Stockdale’s Fine Southern Cuisine

Slow but great service. Very friendly. Food taste great! I miss this place. Just amazing food!

The food was great! This is my husbands favorite restaurant. I was skeptical at first because the title claim to be Alabama style soul food. But my suspicion was quickly put to shame after my first bite. The food is well seasoned and hearty. You will not be disappointed!!!

This place is a true example of the South, not only from its cuisine but right down to the owners. The stockdale’s are a very loving, caring and giving family who have translated that into their business. I personally had crawfish and it was amazing. They treat everyone like family and if I lived closer, I’d be there weekly. Amazing atmosphere and a pleasure to dine there.

This is it. Real Southern soul food in San Diego. Fried chicken, baked chicken, meatloaf, catfish, red beans and rice, green beans, cabbage, mac and cheese, candied yams and cornbread. That’s not their entire menu, it’s what I ate from their Sunday buffet!
Good stuff!

Good food. No complaints. Authentic soul food, IMHO. But, it wasn’t inexpensive and, unfortunately, although good, didn’t really tickle my fancy.
So-​so location but nice and clean and they have live music. Id recommend at least giving it a shot. Maybe it’s your thing.

Fine Southern cuisine it is! I’m from Atlanta and this place reminds me of when I used to travel to Alabama. Just fine southern food here. The food here has much more sophisticated flavors going on over the fast and cheaper southern food a lot of people are more accustomed to.
Everything is delicious. Catfish, collards, black eye peas are my favorite from here right now. Gotta get to the Sunday buffet and try it all. Most friendly service and nicest people running this place in all of California. It’s a must try! Anybody that doesn’t enjoy a great meal here should go see a doctor.

The food was great Southern cuisine. We went in on a Sunday and had the buffet for $ 13.99. The buffet had collards, cabbage, red beans, mac & cheese, fried chicken, fried catfish, baked snapper, cornbread and dessert. The setup was okay but the service from the wait staff was unbelievably slow and one waiter was just inattentive. My son’s food had to be ordered from kitchen which was a lengthy process and then first attempt was undercooked.
The overall idea of Southern cuisine is there but the place definitely needs a Gordon Ramsay Kitchen Nightmare’s makeover. The taste of the food was great but other aspects need some work.
We are going to give it one more shot and maybe they can «wow» us.

If you’re in mood for great food made with love (like grandma’s), this is the place!
I’ve have southern comfort food before, but this place serves darn good southern food! I ordered the smothered pork chops with sides of mashed potatoes and collard greens and was savoring every bite. The chops were so tender that no knife was needed and the meat fell right off the bone. The great tasting greens complemented the meat so well. My husband ordered the gumbo cup and the chicken and waffle with a side of yams. I was surprised that he finished both dishes! I tried their coconut cake and I was on cloud nine!
By the way, the kids had hamburgers and were very satisfied with their order. They were mad that we were picking off their fries.
What made our meal was the owner and the cook! They introduced themselves and made sure we were served well. We didn’t feel rushed, but felt well attended to. Great southern hospitality in San Diego!

Was in the area of town for some business and my co-​worker suggested this place saying that it was true southern. Well, I took his word for it being that he is from the south!
I had the fried chicken breast with hush puppies and mashed potatoes w/​gravy. Amazing! Fresh and not greasy. Real authentic southern style food. Service is very personable. Carol, the owner, was serving and her husband was the cook. They made sure that we were happy.
Would highly recommend this place to anyone looking for southern style food as well as some southern hospitality!

This place was packed for Sunday brunch! The staff was very attentive and friendly. It was nice of the owner to walk the dining room and check on each table.
The fried chicken was excellent. Crunchy batter, juicy chicken, great flavors! The fried catfish was also excellent. Delicious crunchy corn meal batter and good tasting catfish. Lastly the oxtail was excellent. I grabbed the last piece which was sitting with the beans. It had great flavor and was super tender. I was bummed they didn’t have bbq ribs as part of the buffet today.
This is my fav buffet for under $ 15! It’s Sunday from 12−5pm. I showed up around 2pm and the after church crowd was slowing going in and out so fresh food kept coming out.

EVERYTHING was great, food, the service and especially the gospel music in the background. i dont give out 5star rating like that but this is a great place. if you like REAL FOOD you must eat here! MUST! TELL EM CRAIG SENT YOU!

Thank you Unilocalers! I never would have found this place without you! This is by far my new favorite restaurant — and its just down the street.
I’m not a Soul Food officianato by any means — but anyone can tell this food is legit.
I had the fried catfish (as recommended) collard greens, & mac and cheese. I was expecting it to be at least a little greasy — but it wasn’t! The catfish was light and crispy, the mac and cheese was creamy and delicious, the collard greens were cooked perfectly and had a little kick to them. I recommend to use the hot sauce on the catfish, and don’t be shy it just enhances the flavors and isn’t really very «hot» at all.
My husband let me try some of his candied yams (also so amazing, and melt in your mouth) and his sweet tea which was also very good.
and the peach cobbler — get the peach cobbler!
So glad I found this hidden gem!

Saw the marquee «Fine Southern Cuisine» and was intrigued.
Checked Unilocal reviews and was confirmed in my intuition that this place might be worth giving a shot.
The owner’s name is Stockdale — a kind and friendly gentleman. He welcomed my friend and I in with a smile.
I haven’t eaten real southern food since living in Atlanta 10 years ago, and I was anticipating the kind of heavy, deeply flavorful, and waistline-​challenging meal I’d known from the past.
Well, the meal WAS deeply-​flavorful!
We enjoyed the meatloaf and smothered pork chops + black-​eyed peas/mac’n’cheese/yams/cabbage and the whole thing was sublime.
The yams were sweet and soft, cut into cubes, and the cabbage was so soft it melted in my mouth. I was impressed with the meatloaf which was served in a light tasty gravy.
And the dinners were served on heavy white rectangle plates, the kind you typically find in a place like Ruth’s Chris or any other gourmet restaurant.
The word Fine should be underlined in their name — Fine Southern Cuisine. Because that’s what it is.
One note: Don’t come here in a hurry. This place has a mellow relaxed atmosphere and Mr. Stockdale is going to take his time to make sure every customer gets his full attention. So, keep that in mind when making your plans to come here. But this kind of food should be savored, not scarfed down, so it all works out just right.

Great food and worth the trip even tough it’s hidden away in a little strip mall on University.
Total fluke that I happened upon it, but very, very glad I did. Asked what the house specialty is, they said the Fried Catfish, but they suggested to try the Fried Chicken first. So, I had at it. Added in their Mac n Cheese plus an side order of Hush Puppies (which you get SIX of!!) Paired it with a tall, cold glass of Sweet Tea and dug in.
Great tasting, not greasy at all, mac was creamy with a good baked crunchy crust, and the hush puppies were enormous! I kept adding drops of Red Rooster Sauce, but then Mr. Stockdale himself handed me a bottle of the house’s own Hot Pepper Sauce for an added kick. Added some great spice and heat but never overwhelmed the taste of the chicken, which was fried to perfection.
I highly recommend stopping in and having a plate! Next time, I plan on having the Fried Catfish and saving room for their Peach Cobbler. If today’s plate is any indication, next time will be incredible.

Love the food here,
. It really brings me back to my days below the mason dixon line. Try the sweet tea, it’s really authentic. The food is a nice change from the tacos
I always eat everyday. Love their sunday brunch

Yesterday was my birthday, and my wife (who is terrible at surprises) wanted to surprise me with a dinner. She absolutely would not tell me where we were going, though I thought it would be Japanese as always.
Let me preface by saying that we are both from Tennessee, and after two years of eating nothing but Thai, Phở, Tacos and sandwiches, we needed a meal from home. More than any guacamole or cilantro spruced dish could ever fix.
To my surprise, my wife was taking me to East County, and nonetheless into a somewhat «shadier than I was used to» neighborhood. Where in Hell was she taking me? I had no idea. and then it happened.
Imagine, if you will, digging through the crusty brown sand of any beach area in the greater Southern California area and stumbling upon a flawless 2 carat princess cut diamond. That is what happened when I saw «Alabama Style Southern Cuisine» on the sign before me.
I had catfish, yams, hush puppies and mashed potatoes that were better than any I have tasted before. These guys are the real deal. They are from Talladega, Alabama for crying out loud. There is no such thing as «more Southern» than Talladega, Alabama. Trust me, I grew up in Nashville for 26 years and I know what I’m talking about.
The icing on the proverbial «dessert» was that they so graciously included a peach cobbler bowl for my wife and me for my Golden Birthday.
Go. Eat. Enjoy life a little more knowing that after an entire lifetime of eating things that are from a different country, there is wholehearted — like mama makes — straight from the heart of America Southern food right in here in America’s Finest City. And it’s your’s for the taking.
Infamous one sentence review :
«I’m probably going back tonight for more catfish»

I’m sad to give Stockdale’s 2.0 stars. I’m crying a little inside.
Perhaps this is timing problem on my part as I went there towards the end of the buffet, but the ribs were very, very dry. The catfish and chicken were okay, but nothing spectacular. Actually, that was the theme for most of their offerings.
That being said, the service was so sweet and helpful, and their breakfast items looked really tasty. I am willing to give Stockdale’s another try at some point, but for ordering off their menu, not the buffet. Look for a re-​review in the future!

Came here on our lunch break between classes at sdsu. We had never had southern food before and decided to give it a try based on the reviews it got on Unilocal.
The food was amazing! We got a country friend steak and smothered chicken. Yes, probably the heart attack special but the deliciousness of it all made us forget about the health factor. Everything was cooked just right and had no complaints about the food at all.
However, the –1 star came from the amount of time it took to order and receive the food. We had a maximum of 2 hrs to spare and wasn’t able to beat the time limit here. As an important note, make sure to have a lot of time to spare before you come here because it takes a lot of time to cook the food and order!

Good as advertised. 4.5 stars, since a few things hold it back from being a perfect culinary experience. It’s still pretty awesome Southern food and it was served the way good Southern food should be: buffet style (I tried the Sunday buffet).
Sweet tea– Legit! Perfectly brewed to the point that there’s tons of sugar but it’s not overpowering. Excellent to help sugar up your arteries for the oncoming grease onslaught.
The mashed potatoes were the surprise hit of the spread. Butter made a prominent appearance, but there were a number of other good spices in there as well. Went back for thirds on this.
Like others have mentioned, the fried catfish is incredible. If you’ve been eating store-​bought catfish and pouring some kind of lame store-​bought fry mix, wake up from your boring life and embrace pure, tender, fried goodness. Melts in your mouth.
The sauce they use on the ribs was unique and awesome. Tasted somewhat more vinegary than most BBQ I’ve had, but in a good way. Not super-​quality meat, but good enough and slathered with generous amounts of sauce.
Fried chicken was good. Not awesome, but certainly serviceable. Perhaps I should’ve loaded it up with extra hot sauce?
Black eyed peas were tasty and they also offered pasta salad and fruit, which I thought was a nice complement some of the more vein-​clogging options.
Now for the disappointments (which are all relatively mild and/​or mitigated by something else):
1. The buffet is now $ 13.99. On the other hand, the all-​you-​can-​drink sweet tea was only $ 1, so that’s not too bad.
2. The biscuits/​cornbread were a huge disappointment. Popeye’s has better quality (Gasp!). Seemed like these came from a freezer.
3. Initially, the first set of ribs I tried was very, very cold. Fortunately, they seemed to realize this and when I came back the next time they had a big basin full of steaming hot and juicy ribs.
4. Desserts consisted of a few slices of cake. One was a rather bleh coconut (where’s the cobbler people were talking about?) but the other was a pretty awesome lights-​out chocolate.
5. I don’t recall seeing Mac N’ Cheese or Hush Puppies in the spread. That made me sad, but I suppose I could’ve ordered ‘em up if I really wanted them.
Service was regular and efficient.
Perhaps the best praise I can offer is that I felt full for the next 24 hours and didn’t eat anything until a late lunch the next day. I may very well have to work Stockdale’s into a monthly option.

oh man… my tummy hurts.
I ate too much fried catfish and ribs and collard greens and mac’n cheese and hush puppies and sweet potato fries and drank too much sweet tea at Stockdales Fine Southern (Alabama Style) Cuisine.
But damn was it good.
My husband and I drove up on a lazy Sunday afternoon and looked in the window. Well shoot! Everyone was dressed in their Sunday Best. We don’t attend church so we were dressed in our Lazy Sunday Best… flip flops, jeans and t-​shirts. We poked our heads in the door to see if we could still come in and eat. We were greeted by a sweet young lady with a huge smile. She didn’t even notice we weren’t dressed properly, at least I don’t think she noticed… didn’t seem like it anyway.
We were shown to our table and quickly made to feel right at home. Once I looked around I realized the place was packed… and then I inhaled the wonderful aroma… mmmmmmMMMM!
Once we got our food Mr Stockdale came over to our table to greet us and make sure we were getting along okay. Our glasses of sweet tea were never more than half empty before someone was filling them up again. The service was fantastic even though the place was super busy. They had basketball on the big screen and the whole place would erupt with cheers when a good shot was made or a fowl called. It was so fun, we felt like we were part of a big ol family watchin’ the game and eatin’ our ribs!
They had jazz on most Friday nights so we may go back one weekend soon to enjoy some great music to go along with our great soul food. I wish it was closer to my house so we could go every Sunday!