Lisa Browder

This little restaurant’s name implies lunch will be served on Limoges china. I envisioned fancy, quiet, and sophisticated, right? And if it’s got Limoges china, it’s probably zhuzhy. The food and the ambiance must be exceptional. Hold that thought.

Lunch on Limoges went into partnership with Florida Cracker Kitchen during the pandemic. It’s now Florida Cracker Lunch on Limoges. What a dichotomy. One conjures elegance, sophistication and upscale; the other down-home country. I was intrigued. How do you blend those two?

Well, mostly, you don’t.

The restaurant is located in the middle of a long row of shops in downtown Dade City, across from the courthouse. If not for the sign on the sidewalk, I wouldn’t have looked twice. I figure it doesn’t look like a restaurant because it didn’t start out that way.

The space was originally a clothing store. The layout still resembles more of a department store than a restaurant. The website says they took the men’s department and turned it into the dining area and then made the rest of the large open space a gift shop. It’s not a particularly appealing layout and, contrary to the advertising, I didn’t find anything in the gift shop I would label “fashionable.”

What can you buy? Plenty of caps; t-shirts; suede bags with copious, dangling fringe; keychains; visors; jewelry; and shirts trailing over the edge of a bargain bin. I saw a set of dinnerware and a display of Le Creuset bakeware. I suppose those were attempts to link the gift shop to the restaurant. Or maybe you get to lunch on Limoges if you buy it first. Who knows?

I asked the waitress where the Limoges was. She said there were supply issues. What exactly does that mean? When the company merger happened they tossed out all the Limoges?

At one point, one of the new owners stopped by the table. I posed the same question: where’s the Limoges? He said most of the “Limoges” wasn’t real. Hmmm. Did that answer the question? Did that mean toss out the fake Limoges and serve monochromatic meals on cheap, clear crap? My dining experience was not living up to the hype.

So let’s talk about the meal. It started with little mini-muffins that were delightful – all carrot, apple, cinnamon goodness (with lots of butter). I decided to sample the raspberry tea and it was also good. The chicken-fried steak with eggs over easy was nice but average. However, the grits were fabulous – all creamy, lumpless deliciousness.

I noticed the place had a steady stream of traffic, even on a weekday, and the waitress indicated they had long waiting lines on weekends. Of course, it’s a small town so I can see how it would be the place to go on weekends. Would I recommend it? If you happen to be in the area and are looking for a place that offers both breakfast and lunch, sure. Would I make it a restaurant destination for its ambiance and five-star meals? No.