I use to buy slices of cake from this Cafe quite often, some of the best Cakes I have ever tried and was as good as Grandma's made cakes! " There cakes are on another level "!!!! read more

This is my first time to downtown Sumter and it's sooo historic. We came here for a 50th Birthday Party and the staff and personnel were so nice and professional. The owner who was also the bartender was so nice and just wanted her to know - THANK YOU for opening up your business for us. read more

Serendipity Catering and Cafe - a crowded restaurant - Soul Food Near Me - Sumter, South Carolina

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When you walk in, Serendipity is very cute and kitschy with a large black and white counter in the middle or more private booths on the sides. Delicious looking cakes top the counter with a menu board of specials. It was a little bit confusing initially to figure out whether we ordered at the register or sat down to be waited on- we ended up being waited on. Everyone was friendly and you can tell that it's a very casual, family-run business. This is traditionally southern soul-food, country cooking. If you love that, you will love this place. For me, the food was ok. Everything was a little more salty than I prefer. I have heard from friends who have used them for catering that they have some great country catering dishes such as their hashbrown casserole. I also left without trying one of those mouth-watering cakes. Maybe next time I'll go just for cake and coffee. read more

Serendipity Catering and Cafe - Veggie plate - Soul Food Near Me - Sumter, South Carolina

This place is a fantastic hidden gem right in downtown Sumter. I don't know how I didn't stumble on it sooner, but I'm very thankful that I did because it was just delicious. With the soul food variety in the area, this was something a bit more "upscale" in appearance, without being upscale in price. The menu items are changing, or have limited availability, which was the only confusing part for us. What you may want to order from the menu, may not be available... but your server can help you more specifically with that. I decided to pick a classic that is hard to get perfect (to dry, to plain, etc)... the fried chicken. With it I took on the fried okra, green beans, and rice with gravy. Their rice with gravy is very good because it's not soaked on there, it's lightly blended into it for that flavor, without overpowering the rice. Very nice indeed! The okra was crispy, tasty, and not too salty. And the green beans didn't taste canned, but weren't anything overly amazing either. Thankfully they were not soaked in water, which tends to be a turn off for me in those types of vegetables. And the fried chicken... Delicious! It had enough breading on it to give you that fried chicken taste and crunch that you look for, without dominating the chicken it coats. The chicken itself was tender and juicy and the seasoning was in every bite which was nice. Definitely enough good to fill you up, but I couldn't leave without a slice of cake (from their many delicious sounding/looking options). So I had to grab one to-go, and went basic with the yellow cake and chocolate icing. VERY yummy moist cake with, I'm pretty sure, homemade icing that isn't to gritty. This was a great experience, and great food, that I look forward to repeating over... and over... and over again! Be sure to check it out! :) read more

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My family and I enjoyed lunch today at this location. I enjoyed the chicken salad on a croissant with a side of mac and cheese. Great flavors! My only complaint is I wish the scoop of mac and cheese had been more generous. The staff is friendly and welcoming. The desserts are delicious. Go up to the bar and check out the daily cakes/pies. Many options. My favorite is the slice of yellow cake with chocolate icing. read more

Serendipity Catering and Cafe - Chicken salad with mac and cheese. - Soul Food Near Me - Sumter, South Carolina

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Food is good...but schedule is very inconsistent. People who expect the place to be opened and it is closed. If you're expecting to be closed post it the day before. I understand the catering but paying customers drive to and from a closed restaurant. It's happened twice. read more

Serendipity catered to my high school for lunch and it was always terrible. Proportions were incredibly small and overpriced and was not good at all read more

I really like this place. They have beer, wine, and flavored beers. The cakes are great and I always enjoy my time here. Definitely worth the trip! My only complaint is that every single time I've ever been here they are always out of things listed on the menu. Save some time and just ask the waitress what they have in stock! read more

Serendipity catered the food for my wedding. The owner was accommodating but sometimes hard to reach but she did deliver in spite of all the flooding during that weekend. The biggest concern for me was the food it was not at all GREAT nor was it displayed properly... I truly believe she over charged us for the food and her refund policy is a little vague. The only thing that was delicious was the Cajun or spicy shrimp. Any how, I have no interest in ever going to the restaurant nor giving a recommendation for the service. By the way, I was an out of town from NYC maybe my STANDARDS are WAY to HIGH for the food catered in SUMTER, I should have went with a caterer in Columbia, SC but thank GOD i didn't because of the flooding we would have been WITHOUT FOOD! Anyhow, this place is truly okay. read more

Heavy southern style cooking. I had lunch here for the first time today and would say this is a better place for dinner bc the food is heavy and the service can be slow but still pleasant. Sweet tea is very sweet. 2 pieces of fried chicken, fried okra, collard greens, Mac and cheese and a corn muffin came with my meal so large portions and all were good. You do have to distinguish if you want white or dark meat and white costs extra. Also had a few bites of my friend's strawberry cake which was also good. Somethings on the menu are not always available such as today they didn't have soup. Will go again but for dinner or maybe just dessert. read more

Love the food - soul food to me is southern cooking or comfort food - this menu fits the bill! Consistently good meals and the menu contains good for kids, like hot dogs and PBJs. Also the best cakes I have tasted! The owner gave us a tour of the upstairs where she caters private parties and it is beautiful. Apparently she also caters. Very impressive place hidden in old downtown Sumter, if it was on Broad with all the other restaurants we probably would have to make reservations or have a long wait. As it isn't I consider it Sumter's best kept secret! read more

My family attempted to hire this vendor to cater a very important birthday party for a family member. Initially, the process when along smoothly and our contact was very helpful and friendly and provided us with all of the information we needed to make an informed decision. My family was utilizing another facility in the community to host our event and when we began to experience challenges in our negotiations with them, our contact at this establishment became increasingly unavailable to reached for finalization of services. My family suspected that there may have been communications between our caterer and the facility which is why we were no longer receiving the quality of service provided in the beginning. This was confirmed when we were told directly by our contact at the event location he does a lot of business with this vendor and they have a very good working relationship. Needless to say, the vendor only gave us 30 minutes before the deadline make payment arrangements after avoiding countless calls and texts so we opted to hire another vendor out of Columbia and our event turned out excellent!!!! read more