I think I went at least four times here and each time it just got worse. I ordered the shrimp and grits twice. Each time the grits were underdone and the shrimp was just OK. The fried chicken is probably the only thing I would get here. They have good cocktails but the food definitely needs work.
Ivy E.
Went here for a quick date on a weekend night and it was surprisingly empty. The bartender/host was super friendly and attentive which is easy when there are only a few patrons present. I wasn't super hungry so I order a side of fries which were crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. My date had some shrimp and I picked at a few of those. They were okay as it had a lot of breading on it. . The drinks are big and tasty and they have many options and the restaurant itself was super clean. . I noticed much of the menu is fried food. If you're into heavy Southern inspired meals this is the place for you. My palette is more on a healthy taste these days so although I enjoyed what I had the cuisine isn't ideal for me. I like that it's a black owned establishment in downtown SD, but could not careless for the cuisine, sadly. Will definitely recommend for Southern tourists, but doubt I'll dine here again.
Yleana M.
We decided to come here for a group outing, we were a group larger than 6, the food was good but the server could have been better. Our server wasn't attentive.
BethG
It was closed! No notification. No signage. Just...closed. I think it's still in operation, but you couldn't have proven it by the looks of the place. DON'T TAKE RESERVATIONS IF YOU ARENT GOING TO BE OPEN!!!!
pedro
Went here for a graduation celebration. Made reservations for 8 people and we were the first people in the establishment. It took over an hour to get our food and we watched as smaller parties arrived, ate and left.When we eventually got the food, the graduate didn’t get their meal till another 30 minutes after everyone else in our party. So everyone felt bad at the table and it threw the whole vibe off. Waitress knew who was the graduate too.Then when the check came, that ended up being another issue. We understood the 20% surcharge for parties greater than 7. No issue with that at all. But then they charged us another 3% + 5% + 15%. Spoke with two separate waiters, and the bartender and neither couldn’t explain it. The had to keep going to the kitchen to ask the “chef” what the extra charges were. And it was a different story each time someone tried to explain it. I got so upset and caught such a bad headache (which could have been from the salty food) I just paid and left.All around terrible experience that left the whole party feeling cheated and made the staff seem shady. Never again. And I’ll ensure to spread the word so no one else is “suckered” at “suckerfree”.The food was way too salty and very forgettable.*edit since the owner commented on my review.I see your math being explained now.1. You also added another 3% surcharge on top of the “20%”. Still I have no clue what that’s for. I’ve never seen such confusion on a check in my 38 years.2. 3 of YOUR employees couldn’t explain the receipt to me. And they continually apologized to me, and said they were gonna figure it out. Then took the receipt to the kitchen twice to get a better answer. One of the waiters said it was because of inflation and the rising cost of food. So there must be a lack of training at your establishment.3. You never addressed the poor and slow service at your establishment. Which was one of my concerns. And based off the other reviews, I don’t think you could care any less about your place being a hit or miss.
patrick coughlin
4.5 stars. Seafood platter was well cooked and generous portions. And the sides were all delicious as well definitely recommend
Father's Day out of 8 dishes 4 were sent back, so bad the waitresses offered a huge discount, which we declined, but she did it anyways. Great front house service, opened late on Father's Day very short staffed
Erika
I made 6:30 reservations, thinking that would be plenty of time to eat and arrive at the theater directly across the street by 7:30. We placed our order right away, but at 7pm we still didn't have our appetizer. We told the waitress that we needed to leave in 20 minutes- she expressed that they only had one person in the kitchen, and that there was no way our food would be out in time. We left without eating- and sat through a three-hour show starving. Additionally, they have no beer on tap even though the taps are there and on the menu. Unfortunatley, I think this is a sinking ship. It's sad to see- we have eaten here several times in the past and enjoyed it.
ErikaS
I made 6:30 reservations, thinking that would be plenty of time to eat and arrive at the theater directly across the street by 7:30. We placed our order right away, but at 7pm we still didn't have our appetizer. We told the waitress that we needed to leave in 20 minutes- she expressed that they only had one person in the kitchen, and that there was no way our food would be out in time. We left without eating- and sat through a three-hour show starving. Additionally, they have no beer on tap even though the taps are there and on the menu. Unfortunatley, I think this is a sinking ship. It's sad to see- we have eaten here several times in the past and enjoyed it.
Pedro J.
Went here for a graduation celebration. Made reservations for 8 people and we were the first people in the establishment. It took over an hour to get our food and we watched as smaller parties arrived, ate and left. When we eventually got the food, the graduate didn't get their meal till another 30 minutes after everyone else in our party. So everyone felt bad at the table and it threw the whole vibe off. Waitress knew who was the graduate too. Then when the check came, that ended up being another issue. We understood the 20% surcharge for parties greater than 7. No issue with that at all. But then they charged us another 3% + 5% + 15%. Spoke with two separate waiters, and the bartender and neither couldn't explain it. The had to keep going to the kitchen to ask the "chef" what the extra charges were. And it was a different story each time someone tried to explain it. I got so upset and caught such a bad headache (which could have been from the salty food) I just paid and left. All around terrible experience that left the whole party feeling cheated and made the staff seem shady. Never again. And I'll ensure to spread the word so no one else is "suckered" at "suckerfree". The food was way too salty and very forgettable. ***edit since the owner commented on my review. I see your math being explained now. 1. You also added another 3% surcharge on top of the "20%". Still I have no clue what that's for. I've never seen so much confusion on a check in my 38 years. 2. 3 of YOUR employees couldn't explain the receipt to me. And they continually apologized to me, and said they were gonna figure it out. Then took the receipt to the kitchen twice to get a better answer. One of the waiters said it was because of inflation and the rising cost of food. So there's lack of training at your establishment. 3. You never addressed the poor and slow service at your establishment. Which was one of my concerns. And based off the other reviews, I don't think you could care any less about your place being a hit or miss.
This is a really cool place with a great menu! Unfortunately we dined on a bad night for them lots of service issues didn't get our dinner order in time after waiting over an hour. Had to cancel it and we're on our way to a show. Would love to try this place again but it was super disappointing.
Bird W.
Our waitress soooo sweet and pleasant we enjoyed our meal. The food was great & out waitress made sure we were comfortable, especially with a hard to feed toddler. Thank You! We will be back!
Morgan S.
The food was amazing!!!! Service was on point!! Best restaurant in Gaslamp. If you are in the city it's a must have!
Lynelle B.
I can't believe I didn't know about this restaurant until now. Searched out "Soul Food" restaurants in San Diego and it came up on Yelp! I also searched out great places to eat in SD on a date and this place came up. The food is scrumptious! We had the seafood platter and shrimp and grits. It came out hot and delicious. We got the peach cobbler too (topped with vanilla ice cream) which was also very good. Our waitress was attentive and communicated with us often to make sure we were taken care of - haven't felt that way in a long time - she genuinely cared about our dining experience. Even though it was our first visit, it felt familiar, like home. Can't wait to go back again and try more of the delicious menu items!
Bob T.
A group of friends attending a graduation are here. First, the rumors about the service are true. There was maybe two servers in the entire restaurant and those servers were also making the drinks, so it was slow but they were very kind and very professional. The food was worth it! The waffles and chicken were delicious, there was a macaroni flight, that my friend loved. The cocktails tasted great. The wings were good. So try it....it was delicious...the wait was a bit, but if you're in a group who cares.
I think I went at least four times here and each time it just got worse. I ordered the shrimp and grits twice. Each time the grits were underdone and the shrimp was just OK. The fried chicken is probably the only thing I would get here. They have good cocktails but the food definitely needs work.
Went here for a quick date on a weekend night and it was surprisingly empty. The bartender/host was super friendly and attentive which is easy when there are only a few patrons present. I wasn't super hungry so I order a side of fries which were crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. My date had some shrimp and I picked at a few of those. They were okay as it had a lot of breading on it. . The drinks are big and tasty and they have many options and the restaurant itself was super clean. . I noticed much of the menu is fried food. If you're into heavy Southern inspired meals this is the place for you. My palette is more on a healthy taste these days so although I enjoyed what I had the cuisine isn't ideal for me. I like that it's a black owned establishment in downtown SD, but could not careless for the cuisine, sadly. Will definitely recommend for Southern tourists, but doubt I'll dine here again.
We decided to come here for a group outing, we were a group larger than 6, the food was good but the server could have been better. Our server wasn't attentive.
It was closed! No notification. No signage. Just...closed. I think it's still in operation, but you couldn't have proven it by the looks of the place. DON'T TAKE RESERVATIONS IF YOU ARENT GOING TO BE OPEN!!!!
Went here for a graduation celebration. Made reservations for 8 people and we were the first people in the establishment. It took over an hour to get our food and we watched as smaller parties arrived, ate and left.When we eventually got the food, the graduate didn’t get their meal till another 30 minutes after everyone else in our party. So everyone felt bad at the table and it threw the whole vibe off. Waitress knew who was the graduate too.Then when the check came, that ended up being another issue. We understood the 20% surcharge for parties greater than 7. No issue with that at all. But then they charged us another 3% + 5% + 15%. Spoke with two separate waiters, and the bartender and neither couldn’t explain it. The had to keep going to the kitchen to ask the “chef” what the extra charges were. And it was a different story each time someone tried to explain it. I got so upset and caught such a bad headache (which could have been from the salty food) I just paid and left.All around terrible experience that left the whole party feeling cheated and made the staff seem shady. Never again. And I’ll ensure to spread the word so no one else is “suckered” at “suckerfree”.The food was way too salty and very forgettable.*edit since the owner commented on my review.I see your math being explained now.1. You also added another 3% surcharge on top of the “20%”. Still I have no clue what that’s for. I’ve never seen such confusion on a check in my 38 years.2. 3 of YOUR employees couldn’t explain the receipt to me. And they continually apologized to me, and said they were gonna figure it out. Then took the receipt to the kitchen twice to get a better answer. One of the waiters said it was because of inflation and the rising cost of food. So there must be a lack of training at your establishment.3. You never addressed the poor and slow service at your establishment. Which was one of my concerns. And based off the other reviews, I don’t think you could care any less about your place being a hit or miss.
4.5 stars. Seafood platter was well cooked and generous portions. And the sides were all delicious as well definitely recommend
Father's Day out of 8 dishes 4 were sent back, so bad the waitresses offered a huge discount, which we declined, but she did it anyways. Great front house service, opened late on Father's Day very short staffed
I made 6:30 reservations, thinking that would be plenty of time to eat and arrive at the theater directly across the street by 7:30. We placed our order right away, but at 7pm we still didn't have our appetizer. We told the waitress that we needed to leave in 20 minutes- she expressed that they only had one person in the kitchen, and that there was no way our food would be out in time. We left without eating- and sat through a three-hour show starving. Additionally, they have no beer on tap even though the taps are there and on the menu. Unfortunatley, I think this is a sinking ship. It's sad to see- we have eaten here several times in the past and enjoyed it.
I made 6:30 reservations, thinking that would be plenty of time to eat and arrive at the theater directly across the street by 7:30. We placed our order right away, but at 7pm we still didn't have our appetizer. We told the waitress that we needed to leave in 20 minutes- she expressed that they only had one person in the kitchen, and that there was no way our food would be out in time. We left without eating- and sat through a three-hour show starving. Additionally, they have no beer on tap even though the taps are there and on the menu. Unfortunatley, I think this is a sinking ship. It's sad to see- we have eaten here several times in the past and enjoyed it.
Went here for a graduation celebration. Made reservations for 8 people and we were the first people in the establishment. It took over an hour to get our food and we watched as smaller parties arrived, ate and left. When we eventually got the food, the graduate didn't get their meal till another 30 minutes after everyone else in our party. So everyone felt bad at the table and it threw the whole vibe off. Waitress knew who was the graduate too. Then when the check came, that ended up being another issue. We understood the 20% surcharge for parties greater than 7. No issue with that at all. But then they charged us another 3% + 5% + 15%. Spoke with two separate waiters, and the bartender and neither couldn't explain it. The had to keep going to the kitchen to ask the "chef" what the extra charges were. And it was a different story each time someone tried to explain it. I got so upset and caught such a bad headache (which could have been from the salty food) I just paid and left. All around terrible experience that left the whole party feeling cheated and made the staff seem shady. Never again. And I'll ensure to spread the word so no one else is "suckered" at "suckerfree". The food was way too salty and very forgettable. ***edit since the owner commented on my review. I see your math being explained now. 1. You also added another 3% surcharge on top of the "20%". Still I have no clue what that's for. I've never seen so much confusion on a check in my 38 years. 2. 3 of YOUR employees couldn't explain the receipt to me. And they continually apologized to me, and said they were gonna figure it out. Then took the receipt to the kitchen twice to get a better answer. One of the waiters said it was because of inflation and the rising cost of food. So there's lack of training at your establishment. 3. You never addressed the poor and slow service at your establishment. Which was one of my concerns. And based off the other reviews, I don't think you could care any less about your place being a hit or miss.
Restaurantji Recommends
This is a really cool place with a great menu! Unfortunately we dined on a bad night for them lots of service issues didn't get our dinner order in time after waiting over an hour. Had to cancel it and we're on our way to a show. Would love to try this place again but it was super disappointing.
Our waitress soooo sweet and pleasant we enjoyed our meal. The food was great & out waitress made sure we were comfortable, especially with a hard to feed toddler. Thank You! We will be back!
The food was amazing!!!! Service was on point!! Best restaurant in Gaslamp. If you are in the city it's a must have!
I can't believe I didn't know about this restaurant until now. Searched out "Soul Food" restaurants in San Diego and it came up on Yelp! I also searched out great places to eat in SD on a date and this place came up. The food is scrumptious! We had the seafood platter and shrimp and grits. It came out hot and delicious. We got the peach cobbler too (topped with vanilla ice cream) which was also very good. Our waitress was attentive and communicated with us often to make sure we were taken care of - haven't felt that way in a long time - she genuinely cared about our dining experience. Even though it was our first visit, it felt familiar, like home. Can't wait to go back again and try more of the delicious menu items!
A group of friends attending a graduation are here. First, the rumors about the service are true. There was maybe two servers in the entire restaurant and those servers were also making the drinks, so it was slow but they were very kind and very professional. The food was worth it! The waffles and chicken were delicious, there was a macaroni flight, that my friend loved. The cocktails tasted great. The wings were good. So try it....it was delicious...the wait was a bit, but if you're in a group who cares.