McDowell's Soul Food and Barbeque

Changed order without consulting me and charged an extra $10+. Item replaced with an item I could not eat due to allergies (eggs via potato salad). Left delivery order completely unattended when requested to hand deliver with tip. Calls to restaurant where left on hold having to call back multiple times then rude & disrespectful employees giving horrible service. Food was prepared horribly. Catfish is cooked in old grease leaving it dirty taste in your mouth and not completely cooked. Green beans are inedible bc they smell stinky and over cooked. Bread burnt. Potato salad inedible bc I'm allergic to egg (I ordered mashed potatoes).Don't waste your time even considering this place.

Service was too slow, food was good, The weather in LB was 106 the restaurant had NO A/C system three portable fans none was on. It was hotter than Fish Grease inside.

Ordered my favorite crispy, flavorful catfish from here again and it was worth every penny. It hits the spot, especially when the corn muffin and butter are included.

The food is awful and I was extremely disappointed and sick and I will not recommend this place to anybody they need new cooks who enjoys cooking

If a leaf eater (folivore) is a euphemism for Southern Italian people that's good company. And Bf does qualify, however I am the winner in the vegetable loving contest. So let me tell you, the collard greens here were stupendous. I wish the smallish $3.50 serving was more generous but I believe the craving for their rendition of collards will bring me back to McDowell's. Reading previous review sounds like one takes one's chances for getting the good chef/bad chef. There was praise for the peach cobbler but the soggy, underbaked and flavorless dessert was not worth $8.50. They're not selling hospitality here, might be nice if they did. I'm giving three stars because of that cobbler but I suspect other items might be worth returning to try also.

The food here has is horrible, the smothered chops was salty the mac & cheese, no seasoning, and a peach cobbler was smell and taste like they gave me the bottom of the burnt pan. 10 out of 10 I DO NOT RECOMMEND.

I ordered delivery from McDowell Soul Food. For 3. Dinners of fried catfish with stringbeans, mac&cheese, and an extra side of turnip greens. The catfish and mac&chesse were the highlights of this meal. The cornbread lacked taste, the stringbeans were fair. The turnips were good but we expected a larger serving for 3 plates. Not the best soul food that I have had, but my heritage is from the South where most of us know how to cook good soul food. Still, on a rainy day, takeout from McDowell is a goo option. I did think it was a bit pricey.

I just have to say. I've never had oxtails in my life. Today has changed my whole perspective on food. I'm new to Long Beach. Have been trying various soul food restaurants and food trucks. This by far is the most tender most flavorful fall off the bone meat I've ever had. I walked in wanting a shrimp po boy ended up with the oxtails cuz deep down I need to try food I haven't had before. Thank you guys so much for convincing me. I will be back for more and that shrimp po boy and I recommend everyone checking out this spot. Hidden gem for sure.

Ok...so...by now if you've seen my reviews, you know I don't give away 5 stars very easily...ive hurt feelings, broken up families, and straight upmade people question their reason for "being." That being said...McDowell's. Long Beach, California, where the meth heads out number the sand...between 400 mexican restaurants that you arent quite sure are open or closed and the world's last Quiznos...is some REAL DAMN SOUL FOOD!! I say it that way because some soul food places take for granted that as long as they have the meals considered to be "soul food" they have done their job. But if you've been to a legit one (shout out to my people at Mary Mac's in the ATL, B-Walk will be back!!) you know there is an art to it like all great cuisines. Let's start, first, It's on the same street as a McDonald's and is called McDowell's!! That is hilarious unless you're under 30 and haven't seen Coming to America (if so, see Coming to America, but not the sequel, the sequel hurt me in a way I imagine I would hurt if my spouse died in a tragic accident, while having an affair, with my dad).Ok, the staff there was crazy friendly, which is always a plus. I made my order simple, fried chicken, corn bread (ain't nothin' wrong with that), collard greens, and Mac & Cheese. I've heard their best meals are their ox tail and their catfish, but im a chicken guy. Chicken: The best indicator of your fried chicken quality, is if its sitting under a warmer, or if u order it, they bread it and then dunk it. Freshly fried well seasoned fried chicken is a thousand times better than fast food fried chicken. This chicken was just that. Corn Bread: always on point.Mac & Cheese: I liked it a lot more than most restaurants because they didn't get "too fancy." To me, great Mac & Cheese is a simple recipe.My biggest surprise...Collard Greens: I am generally not a fan of collard greens...my range is between "eh" and "gross." But these were honestly the best greens I've had in my life...I dont know what made them that way, but I loved them.Anyway, if you're in Long Beach, or just love soul food, check this place out!!

Ordered through a delivery service. My order was Large sides of :Yams, Green Beans, Cornbread Dressing, Mashed Potatoes and peach cobbler that is supposed to come with Vanilla ice cream according to the description. Two of the sides were cancelled without any phone call or notice. The portion of a Large side is barely 1/2 a cup. And the cobbler did not come with ice cream. What a huge disappointment.