Norman’s Landing

Overpriced and not fresh seafood… Had the Sea Bass and it wasn’t cooked correctly. As a seafood aficionado, I would say to avoid this pricey place, and go to a chain for less money.

We are the Gwinnett Foodies, a Meetup Group. We venture around the Gwinnett County & Atlanta area restaurants to savor what we hope is some of the best food they have to offer. Norman’s Landing did that and more, tonight. Complimenting good food & drink with good service. Our server, Alisa was right on the ball and very pleasant. We try to hit different restaurants every weekend and never hit the same restaurant twice in a year. It was suggested that we come back to Norman’s Landing, and we will.

This restaurant reminds me of an oyster… not much to look at from the outside but you will definitely find a pearl or two inside. Their grouper sandwich here is absolutely amazing!

My husband, kids and I went there on a rainy Saturday night. The food was great! The gameroom is a nice idea and other restaurants need to take heed of that. However our server LINDA was trash!!! After we paid our tab we told her to keep the $ 3 and change from the bill because I was going to put $ 5 up on the table also. So it would have been $ 8 ish… This lady told us she did not want our tip! CAN U BELIEVE THAT!!! How dare she. I dont know if she thought we were only giving $ 3 but it was very insulting. Never Ever had that type of experience especially with an establishment of 25 years. We have been to many fine dining places around the country and never been treated like that. Oh. And talked to Jenny the mgr and she was very dismissive of our complaints!!!’

A bit of a dive but great place to find authentic seafood inland. Tucked back in a busy area now, there is so much around it you may miss it, but it is directly across the street for Red Robin and right before you get on 400. We have been going there for 10 years and it used to stand alone. It can be loud and very busy at times but if you want fried seafood there may be no better place in the area.

Soooo good. They have OPAH, which is in season now. Light Hawaiian fish. Great seafood, great staff, great experience.

The fried seafood platter was tasty, but waiting over 20 minutes for the check after you’re completely finished at lunch is unacceptable.

With limited seafood options in the area, this is my choice without going out of the way.

I have been eating here for years now and have rarely ever had anything that wasn’t fantastic. The steamed oysters are always great and one of my go to items. I love the bones they serve on Fridays, they are big and meaty and covered in an awesome bbq sauce. I have had their chicken kabobs, lobster rolls, steaks, etc as well as many of their sides and desserts and all of it has been very tasty. I can only think of once or twice where the food was just «okay» rather than great but that’s in years of going there for lunches and dinners. Service is generally very friendly, if a little slow at times. The décor is kinda rustic, like a big fishing cabin, but they are a fish and steak place so it works, I guess.

Janet took great care of us. The staff is top notch. Relaxed and casual with good food. I think sometimes it’s a bit pricey but the food is always good. I’ve had their seafood, fish dishes, burgers, club sandwiches, salads etc… haven’t had a bad meal there. I like the corn bread and soft rolls to start. NL has been up here on exit 13 for years. I think The Waffle House and NL were the only restaurants up here for years. Glad to see they are still doing well.

My fiancé and I are in the process of building a house in Cumming so for the past few months we’ve been sampling different restaurants to decide which ones will be our «go to» places. We had to meet our builder on a Thursday evening and thought we would go to dinner afterwards. Having just seen Norman’s Landing on Atlanta Eats we decided to give them a try.
When you first walk into this place it reminds you of being at some fish camp in the mountains. We loved it! Thought we were in Elijay or somewhere else up north. The place is clean and well laid out. We were warmly greeted and seated quickly. It took a little longer for our waitress to finally come over to take our drink order, but we weren’t in a rush so that was okay for us. Overall the service was very friendly. Our only knock was we saw our waitress sit with some of her tables when she probably could have been attending to checking on the food or drink orders of others. She’s been there since they started so these were probably regulars and the culture of the owner is to accept that. Most restaurants frown on that.
Okay so let’s get to the food. Several friends of our had suggested the Lobster Roll and the Cuban Talapia, so we took those under advisement. We ended up starting with a cup of Boston Clam Chowder and a dozen steamed oysters. The oysters were done perfectly and were a decent size. Would recommend those. The chowder is another story. Unless the clams dissolved in the chowder during cooking there were none to be found. Those from Boston would be offended by this chowder, even by the name. Stop at a grocery store and pick up a can of Snow’s Chopped Clams if you want clams in your chowder.
For the entrees we went with the fried catfish and lobster roll. The catfish had a good flavor but the batter was not crispy. Not sure if it had been sitting out too long and got a little soggy, but it had potential to be really good. The lobster roll was very good. The bun was fresh and soft and it was served with warm melted butter to dip it in. It also comes with fries, which were nice and crispy. I love the owner’s belief that a good lobster roll shouldn’t be masked with mayo and celery mixed in. This is ALL lobster. Good choice!
We’ll probably go back and give Norman’s another try but we’ll be trying other places, first. I’m sure there are some things we’ll find on the menu we would love, although it won’t be the chowder or catfish. It just didn’t happen this trip.

Husband and I had dinner here on a Friday evening for the first time since moving to this area. We ordered one calamari appetizer and one clam chowder to start. Waiter recommended the grouper and crab stuffed flounder which we also ordered. The flounder dish was too salty for my taste, grouper and sides were good. I would skip the collards. I don’t know if it was the way they were prepared, but this is the worst vegetable I’ve ever tasted. We ordered no drinks. Had no dessert. We found the tab was much too high for what we got. It came to $ 78 and we were floored.
Ate at Brookwood Grill in Roswell on Sunday. Both of us had soup, grouper, iced tea, no dessert and spent under $ 50. It was a much better prepard meal and value for our money.

We pulled in to the parking lot of Norman’s Landing on a whim. We had been there before, but it had been awhile, and we we all in the mood for a good seafood meal. It wasn’t too crowded.
The hostess greeted us warmly and efficiently. We were seated quickly and with a smile.
Unfortunately things went downhill from there. Our server took her sweet time in getting to us. It took probably 10 minutes for her to take our drink orders. Now, had this been a busy night, I would have been more understanding, but there were several empty tables and we had been seated immediately, so they weren’t exactly covered up. She took time to laugh at another server who had dropped a tray before she came over to us.
She brought the bread basket and two plates even though there was three of us. She said she would bring another plate, but she didn’t – not even when she brought out our calamari appetizer. We got the idea that we were not her favorite table.
The entrees were just ok. The crab cakes were much too salty and the collard greens were really tough. The mac and cheese was nothing more than noodles with a cheese crust. The squash casserole was the best taste of the meal. It was really good.
It took a long time to get the check, and when it finally came, our server just plopped it down and walked off in mid sentence. It was a strange experience and much different from our usual NL experience.
I remember the food being much better on our previous visits. I hope it was just an off night and we can have a good dinner there again some time in the future. However, when I spend $ 100 on a meal, I expect a higher level of service.

We always have a great experience every time we go to Norman’s Landing. Great Seafood and excellent servers. Alisa Is my favorite. She is very knowledgeable and always has great suggestions for dinner. We will definitely be back soon.

You can find Norman’s Landing near Brannon Rd right off of Exit 13 from 400. This is the last bastion of decent eating in this rather restaurant desolate area (and yes, I know that there’s tons of building going on so that description won’t last for long). The restaurant is on the left as you head East from 400.
I’ve eaten at Norman’s Landing several times and have always had good food and service. This is an interesting restaurant with all the feel of a restaurant you would typically see along a lake or seaside bay, only without the expansive patio view or smell of briny water. The interior is all exposed wood and rafters with water-​sport artifacts on the walls or hanging from the ceiling. While it’s a bit kitchy, that’s quite OK as the food more than makes up for it.
I can see that this is a popular spot for locals — plenty of people at the bar enjoy libations even if this last time I visited (a sleepy, Sunday night) there were few at the dining room tables. I can imagine myself enjoying a beer or specialty cocktail here before dining, or even just hanging out and talking about fishing. I do miss the coastal bars I frequented while living closer to coastlines — this is about as good as it gets without actually being on water.
The previous times that I’ve dined here I had salads or something with few or no carbs, as I was doing more of an Adkins thing. This time I went for a seafood combination with scallops, shrimp and fish, all fried, with collard greens and sweet potato fries on the side.
Also at our table, was a crab-​stuffed flounder accompanied by beets. I’m not a huge fan of beets, but the entrée was quite good — the lemony piccata-​like sauce included capers and was just dandy to enhance the flavors inside.
In all, the combination of ambiance, the great service and the good food put me in a reminiscent mood for the sea. Funny how that works — maybe it’ll do the same for you?
(longer review on my food blog)

Norman’s Landing was awesome! We got oysters, calamari, fried seafood platter, fried shrimp po’ boy, naked scallops, and bread. It was an amazing experience and great service from our server to the manager! The drinks were the only negative, should of just went with beer!
Can’t wait to splurge again!

I’ve been coming here on and off for years and found a great place to get away a couple of times a year when in the Cumming area. Usually pretty quiet and dark but good service and a good bar.
Brought my mom this time she was craving a lobster roll and I got the grouper sandwich. The grouper sandwich was absolutely perfect. Large, crispy grouper in a fresh bun with fresh lettuce, mayo, homemade picked, very good.
The lobster roll is ¼ lb of meat for around $ 20 and was pleased to see mostly claw meat in the roll. My mother likes it just like this– not mixed in a ton of mayo and celery, but meat and butter for the most part. Good size roll and compared to others, worth the value. The meat was a bit over cooked and needed some «kick» but nothing a little S&P couldn’t handle. Tasty and served with a variety of sides including my favorite there– collard greens, fries– plain and sweet potato, or a baked potato.
Service is always quite attentive with servers who have been there a while and a good bar and drink selection. Kind of a staple restaurant in the area and always kicked out a good meal. I really like their fried catfish, fish and chips and I hear the steaks are quite good-​but we seem to be seafood eaters here.
All in all– cozy, comfortable, affordable, good quality food and service. Just of 400 on 141 on the left heading south so easy access. Would certainly recommend it to newcomers.

This was our first visit to Norman’s Landing. We will probably give it one more try before totally abandoning this option. The service was very good. Our waitress was friendly, accurate and had a great sense of humor. The owner was visiting every table asking how everything was.
However, the food was a slight disappointed. We had some positives and negatives.
Negatives: I ordered the Lobster Roll and it was basically lobster meat on a bun with a side of butter and slaw to put on top. The lobster was very bland and had zero seasoning. The onions rings were not fresh made and probably were frozen.
Positives: My partner ordered the Reuben and it was delicious!!! The waitress recommended the BBQ shrimp appetizer and it was above average as well. The beers were ice cold and were served with a frosty mug.

A friend of mine recommended we go to this place for lunch. I travel all over the country, so I’ve been to some pretty amazing places, but this one blew me away! You don’t expect to get a lobster roll or a Po’boy that will top Maine or New Orleans in Atlanta, but I did! I also had the first fried pickle of my lifetime!
The waitress (Janet) added to the experience with great service and even greater opinions about what we should order. When I ask for it, I really want to know, and she was able to guide us through the ordering process. Thanks for that!

There’s not really much I hate more than driving a long way for bad food. We saw Norman’s Landing on Atlanta Eats and were excited to try the lobster roll, which looked totally different on TV than live in person. I am a huge fan of simplicity when it comes to lobster rolls, just a little butter, salt and pepper are perfect when tossed with fresh lobster meat.
When they say «a ¼ pound of claw meat» they aren’t talking about the luscious big part of the claw or even the knuckle meat. This sandwich was filled with what I’m guessing is machine extracted meat from the skinny legs of the lobster. The roll looked so stupid I couldn’t even take a picture of it. It looked more like a crawfish roll than anything else. Both my husband and I bit into pretty big hunks of shell, which is why I made the machine separated comment. I’ve never had fresh picked lobster contain shells, because people who know how to shuck lobster would feel it and remove it. I also would question the freshness of the lobster. It tasted like it had been sitting around, and that plus butter was the only discernible flavor. Coupled with frozen fries and wet cole slaw… What a joke.
I love to support small business and I never eat at chains, but I dare say if given the choice between this place and Red Lobster — I’d probably take the Red Lobster.