Food & Drink

Looking for authentic flavors? Here are 5 family-owned restaurants around Macon.

By Lucinda Warnke

The idea for this story came from a reader suggestion in our online survey regarding The Telegraph’s food coverage in Middle Georgia. Got an idea or feedback? Let us know here.

If you’re looking for delicious food in a comforting environment, family-owned restaurants are always the best place to start.

Macon has a wide selection of ma-and-pa shops, ranging from Southern favorites like barbecue and soul food to fare from around the world.

Here are five family-owned eateries in Macon sure to deliver on good food.

Guitarras Mexican Grill

Guittaras Mexican Grill is a family-owned Mexican restaurant with locations downtown, along Thomaston Road and on Tom Hill Sr. Boulevard. Highlights include their street-style tacos and empanadas. You’ll also get your money’s worth with their margaritas, which come in glasses the size of a fish bowl.

Guitarras Mexican Grill’s Macon Special, shrimp and steak over a bed of rice and vegetables, is served with salsa and chips.
Guitarras Mexican Grill’s Macon Special, shrimp and steak over a bed of rice and vegetables, is served with salsa and chips. Telegraph file photo

Patti’s Kitchen

Patti’s Kitchen — which is located in a gas station at the corner of Joycliff and Millerfield roads — may not look like much from the outside, but anyone who’s been can attest to the soul food restaurant’s culinary chops. Their mac and cheese is rich and flavorful, and the fried pork chops have a crispy outside with a tender, juicy inside.

Pho Saigon

Pho Saigon off Riverside Drive in north Macon serves quintessential Vietnamese dishes including pho, bahn mi and vermicelli dishes. Some must-try items are the pho tai chin, a pho with tender, thinly sliced steak and brisket in a hearty beef broth; and the bahn mi ga nuong, a Vietnamese sandwich with grilled chicken, mayonnaise, pickled vegetables and jalapeños.

Pho Saigon, located at 3076 Riverside Dr. in Macon.
Pho Saigon, located at 3076 Riverside Dr. in Macon. Jason Vorhees jvorhees@macon.com

Satterfield’s Barbecue

Satterfield’s Barbecue is a family owned and operated smokehouse on New Street. A longtime Macon favorite, the eatery offers a wide variety of barbecue classics. Their pulled pork is cooked to tender, melt-in-your-mouth perfection and smothered in a sweet, smoky sauce. The collards with turkey are a stand-out side, with a rich, comforting flavor.

A Cherry Chipotle Smoked Brisket Taco from Satterfield’s BBQ sits on a plate during the Pink Provisions Trail preview on Friday, March 21, 2025, in downtown Macon, Georgia. Local Macon restaurants and bars debuted pink bites and drinks to celebrate the International Cherry Blossom Festival, all of which are available throughout the festival.
A Cherry Chipotle Smoked Brisket Taco from Satterfield’s BBQ sits on a plate during the Pink Provisions Trail preview on Friday, March 21, 2025, in downtown Macon, Georgia. Local Macon restaurants and bars debuted pink bites and drinks to celebrate the International Cherry Blossom Festival, all of which are available throughout the festival. Katie Tucker/The Telegraph

Kimchi Factory

Located in downtown Macon, Kimchi Factory serves up authentic Korean flavors in fresh made dishes. The beef bulgogi is a classic, offering sweet and savory flavors packed in thin slices of stir fried beef marinated in soy sauce, garlic and sesame oil and seeds. The kimbab — rolls of crab, rice and vegetables wrapped in seaweed — is also a local favorite.

Got a favorite dish in Macon you’d like us to know about? Let us know about it here!

This story was originally published June 10, 2025 at 12:12 PM.

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