The Soul Food Lounge 2

Pros: Food is outstanding, generous portions, timely service, and beautiful presentation. Service was top-notch, far exceeded my expectations, very accommodating; beautiful restaurant with pleasant live music, and a soothing vibe. Prices were just right. Cons: The dining area is tiny, chairs were uncomfortable for some diners, but I wouldn't let that stop me from returning. Parking was also challenging due to being in a residential area.

We went here for our wedding anniversary. It was a lovely time. Although the music was a little bit loud, we got used to it - the saxophone player was incredibly talented. We loved our food. At first, I was worried the Grand Tasting was going to be teensy weensy plates at a big price, but they were such sizeable portions, I would tell people just to get that instead of focusing on one meal. I appreciate that they offer wine OR dessert with it. I was driving and my husband doesn't drink, so we got two different desserts and had the best of both worlds (well, he did because he ate 3/4 of my insanely good turtle caramel cake and all of his choco pound cake).The food was fantastic. This dinner was one of the only times I didn't need to add salt or pepper (Unlike other restaurants, they actually put the salt and pepper on the table so you didn't have to go out of your way and ask, which I appreciated, too.).The service was wonderful, our server was so sweet and welcoming. We were sat next to a table of two where one of the people was allergic to what seemed like every single dish on the menu and asked for special accommodations to be made for multiple dishes. They had telephones. They could have looked up the menu, called ahead, or asked their server about allergens before they ordered. The owner did what she could to help them have a good experience. I am impressed with her patience. That alone makes me want to come back. Overall, excellent food, excellent service, and a great night out. The only thing I'd say is to maybe space the food out a bit more. We got all of our dishes at nearly the same time so by the time we got to the last one of the Grand Tasting, it was a little cold.

I really wanted to love this location, and I cannot. The Westside location is so much better than the Southside.1. The music was too loud. We couldn't hear ourselves talk at the table.2. I understand that on the Westside, the policy is you cannot be seated until your entire party arrives. I'm fine with that. This southside location, allowed us to sit down although our third person had not arrived. As we sat at the table, the waitstaff appeared to be annoyed with us waiting for the 3rd person for the next 20 minutes. Maybe the Southside needs to adhere to that policy as well.3. As we were gathering our things to leave, the hostess felt the need to remind us of the 90 minute policy, even though we were well within the time frame. We arrived at 2:30 and left at 4:00 sharp regardless of our guest being late.

Having experienced the Grand Tasting menu during Restaurant Week 2024, I decided I wanted to check out the Southside location. The menus and offerings here are different from the Westside location: at this location you get a complimentary glass of wine/bubbles or dessert with your meal. There is still the 18% gratuity added on to the bill and the $20 corkage fee for BYOB, which can only be wine or champagne.You definitely need to make a reservation as there is no space for walk-ins. This space actually looks smaller than the Westside location. The decor is mostly black, which is my favorite color. There was a violin player performing during our meal (lovely) and the staff was lovely and attentive, checking in on us.For dinner, I ordered the following: Argentinian Chimichurri Pot Roast ( herb crusted potatoes , winter vegetable medley), Bayou Blackened Shrimp Tamales (creole cream sauce, cilantro, scallions) and the New Orleans Gumbo Yakamein (Cajun fried perch, seafood savory gravy).The Argentinian Chimichurri Pot Roast and New Orleans Gumbo Yakamein were life giving. For the Grand Tasting, you get to choose three entrees, which are of a smaller size than the main entrees. Honestly if the portions were any bigger, it would be too much food. As it was, I ended up taking the gumbo home and having it the next day (highly recommend doing that).The chimichurri sauce and the flavoring of the pot roast was very complimentary. When reading the description on the menu, I wasn't totally feeling the idea of the winter veggie medley, but SFL proved me wrong. The veggies were a nice addition to the meat...no veggie was left behind.Bayou Blackened Shrimp Tamale was a disappointment for me. It is not something I would ever order again. I am not sure what the flavor palette was supposed to be, but it seemed to be lacking in flavor all together. The other issue I had with this dish was that the tamale itself was a strange texture, not like the traditional mesa dough. I am not sure what the dough was, but it didn't work for me.The New Orleans Gumbo Yakamein was so unexpected and so good! I mean the blending of gumbo with a Yakamein style soup blew my mind! Honestly I can't comment on the flavors of the dish on the day it was served. For me, eating something the next day just taste better because it seems like the flavors have time to settle. Man I had that dish the next day and it was amazing. The soft boiled egg and the fried perch held up well. I ended up cutting up the fish to add to the dish. I also cheated and added some leftover lime cilantro rice I had to it...that dish gave me chills. I finished off the meal with the grilled pound cake with ice cream, which is also at the Westside location. I love this a lot because it is not overly sweet.As Gino A wrote in his review, I wish they would take a little more time in spacing out the dishes. I went to this location with fellow Yelper Latrice A, so we were sitting at a two top table, which was not that big. I agree, the dishes are very good and should not be rushed to make room for the next dish.Despite the misstep with the tamale, SFL 2 was a wonderful experience and I will be taking The Doctor and Queen there for dinner.

Celebrated birthday here with my family. We had a 5pm reservation on a Saturday. We were seated around 5:15pm, so wasn't too bad of a wait despite having a reservation. The restaurant is tiny so not a lot of tables to have available. I thought the decor was nice, the music was jamming, but the chairs were really uncomfortable. The servers and the hostess were really sweet and helpful. 3/4 of us had the grand tasting. I chose the pot roast, Mac n crème and stuffed lobster. I wasn't crazy about the pot roast, but I know it's a fan fave so must've just been me. The Mac n crème was rich deliciousness. The stuffed lobster was overcooked but the presentation was beautiful and the dressing on the side was awesome. I wish I tried the bbq brisket. My sister had that and it was so flavorful. The one thing I didn't like at all was the tamale. It needed a spicy sauce or something to else for heat and acid. Dessert knocked it out the park. My son devoured the chocolate chip pound cake and I just loved the caramel cake. It was the best dessert we had.

Cozy, elegant space with beautiful lighting and ambiance. The servers are all smiles, very knowledgeable and patient. The owner checked each table making sure guests were enjoying themselves and to see if there were any questions. The food was an experience in itself. I decided to indulge in the "tasting menu". For 59$ choose any three entrees and be prepared for an explosion of flavors. I started with the gumbo; hands down the best I have ever had. Nice rich roux, two types of noodles, shrimp, crab, lobster, clams, scallions, hard boiled egg and crispy, cajun fried perch. Then there was the barbecue brisket; roasted low and slow, sweet and savory served with roasted potatoes and street corn. Now for the buttered lobster tail; delicious "southern"cornbread dressing with crab, crawfish and grilled asparagus. Who has room! But, it's dessert time; two slices of grilled pound cake served with vanilla ice-cream, caramel drizzle and garnished with a mint leaf. The tasting menu includes unlimited lemonade in mango, passion fruit or hibiscus. I absolutely love live music! Besides Paris, this violinist was the best I ever heard.I'll be back!

Compared to the original location I give it 4 stars. Both locations are very intimate and provide live entertainment. For "me" the black and gold color scheme makes the established appear smaller. I think it would be nice to offer water and lemon water or explain that it's lemon water prior to pouring. The fried catfish was cooked to perfection but I would prefer it on the side instead of on top of the spaghetti causing it to become soggy quickly. It makes for a great presentation though. The spaghetti was good and spicy but the sweetness over powered the spice in my opinion. I had to add hot sauce to balance it. I wish the meal would have come with garlic bread. The highlight for me was the grilled poundcake. That's was perfect!!! I get the menus are different at each location but the menu at the original location is great!

Came in as a party of six adults and one baby. We were seated immediately near the windows. Soul Food Lounge is situated in an intimate space. Its aims for an upscale vibe, with black decor and gold finishes. There was a live violinist, I'm not usually a fan of live music while dining but this guy was pretty good and the volume was appropriate to the space. I will also say the staff when make sure the ladies have a purse hook. There are some rules in the place - 90 minute table limit, BYOB w $20 corkage fee (wine and champagne only), reservation required, automatic 18% gratuity. Most of the food was good to very good. However my experience was impact by the lack of ventilation. I'm allergic to fish. The smell of fried fish intensified during the evening and I eventually had to step out for some air. Most in my party opted for the sampler.We were mixed on the pot roast. One thought it was very good, I thought it was just ok. The tamale and bruschetta were both rated highly by our party. The Tuscany Surf and Turf was outstanding. The gumbo was said to be very tasty. The real let down was the stuffed lobster. Three of us ordered it and the lobster was very-very dry on each plate. The cornbread stuffing and crawfish was tasty but the star of the plate fell very short. There's no BS about splitting the bill. But you will leave smelling like you've been at a fish fry. I am closer to three and a half stars than four but the service was good and the portion were generous so I am going with the four. Especially considering this spot has been opened a month.

The food was delicious, the service was good, and with live music, the ambiance was wonderful.

The food, service and ambiance were 5 star. Can't wait to return. I highly recommend the grand tasting and don't forget dessert