of 14. We went for dinner. The buffet had chicken(baked & fried), salad, few vegetables , ham, cranberry sauce, Mac & cheese and a few other items. They also had a pizza bar. You have a choice of ordering from the menu or doing the buffet. They serve breakfast all day and have a Italian section on the menu. Everyone ordered the buffet, I ordered a baked potato which was ok. Everything was sampled from the buffet. A few favorites pepperoni pizza, brussel sprouts , Mac & cheese, ham and the ice cream. The chicken was ok. Forgot to take pictures. The customer service was great . I believe the buffet was $8.99. They were pretty busy also. Again since I don't like buffets this wasn't my thing so I don't think I'd return unless it was for a family get together again. read more

Fernando's is amazing! Fantastic pizza and two for one price all the time.. yes, all the time! Each time we don't want to cook dinner and think .... Yup, pizza. We chose Fernando's. Their customer service is typically good. Amy in particular is awesome! Thank you Fernando's for helping me out on the evenings I don't want to cook. Your pizza is so much better than the other options in the area. It's perfectly yummy... no thank you commercial pizza and yes please to Fernando's read more

Worst food ever the chicken was burnt and dry pizza tasted like cardboard I have never eaten a worse meal before in my life. Service was pretty good waitress gave us kids buffet price. Ambience not very good, smelled like natural gas and collard greens throughout. Avoid at all costs read more

I have never had an experience like the one on Sunday, May 28th. My family and I visited Fernando's for the first time. I ordered catfish and had to send it back because it was cold and not fully cooked. After recooking the second order and returning it back to me it was hot but still not fully cooked and was sent out on the plate with an excessive amount of grease (the fish had not been drained). I had to take a napkin to absorb the grease. There were 10 of us. 8 of us had issues with our meal. We requested to see the manager. He refused to come to our table. I heard him yelling from the back saying he was not coming out and he didn't care if we didn't come back(we did not say this). We simply wanted to talk to him regarding our food but he refused and was very angry, shouting so customers could hear him. We are stupefied/baffled on his leadership and being an example for his staff and other patrons. We are very disappointed with the managers' behavior. It was not about us not paying for the food. Because our family consisted of a Doctor, Chemical Engineers, Principals and Entrepreneurs we know that we deserved better than what we got. We ended up paying $124 for slop(food for pigs). I do not recommend this restaurant. ****THE SERVERS AND CASHIERS ARE PHENOMENAL read more

Food was fine but as we were leaving the waitress asked my Mexican husband where he is from then told him "you're too pretty to be Mexican"

I have been seeing their add's on Fbook for weeks and have been dying to try it. Got there Sunday for lunch and had grilled catfish, okra & mashed potato's. Food was good. My wife had Fettuccine and some bread and both were outstanding. I'm going to chalk the waitress' attitude up to Covid because she didn't want to be there and wasn't very cheery or helpful. We asked about one of the desserts and her description was blahhhhh. We went with the banana pudding instead and it was very good. I will try them again because I want to try the pizza but otherwise, I probably wouldn't have gone back because of that. read more

This is the second time I have been there for the breakfast buffet. They have off street parking. It is a typical small family restaurant with booths and tables with no tablecloths. They have a menu, but I have only had the buffet breakfast. It has a great selection and food was always warm and tasty. Service is good and friendly. The first time I went I was impressed because it had a full breakfast and included coffee and orange juice for $7.99; great value. HOWEVER, the second time they charged me almost 3 dollars for the coffee so now not such a "value". I give it a 3 but because of the difference in cost, I will go somewhere else in the future and you might guess where. read more

Service was good, first plate I grabbed for the buffet was dirty with food stuck to it, the buffet was not very impressive at all. The food was good but the salad was not, it was full of white lettuce, very little green at all. Maybe ordering off the menu or eating off the pizza bar would have been better. On a positive note, the apple cobbler was great! read more

Fernando's - The front dining area - American Near Me - East Ridge, Tennessee

Just ate here! Buffet food cold and not really that good.For 2 buffet and 2 sweet tea.$33.Saw this place advertised on Facebook.thoight we would drive up to east ridge to try it out.Would have got a lot better food and would of gotten steak on buffet.I truly don't recommend. read more

Delish! Huge portions and great service! Meat Sauce was amazing. I'm traveling with a Italian from Brooklyn and he knows his sauce. read more

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UPDATE.. on this slow Saturday they featured hot wings, friendly staff, and FREE WIFI!!!!Well managed quant eatery. This is a small but spacious place to get soWthern food and breakfast aWl day. If you go often enough they will call you by name. The buffet menu changes frequently and they also have an awesome kitchen menu filled with delicious Italian favorites. The owners are local and have fought to keep a restaurant that they can call unique and quality, the way they want it. Everything here gets a 85% out of 100 for me. The prices are fair and the place is kept clean. The tables are kept up by a wait staff, and they will bring you bread to your table or anything else you desire free with buffet purchase, as long as it's on the buffet. They are extremely helpful to seniors and I recommend this place to anyone. Service and food are not always consistent , makes it ki read more

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The food? Exactly what you would expect canned this, instant that.... Ok not bad, just not great. Service? Isn't any. You will wait for refills, which is the only part of service at a buffet. I went in a lunch opening, waited.... waited... finally got a drink after about 10 min. Food finally came out. Got some. Hey, need a refill. The staff? THEY ARE SITTING DOWN EATING LUNCH... AT 11:30. Pro tip: Servers don't sit during rush hours!!!! Got up, went behind buffet, got my own. What do you expect, redneck dive. read more

Had Fernando's delivered via Uber Eats to the hospital where my Granddaddy had knee surgery. I got the eggplant parm, salad and a side of spaghetti... it was a weird day, hospital and all. The meal came with bread and it came hot. The food overall was average and it did the trick. Open late enough to get a hot meal delivered after a long day! read more

So, I'm normally not one to write a bad review. I usually just make a point not to visit the place again if I don't like the food or the service. However, I've had a love-hate relationship with this place and I keep going back because it's rather convenient. Also, I liked the old Family Table restaurant (same owners as Fernando's) as well as the Eidson restaurant that used to be in the same location. Anyway, the quality of the food is usually mediocre at best but sometimes it can be surprisingly tasteful. Most of the time, I get the buffet so that is what I'm referring to. The often old, cold, bland food aside - that isn't the main reason I'm leaving a negative review. The reason that I will never go back is because of the service. All of the older waitresses are great and this is not about them. It's the younger waitresses and waiter that have ruined it for me. They are completely inattentive and they stand around, making fun of the customers. During one of my last visits, there was an older black gentleman who had brought back 5-6 pieces of pizza on his plate and one of the waitresses motioned with her eyes to the waiter who turned around and looked at the guy's plate and the waitress mumbled ''Hasn't his fat ass had enough'' ? I started to say something but I decided against it. That wasn't the first time I'd noticed them making jokes/comments about customers but that was certainly the most blatant. They've done the same thing to myself, my friends, and some of my family. If they or the owners have a problem with a guy getting several slices of pizza on his plate or customers eating 3-4 plates at the buffet then get rid of the buffet. Or, maybe get out of the restaurant business. If you want good home cooking around East Ridge, go down the road to Melodee's instead and skip this place. read more

The food is good. I've never had any issues with it. However, the owner, Fernando, cares nothing about the diners or staff sweating in the hot temperatures. He turned it up yesterday and will fire anyone who touches it! Both diners and staff are sweating and miserable. Imagine what's dripping into the food if we're this hot out here! read more

Ordered through Door Dash. Botched our order completely (no salad dressing with charged salads, wrong entree, forgot to put in dessert, forgot silverware). The food was subpar at best. Meatballs had a very funny taste and the ricotta was hard (ricotta should be creamy in a filled pasta shell). This was definitely a bummer. We were really looking forward to it. Complete letdown. read more

This place is for older people.. Food is ok.. Service NOT.. Horrible service.. I highly suggest they get a staff who feels like working.. Been there 3 times and the exact horrible service each time. read more

We went on a Friday for steak and seafood bar. Waitress was fantastic! They cooked our steak to order and it was very tasty! We enjoyed a small salad bar, pizza bar, vegetable bar and ice cream and cobbler all included in price. Not bad for a family buffet restaurant! read more

Fernando is a nice family restaurant. Food is comfort food for everyone the only reason for loss of star is store needs a freshening up. Prices are moderately low. Love the fried okra... and I a more of meat person. read more

Here's what I told my wife after eating at Fernando's. "I love you. Never take me there again." Now, I had the food bar and she had spaghetti with meatballs. The only thing that was abhorrent was the potato salad*. But every single thing I tried was unenthusiastically toeing the threshold of mediocre. There will likely be those, like ourselves, who give it a try because they miss The Family Table. Do not make this mistake--you will be disappointed. Finally, the meal gave me the runs for several hours the next morning as if I'd been chugging straight lactose.** I hadn't eaten anything else out of the ordinary that day, so I'm pretty sure it was something from Fernando's. It pains me to write a negative review, but it would pain me more to let people eat there in ignorance. Food should taste good. Food you are paying someone to make for you should taste great. *This is the South. There is no excuse for having bad potato salad on the menu. **I'm lactose intolerant. read more

I am so unsure of where to even start. I won't grade them on atmosphere, so let's stick to brass tacks and focus on the...um, food. Between two plates was an order of meatloaf with mash, okra, and green beans and chopped steak with mac, okra, and greens. Corn muffins for both. The meatloaf was the scariest damn slice of loaf product I have ever encountered. Where or what the "meat" was, the world may never know. But I can assure you that if indeed it was ever truly meat, it had been churned to the point of being unrecognizable a long, long time ago. This was a slice of solidified paste covered in gravy. Paste. It was paste that had been formed into a loaf, baked, sliced, and served hoping that no one would recognize it as a meat imposter. Let me reiterate: Paste. The unseasoned green beans: from a can. The unseasoned greens: from a can. The mashed potatoes: from a box. The gravy: from a powder mix. The mac: low-melt cheese food product and doughy noodles. The corn muffins: from a box (and slightly burnt!) The okra: the only redeeming thing on both plates. My big takeaway - This place is trying to cater to too many palates and has a major identity crisis. They offer italian, stir fry, greek, american, pizza, and deli sandwiches. They need to focus on one genre and do it right instead of being cheap and ordering weird, pre-made foods and serving it to the masses. read more

Wow! I'm so glad this family is back. Think the Family Table in East Ridge when it was so much better! The place is very clean & parking is very convenient once you figure it out. They are located in what was formerly "The Edison" restaurant. They have the lunch buffet for $7.99 all you can eat! This includes pizza bar, hot bar (meat & vegetable selections), and a soup & salad bar! Fresh made food on everyone. I hate to let everyone know about how good it is for the price in fear of not being able to get in & out for lunch, but these guys have done a great job & they deserve the business. Go try them out, you'll be glad that you did. read more

I love this restaurant. It's where I know that I can always go for some good Home cooked meal. I love that they have a buffet which makes it easier to choose from. They always make you feel welcome and are very attentive. The only reason why I gave it a four star is because it's a little chilly in there at times. read more

So- I'm not sure where I even begin. We walked in the front door and stood there for at least three or four minutes before we were ever even greeted. The lady said hello and proceeded to answer the telephone hand us menus and point to a booth where we are supposed to sit. The booth was torn so bad and in such bad condition that I asked to switch Booths as I was wearing white pants. She acted completely put out and suggested that I sit on the opposite side and my friend who is wearing blue jean shorts could sit on the side that was torn. They have an all day Buffet that includes country cooking and pizza. We decided to go with that instead of ordering off the menu. The regular country cooking was not that good. It took a while but they finally brought out a fresh cheese Pizza. It is the only reason they are getting two stars. The salad bar didnt look that fresh. The regular Buffet featured mashed potatoes-that were not good, buttered corn, macaroni and cheese-that was horrible. It did have brussel sprouts- that were super mushy. And .... terribly overcooked chicken. Our waitress was not very polite and at one point I had to get up with my cup and ask for a refill. The restaurant itself was fairly busy and it looked as though the majority of the people were regulars there. If I were to come back I would only order pizza off the menu-togo! read more

Fernando's - Sunday - American Near Me - East Ridge, Tennessee

the whole restaurant has roaches all over there was one on the wall and floor by my table while i was eating , the food is really dry like it has been sitting out for a while, i was told the food from previous days are put back out on the buffet, i heard waitresses arguing and yelling at each other . The place is unorganized, unprofessional, and really dirty read more

This place is packed but you expect that when the buffet is $5. We've been here a handful of times and the food is always delicious. The staff seems short handed and hurried but they are still very friendly. The complaint I have is that you only get one napkin that comes with your silverware. Any more than that and you have to ask. There was a couple seated near us that brought their own paper towels. Says they come often and always bring their own paper towels. Very smart idea read more

They've got a little bit of everything on their buffet and on the menu...pizza, pasta, soup that changes daily, salad bar, etc. all you can eat buffet for $7.99 includes a drink. Their fried chicken is delicious, falls off the bone..we'd honestly come back just for that. read more