Mama Zoe Michael’s

Mama Zoe Michael’s is a family-owned restaurant on Reynolda Road in Winston-Salem, NC serving a mix of Southern comfort food and traditional Greek cooking — scratch-made from recipes passed down through the Michael family for more than 50 years. Breakfast runs all day, portions are generous, and the homemade cakes come in slices roughly the size of a dinner plate.

The restaurant is the flagship of the Michael Family Restaurant Group, which also runs Yamas Mediterranean Street Food, Waldo’s Wings, and Cin Cin Burger Bar. It’s been a Nextdoor Neighborhood Favorite two years running, and regulars tend to describe it the same way: like a hug from your grandmother.

Be sure to check out the pictures below to get a feel for Mama Zoe Michael’s before you go — or to relive the visit after.

The Michael Family and Fifty Years of Recipes

The cooking here traces back to Pennsylvania. Owner Zoe Michael grew up in her father’s restaurant, Christy’s Family Restaurant in Ellwood City, PA, where her father — known to patrons as “Crazy Bill” — taught her scratch cooking and the traditions of Greek hospitality. Crazy Bill was known for greeting guests at the door every morning with a warm welcome, a habit the family carried into its own restaurants.

The Michael family moved to Winston-Salem in 2007 and founded Mama Zoe Michael’s, bringing together family recipes spanning more than 47 years at the time — now past 50. Some menu staples came by way of the family’s earlier Zoe’s Southern Grill in Fort Myers, Florida, including the Savannah fried chicken and the crunchy grouper. From there the family kept building: Mama Zoe’s led to Waldo’s Wings, Cin Cin Burger Bar, and — in 2019 — Yamas Mediterranean Street Food, the group’s modern build-your-own Mediterranean concept.

What ties it all together is the family’s Greek and Cypriot heritage and a stated commitment to scratch cooking. Mama Zoe’s is where that shows up in its most traditional form — Greek plates and Southern classics side by side on the same menu, made the way the family has made them for two generations.

The Food

The menu is broad, and breakfast is a genuine strength — served all day, with an expansive lineup that regulars rate as some of the best in the city. Sweet potato pancakes, corn pudding, hearty omelets, Belgian waffles, and Greek yogurt parfaits anchor the morning, and the breakfast menu alone is deep enough to warrant repeat visits.

Beyond breakfast, the kitchen runs the full range of Southern comfort food and Greek cooking. Savannah fried chicken and crunchy grouper carry over from the family’s Florida restaurant, and the menu fills out with shrimp and grits, oven-roasted turkey, the Deacon’s Choice, salads, sandwiches, and homestyle plates served with mashed potatoes, a side, and a roll. Greek touches appear throughout, from vinaigrette-drizzled hoagies to traditional Greek pastries.

Save room, or don’t and take it home. The homemade cakes are the signature finish — slices reportedly the size of a large plate, with the banana pudding cake a standout. Everything is made in-house, and the portions across the board run large enough that leftovers are the norm rather than the exception.

Good to Know

• Location: 2859 Reynolda Road, Winston-Salem, NC 27106
• Phone: 336-722-4946
• Hours: Open daily; breakfast served all day, with an earlier close on Sundays — check the Mama Zoe Michael’s website for current hours
• Owner: Zoe Michael, part of the Michael Family Restaurant Group
• The family story: Zoe learned scratch cooking at her father’s “Crazy Bill’s” restaurant, Christy’s Family Restaurant in Ellwood City, PA; the family moved to Winston-Salem in 2007
• The cuisine: Southern comfort food and traditional Greek cooking, scratch-made from recipes spanning 50-plus years
• Signature dishes: Savannah fried chicken, crunchy grouper, shrimp and grits, sweet potato pancakes, corn pudding, and oven-roasted turkey
• The desserts: Homemade cakes in oversized slices; the banana pudding cake is a favorite
• Recognition: Nextdoor Neighborhood Favorite, 2023 and 2024
• Sister restaurants: Yamas Mediterranean Street Food, Waldo’s Wings, and Cin Cin Burger Bar
• Best for: All-day breakfast, comfort food, Greek cooking, families, big appetites, and dessert lovers
• Pair with: The full Winston-Salem food and beverage cluster; Yamas Mediterranean Street Food from the same family; Cafe Gelato on the same Reynolda Road corridor; or Reynolda Gardens and the Reynolda Estate trails nearby

A Winston-Salem Highlight

Mama Zoe Michael’s does two cuisines at once — Southern comfort food and traditional Greek cooking — and the reason it works is that both come from the same place. Zoe Michael learned to cook in her father’s restaurant in Ellwood City, Pennsylvania, where “Crazy Bill” greeted every guest at the door and made everything from scratch. That combination of Greek heritage and homestyle hospitality is the whole identity of the place, carried down through more than fifty years of recipes.

Breakfast is where to start, and you can get it all day. The sweet potato pancakes and corn pudding come up again and again from regulars, and the morning menu is deep enough to keep you coming back. For something heartier, the Savannah fried chicken and crunchy grouper carry over from the family’s old Fort Myers restaurant and remain the dishes to order.

Whatever you get, don’t leave without looking at the cake case. The homemade slices are famously enormous, the banana pudding cake has a following, and the portions everywhere else on the menu mean you’ll probably be taking dessert home anyway. It’s the kind of family restaurant that earns its regulars — and the two-time Neighborhood Favorite nod is well earned.

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Resources

Mama Zoe Michael’s Website

Mama Zoe Michael’s Facebook

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