Is The Wilkes House Still Open? Best Thing I Ever Ate Update
Best Thing I Ever Ate, Season 5 Savannah, Georgia
Current status
As of October 2026, The Wilkes House is open — confirmed via the restaurant's current website/social account, accessed September 7, 2026.
What the source shows: Mrs. Wilkes' Dining Room's own site and Yelp (updated September 2026, 1,791 reviews) both list the same West Jones Street address, with 2026-dated reviews describing current lunch service. How we decide a status →
- Episode Season 5, Episode 2
- Address 107 West Jones Street, Savannah, GA 31401
- Now called Mrs. Wilkes' Dining Room
- Website mrswilkes.com
- Show map
© OpenStreetMap contributors © CARTO
What happened after Best Thing I Ever Ate?
The Best Thing I Ever Ate's 'Fried Chicken' episode (Food Network) featured the family-style boardinghouse lunch at The Wilkes House, centered on fried chicken served alongside dressing, black-eyed peas, and okra gumbo at shared tables. The restaurant, known today as Mrs. Wilkes' Dining Room, opened in 1943 inside an 1870 boardinghouse building on West Jones Street in downtown Savannah and was run by Sema Wilkes for 59 years until her death in 2002. According to the restaurant's own website, her family has continued to operate the dining room, serving lunch on weekdays. Yelp's listing for the West Jones Street address was updated in September 2026, with 1,791 reviews and 1,618 photos posted, and current hours were listed as Monday through Friday, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., closed weekends.
The episode
Also in Season 5
Season 5: 61 of 104 still open · 7 renamed, moved or under new owners
- Open
- Open
-
Ep 2Cha Cha Chicken
Open - Open
- Closed
- Open
- Closed
- Open
Nearest restaurants
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Man v. Food
Closed -
Food Paradise
Open -
Savannah Seafood Shack (Savannah Sea Food Shack)
Food Paradise
Open -
Best Thing I Ever Ate
Closed -
Best Thing I Ever Ate
Open -
Food Paradise
Open
Before you go: Businesses change fast. Always confirm directly with the restaurant — call ahead, or check its own current website or social media — before making plans around anything on this page.
Sources we checked
- mrswilkes.com https://mrswilkes.com/
- Yelp https://www.yelp.com/biz/mrs-wilkes-dining-room-savannah
- visitsavannah.com https://visitsavannah.com/profile/mrs-wilkes-dining-room/5507
We work hard to keep every status accurate and dated, but restaurants change fast and our sources aren't perfect. If something here is wrong — a status, a name, an address, anything — tell us what you're seeing and where you saw it, and we'll check it.
Record btiea-0413 · checked by Cal Marchetti.