First off I would like to say that you do need reservations for this restaurant, The restaurant only serves 2 meals a day, the first at 11:00 and the second at 1:00. Â On some days they may offer a 3:00 meal but its more rare from what we understood. Â The cost per person is $20.00 plus tax and you are done, unless you want to tip the servers that is. Â
This is a neat experience, along the touristy side and a must if you are in the area. Â You arrive early and wait in the halls until the dinner bell rings, once it is rang they call you to where you need to go and your hostess takes you to your room. Â You sit with a bunch of other people and pass the food to the left. Â It is a neat experience and definitely a boarding house/family style dinner. Â The hostess sits at the head of the table and tells you about the history of the place and how it ties into the Jack Daniel's Distillery which is only a couple of blocks away. Â
The food is great here, its boarding house style and you get a choice of two meats and many vegetables. Â You pass around the bowls containing the food and get what you want. Â On our visit we had meatloaf, fried chicken, corn bread, Jack Daniel's apples, beans, squash casserole, fried okra and "fried corn". Â Every last bit of it was delicious. Â I am not a meatloaf fan but I ate two servings. Â This is southern comfort food and its finest. Â For dessert they served us a fudge pie with Jack Daniel's whipped cream on top. Â Very delicious. Â
We visited at 11:00 before the tour of the distillery and were not disappointed. Â You do need to arrive early because you have to pay before you eat then get your card and find out where you need to meet your hostess once the dinner bell is rang. Â Overall this is a fun and interesting little restaurant to eat at, it's definitely one of a kind and I highly recommend you to add it to your visit to Lynchburg.
We made reservations when we planned the tour of the Jack Daniels Distillery and it was a great part of the visit. Â
You are assigned to a table with other visitors and one person who is your host(ess). Â That person is a local. Â In our case it was a retired teacher. Â The food is served family style from a large lazy susan in the middle of the table. Â We were also lucky to have a local celebrating her 90th birthday. Â Our hostess gave us background on the boarding house over lunch. Â
The food was the real down home stuff. Â The fried chicken, mashed potatoes, green beans, cornbread, etc. etc. was just like my Mamaw used to make. Â The sweet tea tasted like the real brewed deal. Â
I bought a cookbook for myself and one for my mother-in-law. Â The owner signed them both with personal inscriptions. Â It made a great Christmas gift. Â
Anytime I am even remotely in the neighborhood, I will be sure to stop again. Â Have fun!
We ate here before taking a tour of Jack Daniels. Â The house is adorable. Â They had a cute little gift shop that we browsed through while waiting for the dinner bell.
The house had different dining rooms and when the dinner bell rang we headed to the dining room that we were assigned to (which we found out when we checked in). Â
Each dining room had a hostess who ate with us and also gave us the history facts. Â All the food was served family style on a lazy susan in the middle of the table. Â Fried chicken and meatloaf were the main entrees. Â The meatloaf was probably the best I've ever had. It was moist and the sauce had a good flavor, not too sweet either. Â The fried chicken was equally good - the seasoning was flavorful and it wasn't too greasy either. Â The fried okra really stuck out for me. It was battered just right and had a nice crisp to it. Â The hashbrown casserole was just so-so, the mac and cheese was fair, and the collard greens were good, but not fabulous. Â They had this sweet pepper relish that tasted really good on top of the black-eyed peas. Â The whiskey apples were amazing. They make them there and they were the right sweetness, and you could also taste the whiskey. Â I'm not a whiskey fan, so I would have liked the apples even without the whiskey.
They served a chocolate chess pie with a whiskey whip cream on top. Â This is probably the best chess pie I've had. Â Good texture and the chocolate wasn't overpowering. The pie tasted well with the whiskey whip cream, which had a more subtle whiskey flavor compared to the whiskey apples.
If you're visiting Jack Daniels, you should come eat here!
As part of our stop through the land where Jack Daniels reigns king, we stopped by this place for lunch. Â A friend highly recommended it and suggested that we call ahead for reservations, which we did. Â I'm glad we followed his instructions. Â The place is packed and they only do a few seatings a day....if they're sold out on seatings, you're done.
While we patiently waited to be seated with our group, I browsed the country store that's on property. Â As a guy from the West Coast, not the South, It reminds me of the store that's attached to Cracker Barrel restaurants....only much smaller. Â You can find all kinds of home decor and random kitchen items in here.
After a brief wait, our seating group was called. Â We were assigned to a dining room on the 2nd floor of the building. Â They seat groups in small dining rooms together on one family sized table. Our table had 12 people sitting at it, including the hostess.
The hostess introduces herself, then asked each of us to introduce ourselves to each other and share a little bit about where we're from, what we're doing here, etc. Â It was kind of fun. Â We met a family who's daughter goes to college in Tennessee and they were visiting from Wisconsin. Â Another couple was from North Carolina. Â While introductions were happening, servers (who were kids from a local college) placed food on the table.
The food is served family style and you pass the plates around the table, just like at home. Â You can eat as much as you like, as long as you finish your plate. Â Many of the dishes have Jack Daniels in the ingredients. Â There's some connection between the Jack Daniels distillery and this place, but I'm not 100% sure what it is. Â The food was very good, Southern Comfort Food. Â I wish I took notes and pictures, but there was no opportunity to. Â There was too much conversation happening between everyone at the table. Â It felt like a family get together.
Overall, it was an awesome experience. Â I left feeling as full as a Thanksgiving Dinner....and met some nice people along the way.
Return Factor - 90%
Good, good, good Southern Homestyle cooking and a unique experience. Â
I will be back time and again. Â I bought a cookbook, a jar of Candied Apples and when I know folks are going to be traveling ANYWHERE NEAR Miss Mary Bobo's I insist they make reservations and have lunch here.
So good! So fun! So special...ENJOY!
i spent three days in Nashville on a business trip but couldnt board my plane home until i tried this place. let me just say, the food was beyond incredible! meat loaf, fried chicken, fried okra, jack daniels apples!! and every time the other guests and i cleared a plate they brought out more! great food great people!!!! you need to eat there
Review Source:What a neat experience. We went here because my aunt's best friend is Miss Mary Bobo's great great granddaughter. We got a little extra history and insight on the boarding house.
The gift shop is really cute and the building is beautiful. The food was delicious and there was so much of it. We had fried chicken, meatloaf, mashed potatoes, squash casserole, green beans, fried okra, rolls, Jack Daniels apples.... Probably more I just can't remember. We finished with pecan pie with JD whip cream. AMAZING!
Make sure to make reservations and arrive early. All the staff are very friendly and there are some neat stories to hear. Very unique experience!!
This is home style, real Southern cooking at its best. Don't go expecting elegant presentation or subtle hints of spices. This is authentic Southern cooking that is so good and so honest it hasn't needed to change in 100 years.
It is absolutely worth the experience. You dine family style and are as likely to sit and share the meal with a biker as you are banker. It's a fantastic way to slow down, meet different people and enjoy an honest meal like your grandmother or great grandmother would have made.
There's not much to do in Lynchburg other than tour Jack Daniels so if you make the trip, do yourself a favor and book a meal at Miss Bobo's.
Some have complained about needing to make reservations or paying before you eat. That's silly. Those are just details. Don't be distracted by that.
Miss Bobo's is about experiencing another time through food and socializing.
I would happily go back and look forward to introducing others to Miss Bobo's.
Was the food the best I've had in my life? No. But its not trying to be La Capole in Paris. Miss Bobo's is home style food made with quality ingredients by true Southern cooks. It's not pretentious, it's just plain good. Our party varied from a 6 year old to a 67 year old and everyone loved the food, left happy and has been telling friends how great it was.
I visited Miss Mary Bobo's after I toured the Jack Daniels Distillery. Â We called a head and left a message since it was after business on a Saturday and they called back Monday morning and we were able to get a 1pm reservation for the day we wanted. Â We called a head a had no trouble what so ever. Â
We were starving when we got there, Â and parking was so simple. Â Since they serve in sittings, they rarely run out of parking, I would imagine. Â A wonderful lady met us at the door, had our name on her reservation sheet and asked us to head into the gift shop to check out. Â You pay ahead because it's all basically what we would call family style. Â Once we payed we had one last check in to find out which dining room we would be sitting in once the dinner bell rang. Â Yes, they ring a dinner bell at each seating. Â Very promptly @ 1pm that bell rang and when they called out our dining room we followed out wonderful hostess, June, who stayed with us and helped us through the lunch service. Â She was informative and just delightful. Â She sat and ate with us and gave us all kinds of information about the town and the history of the boarding house. Â
We were seated in a room with a round table and a huge Lazy susan that was covered in some pretty impressive county cooking favorites. Â That day it was meatloaf and fried chicken with drunken apples(special ingredient was Jack Daniels, of course), mac 'n cheese, creamed potatoes, fried okra and some of the best corn bread I have had. Â And the dessert? Â Homemade chess pie with fresh whipped cream! Â I had heard the food was good, but this was really really good. Â Totally worth the $40 for the 2 of us.
I have read some reviews here that are really negative about this establishment. Â This is not the experience we had in the least. Â We were prepared, made reservations and showed up the 15 minutes early that they ask you to so you can check in and pay and be ready to be seated. Â We just followed the directions and enjoyed the afternoon. Â We ate wonderful food and had great conversations with not just our hostess but with all the people at our table. Â It was an unexpected experience that I will never forget and I thank the staff.
I really enjoyed this experience, and, thanks to fellow Yelpers' reviews, I knew exactly what to expect. Â After reading Lynne Tolley's Jack Daniel's Spirit of Tennessee Cookbook and enjoying the recipes, I have wanted to come here for many years, and it was nice to finally do that and to meet her as well. Â The JD Distillery owns the boarding house, and it employs young people who are recipients of college grants from the distillery. Â Everyone was so nice there. Â And the Southern food was wonderful. Â One little touch I liked very much was they played a 19th-century music box before the meal began. Â I love old music boxes because the sound is so ethereal. Â There is nothing like that in modern times. Â April was such a good time to visit before it gets really hot. Â Can't wait to go back.
Review Source:I can't write a review on the food because we couldn't EAT! But wait, it gets better...
We made a reservation for 4 a month in advance, confirmed the reservation the day before when they called, and then showed up at 12:58 for a 1:00pm seating to find that they had moments before given our reservation away.
Oh wait! Next we are told we can eat but we will have to eat in separate pairs because they "are trying to do their best to make it work." We decline this "opportunity" and choose to leave disappointed.
As we walk away, we are told that they found us a space together and we were ushered into a conference room with an uncoordinated decor, and guess what, we STILL didn't get seated together! But at this point we were in an even more awkward situation, as the table was full except for 3 seats together and a single seat at the opposite end of the conference table and no one was willing to accommodate us.
The food was ok, the experience was very disappointing. Seating us in a conference room?! People eat at this establishment, I have to assume, for the history and nostalgia, something this room had neither of.
I wish I could say that we were dealing with some inexperienced hostess, but this disappointing situation was completely courtesy of Lynne Tolley, the proprietor, who even mocked our desire to sit together at one point.
Not that you have many choices while visiting Lynchburg, but I would say this one is highly overrated.
Southern cooking. Southern charm. Southern style. Miss Mary Bobo's Boarding House is a little slice of Southern history. A delicious, comforting, gracious slide ...
On our big Girls Trip to the South, my BFF and I were so lucky to have reservations made for us at Miss Mary Bobo's (as a "thank you" from Brown-Forman) (reservations made & lunch provided gratis). We had no idea what we were in for - and what a treat it was.
You are told to arrive at least 15 minutes prior to your lunch, err "Dinner" reservation  - dinner is provided at specified times only during the day as it is group seating in each room of the house - 11am & 1pm. They refer to it as "Dinner" - not exactly sure why, maybe it's the ginormous portions made available to you ... All the same, it's dinner. And it's likely you won't need to eat again until very, very late in the evening ... You can't make any specifications on your reservation for entree selections - Miss Mary's is a "you get what they serve" sort of an establishment.
Prepare yourself to wait a bit when you arrive and browse around the entryway and one of the rooms of the house with some gifties available for purchase, read the history of Miss Mary Bobo's, Jack Daniel's Distillery, etc. Before you know it, you are called into the room for your seating. When you sign-in with the office to let them know you have arrived for your Dinner, they will provide you with a name card that signals what room you will be dining in.
What should you prepare for? Hrmmmmm .... Let's see, it's goes a little like this ...
+ Fried chicken - not the beautified, over hyped SF style fried chicken, which is good in it's own right, but true Southern fried chicken
+ Fried ocra - your vegetable for the day - haha
+ Meatloaf - I'm not a huge fan of meatloaf in general; however, this was super tasty
+ Heavenly biscuits with plenty'o'butter
+ Mac 'n' Cheese (oh dear lord was it good)
+ Baked apples with cinnamon & Jack
+ Chocolate pie (with Jack Daniels whipped cream) - yes, you read correctly, chocolate. pie. delicious crust and all. Could you taste the Jack in the whipped cream? oh YES you could! yummmmy.
Alrighty then ... I'm off to finish my *salad.* Enjoy!
After the Distillery, we went to Miss Mary Bobo's. Â The restaurant was worth the wait.
Because we had a large group, we had to be split up into different dining rooms and the hostess sat with you and gave you the history of the Boarding House and Miss Mary's family.
Something always has "the product" Â (Jack Daniel's) in it. Â When our group ate yesterday, we had cinnamon apples with "the product" and fudge pie with "the product" in the whipped topping! Â I have three words to say " OH MY GOD!!!!" (Sorry grandma and great great grandma).
Just like Monells, bring your fat pants and make sure you have someone able to drive. Â Believe me, you won't want to have to stay awake.
Our hostess let us know that they are open Thanksgiving but not Christmas but you have to book reservations NOW!
It was well worth the drive and the extra workout! Â Make sure you don't eat anything before you go or you'll hurt!
Southern cooking is my specialty, and I must say that Mary Bobo's boarding house exceeded my expectations!
When you arrive, it can be a bit crowded in the main hall. But I personally found it exciting to see all of the different folks that had come to little Lynchburg to have dinner! We were handed a card and when our cards name was called out, we were to follow our hostess. It went very well without any confusion!
My boyfriend was a bit hesitant about the family-style seating we were going to do... However, once we all sat down, our hostess (Mildred) did a great job of making all of us feel right at home!
She was extremely informative and I found her stories to be very entertaining as well as hospitable while everyone ate. She knew a lot of history and could answer any questions. She treated us like guests in her own home and I could tell she enjoyed our visit!
The food... Was very delicious. Properly seasoned, fried to perfection, nothing too dry, nothing too wet... Just right! And when any food ran out, we had a new batch in a hurry! No one felt awkward about taking 'too much' or eating too much in front of other people. This is the South, after all!
The grand old home itself I think added to the hospitality that we all felt. I could just imagine Miss Mary Bobo herself walking up and down these halls, serving great Southern food to her boarders, and looking out of the warped glass windows just reminded me of a different time when Southern Hospitality was most prominent! I think Mary Bobo's boarding house has done a great job keeping Southern Hospitality and the good name of Southern Cookin' alive!
Just a few notes... I would suggest making a reservation at the very least one week in advance if not earlier. Also, it would be very wise to arrive at least 15 minutes early as you will pay before eating and it can get rather busy.
After several glasses of Lynchberg Lemonade at the Jack Daniels distillery our tour group needed some food in a bad way.
We filled up the whole of Miss Mary Bobo's boarding house with our group and split up among the many family-style dining tables (complete with lazy susans in the middle) and waited to be served.
We were not disappointed -- this is some great southern food. Fried chicken, green beans, mashed potatoes, the best macaroni and cheese ever, yummy buttery biscuits, Jack Daniels apples, iced tea, and several other side dishes PLUS some amazing buttermilk chess pie to top it all off. We also brought a few bottles of wine with us and the staff brought us some glasses to enjoy it in.
They also have a cute little gift shop where you can buy some (surprise) Jack Daniels memorabilia.
I hate to give Miss Mary's only three stars, but that's what they have turned in to. Â Good food, yes, but not spectacular like it 'used to be'. Â Miss Mary is now owned by Brown-Foreman Corp (The people that own Jack Daniels now) and have commercialized extensively. Â They have added a entire new complex on to the original house and only a few of the dining rooms are in the original boarding house. Â
We were lucky enough to dine in the original house, but here is the skinny:
- They seat 96 people at a time and go strictly by reservations. Â
- Seating times are at 11, 1, and 3 (If there is enough demand).
- Family style (as always), pass right to left.
- All you can eat
- Nice desert
- Cost is low 20's after tax, title, and license
If you are not from the South, then I am sure this is outstanding food, but there are so many other places that are just off the chain good for a whole lot cheaper. Locals recommended some of the places on the square that were good, but I did not try myself. Â
If you have never been, then it is a must do, but if you have been in the past, I would suggest trying something else. Sorry Miss Mary!
Miss Mary Bobo's was recommended by my father who had been through the area before. Â I am so glad we made advance reservations and had lunch here. Â The experience starts with diners scattered around the parlors and porch seating area awaiting the lunch bell. Â At promptly 1:00, the hostess rings the bell, and announces seating for the first of several dining rooms. Â My group was the first to be seated, and was led to the back porch by our hostess who was as sweet as can be. Â A local lady who sits with you for the meal, she inspired conversation and told us about the history of the boarding hours and its notable guests. Â In addition, she made sure the staff was aware of special occasions being celebrated by guests. Â In our case, a lady at our table was celebrating her 93rd birthday! Â This was the source of lots of great conversation and happy wishes throughout our meal.
Oh yes, the meal. Â It was very very tasty! Â As you likely know already, service is family style. Â Our table was round with a large lazy susan in the middle. Â Guests help themselves to a dish, then the lazy susan is turned (always to the left) and each dish makes its way around. Â Our lunch consisted of fried chicken, roasted pork tenderloin, green beans, fried okra, macaroni and cheese, corn bread, creamed corn, and amazingly delicious spiced apples. Â For dessert, chocolate pecan pie, which was out of this world delicious, was served. Â Everyone at our table raved about the food and lingered well after the meal talking and enjoying the southern hospitality. Â I wish I lived nearby so that I could bring friends here to enjoy the charms and tasty treats Miss Mary Bobo's offers. Â Lunch cost a very reasonable $19 per person.
We had such a good time here! Â As others have said, make reservations waaaayyyy in advance. Â It's really good Southern food and it's fun to meet new folks at your table. Â Fried okra is a standard...we were there on a Monday and had So. Fried Chicken, pork loin, mac-n-cheese, spiked/spiced apples made with the "local product" as they say, potatoes, green beans, rolls/biscuits/corn bread...and chocolate pie for dessert. Â We had the funniest ladies sitting with us...they kept us in stitches and our hostess was a hoot as well. Â I'm going again and I'll do as I did this time...visit the Jack Daniel's distillery first. Â It's a dry county so don't hope for hooch...buy souveniers on the square as the JD distillery is limited on them. Â You can get the cookbooks on the square or at Miss Mary Bobo's and I was able to get Lynne Tolley to sign mine. Â Happy eating!
Review Source:Very good and fun restaurant. Â Its a must do if you are at the distillery. Â Reservations are 100% necessary. Â They serve food twice a day at 11am and 1pm. Â The food quality is excellent. Â Its family style dining where everyone is sitting around the table passing food around. Â So you get to meet lots of new people. Â Also, it is a dry county so no alcohol.
Review Source:If you are visiting the Jack Daniel's Distillery, do yourself a favor and call ahead to make a reservation for Miss Mary Bobo's. I had one of the best meals of my life at this place. This is a place you cannot think about calories or fat, because if you did... You would not enjoy yourself. The fried chicken was great, but what amazed me was that every single side was completely out of this world. The mac & cheese, the mashed potatoes, the fried apples... I'm getting so hungry just thinking about it. Â Very similar to Monell's in Nashville, but the food was much better at Miss Mary Bobo's, in my opinion. You will sit with other people, and pass the bowls around family style.
The owner is apparently a descendant of Jack Daniel's, which makes her a celebrity in Lynchburg. I suggest making reservations long in advance; I've heard it books up fast. Â Lynchburg probably only has around five restaurants, and I've been to three. They were all excellent with Miss Mary Bobo's up at the top. ALMOST worth the drive even if you aren't going to the distillery.
This place is adorable. If you are in Lynchburg, it is worth stopping in at least once. The food is good, but not out of this world good. You really do go for the experience. There is a lot of history in this place. Our table held 16 people. The meal included fried chicken, ham, amazing baked apples (cooked with a little Jack), surprisingly good fried okra, lima beans, turnip greens, potato casserole, cornbread, unsweetened tea and cherry cobbler. Pretty good bill of fare. Needless to say, after that, I did not need another meal for the day (and I was at the 11 am seating). For me that is saying something. And that something is YUM!
This place packs up and reservations are absolutely required.
When you dine at Miss Mary Bobo's you always get a grandmother-like old woman who works there to eat with you. Ours regaled us with stories about the history of the place and some interesting stories about her past and the town as well. She also sparked some good conversation between the guests around the table. She also reminded us that the hospitality majoring college students who were serving us deserved nice tips. And its true, they did a great job. The meal with tax but without tip is $19 for an adult. A little high, but worth the experience.
I'll end like my review as our adorable hostess ended our meal, with the only joke that she knows...
A man walks into a bank and robs it at gunpoint. After taking the money he asks the teller if she saw anything.
She said no. The robber said "good" and then turned around.
He asked the first guy in line if he saw anything.
He said, "Yeah, I saw you rob the bank!"
So the bank robber shoots him and kills him.
Then he asks the couple who were next in line if they saw anything.
The man quickly responded, "No, I didn't. But my wife saw everything!"
This place can seat up to 90 folks up from the 60 it use to seat a year ago since their renovation, but you must call in to reserve before you go.  Miss Mary Bobo passed away and the Jack Daniel's family bought it out.  The host is actually Ms. Tolley who is Jack Daniel's great grand daughter who will happily sign an autograph in your cookbook.  Ironically, I came here for the chicken and found everything exceptional except the chicken.  The chicken at the famous Loveless Cafe was better but Mary Bobo's had the best side dishes.  It was truly the best Fried Okra I've ever tasted, and I've had fried okra all throughout the U.S. since I travel a lot for work.  They also had the best Chess custard Pie.  Ironically it was the reverse experience for me from Loveless Cafe, in terms of Loveless having the best fried chicken in Nashville but very so so sides and desserts.  Mary Bobo's  chicken is pretty standard, not too salty or spicy just your average good chicken.  The chicken itself is not worth the drive but the meatloaf, sides, and desserts are definitely worth it!
Review Source:Miss Mary Bobo's is a quaint restaurant located just a little past the Jack Daniel's Distillery in Lynchburg TN. Â Everybody makes a fuss over the place because it is different -- meals are only served once or twice a day at a specific sitting time and all are served family style -- pass the plate sort of thing. Â The food is good -- not off the chart I'd go back and eat there often good - just good. Â I think the thing that makes it special is its way of serving the food and the sitting times otherwise there was nothing that was special about the food itself. Â If you've never traveled then perhaps this is a super place but once you've been around the block a few times this place just comes off to me as a fancy Shoney's. Â P.S. Â It is in a dry county (one of those throw-back things that is bizarre) so there is no alcohol/beer/wine)
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