Soul Food Restaurants in Oakland, CA

“Great food and if you like hot, they’ve got it!“

“When we go usually its fantastic especially with the affordable prices and deliciousfood/options. But today the cooks in the back was not the regulars nd the chicken wasnt crispy like they wasnt coated properly and they are small the bread was hard. The prawns also disappointing The REDSNAPPER SANDWICH HAD BONES INIT. The Yams and Mac was the only good part <28 dollers. > we was order 75“

“YS_Choice is amazing. The food was great and servers were very polite.“

“This is a simple old school greasy spoon worth checking out if you're looking for a decent basic breakfast spot. The decor is dated & the service is hit or miss, but the food is pretty good! They have all of the classics like pancakes, waffles, eggs, bacon, omelets, sausage, hash browns & toast. They also have burgers & sandwiches for lunch. These type of neighborhood mom & pop restaurants are becoming harder to find, so I recommend supporting a small business & give them a try if you're in the area.“

“The restaurant has a great atmosphere. The staff was great and knowledgeable about the menu. The only bad thing about the service was that they were so eager to remove plates from the table, that it felt they were rushing for us to finish sooner. In one opportunity, I asked them to leave the dish as I wanted to eat the sauce. The main plate was removed so fast while we were still finishing it. They were inflexible when I asked if I could order a plate from their family dinner (the dirty rice) and while I would expect that some restaurants would be OK with this, they weren’t, which was disappointing. Now about the food we ordered:

1. Boiled Peanuts: I understand this is probably the most popular item in the menu. The miso sauce is great, but the texture of the peanuts is strange. It gets mushy and as it is cooked for hours, it looses its structure and becomes almost a paste. It is kind of messy to eat this dish as it is cooked with the shell, so I wouldn’t order it again, but it was an interesting dish. 2/5

2. BBQ Whole Shrimp: Amazing dish. The shrimp is cooked to perfection and it matches so well with the buttery and spicy sauce. It also comes with one slice of white bread with butter that is perfect to eat with the sauce. The only downside is that the dish is on the smaller side, with only 4 shrimps and only one slice of bread, which causes the bread sauce proportion a bit off. We were expecting a bigger portion considering it was $26, but it was perfect that we didn’t mind. 5/5

3. Pork Roast: Amazing dish. We shared and it was OK for two people, while the portion is probably on small side. It comes with two slices of pork collar - cooked to perfection - very moist and flavorful. The sauce with the beans and mustard is very balanced and the crunch texture of the crackling is amazing and brings a nice combination of textures to this dish. Amazing! 5/5

4. Cornbread: Another staple from this restaurant. Amazing cornbread, buttery and the cultured butter that comes with it is perfect. It is probably more to the more dense side but it was the best cornbread I ever tasted. 4/5

5. Apple crisp with brown butter ice cream: Loved the apple texture and the ice cream was amazing, matching very well with this desert. It lacked a bit of a crunch texture and I honestly didn’t understand why it had some oats on top as they didn’t provide any texture or flavor profile to the dish, but it was very good. 4/5

I wish I could taste the dirty rice from the family menu and would probably order that as well, but we were pretty satisfied after sharing all of these dishes.

Total: $150 including tax and service (20% automatically included in the bill) for all the plates above and shared by 2. Probably won’t return in the near future, but it was a very good experience.“

“Honestly the best soul food I have had in years. Ox tail was the true meaning of tendernisim, and for 35 bucks, you can not beat it. mac and cheese was perfect, greens were on point, fire red beans and the shrimp, OMFG. These guys know what they are doing. An absolute must stop for authentic soul food. And they do catering or single plates.“

“Shout out to Kenny and his crew! Community focused, amazing food, and creates such a fun atmosphere! Thank you for supporting the Claremont Middle School Awards celebration!“

“I had the salmon croquettes and they were absolutely amazing!!“

“Fried fish like fat grandma used to make. Mmm mm mm“

“The most tender brisket I may have had anywhere. 🥰🥰“

“Loved the food!“

“Great quality food made with LOVE! Wonderful family business with great service to match. I really enjoyed the salmon sliders.. by far my favorite on the menu. The salmon nuggets are nice and juicy and comes with so much flavor. Definitely recommend trying this place.“

“Great food and great service.“

“Food here is so good and a decent price for plates (I think it was $15 for a 1 meat plate and $20 for 2 meats ). Parked right outside Planet Fitness so a perfect post gym meal. The ribs are very juicy and the BBQ sauce he makes is delicious! The baked beans always hit along with the potato salad. Only complaint is that the bread sometimes gets soggy from the items in the box but that can easily be fixed. Definitely one of my favorite quick BBQ spots and I highly recommend giving him a try!“

“I’ve seen Gus’s all over Southern California, but I’ve never seen a location in the Bay Area

The food was really good. Chicken was extra crispy and had a lot of flavor to it. The two piece is probably the best go to item. The pieces of chicken are big and juicy. They season it very well.

The chicken sandwich is a good go to for eating on the go. I thought it was a little dry, but I still enjoyed the sandwich.

Staff were cool and friendly. They brought us extra napkins and sauces. They created convo and were cracking jokes. Cool guys.“

“I got this delivered via Caviar so can’t speak to atmosphere (I think it’s a ghost kitchen maybe?) but the order was fast as heck and legit one of the best meals I’ve eaten in recent memory.A ton of food, generous portions, and just mind blowingly tasty. I got the pork bowl and every element was perfect. The meat was tender and so flavorful. Every combination of elements in the bowl creates a perfect bite.I can be kind of picky about food and this was a revelation, especially on a rainy winter night.I also ordered the bacon Brussels sprouts but I’m so full from the bowl I’ll save those for tomorrow.The world’s loudest YUM!!!!!“

“Food is hot, fresh and fast.“