Dodah's Kitchen

Went there this past weekend and tried them for the first time!!! Was greeted soon as I walked in. A tough bag lady that was waiting for her order said I had to try the seafood Mac and cheese and she wasn’t wrong. 🔥🔥🔥🔥 The good brother running the store also let me try a few other sides. All were amazing so I had to choose but I wanted to try all of them. I got the vegan drumettes, with the vegan ribs, seafood Mac and cheese and the collard greens. All tasted AMAZING!!!! I also ordered the mint tea and the ginger tea. Amazing. This was the Newark, De location on Main Street. I’ll definitely be back. Thanks for hospitality and the great food.

Will not be ordering from the MD - District Heights location again. Ordered Mac/cheese and they didn’t have any. Order candied yams and didn’t receive. They sent kale salad instead.

Good food ?

If I could leave 0 stars I would. I came here at 3:40 p.m and I only wanted collard greens. I asked the person working do they more coming he said no. It’s the middle of the day your business doesn’t close until 8pm and you don’t have more food cooking? Within the last few months Dodah’s Kitchen has completely went down hill not to mention the food quality has changed for the worst as well. I do not recommend any location & won’t be returning here.

The girl who is serving is very friendly and explains all the meals well, thank you for your attention, of course, she told me her name is Delmy.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

This place used to be really good when they first opened this location. But its been going downhill and the last few times including today wont have me retuning for a long while. The food tastes like its been thrown together (mac, yams, cabbage). The cabbage is always hard, more onions and bell peppers than cabbage, oily and not well seasoned. The yams sometimes taste tangy, and the mac is ok. Maybe its a cultural thing because they’re always latino cooks/cashiers who rarely speak English. [edit]
Which doesnt make sense seeing as though this restriction is marketed as black soul food. Ive never seen not one black person working at this location. This place needs better food management, there’s no consistency

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 2

Service: 2

The food is going down hill, you can tell the people that cook it, don't care and don't taste the food. I had sweet potatoes and it tasted sour. Like vinegar sour. Inedible . This place place is too "hit or miss" to argue a 17-20+ carry out plate

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 1

Service: 3

Recommended dishes: Drummies

Unfortunately, Dodah's Kitchen is the perfect example of the ongoing issues associated with some supposed black owned businesses in undeserved communities---lack of quality and little respect for the community which it expects to support them. First, the food quality is subpar with out of date food improperly stored and still sold to customers at premium prices. I have enjoyed vegan cuisine from a number of DMV venues including many that specialize in soul food. I had purchased from the Dodahs in Mt. Ranier and decided to try the new District Heights location as it was closer. I have made three separate large purchases from this location, each $75+ and each time I have wasted my money. I kept going back because i do want to support this business as a supposedly black owned business. However this third time will be the final time.

The first time i became ill. The second time, my delivery order was very incorrect due to the workers not being able to read the order written in English. None of the staff speaks English. I am all for diversity but from a business and customer service perspective, this makes no sense as the majority of the customers likely only speak English. The third time, there was mold in my food with portions of the plant based cream parts actually turning rancid!!

Second, In addition to the subpar food, I've noticed a major ongoing theme with all of the Dodah's Kitchen locations: the restaurant's theme is black American soul food....but they do not employ ANY black people of any ethnicity! Again, im all for a diverse team but in largely all black neighborhoods, it becomes a very obvious problem when a supposedly black business whose theme is black American cultural cuisine does not hire ANY black people. None cooking the food, none serving the food at ANY location. There is no effort to ensure a diverse customer service team that represents the majority demographic of the neighborhood in which the restaurant is located and which also speaks the majority language spoken by the customer base that is expected to financially support the business. This is especially egregious because other non-black owned businesses in this community and similar communities within the DMV have been taken to task for this and as a result, have made at least visual changes which have resulted in diverse employees with more individuals from the ethnic demographic supporting the business also being employed by the business. What we have with Dodah's Kitchen is unfortunately a black soul food restaurant located in a majority black neighborhood that sells poor quality food at high prices to a majority black clientele that does not employ even ONE black person with little to no staff that even speak the primary languge of the majority clientele. As the old folks used to say, "It be your own sometime". No...I wouldn't patronize any other business with these kinds of issues and I will not be patronizing this one anymore either.

Atmosphere: 1

Food: 1

Service: 1

The food is going down hill, you can tell the people that cook it, don't care and don't taste the food. I had sweet potatoes and it tasted sour. Like vinegar sour. Inedible . This place place is too "hit or miss" to argue a 17-20+ carry out plate

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 1

Service: 3

Recommended dishes: Drummies

The lady who is working today was extremely rude it was my first time visiting so I had a few questions. She was extremely irritated because I had questions. The guy that was working was nice but he didn’t really understand English so he couldn’t answer the questions. I will never return again because of her nasty behavior. I do not recommend this place .

Can't recommend the regular lasagna enough! Unbelievable, along with everything else, on a good day! I recommend weekends for their best and to come around opening or just a few hours after!

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Ok.. my friend is a strict vegan/vegetarian and frequents DODAH'S restaurant so often. I decided to try the food that he brags about - this time.

So glad that I did...
Food was delicious!!!

My meal consisted of the "mac and cheese" and an order of collard greens.

Gluten Free, cheese free, Mac and cheese .... and I didn't miss the 'cheese nor the butter'. While the taste may not have been what I was used to, I'm SO glad that my taste buds adjusted so quickly, because their version was even better!!!

The greens were awesome as well. Not the watery, vinegary taste - that people who can't cook them, expect you to enjoy.

I didn't need any extra seasoning, salt, pepper or anything..

All I can say is: I can't wait for my guy to ask me where I'd like to eat ?!!

DODAH'S !!!

Vegetarian options: Everything!!

Parking: Ample parking.
DODAH'S can get crowded inside...BUT HEY!! Isn't that a good thing ?? I think so...

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Recommended dishes: Collard Greens GF, Drummies, Crab Cakes

Food was delicious! A friend recommended this place and it did not disappoint. I will be back again.

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 5

Service: 3

Hit or miss. I genuinely like the food and I’m not even vegan. My issue is that sometimes the food is amazing then other times it seems like it was prepared with no effort at all. Today I didn’t get the correct number of drummies in my order and the kale, which is my favorite menu item, had zero flavor.Customer service is terrible because most of the time the staff doesn’t speak English. I’ve only been served by one employee that I could have a conversation with. I’ve tried to change my order but it’s useless if the staff person doesn’t understand my concern.

Food: 2

Service: 1

The food is AMAZING!!! I ordered not knowing it was Vegan and my mind was blown when I found out. I will be back.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5