EJ was our server and she was amazing! Attentive and friendly. The food at Southern Kitchen is consistently delicious... it never disappoints.
Tracie Moore
My husband, family, and I dined here on Saturday evening after traveling from the DC/Maryland area, and I must say—everything was perfect. From the warm welcome at the front desk to our amazing server, EJ, the experience was top-tier. EJ was friendly, personable, and very knowledgeable with great food recommendations. The manager was also extremely hands-on and attentive. And let me add—the bathroom was clean (a big pet peeve of mine), so that was a definite plus!
Our food was delicious from start to finish—starters, entrées, and drinks.
Husband: • Turkey wings with gravy & onions, mac and cheese, fries, and cabbage – excellent • He wasn’t a fan of the cabbage, but it was quickly swapped for sweet potatoes, which were also excellent
Me: • Fried fish (3), rice with gravy, and greens – excellent • I wasn’t a fan of the greens
Family: 1. Salmon cakes, mac and cheese, and sweet potatoes – excellent 2. Turkey wings with gravy & onions, rice with gravy, and greens – delicious (not a fan of the rice with gravy)
Overall, I highly recommend this restaurant and can’t wait to return. Kudos to the manager and the entire staff for such a wonderful experience!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Lorie Brooks
Food was delicious, server was attentive he made me felt welcomed. Definitely will return.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 4
Wess O. Little, Sr.
Oh my goodness. No talk. Just go if you can get in.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Shay Love Beauty
My mother and I have been loyal customers of Southern Kitchen for years, always making it a point to stop by when we’re in the Richmond area. Unfortunately, our most recent visit last weekend was deeply disappointing and left us furious. We encountered a miscommunication regarding a takeout order (from 2 staff members), which unfortunately escalated due to how the situation was handled. The owner, Shane Roberts, responded in a manner that was extremely disrespectful toward both my mother and me. When we asked if she could verify the details with her hostess, she said she would, then never returned. Simply went on to greet other tables, while feeling comfortable embarrassing us.
What troubled me most was the tone and language Shane used during our interaction. She approached our booth with pure hostility. Comments like “I’m not about to play games with y’all” and “You thought you would come in here and do what you want to do” felt unnecessarily confrontational, especially given that we were simply dining in and told our server that we couldn’t do takeout. He 100% said, “you want the food to-go and that’s no problem.” For some reason, she was furious and said we decided to “take a table to get what we wanted”. I can honestly say, I’ve never experienced this level of disrespect from any business. Especially, not from a business owner.
As longtime supporters of this business, we expected a more professional approach. I believe accountability and respectful communication are essential in any business, particularly when loyal customers did NOT make the mistake. While I appreciate the years of service we’ve received in the past, this experience with a grown woman speaking down on my mother has led to the difficult decision not to return. I hope this feedback encourages others not to support a business with an owner that pretends to care about customer service, but will quickly try to humiliate you.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 3
Service: 1
804 804
Great food and service. Good portion size.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Jasmine
Wonderful establishment! Great environment for any occasion. The food was awesome and service was even better.
La'Shaundra Patton
Awesome food and atmosphere waitstaff was great!!!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Julie Seitz
My husband and I visited during restaurant week. The dishes were small and not anything special for the price. We asked for sweet potato fries ans they said they were not available on the RRW menu, fine but could have been noted somewhere. We also asked for a to go order with the sp fries as a side and they didn't out the order in for the sp fries. They also offered an apple cobbler and ran out so we got peach instead, which seemed liked canned peaches with cornstarch and sugar. Also the chicken and waffles was a giant Belgium waffle with 3 chicken strips the size of Canes chicken strips...not enough chicken to cover the waffle. The cocktails were described well but lots of ice and light on the alcohol.
Fine to try it and support a local restaurant, but no need to return and try other things on the menu.
Had an overall nice experience. Little hiccup at the hostess stand but our waitress was great and everyone enjoyed their meal and special appetizer, the crab and collard dip. Mac and cheese consistency was a little looser than I'd like and the collard greens were a little saltier than I'd like but both still enjoyable. The sweet tea was too sweet. Fried fish was perfection. Menu is on the pricier side. Should have complimentary bread.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 4
William Spruill
Every time my wife and I tried to dine in at Southern Kitchen after great reviews. No matter what time of day it was, they declined our request to be seated at a booth. Last time we went around 1:30pm Saturday 11/8/25, there were several of empty booths. The hostess sat us at a table and stated all booths were reserved. who makes reservations mid day? So I asked other customers if they made reservations. they said they were asked if they did, but No. So my wife and I left. It’s always something with black business.We were always respectful and left great tips.Don’t understand the problem with sitting in a booth.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Deidrea Jackson
Great food, excellent service waitstaff very professional
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
jahem gilligan
Experience was a 20/10. I drove an hour to try it and they didn’t disappoint. From attentive waiters to fresh and hot food. I would go everyday if I was close. The southern eggroll was amazing. I had the catfish and shrimp were amazing the sides are good portions as well and super delicious. The hot sauce selection was not great I would bring some Louisiana hot sauce but that’s me. Ouu and you will burn your mouth if you try to eat immediately as it comes out. Our waiter was amazing as well big swole guy.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Anjanett Reese
Enjoyable experience. We went not celebrating any occasion but the love of friends and family, just Googled soul food restaurants in Richmond area. We left with a pleasurable experience including mouth watering food and a warm inviting atmosphere. Thank you Southern Kitchen for giving all that we wanted and needed.
EJ was our server and she was amazing! Attentive and friendly. The food at Southern Kitchen is consistently delicious... it never disappoints.
My husband, family, and I dined here on Saturday evening after traveling from the DC/Maryland area, and I must say—everything was perfect. From the warm welcome at the front desk to our amazing server, EJ, the experience was top-tier. EJ was friendly, personable, and very knowledgeable with great food recommendations. The manager was also extremely hands-on and attentive. And let me add—the bathroom was clean (a big pet peeve of mine), so that was a definite plus!
Our food was delicious from start to finish—starters, entrées, and drinks.
Starters:
• Fried okra – delicious
• Greens and chicken egg rolls – delicious
Husband:
• Turkey wings with gravy & onions, mac and cheese, fries, and cabbage – excellent
• He wasn’t a fan of the cabbage, but it was quickly swapped for sweet potatoes, which were also excellent
Me:
• Fried fish (3), rice with gravy, and greens – excellent
• I wasn’t a fan of the greens
Family:
1. Salmon cakes, mac and cheese, and sweet potatoes – excellent
2. Turkey wings with gravy & onions, rice with gravy, and greens – delicious (not a fan of the rice with gravy)
Overall, I highly recommend this restaurant and can’t wait to return. Kudos to the manager and the entire staff for such a wonderful experience!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Food was delicious, server was attentive he made me felt welcomed. Definitely will return.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 4
Oh my goodness. No talk. Just go if you can get in.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
My mother and I have been loyal customers of Southern Kitchen for years, always making it a point to stop by when we’re in the Richmond area. Unfortunately, our most recent visit last weekend was deeply disappointing and left us furious. We encountered a miscommunication regarding a takeout order (from 2 staff members), which unfortunately escalated due to how the situation was handled. The owner, Shane Roberts, responded in a manner that was extremely disrespectful toward both my mother and me. When we asked if she could verify the details with her hostess, she said she would, then never returned. Simply went on to greet other tables, while feeling comfortable embarrassing us.
What troubled me most was the tone and language Shane used during our interaction. She approached our booth with pure hostility. Comments like “I’m not about to play games with y’all” and “You thought you would come in here and do what you want to do” felt unnecessarily confrontational, especially given that we were simply dining in and told our server that we couldn’t do takeout. He 100% said, “you want the food to-go and that’s no problem.” For some reason, she was furious and said we decided to “take a table to get what we wanted”. I can honestly say, I’ve never experienced this level of disrespect from any business. Especially, not from a business owner.
As longtime supporters of this business, we expected a more professional approach. I believe accountability and respectful communication are essential in any business, particularly when loyal customers did NOT make the mistake. While I appreciate the years of service we’ve received in the past, this experience with a grown woman speaking down on my mother has led to the difficult decision not to return. I hope this feedback encourages others not to support a business with an owner that pretends to care about customer service, but will quickly try to humiliate you.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 3
Service: 1
Great food and service. Good portion size.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Wonderful establishment! Great environment for any occasion. The food was awesome and service was even better.
Awesome food and atmosphere waitstaff was great!!!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
My husband and I visited during restaurant week. The dishes were small and not anything special for the price. We asked for sweet potato fries ans they said they were not available on the RRW menu, fine but could have been noted somewhere. We also asked for a to go order with the sp fries as a side and they didn't out the order in for the sp fries. They also offered an apple cobbler and ran out so we got peach instead, which seemed liked canned peaches with cornstarch and sugar.
Also the chicken and waffles was a giant Belgium waffle with 3 chicken strips the size of Canes chicken strips...not enough chicken to cover the waffle. The cocktails were described well but lots of ice and light on the alcohol.
Fine to try it and support a local restaurant, but no need to return and try other things on the menu.
The atmosphere was well decorated.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 3
Service: 2
Great food and hospitality.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Restaurantji Recommends
Had an overall nice experience. Little hiccup at the hostess stand but our waitress was great and everyone enjoyed their meal and special appetizer, the crab and collard dip. Mac and cheese consistency was a little looser than I'd like and the collard greens were a little saltier than I'd like but both still enjoyable. The sweet tea was too sweet. Fried fish was perfection. Menu is on the pricier side. Should have complimentary bread.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 4
Every time my wife and I tried to dine in at Southern Kitchen after great reviews. No matter what time of day it was, they declined our request to be seated at a booth. Last time we went around 1:30pm Saturday 11/8/25, there were several of empty booths. The hostess sat us at a table and stated all booths were reserved. who makes reservations mid day? So I asked other customers if they made reservations.
they said they were asked if they did, but No. So my wife and I left. It’s always something with black business.We were always respectful and left great tips.Don’t understand the problem with sitting in a booth.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Great food, excellent service waitstaff very professional
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Experience was a 20/10. I drove an hour to try it and they didn’t disappoint. From attentive waiters to fresh and hot food. I would go everyday if I was close. The southern eggroll was amazing. I had the catfish and shrimp were amazing the sides are good portions as well and super delicious. The hot sauce selection was not great I would bring some Louisiana hot sauce but that’s me. Ouu and you will burn your mouth if you try to eat immediately as it comes out. Our waiter was amazing as well big swole guy.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Enjoyable experience. We went not celebrating any occasion but the love of friends and family, just Googled soul food restaurants in Richmond area. We left with a pleasurable experience including mouth watering food and a warm inviting atmosphere. Thank you Southern Kitchen for giving all that we wanted and needed.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
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