Serious Soul Café

This business has shut down!!! Place is cleared out and a for Lease sign in the window! Another local business bites the dust. That seems the norm in Federal Way.

YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!
DO NOT EAT HERE
DO NOT SUPPORT THIS UNETHICAL SMALL BUSINESS
I had purchased a Groupon deal ($ 12 for $ 20) to try this place out.
I called in an order for 3x wings + fish meal ($ 14), mash potatoes ($ 5), and pecan pie ($ 6).
When we arrived there, the restaurant looked suspicious, but I like hole in the wall places.
When we get there she was friendly at first, but then things changed when we told her that we had a groupon deal. She continued to shake her head and kept saying that we were supposed to tell her that we had a groupon when we placed our phone order. She continued to act frazzled and «tried» to process our groupon. She came back and said that she was not able to process the groupon because she had already calculated the receipt. Then I asked if she could just deduct the $ 12 since the original paid value never expires. She then said «Oh no. The system is closed and I can not process groupons anymore.» It was 7:15p! And really what does that even mean??? How does that even make sense for a cash only business!!!
I wanted to press the issue, but her two children were present. At this point we were just hoping the food was good.
We get home and was severely disappointed with the portion size. But we still had hope that food would taste good. The catfish had cornmeal breading, but had a strange old fish taste. We decided to throw it away. The chicken was extremely dry to the point where it had a stale cracker texture. We also threw that away. The mash potatoes were definitely from the box. The collard greens were edible.
I even asked her if the pecan pie was homemade which was the deciding factor of whether to buy it. When we brought it home, it was obvious it was a store bought pie slice.
As a small business supporter, it is awful that unethical business owners like this give small mom and pop stores such a bad overall reputation. I strongly encourage all patrons to try other more deserving small restaurants. We are cutting our losses and not even redeeming our groupon. The only other positive ratings are for diners at the restaurant who got free additional food.

I love their fried catfish, fried okra, ox tails, greens, home made mac & cheese and corn bread. I’m sure id love more when I get around to trying it.

REAL Sweet Tea! The fried chicken was excellent. i also had the collard greens and cornbread. She brought us samples of the gumbo and okra. Very excited to go back.

This place is a little out of the way but worth the trip. It only takes cash so be prepared. The prices are a little high but for the amount of food you get I could not complain. Chicken is made to order so if you are in a rush call your order in ahead of time. I know some reviews were complaining about the oil being old for frying the chicken but I did not have that problem. The collard greens were prepared well and the sweet potato pie was excellent. If I’m in the area again I would definitely go.

This is now the 2^nd time I’ve come here to use a groupon I bought to try this place out as I love soul food… First time no gumbo which is the whole reason I came all the way from pierce county, now it’s 2:46 and I arrive to find a sign on the door that says «out on delivery back 4:00» who does that ??? So now I’ve wasted gas twice and am debating on what to do with a over hr wait … If I would have known that they close in the middle of the day I would have called, if I would have known they frequently run out of food again I would have called … I’m highly frustrated with this as I can’t even rate the good cause after 2 30 min drives I have yet to try them … At this point I have spent more in gas then I have the groupon … There was also another younger couple with a infant that just walked up at 2:50, they had Also driven from Tacoma … I understand maybe they are understaffed but then stop deliveries for the day or alert people on groupon and social sites to ca before wasting there gas to drive. Finally she arrives and I’m told again there out of gumbo and I can’t order that cause it’s a «special item» Groupon states only restriction is take out and take out menu items and to refer to website for that where gumbo is listed as a item… She process to tell me groupon made a mistake I told her this was on her take out menu on her site, she states groupon made a mistake. This is funny as business have to review before the deal is offered. After a 1 ½ wait in which the pizza place next door states she leaves often with no one there for long periods, to be told not only were they out of what I wanted but I couldn’t get it anyways and all other items were over priced and mediocre … I could have gotten from a southern place closer to my home … I told her I would contact groupon for a refund before I ever eat here I’m so mad.

I had chicken breast with collard greens and mac n cheese, chicken was fried in bad oil all you taste is nasty oil, no flavor at all, very disappointing. The worst thing is that cost me $ 17, collard greens were plain no flavor and mac and cheese was bland, for soul food it wasn’t very good. Don’t recommend it at all.

This was our first time at this establishment. I will have to say that my feelings are mixed and I’m not sure I’ll be back.
Pros– food was pretty good. I got the chicken and waffles. 4 large wings and a large Belgian waffle. Any time I have chicken and waffles, I can’t help but to compare to Rosco’s so — I’ve had better but it was quite tasty and I wasn’t disappointed. Chicken was crispy and well seasoned. The Belgian waffles were fluffy but I prefer butter over margarine. The lady was really nice and had her two young boys working as servers — very cute. She gave us a complimentary plate with a sampling of Chicken strips, fried jalepeno poppers and fried ocra — nice touch. Very nice surprise, especially since we ended up waiting an additional 20 min for the rest of our food.
Cons– as we walk in we were already a little skeptical because she asked us to give her 10 min for her to seat us — we were the only ones there. But she was polite so we waited patiently. Now the cons don’t really come until the end. As we are waiting to pay, we realize we probably need to go up front. So my husband comes back and says, they don’t come take cards and the bill was over $ 100! There was 4 of us! 3 of us had chicken and waffles and 1 had catfish and Mac and cheese. We had an order of fries for my toddler, a beer and a lemonade. She didn’t give us a receipt so we couldn’t even see how it was rung up. But OH — there was an 18% gratuity added on for a party of four.
So needless to say, none of this is too awful, just lacking communication. Tell me I’m paying for a $ 16 meal even though the board in the front says $ 12. Tell me u don’t except cards so we don’t have to go to the gas station for a cash machine.
Food was decent prices are high, I would suggest calling ahead for takeout, rather than dining in.

In planning the 6^th grade party for Springbrook elementary I was approached by the grandmother she stated that she could cater a meal for the kids instead of the traditional pizza. We agreed on 5 $ per person she stated there would be two pieces of chicken a green salad a potato salad a roll and possibly baked beans. Great deal right so I agreed. I was pleased that she would provide the meatless options we would have eleven children attending that didn’t eat meat.
The day of I paid her the money (my mistake) she stated her daughter would be at the park with the food by 1:00. Lets just say she didn’t show up until 2 pm with only chicken and the smallest individual potato salad I had ever seen. I asked her what happened to the green salad she sated «there’s potato salad.» I did not want to make a scene in front of the kids so the next day I spoke to her and I asked her about our agreement. She said since the money was taking so long to get in (because I had to collect from kids) her daughter decided that chicken and potato salad was all she could do and she stated that she never said anything about baked beans. Funny I guess I just made that up. I told her that her daughters decision was never relayed to me. I asked her to at least refund the money to the children who didn’t eat meat because five dollars for potato salad was not appropriate. She stated she would speak to her daughter. She then never answered any of my phone calls or text messages and the children were not refunded their money. I would never ever recommend these people they are scam artistes and steal money from children on top of the fact the do not deliver what is promised. Please think twice about supporting this establishment.

I have tried this restaurant again, years later with another Groupon and I agree with everything I said in the first one. I got 2 BBQ Brisket sandwichs and one piece of coconut cake (which ROCKED) and it was $ 40! WTH?! When I placed the order at the counter (the Groupon was for to go only and no one was answering the phone when I called, on a Sat at 5pm) I ordered chicken strips and a cheesburger– I know I know not Southern but whatever! She said it would be ready in 15 mins. 12 mins later she told me they had no chicken strips OR burger patties so I was left with the bbq brisket sandwich. While the sandwich was ok, the fries were good. I just can’t get over the prices and lack of customer service. They didn’t even answer their phone on a Sat evening! I’m so done with this place.

South Lake Union prices in Federal Way, oh my!
Lunch: Fried catfish, deep fried okra, and a soda. Almost $ 20. The okra was good, the catfish was meh.
Been here three times now and I don’t get the fuss. It’s always dead and always overpriced and mediocre. They must benefit from being the only «soul food» joint in FW.
Also charged a dollar to use credit cards — really? 16 bucks for three pieces of catfish and some okra and you are going to charge me to use my credit card? See ya!

I was unaware of this place before we purchased the Living Social deal. We came to eat at the establishment, but as I read the deal in the car, you could only use it for take out. Bummed, we drove back home and decided to use it another day. Last week, I called in our order of 8 piece chicken with collard greens and mashed potatoes.
Very friendly lady over the phone. I arrived a few minutes later and I could see why they only allow take out. It is very cramped inside with limited seating. I told the lady I was here for my take out and she proceeded to ring me up.
That’s when things took a turn. As soon as I told her that I had a Living Social deal, her demeanor changed. She seemed rather infuriated with me and proceeded to tell me that I did not mention the deal over the phone and that she can’t take orders without knowing that. Huh? My bad… I felt really embarrassed as she is having a mini hissy fit about this and there was another customer sitting there… Finally, she rang me up and come to find out, their card machine is broken… So I had to use cash and I never carry cash on me! Luckily, I had some on me this day and paid the difference. She didn’t even say bye or thank you or anything…
Reading a few other reviews, I guess she is not so pleasant with people using these deals. If you’re going to be like that as the owner, don’t put them out there! If it wasn’t for the Living Social deal, I would have never even known about this place to begin with!
I do have to say, the fried chicken was absolutely, finger lickin GOOD. Scrumptious, juicy, crunchy, seasoning on point and just perfection. This is probably the best fried chicken I have ever tasted… The collard greens weren’t impressive and neither was the mashed potatoes… But if exceptional fried chicken is what you want, this place has the real thing.

I was overcharged, given the wrong food, and then ignored.
I purchased the group on for $ 20 worth of food for $ 12.
I ordered $ 33.50 worth of food, received $ 26.50 worth of food and paid $ 37.50 because the woman gave me the incorrect order and, I assume, did not use the groupon.
When I went up the counter I explained that I was missing one meal. She said she had not heard the additional meal ordered and that it would take an additional 30 minutes and that I would need to pay for it. I sat down and added up everything up and discovered I had been overcharged $ 10.00 on top of getting different food than I had ordered. I walked back up to the counter to explain this and the cashier faced me and ignored me standing there, not meeting my eye. I finally left.

In love with this place! If you’re looking for the local southern cuisine, this the place. At first it looks like a little deli when you walk in, however there a larger separate room that is very well setup. Intimate setup. The only inconvenience is the location, it deep in fed way. Wish more people could experience this place. I loved and appreciate the owner and staff, so polite and friendly. Will def come back!

Seriously, the Southend is lucky to have such as unqiue restaurant and serving up some good olé’ homemade soul food!
Previously reviews are correct, finding the location was a bit of a search, but worth it. Located in a strip mall and off the main drag.
Inside do not expect lavish surroundings, but the same good olé’ cozy experience.
Main entrance leads you to a order counter with the cooking station as the backdrop. Menu on the wall makes it easy to order. Seating space is tight. However, if you are visiting for a event, there is a large banquet-​like area.
For this visit, my friend and I tried waffles and chicken, fried ocra, jambalya. Prices in my opinion are high based on the serving portions and quality. But to balance this opinion, having a unique business in the area draws the crowd.

I walked in and looked at the menu. I was shocked at the prices. $ 4.99 for 1 chicken breast and $ 2.49 for a fried drum stick. I ordered a pound of catfish for $ 14.99. It was really good. seemed much more than a pound. Fried perfect and moist – could of been a bit more seasoned. Next week i will try out the oxtails.

Nice! Definitely a gem in Federal Way.
Had dinner last Friday with a group.
Positives:
1. Really friendly service. Dionne took care of us. She is a sweet lady.
2. Appetizer samples for free?!! They brought out a basket of «tastes» that included fried shrimp, fried jalapeño poppers and fried wings. All were delicious without being incredibly greasy.
3. Sides: The rice and beans were amazing. Highly recommended as a side, but I also tried the fried okra which was amazing too. The mashed potatoes were the least favorite of sides, and someone said the collared greens were great.
4. Mains: I had the fried chicken. It was great. Nice crust, juicy chicken. Ahhhh :)
Someone else had the catfish which they said was «great.» Someone had the oxtails which they said were spot-​on.
5. Dessert: I didn’t taste it, but they had the blackberry cobbler and were raving about it.
Lows:
1. No free water, only bottled/​canned drinks. It seems like if the overhead costs of «serving» water was an issue, they could put a stand out with paper cups at least. It may be simply a way to make money.
2. Service was pretty slow. The food came out really hot, so they didn’t slack there, but either there were a lot of take-​out orders that took precedence, or perhaps the ox-​tails took a long time. I dunno, but even after we finished, it seems like it took a while to get out of there.
3. No beer on tap. Not a good bottled selection: they had Heineken and then Bud, Bud Light etc.
We all agreed that this is our new go-​to place when we are in Federal Way. It is a really, really good find. May bump it up to 5 stars if the service and water factors improve.

Southern cooking… in Washington state?! Oh yes pigs do fly here and it’s in their fryer!
I definitely have been craving the stereotypical Southern cuisine although the last time I truly was in the deep South was a weekend trip to N’Awlins last year… lo and behold, I could get my fix right in a suburbia shopping plaza in Federal Way!
I did read all the reviews on here before we went and looks like good ratings specifically for the food. There were some concerns about the long wait time because it seems everything was cooked to order and regulars usually call ahead of time with their orders but in all honesty, having just walked in and ordered, it really didn’t take THAT long… I guess it just depends on the customer load for that particular day and time.
Anyways, we got the overall basics… I got the 3 piece fried chicken with fixins of cornbread, mac n’ cheese and my partner got the porkchops with hush puppies and mashed potatoes. SADLY they ran out of collard greens (Which seems like they run out everyday by dinner time from some reviews), and the sweet potato pie. When I told the owner I was pretty bummed about that, she made it up to me at the end and gave me on the house a slice of their chocolate cake that was still available and no it was not a poor excuse to get rid of it as it really was tasty and delicious.
I wasn’t adventurous enough to try their sweet tea as I fear developing Type 2 diabetes, but on the plus side they do offer beer and enjoyed myself a nice cold bottle of Corona along with my food.
If you are on a diet and finding an gluttonous way to spend your «cheat day» this is the place. not only is the fried food appropriately greasy but not to messy and gross, but be prepared as the dining area is right there in the open with the fryers, you’ll be smelling like fried food in the car on your way home. lol. It’s not FINE dining, and although it’s not home cooking, it’s good enough. Definitely a popular establishment through word of mouth and gives Tacoma’s Southern Kitchen a run for its money.

Fried chicken and fried gizzard was awesome, awesome, awesome. One of the best I’ve ever had.
The owner was super nice and really cool.
Will be back for sure.

What an awesome place to have in Federal Way!
Tucked away in the outskirts, and providing an at-​home feel.
The owners are super nice and will willingly help you choose menu items if you’re feeling a little confused or torn between options.
Breading on catfish: Awesome
Sweet Potato Pie: Awesome
Gumbo: Awesome
Their cornbread and bread rolls are nothing too special, but I’ll let that one slide since I’ll order one or the other regardless if it’s special or not. Other than that, this place is pretty awesome. I’m itching to try the ribs and tilapia next time :))))