Mary’s Restaurant

Reviews

• Greg T.

  star star star star star_border 23 July 2026

  Mary's Restaurant has been in Cheraw for 39 years, the last 33 years on lower Market Street. The restaurant is large, airy and informal. There are lots of tables and a counter along one side.
  
  They serve breakfast and lunch only, every day but Sunday. The menu has a lot of stuff on it, but we all ordered off the handwritten " lunch special" menu. At $8 for a Main course with 3 sides, a drink and desert, who wouldn't? I had the fried chicken with boiled rutabegas, pickled beets and string beans as my sides. My friend had the stewed beef (not to be confused with beef stew!). He tried the rice and gravy, boiled cabbage and applesauce for his sides. All were excellent, as was the coconut cake!
  
  The place seems to be a favorite with the locals. This is no surprise when everyone reacts with genuine surprise when they find out you're not a local yourself. Despite Cheraw's amazing wealth of big, beautiful antebellum houses I don't think they see many tourists.

• Richard W.

  star star_border star_border star_border star_border 19 July 2026

  Went there for breakfast and food was not cooked. The potatoes was burnt on one side and still cold on the other side. French toast was soggy to say the least before the syrup couldn't eat it.

• Ronald P.

  star star star star star_border 18 July 2026

  My wife and I were traveling back roads on the way to Talladega, AL. When we were near Cheraw, SC, she checked Yelp for a good place to have lunch. The reviews for Mary's Restaurant sounded like just the place. There was only one customer when we arrived, but the place filled up within fifteen minutes. The menus were handwritten, and changed every day. We had the fried chicken, rutabagas, and real cream potatoes. My wife had candied yams; I had pole beans. It was all delicious. The banana pudding was homemade. If you're in Cheraw, you can't go wrong stopping by Mary's. Mary and her daughter have been in Cheraw for over 33 years.

• Jim L.

  star star star star star_border 9 July 2026

  Imagine walking through a door into a 1950s restaurant and that's what you see at Mary's.  An older lady sits at a table by the door and from her seeming command of the place, I take her to be Mary.  The room is large, a double store front width.  The furnishings and minimal decor are authentic fifties.  
  
  Turning now to the menu, there is nothing that your grandmother wouldn't recognize and there are still some items priced in the cents!  Really! 80 cents.  My keyboard doesn't even have a key for cents.  
  
  In addition to the a la carte menu, there is the daily special - handwritten and it looks like it's been mimeographed.  You have to be at least 50 to know what a mimeograph is, but it gave the copies a purple tinge and that's exactly what these looked like.  Our waitress was full of southern charm and couldn't do enough to make two obvious strangers comfortable.  Iced tea is offered as you sit down.
  
  The daily lunch special was fried chicken, beef stew or ham and that comes with the choice of three veg.  Not having had fried chicken on this trip to the South, I opted for that and candied yams, home made baked beans and string beans.  The chicken was a bit greasy, but that's to be expected with fried chicken.  The sides were marvelous.  Good old southern cooking.  My wife had a grilled cheese sandwich on plain white bread (no options were offered).  It was just like Mom used to make.  She also helped me by eating half of my lunch special.
  
  Dessert was included in the special - canned peaches or home made coconut cake.  As I hesitated, the very charming waitress repeated twice that it was HOME MADE cake and I finally got the message.  It was fresh and sweet but not too sweet.
  
  This was a five star dining experience in a fifties time capsule.  The food was good, but I can't let nostalgia push it up to five stars too, so I have settled for four overall.  But I'd go back again if I ever pass that way again.

• Susanne R.

  star star star star_border star_border 4 July 2026

  I love Yelp so that I can find places like this & not have to go to a fast food place! The food was good, not great, but the place was very nostalgic & the service sweet and genuine! (Albeit the bathroom a bit scary.) The chicken salad was unlike any other I've had, but tasty!  Sweet potato soufflé, too! My sweet tea glass was kept full & the prices were unbelievably LOW. It was a fun experience! And Mary said goodbye to us on our way out!