Last year when my mother and niece were here visiting, we ate at Miz Kathi’s Cotillion Southern Cafe one day and really loved it there. My husband (James) was working that day so didn’t get to try it and he’s been wanting to try it ever since so a couple of weeks ago I made a reservation and we went for a later lunch.

Last year my mom had ordered the chicken fried steak and was still talking about it so I got it this time even though I still wanted to get the chicken and waffles again. My husband ordered the shepherds pie and as you can see from the below photos, the portions are more than generous.

I did order the cherry lemonade again like last year and if you ever take any recommendation from me, take this one! You absolutely will not regret it. James isn’t so crazy about anything cherry flavored and I thought I was going to have to fight him over mine. He got the peach iced tea and really liked it but he couldn’t stop himself from drinking my drink! Not that I blame him. A head’s up though that you only get one free refill and after that you have to pay for a whole new drink.

If you look at the photos above, you can see a little of what it looks like inside. I didn’t want to capture other diners eating so I was unable to get the entirety but you can see the vintage vibes are perfect. They even have lots of little amazing details outside.

Earlier I mentioned making a reservation and I just wanted to say that it isn’t required, but highly recommended. Last year we were able to get in without one after a wait and the hostess suggested at the time that we would probably want to make one in the future to guarantee a table and I’m glad she did. Even with the reservation we waited 10 minutes and without a reservation it was a 45 minute to an hour wait. You may think this restaurant is a hidden gem, but it’s not so hidden. Even with our reservation, we still waited about 10 minutes for our table.

Miz Kathi’s also has a bakery next door and has different cakes and things you can take home from the restaurant. We each got a slice of cake to bring home and I do have to say that it was the most underwhelming slice of cake I’ve ever had. At $9 a slice, I really can’t recommend it as it just wasn’t very good to be honest. I will possibly try some of their other dessert items in the future, but I will definitely pass on the $9 slice of dry and overly iced cake. It was truly the only disappointment we experienced.

If you ever are in Wildwood (The Villages) and you know you are going to be there ahead of time, I really do highly recommend you try this place out. It’s right off 301 so no need for complicated directions.

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