Food is good but they are very busy. I understand that everyone needs help right now. I would recommend limiting the number of patrons in an effort to provide better service until this problem can be remedied. read more

Ordered the shrimp and grits and the grits came out terrible! The only seasoning they appeared to have on them was salt! The texture of the grits was also off and the portions were very small. My girlfriend ordered the seafood pasta and it came out luke warm and unseasoned as well! The waiter was not attentive and did not return to our table until about 20-30 mins after we got our food. Will not be returning to the venue. read more

The food was not my cup of tea . I had the fried chicken plater, it was under the southern food section . Since it was marketed as southern food i expected a bit of seasoning . For my personal taste it was bland . Green beans were bland for my taste as well . Service was great but the fire ants on the patio should be taken care of. I did not eat much of my plate and the chef came out to address the complaint. I appreciate the fact that he took the chicken off of the bill but he was confident that our complaints were not reasonable . The demographic for this food seems to be old white people. If you are someone who doesn't like a lot of spice then this place would be great ,but for me i wish i could have brought some seasoning . Burcheta was great . read more

I've eaten lunch here 6 or 8 times over the years while in Athens on business. The menu is mainly home cooking southern comfort food - meatloaf, fried chicken, turkey with stuffing, Salisbury steak and gravy, etc - served with traditional southern side dishes. My favorite thing on their menu is the collard greens side dish...perfectly slow cooked with just the right hint of heat on the finish. The entrees are pretty good - in fact I've never had a bad meal here, but they won't be getting a Michelin star anytime soon, I don't think. read more

I was invited out to eat by sister with her husband and kids. Our waitress was super cool (I hate that I can't remember her name). Anyway, everyone thought that their food tasted ok. I had a caesar salad. I'm almost finished with my salad and I notice that there's something foreign in my mouth. I'm hoping that it's just a piece of stringy lettuce. I immediately start pulling at my tongue. I start to pull and pull and pull and I'm mortified that I'm pulling this long piece of hair out of my mouth. A lady at a table was watching me in disbelief. I'm in utter shock. My sister asked me if it was my hair. I said No. The hair is brown or brunette. (My hair is gray in the top and black all the way down.) My sister came over and shined her flash light on it and was like OMG! That's not your hair. Well, I had eaten most of the salad so I wasn't going to say anything. I was just sitting in silence. When our waitress came by, my sister told her that I ended up chewing hair that was in my food. She came over to me and I showed her. She said, "well that's not good". She immediately took my plate away saying that she'll take it off of my ticket. I never said a word. Less than 5 min later, the owner shows up and ask who has a problem over here? No one answered but he made his way over to me. So I told him that I was eating and noticed something in my mouth and it was a long piece of hair. So in a very condescending tone, he looks down at me and says, "are you sure it wasn't your hair?" I said, "well I wish she hadn't taken my plate away so fast because I could have shown it to you but no, it wasn't my hair." Then he proceeds to tell me that no one in his kitchen has long hair and walks off with an attitude saying he'll take it off of the ticket. So I'm pretty upset at this point because I wasn't going to say a word. I figured since he made it his business to come over, the least he could have done is said I'm sorry this happened and I would have simply smiled and said thank you but it's ok, mistakes happen. Instead he decided to be A CONDESCENDING ASS-HOLE!!!! keep in my mind that several waitresses included ours had long brunette hair or the salad could have been prepped the morning of. I don't know, but the owner is a whole ASS! read more

We had an excellent experience. The food was phenomenal. We had fried green tomatoes for appetizer. We had chop steak with mashed potatoes and asparagus. The atmosphere was gorgeous. The service was impeccable. Highly recommended read more

Hilltop Grille - Photo of the seating area - Steakhouses Near Me - Athens, Georgia

Great atmosphere. Delicious food. Great service. Just minutes from UGA. Great bar for a cocktail.

Such a great and homey kind of restaurant. I got the friend chicken with green beans and a loaded baked potato. & a crème brûlée for désert. Everything was delicious. The green beans were seasoned well and the chicken was crunchy but still juicy. read more

Hilltop Grille - Fried Chicken, green beans, loaded baked potato - Steakhouses Near Me - Athens, Georgia

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Really nice facility and service staff but that's were it stops. Had business dinner with customer and coworkers on a Tuesday night. We all ordered beers and they were out of almost every craft beer on menu. Had shrimp and grits. Shrimp were decent but you get more grits at Waffle House. They should spend another $0.25 and give you more grits for $20. read more

This establishment provided the worst service for my sister's wedding party. The room was reserved with a preset menu. We waited over 45 minutes to have our order taken. Another 45 minutes for our salads to be served. Dinner took another 1 1/2 hours to be served. Tables were not bused. Drinks not refilled. No apology was given throughout the whole painful awful experience. The servers slammed drinks down on tables, mumbled under their breath complaining throughout. We paid $1 per slice to cut the cake. They sliced the cake and transferred it to the plates with bare fingers. Flipped the entire cake over and ruined it. No apology given. My salmon dinner arrived after 2 hours undercooked. When I sent the raw salmon back they re fired my piece of salmon and served it to me again. The server argued with me that what did I expect a new piece of salmon? Uhhh, yes. I expect a properly cooked piece of fish. read more

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The Food was outstanding, southern cooking at its best! I had a fried pork chop , collard greens& Smashed potatoes w/gravy! Yummy!!! They even have pepper sauce for the collard greens, just like we have in the Deep South! Hubby had hamburger steak, Cole slaw & baked potatoe! read more

I made a Yelp account to leave a review for this place. The service was good, especially for Easter Sunday. However, the food here was probably one of if not the worst I've had at a restaurant. Considering all of Athens, this is definitely the worst food I've had. We got the artichoke crab dip which was decent. The salads looked pitiful, like cafeteria lettuce, that I didn't even bother getting one. I got a chicken sandwich which maybe was the wrong thing to get here but it was the worst I've ever had. I also tried the steak sandwich which was just bland. Everything just appeared to be very cheap and bland considering the prices. Maybe I got the wrong thing or maybe if you go here stick with brunch, but the only thing that I ate were the fries. read more

I changed my mind this place deserves a 2 out of 5 stars the grits were just so atrocious

Everything was pretty dry here, including my pork chop that was also over cooked. The fried batter they used on everything also had the same flavor, which completely masked the taste of shrimp, mushrooms, and bacon. The only good thing was the bread, which was unbelievably soft and fluffy, until you actually ate it. It had no flavor at all, and the butter served with it was unsalted, which unfortunately didn't help it at all. I think this restaurant is only good if you're an average white person that doesn't know the good flavors you're missing. read more

good date night spot. excellent menu choices. the collard greens taste like somebody grandma in the back stirring the pot! Not sure how the service is always but when we went, it was A1. fast friendly service. Would return. read more

The service was great from the check in throughout the dinner, and the food was even better. A great value and I loved the UGA ambiance.

Really good. One of the nicer restaurants in Athens. Special ordered a burger with certain things on, off, on the side and it came out perfect. Service was attentive without being intrusive. Looking forward to going back and trying something new! read more

I've been going to Hilltop Grill for years and it's always been a good experience. The food is great and the service has always been excellent. Until last night. A group of us went to hear a local band on the patio. It was pretty full, but that's normal for Hilltop on an nice night when there's a band. The food was good, as usual, but the wait staff seemed overwhelmed and it seemed that they were making a point of not seeing people trying to flag them down. Orders took forever to come to the table, in some cases a half hour for a simple salad or a basket of bread. We thought it was just our party until we talked with other folks on the patio and it seemed everyone was experiencing the same thing. Let me emphasize that this is very much out of the norm for Hilltop, so I don't know if they just had a wait staff or management change, but normally the service is great. We'll certainly go back, but if the service is like that again we may give Hilltop a break for a while. read more

We ended up at hilltop grille after our initial dinner plans needed to be changed. Our meal started with a Kentucky Mule, fried green tomatoes, and the bacon wrapped shrimp. All three were amazing! Both were perfectly fried. For dinner my husband had the New York strip with mashed potatoes, collards and a side of scallops. The NY strip was seared to perfection (I would go so far as to say it was one of the best steaks I have had at a restaurant in years) and the collards were like what grandma used to make. I had the crab cakes with sweet potatoes and green beans. Honestly the sweet potatoes where my favorite part. The crab cakes were a little thin but the flavor was spot on. We thoroughly enjoyed our meal and will definitely be back! read more

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Service is so disappointing. Very slow and completely eliminated our bread. Never refilled our drinks the whole time. The food is passing. Only thing great was the hushpuppies. Dont order the country fried steak. It was cooked to destruction. read more

I've been a loyal customer for 12 years and I went in there Saturday night at 9 with a party of 4 and ask for a table and got turned down and watched a guy come in while I was in the lobby wanting a table for a party of four and they immediately seated him. I will never cross their threshold again that was a slap in the face and I've spent thousands in this establishment but never again you have lost my business and everyone I know will hear this story.. read more

Please understand that this a biased review from someone who visits weekly and goes to enjoy the people as much as the food, but I'll give my best advice as well. #1 -- go for Sunday Brunch. We've been on other days, and at other times, and the experience and food have been different. The bacon wrapped shrimp (worth a 40 minute drive) on Sunday are huge and delicious. Other times have been less so. Why is brunch different? We don't know, but there is definitely a difference. Don't complain to me if you went at another time and weren't impressed -- you've been told. #2 -- I've read negative comments about the staff acting like family, or too much laughter, etc. The laughter from the bar is probably from Jen, the bartender. That says a lot when people can and do laugh at work. Yes, the staff is like family. Most of them have worked together for YEARS. Nothing speaks more highly of an establishment than low employee turnover. #3 -- look people, shrimp and grits are like barbecue and opinions -- everyone has their own version. I've never been to two different restaurants where the shrimp and grits were the same. For some reason, some people get weird when this happens. Chalk it up to "not what I expected," but don't slam the place because it isn't what you had in Charleston. #4 -- Gumbo. Get the gumbo. If you are unsure, the gumbo is consistently good. We have tried to recreate it at home, and we've decided a trip to Athens is easier. #5 -- Hilltop has become a part of our lives. We drive from Monroe, every Sunday, to see friends, both fellow regulars and staff. We feel like family there. There aren't many times in life where a "restaurant" can do this, but Hilltop has. read more

hearsal dinner. Looking at some of the other reviews on large groups, we could not be happier with our food or service. It certainly would not be as good as if we'd had a party of 4, but for a group as larger as ours, they did a great job.   We had a party of 28, and these guys did a great job with our wedding rehearsal dinner. Looking at some of the other reviews on large groups, we could not be happier with our food or service. It certainly would not be as good as if we'd had a party of 4, but for a group as larger as ours, they did a great job read more

Food and service were great. The parking and restaurant was spacious. The bar was a booming place. We had shrimp & grits, seafood pasta, and key lime pie. ALL were delicious. Hostess was friendly and helpful. We enjoyed it and will come back often. read more

My wife and I tried the Hilltop on a Thursday night. We arrived about 7:30 and the dining room was mostly empty and the bar full. We decided to eat at the bar. The bartender was very nice and gave us good service throughout our meal. We started with the bacon wrapped shrimp. My wife had it before and said we need to order it. It arrived quickly and we both agreed that it had been fried too long. The bacon was too crisp and the shrimp tough. We ordered dinner and my wife had the fried catfish and I had the fried pork chop. Mine came with mashed potatoes and collards. The potatoes were real with lumps and the collards seasoned perfectly. My wife enjoyed the fried catfish and liked the homemade tater sauce. The cole slaw was vinegar based rather than her preference of mayonnaise based. The hush puppies were good. After many years of listening to the Bulldog show here on Sunday's it was nice to try it out. read more

Very nice place to get great seafood which I absolutely love. Their steaks are amazing also. The staff are very friendly, the atmosphere is very nice Dress casual or dressy they both work. Love the fire place. I love having date night here. read more

Hilltop Grille - The fried catfish fillet was a winner . - Steakhouses Near Me - Athens, Georgia

We went here for a birthday dinner, only 4 of us. The atmosphere was great; however, the food and service was unrepresentative of the price and expectation from reviews. Our server was nice, but she did not come to check on how our food was after it was served til we were done which left me waiting to eat until everyone else was finished. The filet I got was dry and my plate looked and tasted like everything had sat under a hot lamp for 20 minutes, the green beans were cold as well. She was very receptive after being notified of the problem; however, after getting everything redone they didn't even take off the extra charge for the steak topping I asked to be removed. Overall it was an okay experience but I do not plan on returning as you can get better food and much better customer service for half the price. read more

My experience at this restaurant was poor. My family's party of 7 left extremely underwhelmed and dissatisfied. The food was nothing special, none of the dishes stood out. My crab cakes were soggy and lacking in presentation. My six year old's cheeseburger was inedible, my sister "filet mignon" looked like it had been microwaved, and dessert was just a big blob of junk (brownie a la mode)! Despite sitting in front of the fireplace, the restaurant was FREEZING! We all kept our coats in throughout dinner and ordered hot soup to stay warm. Our server was the absolute WORST! She had to be reminded to bring our check, refill our drinks, bring our dessert, she forgot drink orders, to go containers, literally everything. She wasn't friendly, and she never apologized for her mistakes. This was a HORRIFIC experience and I will NEVER return! read more

We visited this restaurant over a busy UGA weekend and although our entrees were good, the service was slow and our vegetable side was three pieces of asparagus! Seriously??? We really want to patronage this place, however they need to understand that giving guests what they paid for is a one and only way to get them to return!! read more

Good food. The fried mushroom appetizer had light and fluffy breading, but the mushrooms weren't mushy. That was great! Entrees were good. Fried chicken was very good. Boneless breast pieces. Country fried steak had some gristle to it. Shrimp and grits were tasty--served with drawn butter as a neat surprise. Scallops got a good review. Fried catfish was good, but nothing special. Cole slaw is vinegar based, not mayo based. Good, but not the style one person in our party likes. Personal preference issue, not quality issue. Good place overall. Waitress was great. Hostess being more welcoming would have been nice--see other posts! read more

The food is average. What keeps this place going is it seems to be the "Johnny's Hideaway" of Athens. i.e. The place for seniors to hook-up.

This restaurant is great when they actually have the items on their menu. It's really annoying that they rarely have the items you want. Their lemonade is mediocre, and the service tends to be subpar from time to time. read more

I'm never disappointed when I eat here. Nice atmosphere, solid service, and decent to a little expensive prices. The rolls are out of this world - make sure you request them. read more

If I could give less than a star I would! Service is horrible, and wait times are ridiculous! We had to ask our server for refills and at one point were so hungry we asked for ANYTHING to eat! When they finally brought us a basket of rolls, we ravaged them like a bunch of savages! Shouldn't that have been offered before we were waiting for over an hour for our food? Oh, and Our appetizer never showed either; our sever "apologized" and said it was given to another table! Seriously?! We waited over an hour and a half....before we got up and left! My poor kids were starving! Waffle House provides better service than this place; which is exactly where we went! read more

Another lovely meal with the family at this Athens favorite. Our service was attentive and food prepared wonderfully. The seafood pasta was a favorite, a generous portion. The bacon wrapped shrimp and bruschetta were excellent starters. The steaks were cooked perfectly. Great selection of classic southern dishes in the Classic City! read more

First off, for all you STARVING people out there....DO NOT GO HERE! Not only are the portions miniscule (definitely not the bang for your buck) but the wait for the FOOD was excruciating. I ordered the pork trio appetizer. It came like 20 minutes later (not exaggerating the time). There it was, 3 mini pork buns, one with onions, one with pickles, and one with coleslaw. It also came with a trio of sauces, one spicy, one sour/sweet, and one typical bbq flavored one. For $9, it just tasted like your typical BBQ sandwich, except mini size....NOTHING to brag about. For the entree, I ordered the 7oz filet mignon with the sweet potatoes and leeks. When the entree FINALLY came out I was somewhat surprised. $24 for a BARE white plate? Sure the meat was there and a small scoop of the side dish...but there was so much WHITE EMPTY SPACE on the plate I was blinded. By the time dessert came (we ordered the fried cheesecake) I was ready to leave. We ordered the dessert to go. I'm not saying this place has awful food. I'm just saying if you do decide to dine here, it's wayyyy overpriced for the amount of food you get and the food takes a LONG time to get out of the kitchen. read more

My girlfriend and I were so glad we ignored the negative reviews and opted to try this place for ourselves! Got the surf & turf special; shrimp were well cooked, steak came out perfect. My girlfriend ordered the crab cakes; great sized portion for the price. The mashed potatoes were nothing to write home about, and the green beans would be better without the mushrooms, but that's just a matter of opinion. Facts are: food was good, accurate, hot, and quick! read more

One thing about the clientele at the Hilltop Grille: not the people I usually surround myself with, either on accident or as luck would have it. This week I went and found that everyone inside, with the exception of the people at our table, was at least 63 years old. The place was perhaps 1/5 full on a Sunday at 3 PM, but that was a bigger crowd than the last time I'd been. On Sunday, we sat in a HUGE booth and ordered overpriced food that was, to my surprise, pretty good. Uninspired but good. The crab-artichoke dip was yummy but probably not crabby enough for seafood experts; probably not a big enough serving for those who just spent $8 on it. I got the chicken fingers, which was a nice, reliable pre-teen-style choice. But oh! They were DELICIOUS! The waiter told me that every day the kitchen staff slices high-quality chicken breast and doesn't overbread the stuff. All white meat, juicy, well-cooked. Yum. My meal came with two sides, so I ordered the garlic & mushroom green beans (pretty good) and grits (cheesy and good, but plasticy when re-heated, of course). The environment is weird for me. As I mentioned, there were lots of older folks last time, hardly any folks the time before that. The only other visit I've made to the Hilltop Grille was on a game day, and I'm not really a football fan. That being said, the red-clad guests did not get on my nerves at all. Imagine one of the classier tailgate stations on North Campus and you'll know what the customers looked and acted like. (No frat-tastic, wasted student section antics here.) To sum up, let me say one more thing: the moment I was walking in the front door, I realized why the place felt strange to me. It is a remarkable mock-up of any given restaurant any suburban teen would go to for a pre-prom dinner. I'm quite sure you'll see what I mean. read more

The Old Establishment-type restaurant in a very popular college town. Guests & menu are old school, but everything on the menu is good, if overpriced. Decent bar, good mixed drinks. For y'all value-minded folks, use this strategy: -Thursday Night Prime RIb & Shrimp special ($18) - Daily Blue Plate Special (Lunch $9) - Sundays Free Kid's Meal with each dinner entree (Sundays) - Weeknight Early Bird Entree for $10 (4PM-6PM) www.hilltopgrille.com read more

Yup, yup, the Hilltop Grille is indeed A-OK. My mom and I stopped by for a weekday birthday lunch (mine). This place packs out for lunch, and as Janet G. mentioned, the average customer was about three times my age. The decor is sort of corporate casual, like something you would expect from an upscale chain, except Hilltop makes sure that touches of the owner are all over with the Athens and UGA memorabilia. In fact, I think that it might have been the owner that sat us. The fried green tomato appetizer was competent, but my mom declared that my homemade ones are better. My mom had the crabcake entree, which contrary to menu description comes with not one but two crabcakes. They were quite good, and came with fries and vinegary coleslaw, but our waiter said she could sub out for any other side she liked. She kept the original sides, and the coleslaw was really a standout, so I'm glad she did! For $12, it wasn't exactly a cheap lunch, but considering that it came with two large crabcakes, I think it was still a good value. I had the house salad with grilled steak. It was a large salad of mostly romaine, with bacon, avocado, tomatoes, cheese, and perfectly medium rare and VERY tender steak on top. Their blue cheese dressing is definitely not homemade, but it was good enough, and for $10 I thought I got our moneys worth. Overall, the Hilltop Grille was...nice. Good. A-Ok. Will I come back? Probably, but the nicer restaurants downtown with a little more menu flair will probably get the best chance at my business. read more