Waysider

This place was talked up by friends and did not disappoint! I love their breakfast options. The grits are by far the best i’ve ever had. And there’s a cute kitty that hangs out on the porch that my wife loved.

Very small quaint place but great food and service. The ham was delicious and biscuits to die for! Gets packed easily though so be ready to wait a few minutes

Visited Waysider for breakfast while in town. I saw reviews say this is a must-do and they were right. The food was great and at a good value.

Best breakfast in Tuscaloosa, hands down. Love the food, the atmosphere, and the history. I got country ham, red eye gravy, scrambled eggs, grits, and homemade biscuits. The food was great. My server was fantastic. There is a lot of history with the atmosphere here. I may not be one of the regulars, but as much as I can when I am in town, I will be a regular.

One of a kind quaint trademark of this wonderful town. Approved and frequented by the legendary Paul "Bear" Bryant. You will not find any place like this elsewhere. As for the food, they do a great job. Feels like home cooking. Only thing I have to say is that the parking lot gets incredibly crowded during peak hours so plan in advance. That aside, Roll Tide!

Love the yummy southern breakfast and JJ's attentive excellent service. You need to experience one of the iconic traditions in Tuscaloosa. Heads up it is located in a small charming house & a treasure for several generations - so tailor expectations accordingly. Must haves-grits, short cakes, bacon & the homemade biscuits!

GREAT place to stop for a REAL old fashioned breakfast and DELICIOUS! Biscuits are soft and touched by angels. The red eye gravy is just like I remember my grandma making and the tomato gravy was amazing. I’ll be making a plan to stop here again!

ZERO STARS! I cannot believe my sheer shock and disappointment in our service today. The server should not have a job after this experience. After we waited for a table for 6 (plenty of open tables) we sat down and waited for menus. The server came back after a while and brought menus. I asked could we order drinks and she said she would be back. She came back after a while and we ordered (we went ahead and ordered food and drinks since we saw how long things were taking for these small tasks). After 20 minutes I saw her pass by and politely asked if we could get our coffee. The lady literally YELLED at me in hysteria that she was doing her best and she was DONE with it all. She went in SCREAMING in the back yelling and causing a scene and abandoned all her tables. A busboy and another lady from the back took over the service which was excellent from then forward. It completely ruined our whole breakfast. My grandmother was in town who I see once a year and it was during this special time together we were all in shock as was the rest of the restaurant. My mom left her over a 20% tip for literally doing nothing but ruin our $85 meal. I wish I had known I would have personally made sure she didn’t get a cent of this money and it went to the people who waited on us. This lady should absolutely be ashamed of herself and should not be servicing the general public. We will NOT be back and I would advise that unless you want to get yelled at and not served no matter how long you’ve been sitting there that you look elsewhere. SUCH a shame we have been supporting this business for at least 30 years that I know of and go for the Bama atmosphere and history. The server came out as we were finishing up as if nothing had happened but we were all too scared to even make eye contact. No apology from anyone which made it even worse.

This is certainly an Alabama football themed restaurant. Finding the parking lot for a newbie wasn't a tad difficult. You need to park in the back. Service was ok. The women were very nice and friendly. We both ordered breakfast. Food was ok. Disappointing that there are no pics of any other sport. No baseball, gymnastics, etc.

Visiting from Georgia and the Waysider was highly recommended by the locals. It's located in an old house that has been converted into a very popular eatery. It's busy on weekends and the dining room seating is crowded to the point of being challenging to walk between the tables. Lots of University of Alabama pictures decorate the walls. The wait staff are charming and helpful. The menu has typical southern comfort breakfast food offerings. The food is freshly prepared, served hot and tastes good.

I came here unintentionally looking for a good breakfast place on an early Sunday morning. I was pleasantly surprised when I arrived! The staff were all very nice and the food was great as a casual southern breakfast. Service was very quick and I appreciated how on top of things my waitress was when I needed refills of coffee and water. The place was fairly clean although seating was limited and a bit tight. I think this just adds to the charm of the restaurant and the small-town feel that it gave off. I especially loved the homemade biscuits! I would definitely come back.

I haven't been here in years and it's always nice to see when a place hasn't changed. This is a walk in and seat yourself restaurant and I was glad to see an open table upon entering. The service is prompt and the lunch menu changes daily hence the handwritten menu on a note card that gets passed between table. They always include sweet tea or coffee in the cost of your meal which is, what I assume, a go to for people at a meat and three. Our food came out quick, accurate, and hot which is always a plus for me. You never feel rushed here and any Alabama football fan will enjoy all of the memorabilia on the walls.

Nicest people... live their biscuits and country ham. On game weekend expect to come early or wait... but it's worth it

Pleasantly surprised!! I love good home cooking and that's exactly what this is! They made us Texas Agggies right at home in their Alabama town. They were super nice! Biscuits were just as I would make at home!! Btw, try the sugar-cured ham. That was AMAZING!!

Absolutely amazing! The best biscuits, bacon and gravy you will ever eat! And the service was just as amazing as the food! We cannot wait to go back!

2022 May visited. Forgot have to come in the back to park. Great tomato gravy! Old Fashion breakfast. They are a little short staffed still but it's all about the experience. Come with an open mind and empty belly.

Traditional breakfast place, good food, and lots of nostalgia--a shrine to Alabama Crimson Tide football.

Came here for breakfast the other day and was slightly disappointed. Many people raved about this place, so I was excited to give it a try. I ordered the eggs with brown gravy, which comes with grits and biscuits. I'm not a fan of grits so when I ask if I could trade them for potatoes, after which the waitress just wrote down no grits and charged me for the extra potatoes. Had I known that I couldn't swap them, I wouldn't have ordered them. The eggs in my meal were very good, as were the potatoes, but I was not a fan of the gravy. It was not overly thick and very peppery (which could be their standard but not something I care for). The biscuits were also on the small side, meaning only two left me with more to desire. All in all, the meal had good components but was expensive for the food we got and we left still hungry.

such good food, great service, and a very homey feel, 5 stars overalk, would give 6 if possible

The food, the facility and the service ... all meh?! The prices were reasonable but gotta ask myself why pay for a mediocre meal in a cramped room. Just an overall underwhelming experience for such a long standing Tuscaloosa establishment! The server was ver friendly, but seemed to be just going through the motions. A name and rep will only carry you so far. At some point the food and service have to be excellent to receive an excellent Please put some polish on the food and service, and maybe take a table or two out of the place. Quality is always more valuable than quantity.

We love coming here when ever we are in T Town. The staff and the food is amazing. The biscuits and grits are the best. Today I ordered sugar ham for the first time and it was on point. Perfectly seasoned and great texture. Of course I had to order sausage gravy too. Everything is always delicious. I enjoy all the Alabama photos and specially the statue of Coach Bryant. It's super cool to know he ate there very often. A Big Roll Tide to the entire Staff!

While in Tuscaloosa, one must spot to have breakfast here, the homemade biscuits are that good! And the cured ham with eggs were as equally spectacular. Cute little spot, with a lot of charm, especially if you are a roll tide fan, or a fan of college football. Good prices, wonderful service, small menu, its basically a no frill good place to each the kind of breakfast your momma would make for ya. Sweet home Alabama indeed!

First time to Waysider in quite a while. Great spot for breakfast/brunch. They do serve regular lunch everyday, but I always go with breakfast when I'm there. I got the pancakes with bacon. The pancakes are really fluffy and had a great flavor. The bacon was nice and crispy as well. They did tell me that they would be back with another pancake when they brought my food out and it came out pretty quickly. I never got offered a refill, but there was a pretty steady crowd and only one person working in the sitting area.

Not much to look at inside or out. Packed right on top of each other trying to eat in less than sanitary conditions. Literally was there almost an hour and a half (attention from waitress was all but not existent). Some of the food was ok but other parts weren't worth eating. All and all not a worth while stop unless you have all day and low standards.

After coming a second time I think this deserves an extra star, the service is remarkable and they even made me a Big Al pancake which is cool enough in itself. Also they constantly come fill up your coffee. Come enjoy the diner atmosphere that has lots of Alabama memorabilia!

This small cozy establishment is a Tuscaloosa tradition full of pictures depicting Bama's rich football history. The day I went there was not a wait and although we had plenty of parking to choose from I could see how it can get tight in game days. The staff was so pleasant and we actually got served quickly. The biscuits were good but not great and the coffee was okay, a little lite for my taste. Breakfast itself was average nothing that would really make me come back. Had to at least visit this historic Bama establishment especially since Bear Bryant use to frequent it but once is enough for me.

This place has been around since I was in school here and it hasn't changed a bit. Still a long wait for a table but always worth it. Biscuits are fantastic! Must try if you're in Tuscaloosa!

There was a sign on the door stating "the fine government" is imposing mask rules. Inside, a packed small dining area with hardly space to walk between the tables. Perhaps there is a market for people who don't wish to take the pandemic seriously, but we do, and we couldn't walk out quickly enough.

Maybe we just hit a very bad day. Service was off, food was off, biscuits were awful and they are supposed to be known for their biscuits. Cool atmosphere though and nice people. Very authentic vibe.

After being convinced that this was a must see breakfast place, I visited with my friends and it was meh! The biscuits were fresh and very good but the rest of my food was disappointing for the cost, both in amount in quality. The atmosphere is cool and unique, but I don't think I'll be back.

In a word: disappointing. We were told rave reviews of this place and were very excited to visit it. I have a soft spot for breakfast cafes, so I was particularly excited. Well...not much was good about this one. Atmosphere: Meh. Some may find it homey. The outdoors was cute, historic looking, and there was a friendly cat that greeted us. The inside was very grandmother's house looking in terms of wood paneling and carpet, but covered wall to wall in Alabama memorabilia, and not in the especially charming way. Service: we were actually seated within the 20 minute wait time we were told, so that was nice. Our waitress was pleasant and somewhat attentive. However, our food took forever to come out--so long that the table seated not three minutes ahead of us received their food, ate it, paid, and left before ours even arrived. The food: what should be the best part, but was sadly the worst. The eggs were utterly average. My pancakes weren't bad, but I elected to add pecans and chocolate chips (to the tune of almost 3 more dollars--the place is very overpriced), so that likely improved them. What was really disappointing were the "hash browns" and biscuits. Their hash browns were not hash browns in the real sense, nothing like the kind you would get at another establishment. They were like roasted potatoes, cut in cubes and cooked. They had very little seasoning and were tasteless and undercooked. Ketchup was necessary to make them edible. The biscuits, which so many raved about, were anemic. Very small and on the mushy side. They were neither flaky nor pillowy. They were the same consistency throughout, and also rather cold. So disappointing. Sorry, Tuscaloosa, but you let me down on this one.

The best breakfast in town by far!! Once you have had one of their biscuits, you won't want anyone else's! Great southern style ham and eggs. Go early, they only have twelve tables and people will wait hours to get in on the weekends!!

Was staying at a friend's place for the Alabama-Tennessee "middle finger" seen around the world game and she raved about the Waysider so we gave it a try for breakfast. After a twenty minute wait we were finally seated by a slightly forgetful waiter. I was taken back by the "Old farm" feel and the countless UofA memorabilia on the walls. Ordered breakfast, two eggs over easy with sugar ham, biscuits and grits. My eggs came out slightly overcooked, but edible but the ham tasted more like country ham than sugar ham, was way too salty; mentioned it to our waiter and he gave me an excuse, not a solution but things happen beyond control and I totally understood. I will admit, my breakfast was far better than what I probably would have gotten at Crackerbarrel or IHOP, I hope this Tuscaloosa landmark stays around for many years to come.

Was on my places to go list after the 2018 Iron Bowl. Group of five went Sunday morning and we were all pleased. We were seated very fast despite the small crowd waiting on a table. Some in the group ordered Elephant shaped pancakes and had no complaints. I had a tomato and cheese omelet with sausage and a side of hash browns and sweet tea. Meals came with hot biscuits. I will definitely make a plan to go back next time I'm in Tuscaloosa to try a lunch. Just my opinion but o not judge the outer condition of this little restaurant, it is rough and old. The inside shows years of wear and tear but nothing takes away from the excellent food that comes out of their kitchen. An added benefit to the eating experience is the huge collection of Alabama football memorabilia that decorates every inch of the walls.

Small, hole in the wall place. Super busy on the weekend mornings for breakfast/brunch. Has small tables for couples and a large one in the center for a big family. Food is delicious and worth the wait if you do have to be in a queue. Definitely try it once if you're in Tuscaloosa

This was a nice stop with really good food. Friendly staff and great atmosphere. I highly recommend it. It was in an old historical home so some might see it differently but I love old homes so I really enjoyed it.

Our favorite spot for breakfast in Tuscaloosa...can't beat the food or the service. Always friendly and taking care of us!

My son's new favorite restaurant in Tuscaloosa! We all loved it. The biscuits were phenomenal! We Also had pancakes, bacon, grits and eggs- oh, and hash browns. Sooo good that it was hard to say what was best. Such a cute place, too, with super friendly service. We'll definitely be back!!

Kind of a stick in the mud place, but actually still very crowded during football season. This place makes for a really good brunch. I prefer to stick with the tried-and-true, the short stack of pancakes. These pancakes are very fluffy and moist, and mixes well with the atmosphere of the tiny restaurant. You should definitely come here. By the way, yes, you will have to drive on train tracks.

Very disappointing! I'm giving it one star because this restaurant doesn't deserve more than a 3 star average. We ordered 2 Diet Cokes, assuming that they were normal fountain Cokes like every other restaurant has. NOPE! They sent a waitress to the store to pick up CANS OF COKE. The best part is, they wanted to charge us $3 PER CAN OF COKE. WHY WOULD I PAY $3 FOR A WARM CAN OF COKE??! That wouldn't have been so bad, though, if they just told us that from the beginning. Instead, they kept telling us "the Cokes are coming". We were done with our food before they got back with the Cokes. That being said, the food isn't awful but it's not good either. The pancakes are decent, and the ham is okay, but the hash browns were SEVERELY undercooked. Not a good experience at all. Tuscaloosa, you can do better!!!!!

Obviously The Waysider should be anyone's favorite breakfast spot in Tuscaloosa. The meal is second to none, but so are the people. They are always so genuinely kind to us and our kiddos. We make great memories at the Waysider!

The Waysider is a Tuscaloosa institution, a classic, and a gem for real southern breakfast. On a recent visit (I'm a Texan), I wandered in for breakfast. My mission: to have some great food and find out if the Waysider deserved its listing in Esquire magazine's Top 50 breakfast list. The service was cheerful and quick during an offpeak Friday. Everything was just like it should be. The eggs, bacon, and coffee were all done just right. It was the Southern staples that blew me away. I'm not a huge grits guy, but these grits were fantastic, buttery, and perfect. The biscuits were small but potent: crisp outside with a moist, flakey, piping hot interior. Don't even get me started on the sausage gravy. This was the gravy of the gods, I tell you. Sitting here 500 miles away from the Waysider, I nearly weep when I think of that gravy. The setting is cool, too. It's a little house with a small dining room and well-worn wooden seating. The walls are covered in Alabama football art and memorabilia, including a ton of those ubiquitous Daniel Moore prints. Is there a city ordinance that any Tuscaloosa restaurant must have at least one of these prints displayed? I loved every bit of my pilgrimage to the Waysider Restaurant, and I look forward to my next visit when I'm in Tuscaloosa.

I've visited Tuscaloosa many times, but this is the first time we stopped here. Delicious! I loved the Bama decor! We will definitely be coming back!

This is the best breakfast place in Tuscaloosa!! Amazing people and the best food. They always take such good care of us and I've never gotten a bad order! Sometimes we'll even get beignets or biscuits, it's the best place to go. Their pancakes are so fluffy and warm it beats everything!

Just popped in here for brunch on a whim. Had an omelette and my son had hot cakes. Atmosphere was pretty cool with all the Daniel Moore prints. Excellent biscuits!!! Food was excellent. Service was good. Will be back.

No self-respecting Southerner would treat patrons as rudely as this establishment treated us. We waited for 1.5 hours, seeing groups of 2, 4, and even 6 come, go in, and come out having been fed only to keep being told our party of 3 would have to keep waiting in the rudest and most unfriendly manner. I am grateful I got to bond for an hour with my Alabama student daughter, but honestly, I was appalled by the lack of manners exhibited by this establishment.

Dilapidated exterior doesn't equate to charm. Waiting for a table is fine and expected. The food took ages to arrive and was mostly average. Waitress forgot several items and although apologized was overall mediocre service. Omelette arrived with cheese it shouldn't have had and without spinach it should have had. A redo and more delay. Pancakes were dry and barely warm. Grits, bacon and biscuits were all very good. Can't imagine ever coming back. Disappointed as I had hoped for an iconic T-town experience.

We are Californians traveling through the South and tried this restaurant at the recommendation of a local. We are so glad we did! The ambience in the historic home is fun and the food fantastic. The biscuits were light and fluffy. The eggs were cooked perfectly. The sausage gravy, bacon, potatoes, and coffee were all great! The server even brought out a plate of warm beignets that we had not even ordered. Seating is limited here, but there was no problem on a Friday morning at 8:30. We will definitely be be back for a future visit.

We had a great breakfast here a few weeks ago and we can't wait to go back! The food was delicious and our sweet server was covering several tables with ease and always kept the coffee hot.

Our daughter took us here this morning. I am very picky on what I eat but I loved the place. We were lucky and were seated in less than 10 minutes. I absolutely loves the environment and drag flowers at each table. The grits were the best that I have ever tasted in my life, and I have eaten a lot of grits. I also ate one biscuit. (when in Rome!!) Everything was really good!! I could not believe the amount of people that were there when we were leaving at 11am I would recommend going at least one time.

Waysider has one of the best breakfasts in Tuscaloosa. It is a mom and pop operation which is evident in the staff and the building itself. The atmosphere is friendly and inviting, and you will be called sweetie more than once. The food is traditional, southern breakfast fair so do not expect anything fancy or unusual. That begin said if you are looking for a traditional breakfast, this is the place to go.The food is wonderful and tastes just as down home cooking should. Be sure to order some biscuits and honey to go with your breakfast. Since the restaurant is small, expect a wait on game day weekends and limited parking. The staff will be extremely accommodating and do their best to get your food fast. It is a must visit if you find yourself in Tuscaloosa wanting a home-cooked, traditional, southern breakfast.

Nothing spectacular. Dining area is cramped. Service can be very slow, so avoid if you are in any sort of hurry. Food itself is acceptable, but certainly not memorable. Breakfast food/southern food is hard to mess up, but can be so much better. From how elders have described it to me, would have been a lot better 25+ years ago.

I came here after a recommendation from a friend who graduated from the University of Alabama and I'm so glad I took her advice. Since it was a Sunday at 12:30pm, I expected the line to be long. However, once we arrived, it appeared to be closed (it also said that it was closed on Yelp). We saw a few folks open the door though, so we decided to try it. To our surprise, it was open. We ordered the country ham, grits, scrambled eggs, hot cakes, steak and biscuits. It was AWESOME. This was the absolute best country style breakfast I've had in my 11 years in Alabama. I imagine it tastes like it would have tasted 100 years ago. Lol. In addition to the food, the staff was awesome. Since we ordered our food to go (we had dogs in the car) we were repeatedly reassured that we were welcome to eat in (and I tell you, this was especially welcome since we were the only Black folks in the place - with the exception of a gentleman in the back). We let them know that we had dogs in the car, and we began to chat about that. Overall, it was a great experience. If I ever find myself in Tuscaloosa again, I'll definitely come back.

Just left from there, price was tooo high. I got steak omelette and juice, my check was $20. They charge me 1.65 for each topping. Food was less than normal, no it was terrible. I'll never come back there. I don't know if they charge a lot because we are international or it's their normal prices.

Biscuits and grits were good, but everything else could have used more seasoning. I found this place somewhat disappointing. The gravy was runny and flavorless, the eggs were nothing special, and the omelet's was also bland. My advice is to look elsewhere for a breakfast better than you can make yourself.

I had breakfast at the Waysider which was excellent. I had the omelet special, peppers, sausage, onions, and cheese. The omelet came with grits and biscuits. The omelet was excellent you could taste every ingredient and if the sausages are not locally made I would love to know the brand. I have never liked grits, but always try, just in case they get better. These grits were great, I could taste the butter and did nothing to them, perfect the way they were. The biscuits like everything else was fresh and seemed to be made to order. If I lived in Tuscaloosa I would be eating many breakfasts there. Parking is in the back not easy to figure out, walls are covered in University of Alabama pictures. Local spot for older folks, like me to discuss, Saiban, and what the local high school team is going to do this year. Wait staff was great just like everything else.

First time coming. Staff was great. The place could use some paint and a good scrub. The kitchen door and wall were in view from my seat. The kitchen could be kept cleaner. The carpet needed a good vac. And the legs of the chairs where ages and dirty. My ice cup for my soda had something in it. ( I'm being picky.) It's not "dirty".... but could be cleaner, updated. I was Kinda worried.... but when the food came out I was impressed. I had poached eggs, fried potatoes, sausage and toast. The poached eggs were cooked perfectly. And in a bowl without me asking! ) The fried potatoes were mostly burnet crunchies and the waitress said it was the end of the batch and they were making more. Lucky for her those are my favorite! Toast was not over buttered or soggy! But she accidentally brought my Husband grits... when he asked for potatoes. She added the potatoes to the order. Didn't replace the grits. And boy was that a hidden blessing. I HATE... HATE... grits. But they looked delicious. So I tasted.... WOW. They were AMAZING! I ate almost the whole order! And I was so confused... cause they were so good and I don't do grits! Boy do I wish I knew about their grits when I was preggo! I craved grits and I must have tried them a 100 times and gaged at their nastiness every time! So, if you go. Poached eggs and grits! Because yeh. Their good!

I somehow was dragged here under the recommendation of people who I thought had a nice palette for Breakfast food, but upon further review I realized that I must pick better friends. The food took 35 minutes, the grits were clumpier that a bowl of gravy that got left in the sun all day, i think that I chipped a tooth trying to eat the dirty tasting grill bacon. The only thing that I can say good about this restaurant is thankfully it's small so you can hear every single persons conversation as if they were practically eating in your ear. I'm appalled, disgusted, and just outright petrified of the thought of ever returning here to attempt to eat some of this garbage.