Mama Joan’s Soul Food

We come here often. The prices are reasonable and the food is always good. I think it’s family run. I have not had a problem with my order being wrong or bad attitudes. The ambience is nice and I can tell that they care about the restaurant. They get 4 stars because some nights they run out to food.

Decent soul food. I’ve tried several items off the menu such as the fried catfish, fried chicken and baked turkey wings. Turkey wings were my least favorite. All the sides and the corn bread are delicious. Best soul food you’ll find in Inglewood.

Took brother there for the his first time he really enjoyed the service and the atmosphere everyone enjoy there food and conversations. Looking to return for breakfast soon

Great find !
So I was in LA hanging out for a few days. I didn’t really make a bunch of daytime eating plans so I pretty much winged it. I was randomly Unilocaling one morning from my room and I knew one of the days here I was going to get soul food: D I usually go to Soul food kitchen but it’s nice to try something new and with better more comfortable seating!
So I fired up the gps and was on my way. I’m so glad I read some of the reviews about the parking. I had to make a few U turns LOL then I parked on the side opposite of the ⁷⁄₁₁ parking to avoid getting towed. I came in and asked the cashier if I could sit anywhere and she said sure. I came in around 3pm or so, so no lunch rush. Speaking of lunch, I guess their lunch ends at 3 because this guy with his date was griping how he didn’t want to pay for dinner prices LOL super embarrassing for the girl and she even had to come out of pocket for the tip UGH. Girl I hope that was the last time you hung with that cheap bastard. Everyone knows soul food joints ain’t cheap BUT you get a lot of food for what you pay for just like a BBQ joint. ANYWAY! The service was lovely. The young lady waited on all the tables, it would have been nice if she had some help especially with that party that sat behind me. The lady was a regular but bugged about so much shit and the young lady was very sweet through all that, 5 stars for putting up with that. Before I go anywhere I look at pictures, reviews and menus to know exactly what I want. It makes for a better meal and I like to be considerate to the staff by being knowledgeable instead of asking 5 million questions like the crank yanker behind me LOL.
So I went all out with my order. I did the smothered fried pork chop dinner and my sides were, cornbread stuffing, greens, mac and cheese and added mashed potatoes and gravy. I also took an order of wings to go. So I ordered like a boss HAHA. So I waited for my food and when it was all plated, I had a grin bigger than the Grinch: D The porkchops looked so glossy and the sides were in cute glassware nice and neat. Their plating is clean and definitely not messy. So I start taste testing. The pork chops were delicious in taste and perfectly glazed with the thick brown flavorful gravy. Only thing that made this less than perfect was the consistency of the meat. It was slightly overcooked and the knife they give you is toooooo amateur for use. It was like sawing wood! If I had proper knife wear, I think it would have made a better bite. I’d still get this again and maybe try it without gravy.
Now for the sides. I believe sides are just as important as the entrée these days. Their sides were damn good and very fresh. I love soul food joints because they serve stuffing anytime of the year and not just holidays! Their stuff was smooth and seasoned well, I just wish they had bits of gizzards like my mom’s stuffing, but hey, I’ll take what I can get! and again having a nice heaping side of gravy made it better. The greens were good, didn’t have the ham hock saltiness of my usual greens but good nonetheless. The mac and cheese was my kinda black mac. Ooeey gooey sharp cheddar mac. I love my mac just like this and would order one to go! The mashed potatoes were fluffy and tasted like buttery silk especially with the gravy. They were perfect for this kind of meal and my sister was drooling over them via Instagram LOL. This meal was satisfying and I left happy as a clam.
When I got to the room, I couldn’t help myself and tasted a chicken wing. These wings are huge and you get a lot of them for a great price. They tasted better the next day. The batter was right and the seasonings kicked in more the next day. I could easily order them to go each and every time I get a chance to stop by. Next time I’m in this part of LA, I’ll be making a visit no matter what ! Thanks MAMA: D

The soul food was good (nothing out of the ordinary) I ordered short rib, & oxtail dinner with Mac n cheese, rice n gravy, corn, cabbage, yams, red beans and rice. The short ribs were tender but too much fat, red beans were really good.

Oh my the food here was great! Had the fried chicken and pork chops. Mac n cheese and cornbread were excellent! I have a new home for soul food, This place isn’t far off the 405 fwy which is good! I was here on a sunday and the parking lot is a bit small, connected with a 7 – 11 so it can be busy! The inside seating is nice, the staff is helpful. I didn’t wait long to get my food. Overall a great experience here!

Great service but the food wasnt good. I ordered fried shrimp and they were cooked so long they tasted like rubber. Mac & cheese was bland.

This is a M&M establishment. I never liked the food served at any of the restaurants and never will.

I always get oxtail dinner. So I send my husband to buy 3 oxtail dinner and 1 short rib dinner. open it up only 5 small ass peices for 20 bucks per plate. nope lost my bussiness.. I just can’t believe it

This place is awesome some of the best soul food I have ever tasted! parking is a crap shoot bcuz of the small parking lot but once you taste the delicious food here who cares about anything else
I had the fried Catfish, Cornbread Dressing, Mac & cheese, Rice & Gravy with a cup of banana pudding for desert, every thing was perfect the portions were huge too I took some home all the way to Fresno CA lol I had originally bookmarked this place on Unilocal after reading a article on the best soul food restaurants in the U.S.
The customer service was kind of hit & miss im assuming bcuz it was a lot of people eating & I only saw 1 lady serving everyone but the food was so good I won’t rake her over the coals for it, when I come back to Los Angeles I will definitely be back here for more mama joan’s soul food

Customer service was great (which is a plus) and the food was pretty good, I mean Ive had better but over all experience was a ⁴⁄₅

Alright fam. In my 30 years on this earth today marks only the second time I have ever been graced by a cook/​chef with textbook perfect soft scrambled eggs. Not a single dark or hard spot on them, and none of it was runny, but soft and tender, in that sweet spot of almost running, but masterfully handled with such love and care that the eggs maintain their integrity. I’ve been so dissatisfied with scrambled eggs from cheap restaurants to expensive ones to the point where I’m ready to be disappointed but will order scrambled eggs to see if the cook cares. And the man at the stove at Mama Joan’s clearly cares. Ladies and gentlemen please educate your selves on what exactly a proper scrambled egg is by giving this place a shot, because you’ve been lied to your entire lives by people only giving a shit about a paycheck and shuffling food out as fast as possible.
Now the rest of the review… I’ll start for the top. My old man suggested eating here this morning after avoiding the place for so long after the place prior to it closed down. We went in knowing parking is shit, but we don’t care. If the food is good it will more than make up for shit parking (if you disagree then you don’t truly love food and therefore shouldn’t write a review). We were greeted by a young lady who promptly seated us, she was so casual, and professional, yet warm and welcoming. It was natural, not some bogus corporate greeting you get from (insert big name chain here). The service was tight, friendly, and I never felt rushed or smothered.
The food came out in a reasonable amount of time, not slow, but definitely not fast. Amongst the 3 of us we had red snapper, wings, liver and onions, grits, over easy eggs, scrambled eggs, biscuits, and potatoes. EVERYTHING WAS FUCKING SEASONED PROPERLY! Why the fuck I go here and my food is done right, seasoned well, served fucking piping hot, and it’s less than $ 10?! Love, care, attention to detail all of the above. I don’t get food this proper that I pay 3x as much for. So thank you Mama Joan! I literally almost cried this morning at the table, because love was truly on my plate today. And love is what I look for on my plate no matter where I eat, or what I pay. Only complaint is that I couldn’t have collard greens at 8:30 in the morning (ok, I’ll let that slide. But I’ll be back for some greens.)

Lets get the negatives out of the way, parking is very difficult, the lot is small and the 7 – 11 next door has 4 reserved spots, so actually parking in the lot is a long shot and if you are able to get a spot in the lot then getting out might be more trouble because it is so small and cramped. There is 2 hour street parking on Centinela so if you don’t mind a short walk this is your best bet.
Recent trips to other restaurants in the area brought Mama Joan’s onto our radar, so we made the trip and sat down for lunch, 3 of the 4 in our lunch group choose fried chicken, one choose meatloaf, each of the entrees came with two sides and cornbread muffins.
The cornbread was moist, and perfectly cooked, served hot and fresh. The sides come in a small bowl and while unimpressive at first the bowls hold more than it seems they should. Red Beans and Rice was a perfect balance of beans, rice and sausage. Mashed Potatoes, nice and fluffy with good flavor and just enough gravy, stuffing, a little on the wet side, still had some nice flavor we just prefer it with a little less moisture. The entrée’s Meatloaf, a nice palm sized slice covered with gravy, good flavor and texture. Fried chicken, hot and fresh (which means it take a few minutes for you to get it, so don’t get mad if it’s not like KFC and they pull It from a warmer) and Large, Juicy thighs and drumsticks, cooked all the way though, moist and tender on the inside, with just the right crisp to the skin.
4 Lunch plates with drinks for under $ 40.00 is a bargain any day of the week, the same meal down the street would have cost twice as much.
Highly recommended for to satisfy your comfort food cravings.

Always excellent! Mama Joan is an awesome cook. Them pork chops are to die for. My hunni had the chicken patty sausage, grit and eggs. He loves it. MAMA Jones opening in Moreno Valley this year!!!
Our waitress is on hit!!! Ynomee you ROCK!!!

The. Bomb. Dot. Com.
No need for a long, fancy review. The food here is flavorful and unpretentious. The portions are so generous. The staff is so nice. Just everything you need for comfort on a plate.
We got the fried chicken dinner special and a pork chop on the side – more than enough for 2 people. For the chicken combo, you get 2 huge wings, 1 huge breast, cornbread muffins, AND 3 sides (we got yams, greens, and mac & cheese) for only $ 11.99!!! Everything was on point. The chicken and pork were juicy and tender, even after being coddled in that magical layer of crispy fried goodness. The mac & cheese was perfectly chunky and not gooey or runny. The yams were baked whole and not too sweet. The greens were cooked to perfection.
Are you hungry yet!!! Get into it!!!

Not the best soul food I’ve had, but for the price and portions, this place is a good lunch option. And I always have leftovers for another meal.
My coworkers and I ordered pickup from this place when we feel like feasting. The girl who takes my giant phone order of 10 is so patient and never gets the order wrong! Whenever we show up, the food is ready to go and the corn bread muffins are still warm from the oven. I would give them 5 stars just for their service and hospitality.
The smothered fried chicken lunch is only $ 8, I usually ask for gravy on the side and they are super generous with the gravy. The chicken is juicy, not too salty and so good with some hot sauce! I usually love sides, but I haven’t found any of them to be that good. Everything’s pretty much a hit or miss.
I think my favorite part is the freshly baked corn bread muffins smothered with some butter.
I would definitely reorder:
Oxtails– super tender and flavorful
Smothered fried chicken
Fried red snapper
Buttered corn and collard greens as sides
Just don’t expect to be productive after you eat this though…

Excellent welcome! …good atmosphere, very hospitable! Food was good, home cooking. No infusion this and that, straight comfort food but with taste and seasoned well. The only drawback is that the restroom needs updating and is NOT the cleanest NOR did it receive any of theach remodel dollars. Wait staff was attentive but not overbearing. Portions were large also. Lots of food for less than $ 30 with quite a bit still to take home for left-​overs.

BOMB!!! Finally a legit soul food place in LA. I will definitely be back.
I tried this place out for dinner last night & was not disappointed. I ordered the smothered chicken, mac n cheese, dressing & greens. I had a party in my mouth. The mac n cheese was scrumptious!!! Can’t wait to try more items on the menu!

From the moment you walk in the front door, you instantly feel like you’re in grandma’s living room for Sunday dinner. This location and this family have been a permanent fixture in culver city for many years. You just can’t survive in Los Angeles that long unless you have something special. Soul food is this spots speciality and they do it like no other. Full of flavor and well seasoned catfish is my favorite. Each meal is a generous portion that comes with 3 heaping side orders. I recommend the collard greens, mac n cheese, and yams. For desert… banana pudding or peach cobbler are so amazing to cap off your delicious catfish meal.
I recommend frequent visits after the culver stairs so there’s no guilt. And if you’re in a rush, get it to go.

Great fried chicken wings and peach cobbler. The wings were fried perfectly in a light batter that was well seasoned. The cobbler had a nice flaky crust with delicious peach filling. I also enjoyed the collards and the black eye peas. My least favorite was the short ribs, though tender, I was underwhelmed by the flavor.
They have a small parking lot which can be challenging for large vehicles. The service was friendly and attentive. Will definitely come back for the chicken.

The best soul. food I have had. Drove all the way from Lancaster just to try and glad wr did.
I had the catfish, green, mac and cheese and black Eyed Peas. amazing
Husband had the oxtail and the same sides. the food was to die for.
Well worth the drive.

I never boast about a place like I’m about to do!
The food was amazing, nothing was less than excellent! I got the short ribs with Mac and cheese, rice and gravy, and yams which also came with two corn muffins and overall? The best. I sent my boyfriend to buy my order and he explained that the waitresses and servers were extremely helpful and nice. Maybe a little flirtatious but when the food is this good… well, by all means go ahead! LOL.
The short ribs meat was great due to the fact that I don’t eat much meat period. I literally was licking the bone dry. Tender, well cooked, and spiced correctly. The Mac was to die for, they politely asked my boyfriend if he wanted to wait for a fresh batch, and thank the food lord he did!, cheesy, and put together well!. The yams tasted natural and not over sugared like many places and lastly the rice and gravy. Well it’s white rice and gravy… Not much to say or complain about… It was good licked the container dry too. In order for me to lick the food it must have been THAT good.
Good food, EXCELLENT service, and amazing corn muffins… Mama J knew what she was doing when she opened this place.