Food was hot and fresh. One member of our party did not care for the gravy on the mashed potatoes. They gave him another mashed potato without gravy. The waiter was very polite and kept everyone satisfied. This location was very good. This family run restraunt works hard to satisfy the customers. Good food and good service. read more

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Our first visit here. If you are looking for a like home meal then this is the place. The server Natalie made solid recommendations, she was attentive and pleasant. The flounder and green beans were tasty and well seasoned. The yams were okay, not overly sweet but could have used more cinnamon. The pork chop was flavorful and tender, but needed to be more crisp. The lima beans were kinda dry and the macaroni was good enough, but not great. The restaurant is large with a large board that informs you of the menu. The floor was kinda slippery and greasy, I guess due to the large number of "southern" dishes. This is a good spot for a solid, inexpensive meal, but if you are looking for fancy or health conscious meal this is not the place. read more

Lizard's Thicket - Fried Flounder Small Plate with green beans and candied yams. - Southern Near Me - Columbia, South Carolina

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Been coming here since I was a kid and now I am 40. Even relocating to Summerville SC, every time I came home before I left I would hit Elmwood to 26 and get me a Lizard Thicket Dinner. Meatloaf Wednesday is always a win. From the breakfast to dinner options of southern comfort food, I get excited just knowing I can take a piece of home back with me every time I travel. The breakfast of the Griddle Special or Carolina Wrap are my go to options as I am a true southern girl at heart and Onion Sausage is a staple. Otherwise I do the southern breakfast with liver pudding and grits or catfish and grits. For dinner there is nothing I haven't eaten or tried or fell in love with except the liver and onions...not a fan. Wish they would bring back the fried squash as a side as I use to slide by there on lunch just for a hot bag of fried squash. Love me some Lizard's Thicket! read more

Lizard's Thicket - Griddle Special with Onion Sausage and French Toast with a side of Hashbrowns - Southern Near Me - Columbia, South Carolina

Came here after visiting the zoo. The kids really enjoyed having jello after their meals. Food was fresh and hot. Our server was helpful and our food came out fast and perfect. Will definitely be our go to spot after the zoo! read more

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Food was very good, as it has always been when I've been to LT. Waitress was a bit slow today (1:00pm) even had a lady across from me point out to waitress I had been waiting. Restaurant is clean, bathroom was clean. read more

Lizard's Thicket - Fried flounder, mac and cheese, fried okra, cream corn and rolls with a sweet tea. - Southern Near Me - Columbia, South Carolina

Cooked to order breakfast with real eggs by real people. Step up from more places. My eggs were cooked well, the tomatoes were excellent and the biscuit was great. Service is friendly and efficient. read more

Lizard's Thicket - 10/2025 side of sausage gravy 3.99 and breakfast with no meat 6.99. Coffee 2.49 - Southern Near Me - Columbia, South Carolina

I've been a huge Lizard's Thicket fan since my family moved to Columbia over 40 years ago. Now that I live in Georgia I eat here every time I'm back in Columbia. It's really nice to go somewhere that's the same as it was in my youth. The food's still great and their team is always super friendly. Unlike other restaurants they've kept their prices under control, which is also a breath of fresh air. Additionally, they have food here you cannot find elsewhere like creamed chip beef on toast and the Carolina wrap. I also like that they don't have those stupid high top tables. 10/10 - highly recommended read more

Lizard's Thicket - Cheese Grits Carolina Wrap (Onion Sausage) Cream Chipped Beef - Southern Near Me - Columbia, South Carolina

Yelp! We all the way up n Columbia, SC downtown hungry. And, thank God for Yelp, Lizard's thicket came up as a top choice. We are a party of 4. Upon entry, your menu had our mouths watering. You got everything on a Wednesday night. Fried pork chop, fried fish, baked chicken, sliced ham, country bone in ham, meat loaf and all the veggies in the garden to take sides with all this good stuff. Ty got the meat loaf with black-eyed peas, fried okra and greens. He said it was decent. I got the sliced ham, spinach, Mac and cheese and green beans. All veggies are yummy, but this ham was seared on the grill. I'm from Alabama, this not baked ham. I didn't like. Overall this is a great pick. Rachel, our server was working hard tonight we appreciate your service. read more

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I went through the drive-through a couple of Sundays ago and ordered the beef stew. When I got home and started eating it, I had one piece of beef and all the other pieces were pure fat!!!! The next time I went through the drive-through for something else, I told the cashier at the window about my experience the Sunday before. She got the manager and I repeated my experience to her to which she replied she couldn't do anything about it because it had been 8 days since it happened. I thought that was the worst answer I could have gotten if she wanted to keep my business. I was so shocked, I didn't argue with her but I sure didn't understand her position. I would never order the beef stew again unless I was sitting down inside the restaurant so I could see what I was getting. The consistency of their food is some days good, some days not edible. I like to go there on Sundays only because of the drive-through for convenience. read more

We stopped at this location of Lizard's Thicket for lunch while driving to Savannah. I had some of my youth group kids with me and we all loved the place! You cannot get a decent meal like theirs for the price. You get a meat and 3 sides for $11.99! They did have another menu available - one of my students ordered a BLT but without the L and T - so a bacon sandwich. Our server was fantastic and the entire staff was super friendly. This was very much a southern after church lunch hangout! It was busy but it did not take a long time to be seated and served. I definitely recommend giving this place a try if you're in the area. read more

Lizard's Thicket - The "menu" wall - Southern Near Me - Columbia, South Carolina

Cold food, hard biscuits, meat made of leather and that's just breakfast. For after breakfast, salted and unsalted in all the worst possible ways. But if you don't mind subpar food, great staff and clean read more

This restaurant has a downhome feel. The servers are friendly and accommodating. The food is tasty. Although the fried chicken was a little dry. The cornbread dressing was excellent. And the cabbage was cooked to perfection. It's a great place for locals and tourists alike. read more

We've only ate Breakfast at Lizard Thickets but today we decided to give it a try for lunch. We both ordered the small plate meat and veggie meal. Hubster - fried flounder, macaroni and cheese and squash casserole. He said the flounder didn't have any flavor and was dry. As for the macaroni and cheese he said it was basically boiled macaroni noodles topped with shredded cheese, not impressive at all. Squash casserole was his favorite part of his meal but he is only willing to say it was "alright". He said it was a little salty but for the most part good. I ordered the fried chicken (thigh) with mashed potatoes, collards, and baby Lima beans. My only compliment with my meal was the collards were too sweet. The salad was huge the thousand island dressing was delicious, it wasn't chunky but seems more blended and smooth which makes me think it's made in house. For dessert we ordered the lemon meringue pie and chocolate pie. Both pies were delicious! Next time we will order dessert first! read more

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your normal southern food place! prices and portions are good and good for groups. the collard greens are a bit sweet to my taste. but the atmosphere was very homey and service was nice! read more

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I come here once a month with a group of men. Food is quality, affordable, and the hostess has become like family! I highly recommend coming here if you like sit down breakfast spots, especially for recurring meetings. read more

I have been a traveling sales representative for years. When I was covering the metro Charlotte area I found this place......It has been 2 years since I've been there and I still crave the amazing southern cuisine that I had there! A+++++++ read more

Stopped here for breakfast when we were in Columbia on a rainy day. Ordered pancakes with apples, side of bacon, and collards. Collards were super delish, bacon great and apples on my pancakes really hit the spot. Waitress was sweet and accommodating. read more

Service is horrible. Food is not that great do not recommend. Food came out late and cold. Did not get half the order.

Lizard's Thicket just sounds like an interesting place to eat when it rolls off your tongue. They serve up some delicious Southern food here at this chain in South Carolina. Our friends suggested that we dine here on our visit to the Carolinas recently, and we were happy we did! You name the Southern dish, they most likely have it here. Fried chicken, turkey, catfish, mashed potatoes, collard green, yams, cornbread, to name a few. I ordered the turkey with gravy with a few different sides at a reasonable price. The turkey texture wasn't my favorite, but I left full and satisfied! That cornbread though! Service was decent for how busy it was. We had three children with us as well and we found it to be very kid-friendly. I would come here again on a visit to the South Carolina area! read more

Lizard's Thicket - Turkey, mashed potatoes, green beans, yams - Southern Near Me - Columbia, South Carolina

Food was ok, I saw the server microwaving the plates that were being served. However, my chicken and my wife's catfish were both excellent, the sides were cold and so-so. read more

While in Columbia for training I took my coworkers here for a taste of Columbia. 2 months later and they are still taking about this it! Great place to meet everyones food request! read more

Great Southern food. Meat and 3 vegetables. Pot Roast on Sunday. Excellent prices

Lizards Thicket never disappoints. It is a meat and 3 (or 2) of the very best southern food you can find. They are locally owned by a long time family in the Columbia area. The food is not fancy, just good food, good prices, good service, and portions that are consistently plentiful. For breakfast my wife had pancakes, eggs and bacon, while I had liver pudding, eggs, and hash browns. Everything was great! read more

Good southern food with friendly staff and attentive management! I got the onion sausage eggs and Tomatoe! Delish. read more

Lizard's Thicket - Southern Near Me - Columbia, South Carolina

I'm ONLY giving this a 2 because of the friendliness of the waitress and that it was clean... otherwise... Um no. I came in a little around breakfast (11:15).... Now, I LOVE lizard thicket at lunch... But anyway decided to give breakfast a try cause why not? So I ordered the pancake special (scrambled eggs, flounder) and I ordered a side of grits. First off, let me say my food came out WAY TOO FAST. I sat down at 11:15, got my food at 11:20 If you're from the south you know everyone's grits are either a hit or miss. This definitely was a huge miss. I mean.. they were lukewarm and just not edible, like at all. My pancakes were NOT done... they were doughy in the middle! (Not to mention that I'm pregnant so I immediately stopped eating ) My flounder omg...the batter was still almost wet fish was DRENCHED in oil and again I'm pregnant so I did NOT TAKE the risk of finishing. It wasn't the waitress fault so I still tipped and she offered to bring me another order. I declined cause after that last bite... nah. Just nah. I'll attach a picture of what it looked like cause no... read more

Lizard's Thicket - Doughy pancake - Southern Near Me - Columbia, South Carolina

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This place is amazing. Good southern cooking. I tried the fried chicken fried flounder macaroni and cheese and mashed potatoes. All of it was so good. The only thing I wasn't too pleased with was the corn bread. We had Lisa as a server. She has been there for many years. read more

Lizard's Thicket - Fried chicken. - Southern Near Me - Columbia, South Carolina

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This morning I stopped in here for some breakfast. I had been to this location one other time before...way before the remodel. I was greeted by the cashier and he took my order. He didn't seem like the friendliest person in the world, but it wasn't a big deal. So after my order was taken, I had a seat and waited for about 3-4 minutes. I ordered grits, scrambled eggs, chicken sausage, toast and OJ. My order came to 10 something. Once my food arrived, he handed me my bags and I was off. Once I got to work, I opened my plate, it was full of some deliciousness! The food looked very well, and once I started eating, tasted just as good. I will definitely be returning here as this is close to my job, and the food is great! Plus I love the fact that they have another option aside from pork for me read more

Perfectly prototypical Southern diner. We came here for breakfast on a Saturday and were immediately taken to our seats. There was plenty of room and everyone was friendly enough. The regulars were joking with the staff and carrying on like most Southerners do. It was nice to be in such a genuinely friendly place again... I ordered the ham and cheese omelet with home fries and a biscuit. Omelet was pretty standard. The home fries were absolutely delicious. Perfectly cooked and seasoned just right. I finished those before I even touched the rest of my food. That biscuit was extra fluffy too. Get the biscuit. Because I chose to ignore my diet I also ordered a short stack of French toast. Pretty standard but hit the spot for sure. The most exciting part was the bill. Plenty of food for four people came out to $33. It's always such a shock to get out of DC and see "normal" prices on a receipt. Anyway, if you're in the area swing through and grab a bite! read more

Lizard's Thicket - Ham and cheese omelet with biscuit and hash browns. - Southern Near Me - Columbia, South Carolina

Food was amazing, and the server was super nice. Definitely loved the fried okra and the mashed potato and gravy. Sat right away and the food came out super fast. Definitely will be back to this place read more

UPDATE: Long Post Alert! TERRIBLE! Original review was all 5's: I had the 2 piece (dark) chicken with fries! The fries were awesome, and the chicken was hot, crunchy and seasoned very welll! Update: 3 days later: I went back to the Elmwood location to get a burger and fries and unfortunately my experience was ABSOLUTELY HORRIBLE! The gentleman at the window, Todd, was very friendly and professional. When my order was incorrect (1st no cheese and then we realized it was not on Texas Toast as I asked) he apologized and asked if I would pull around while he got my order straight. He said to just keep the order and he would get me a fresh burger. About 5-7 minutes later, a manager came to my car to bring me my new burger and told me to give him the other burger. I asked why because the other gentleman told me to keep it. He said, "Well, he is not a manager and was not authorized to tell you that." I almost thought he was joking but he went on to tell me that if I didn't give the burger to him, that I was STEALING! I was SHOCKED! I couldn't believe that he would say that to me.....I paid for my order and he treated me as if I had a "master plan" to come out, in the rain, to the drive-thru to STEAL A BURGER!!! I packed up the entire order, both burgers and the fries, and gave him the entire bag! He said, "No, the rest of that is your order, you can keep it"...I said, "No, you sir just accused me of STEALING, so you can take ALL of your food and give me back my money!" He took the food and brought me back my money. I asked him his name, and with an UNBELIEVABLE sense of arrogance, he said, "Lizard's Thicket," and turned and walked away! I've been going to this restaurant for over 20 years and have NEVER been treated like that. So. "Mr. Lizard's Thicket" (Tony), I hope you are super proud of yourself.....you went above and beyond to turn a fan into a foe.....over a simple customer service (101) issue. SMH! I drove straight to Chick-Fil-A, where they are respectful and appreciative of their paying customers!! read more

Down home cooking. I got a salad and it just wasn't that great. It was big though and no complaints about the size and type. I also ordered to go food and it was in now way a good idea. Chicken fried steak and mashed potatoes seemed like it would reheat good... in this case. It did not. Just can't say this was the style of place I wanted. read more

Cornbread wasn't fresh, it crumbled as you attempted to butter it. Cabbage was cold, food was luke warm. Will not be returning.

Always one of our favorites when we are back in Columbia. Today was no different... Although they were slam packed, we only had to wait about five minutes. The food was fresh and delicious as usual, especially the salmon patty and squash casserole. You really can't go wrong with anything on the menu. Our children even love it. The only reason they are not getting five stars is because the corn bread muffins completely fell apart and they switched rolls to biscuits, that was a bummer. And the parking is absolutely horrible. read more

Lizard's Thicket - Crumbly corn muffins - Southern Near Me - Columbia, South Carolina

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Ordered fried pork chop with two veggies meal for lunch to go. The traffic was extremely busy even after lunch hour on Elmwood but you can take back street to get there. The restaurant looks newly renovated. Decent parking lot and drive through. Inside, it's very bright and spacious. My order had the right amount of food and was delicious! Plus, its website has nutrition analysis so that you can watch for your diet! I'm new to Columbia and Lizard's thicket has become my number one favorite restaurant in town. read more

Lizard's Thicket - Fried pork chop with cabbage and green beans. - Southern Near Me - Columbia, South Carolina

This was my second trip to this chain restaurant on the way back home from Ga. There 4 locations in the Columbia area. This one was much smaller than the first one we stopped at last year. The food was really good and everyone in our group liked everything we all ordered. The service was really good as well. They where very busy but took really good care of us and got us in and out fast. The only drawback to this place is there limited parking lot so if your as picky about your car as we all where you may not like this place but I just have trust issues when it comes to my car and the public read more

This simple "meat and three" locally-owned chain restaurant location is hit or miss. Sometimes I am pleasantly surprised, other times like this evening I am left reminding myself that I need to lower my expectations when here -- and just keep them low. I normally order either chicken fried steak and three vegetables or I get the four vegetable plate. Today I mixed it up and got the grilled chicken breast. Bad decision. The chicken had NO flavor and was incredibly thin. Also? It wasn't even grilled, but rather pan-seared in some fashion. The macaroni and cheese is normally on point here, but tonight it had chunks of hardened macaroni which means it's been sitting out for a while under a heat source. Same went for the squash casserole I ordered -- it was very dry and the breadcrumbs on top were almost blackened they had been sitting out so long. I will say the place is clean inside and the staff is always pleasant. That's about the only compliment I could find to give them this evening, unfortunately. read more

Lizard's Thicket - To go order: grilled chicken, green beans, macaroni & cheese and squash casserole - Southern Near Me - Columbia, South Carolina

Love this place for a real South Carolina breakfast. Biscuits and sausage gravy and liver pudding are a must. read more

Lizard's Thicket - Southern Near Me - Columbia, South Carolina

Went here thinking I was going to get a good home cooked soul food meal. Was a little disappointed. Food taste like it was from a can or box. If you are going to use that for food from scratch, at least doctor it up to taste like food from scratch. Had the yams (could tell they were from can, no good seasoning), string beans (can) and baked chicken (flavor and seasoning not good). I hope this help them to improve. read more

Fast friendly service. Order came out so fast I didn't have time to glance at my watch. read more

Lizard's Thicket - Southern Near Me - Columbia, South Carolina

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The best way to describe my experience with Lizards Thicket; Southern comfort breakfast food for cheap. I always get the small plate and it's always a great and filling meal!! read more

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