Southern Cafe
| Address: | 2000 MacArthur Blvd, Oakland, CA 94602, USA |
| Phone: | +1 510-336-2013 |
| Site: | southerncafe2000.com |
| Rating: | 4.7 |
| Working: | Closed Closed 11AM–9PM 11AM–9PM 11AM–9PM 11AM–9PM 1–8PM |
Location
Photos 100
Reviews 13
VA
Vanessa Winegan
I have been patronizing Oaklands Southern Cafe frequently in the past 6 months or so. I came in with my sister on Wednesday evening for dinner. We were politely greeted by the staff. We were served hot muffins quickly after we came in. We ordered our food and waited 50 minutes to be served. I ordered fried chicken and sides. After 50 minutes, I was brought out one piece of chicken of 3 pieces. The chicken breast was very greasy and seemed to be refried. I had to ask for hot muffins to eat with my meal. I waited another 35 minutes for the other two pieces of chicken. Maybe the take out orders had priority. At the point we were unhappy and took our food to go. My sister ordered liver and onions as she ordered our last visit and she said it was delicious. She said her onions mostly were very large pieces of onion instead of sliced. There was a young wait staff which should not matter because other young ladies serving before were managing the orders well. As a business owner, I was sad to see the wait staff leave tables uncleaned quite a while after customers had gone and they passed the dirty tables many times without even cleaning the tables. Maybe 30 or more minutes. I told my sister that I knew the owner and saw him at a Sunday event for Sandre Swanson about a month ago and raved about the food. I also told her I should let Phillip know how I felt about the service that day. Funny I get this request for a comment. I wanted to pull a couple of wait staff and suggest a few things but I thought someone is in charge back there so calm down and go. I was very disappointed so I will take a break for a while. I know there is a second location and maybe the senior staff is out there. Wonderful to see the expansion. Vanessa Winegan
WE
Weena Rose
Okay! #1 The oxtails ARE as good as they say! But that is not all there is to this restaurant! The fried fish, fried shrimp, mac n cheese, cabbage and cornbread are also VERY delicious! There were four of us and we "strategically" ordered from the menu so wed have a chance to at least taste a lot of the food! It was ALL good. And the service was GREAT; the lady who was our waitress was very friendly and chipper. She gave us good advice about what to order and checked in on us from time to time. The only thing I will say is dont order the peach cobbler. That was our only (really) bad experience. BUT the manager was super cool about it, we shared our opinion of the cobbler and she was VERY gracious. OH! I forgot to mention, it used to be really cramped back in the day but it is so much better in there now! Its a restaurant we are definitely planning to go back to again.
MY
Mystic Dissonance
The food is good. I have especially enjoyed the short ribs with gravy and the pork chops. Do pair them with the candied yams, and then anything else you want. That said, prices have increased noticeably over the past several months, partially due to factors outside of their control. Be that as it may, when you are paying chicken-shack prices, it is easier to forgive some shortfalls. When you begin paying sit-down-with-a-bottle-of-wine prices, you start to expect timely and courteous phone etiquette, for instance, or utensils with your order. You expect to see an evolution of service equivalent to the escalation in prices. To this end, Southern Cafe is very much a work in progress, but make no mistake: The food is good.
MA
Matthew Dunley
Sat and watched as every table was brought plates upon plates of cornbread while we continued to not be served any. Finally asked for some because it looked so good and was brought 2 pieces. Did not receive any more with our meals, even though it is complimentary. Mac and cheese was old and not even warm. Fried chicken was pretty good, but thats about it. Rather pricey for being stingy with free cornbread and serving old/cold mac and cheese.
ZZ
Zzawadi
Had been there once last year. Took hubbie for what I considered great food! Seated immediately. Waited an hour for food. Food was placed on plate all together and seemed to have been microwaved. Chicken over cooked. Red beans had dried crust around edges. Mac n cheese seemingly old and gummy. Servers were trying hard but watched as folks sat at their tables with no food-waiting. They apologized saying Kitchen was backed up.
ME
Meika X
The macaroni cheese is delicious!!! All of the food is really good. The fried chicken, baked chicken and turkey wings are really yummy. I hate that dressing is only served on Sundays. The only negative aspect is space. Its a small restaurant so I recommend ordering for takeout otherwise the wait can range from 30min-1hour and a half to be seated. The owner is a nice guy as well, very courteous.
SC
Scott Ashley
My family and I went to this restaurant after my daughters graduation from Mills College to celebrate her achievement. We waited for an hour and 20 minutes at least before our food was served. The macaroni and cheese seem to be served from under a heat lamp. The flavor was okay but as We Know first impressions can be everything. It was bad timing or just bad luck.
JE
Jerry Lin
Excellent food. This is my friends favorite soul food joint, and Im inclined to agree. Big portions and probably the best fried chicken Ive had in NorCal. I loved their cornbread, and the oxtail was excellent too. Everything we had was great, even the cabbage. I hope to come again soon. The food takes a while to come out, but thats pretty par for the course.
DO
Dorien Gustave
I placed an order for pick up. The food was amazing, the staff went out of there way and they were clearly busy. A sure sign for me of how great the food was is that my 4 year old daughter asked for more green beans. She does not eat veggies willingly. I will be back. If you are looking for real food with great service this is a no brainer.
YO
Yonder Low
The service was the best I have had at any restaurant in Oakland, hands down. Then the fried chicken came. SO MUCH FOOD! Perfectly moist corn-bread muffins, scratch mashed potatoes and gravy, baked mac & cheese, coleslaw without too much vinegar or mayo. If you are looking for soul food in Oakland look no further. NOM NOM NOM!
PA
Paul Lam
Food is tasty, portions are honest as well as the price. I had the ox tails and for my pallet, it was salty, but the flavors were top notch as well as tender. Even though there is opportunity to improve on the service, wine glass is small and the parking sucks, I will go back and recommend this place to others.
IN
Inez Carr
An awesome place to eat, I can say that the food taste as good as back South. Wonderful environment, friendly people and the food was so very hot when served at your table, I give them a ten star rate and will definitely go there to eat again. Also the place is amazingly clean and perfectly decorated.
MA
Mary Poppins
I come here nearly everyday, and it seems like the service and food just get better and better!! I would recommend to anyone who wants a real taste of the south, with the southern hospitality to go with it!!! Thank you southern cafe for always making my experience classy and awesome:)
