Derby Restaurant

This place is adorable! Good food, but the 5 stars are for the atmosphere and customer service. They were so friendly, and this was such a down home southern experience. Definitely visit if you are in the area!

Had fried flounder. Service was excellent but if you are looking for greasy fish and French fries, this is the place. My wife almost got sick from the greasy fish. Probably one of the worst meals we’ve ever had. Won’t go back.

One of my favorite restaurants. I make sure I stop whenever I’m in the Mount Airy, North Carolina area.
My favorite is the spaghetti and green salad. The sauce isn’t fancy, but flavorful. You can taste the garlic and basil, it’s perfectly seasoned.
The green salad is a very simple salad, but the bleu cheese dressing has a little zing and i really like it.
I asked about the brand of the salad dressing, but the young lady didn’t know.
This place is old, the booths aren’t the most comfortable, and there’s absolutely nothing fancy about the place. But I judge a restaurant on food, not the décor.
Five Stars from me!

Old, authentic, clean, great smells of the grill cooking all kinds of foods. Had good service and enjoyed it

This place could be a real gold mine if the owners would spend a little money on it. Food is good when it’s busy. Staff is friendly.

While the décor could use some updating the people, service and the food were great! The portions were huge and properly cooked. Mary had the Derby Burger with Cheese, lettuce and tomato. And as a side the hot chips. As she told the waitress, the chips could have been an appetizer for the table it was so big. She said everything about the burger was right on! I ordered the special, Fried Flounder with Baked Potato, Cole Slaw and Hushpuppies. Like the hot chips the Hushpuppies were served in a basket big enough for at least 2 or 3 people. And it was all good even tough we could not finish it. We will keep this place on the the radar because the combination of people, service and great food is a winner. The only thing keeping it from scoring higher was a health department score of 92.

Very neat place to eat. Lots of choices to choose from. Home cooking, sandwiches, salads and more. This place has been here a very long time. Service is good too. Very reasonable prices and specials offered too.

Dated décor takes you a step back in time. I was waiting for Flo to tell me to «kiss my grits» but the staff was friendly. We had the BBQ platter. Very generous portion with hush puppies and fries. Hush puppies were good but a tad greasy. We also has the marinated chicken salad with Derby dressing. Large portion and their signature dressing added a very nice flavor to the salad.

Stopped onto this great little place on the way back to Charlotte from WV. Great home cooking and friendly staff. Wasn’t a huge fan of the hush puppies, just kind of greasy and flavorless. I had the meatloaf which was wonderful. My teenage sons both got the special if the day, unlimited dried flounder. They were in heaven. I’d definitely stop by again the next time I visit Mt. Airy.

Kept looking around for Andy Griffith. This is a classic greasy spoon breakfast/​lunch joint that has Mayberry-​esq low prices. Definitely order the hash browns and add an extra egg to their breakfast special. Two can eat breakfast with coffee for around $ 12 – 15 with a 25% tip for the great waitstaff.

Best hush puppies I’ve ever eaten
The waitress recommended the Chicken Pie great choice I think the collard greens were canned but everything else was excellent.
Would recommend. To anyone
Great stop on vacation
For desert strawberry cobbler with ice cream.

Great place to eat. It’s been in mount airy longer than most people have been alive. Cheap food great service.

I could eat some dirby anytime.. Good local cheap food. I’d highly recommend it to anyone

We were heading home from a weekend in VA and after reading the Unilocal reviews and not finding much open on Main Street, we headed over here. I thought the name connection with the one is Hollywood was cute too.
This is one where it’s clear the locals go cos it seemed like the staff knew everyone who entered as the place quickly filled up on a Sunday.
I was delighted when I walked in and saw old time wooden booths and realized if this place has been around since the late 1940’s they must be original — cool! Yes, things can seem a bit dated at times, but that’s the charm of it all. We were quickly greeted by a friendly staff person who gave us our menus and took our drink order.
I opted for the fried chicken with a choice of three sides. From a good long list I choose the mac and cheese, green beans and a side salad with Derby dressing. The chicken was delicious, just like something your granny would make. Perfectly fried, juicy inside and not too thick a coating on the outside. The mac and cheese had a loose sauce that was light in color, but very cheesy in flavor. The greens beans were tasty too! I was intrigued by the Derby dressing name and found out is a tomato oil and vinegar base with an oniony flavor. That was good too. Add in a couple of soft dinner rolls and I was filled to the brim when done!
My dining partner had eggs, bacon and toast with three of the biggest pancakes I’ve ever seen! She loved it all and made yummy noises though out. In fact, she said the pancakes were some of the most flavorful she’s ever had!
Between the tasty food and the friendly staff, we both agreed we can’t wait to come back again and try more of the wonderful choices on the menu. We thought, we’ve gotta tell Bob Garner from UNC tv’s NC Weekend show about this place and then saw a framed review by him on the way out the door!

Named after the Brown Derby — Hollywood.
Back in the 60’s, when I was a child, this was THE place to grab a sandwich.
The Derby had Caché, with a capital C.
There was an actual, HUGE, black Derby on the roof. The sight always thrilled me, as we neared our shopping destination of Mt. Airy. It doesn’t take a lot to impress a child, but the sight of that HUGE chapeau was quite impressive and unlike any place else in our local wanderings.
Back then, everything was curb service.
The menu favorites were the classics: hotdogs, cheeseburgers, milk shakes, crinkle cut fries, and sodas.
The food was great. The service was great. The experience was great.
My father’s favorite sandwich was a sliced barbecue, which was exquisite.
It was often hard to find a parking space in front of the restaurant.
As the decades have passed, The Derby has changed, evolved, and adapted to the times.
The menu is different.
The Derby’s offerings now revolve around Southern cooking as their mainstay.
Of course, business is not as brisk as it was in its heyday, but the Derby is still alive and kicking. The interior is pretty much unchanged. For a glimpse of the past, this is a pretty good destination.

By far my favorite restaurant in Mount airy. Great southern food and service. Couldn’t get better!!! Its a local landmark and you gotta try it!

I used to love the Derby. Never had a bad meal before. I remember coming here when I was a kid. Its a Mayberry institution. But last weekend my opinion was changed albeit temporarily. Craving a hamburger we stopped and I opted for the 8oz ribeye special. «Barbed Wire» wouldn’t describe this piece of meat accurately. I ordered it med rare. It came burnt on the outside and completely raw/​cold on the inside. I have ordered raw steaks in the past but this was barely out of the freezer. I waved the cook down, a teenager who looked as if he belonged in a garage instead of a kitchen with the amount of grease on his apron. I asked for medium well this time. It came back still dark red and cold but more charred on the outside. Still asking myself why I tried to eat it. I guess I didn’t want to hurt the guy’s feelings. Worst steak EVER. The salad was good and I huffed it down in a heartbeat while my steak was being scorched over and over. I won’t say I’ll never eat there again, but I will stick to the veggies and fish. Big letdown. AT LEAST THEY DON’T HAVE SMOKING NOW.

This restaurant has been in Mount Airy «forever». Still looks the same inside and out. Meat and veggies are a solid pick. I had meat loaf, slaw, mashed potatoes and fried squash. Hush puppies on the side with a glass of ice tea. Yum! Yum!

As far as I know, the Derby must be the oldest restaurant in Mt. Airy and somewhat of a local landmark.
Great food and great service. If you are looking for something off the beaten path, try the Derby. There you will find AUTHENTIC home cooking.