AMINA — Local services in Philadelphia

I've seen this place on TikTok and said that I would make it a point to drive to Philly and show some support. The drive is about an hour or so depending on 95N traffic. And of course depending on what team is playing or huge publicized events happening around the City of Brotherly Love. Just so happened it was a Phillies game, The Roots Picnic [I hate the use of the word in 2025 still - the horrible racial context linked to it is appalling in itself. I digress. ]

It's my husband's birthday weekend and I said let's try out the spot and make a day of it.

This was my very 1st time dining at this Black Owned business in its NEW and from what I hear BIGGER location.

●Pros: The hostess was magnificent. She was spread thin... checking in guests, cleaning tables, providing 1st aid to the kitchen staff, and doing it ALL with a painted smile. She wore many hats yesterday and had on the flyest black studded ankle booties. I saw you, Sis!!🤏🏽 You deserve a day off and a raise⁉️

The FOOD was absolutely delicious. The well-seasoned pan-seared salmon was flaky and juicy, it was made to PERFECTION 😋 The chard was very flavorful and cooked just right and it had its dark green color SO you knew that the needed nutrients were still present. Now, I was EXTREMELY skeptical about them serving the cold 🥶 POTATOE salad mixed in with the hot 🔥 food. I mean it was nestled under the hot salmon and within what appeared to be sautéed chard. A NEW dining space for me to explore, however; I am here for it. And I LOVED every bite of it. I'm truly adaptable when it comes to Southern faire cuisine. Although I was taught to not mix hot and cold foods while plating. It was a style of warm potato salad that I had to explore. And the mustard marmalade was a treat to my palette.

The Bissap Breezy Mocktail was cute, refreshing, and tasty. The pieces of dried hibiscus were a special little treat.

The aesthetics was by far the most chic classy afro centric space needed on the Black owned restaurant business circuit. Good vibes.

●Cons: •Short staffed: three (3) servers/wait staff visibly most for what appeared to be 50 tables. They weren't even the friendliest and should be trained on smiling and being professional with the engagement of customers.

•Being seated: it took about 30 minutes or so that's with a reservation.

•No music: there were many periods was none.🎵

•Dirty menus: it was sticky with I'm guessing it was syrup from previous guests or the table cleaning staff.

•Taking our order: we didn't get contact for at least 25-30mins.

•Being checked on: never were checked on by our fill-in server to see if we needed anything or even asked how was our meal.

•Completing our order: we asked for drinks and didn't get them until the end of the meal. [CANCELED them respectfully. They were kindly removed from our bill.] I had asked for a cup of hot water to make some tea. It never happened.

•Telling customers the excuses:

•Getting our check: no one came to bring the check. I had to go inquire about it, along with a carry-out bag.

•Told that the kitchen was closed: my husband wanted an order of collard greens to go.

As a business owner myself, WE NEVER tell a customer that. We complete the order within our means. [I understand that the restaurant brunch ends at 3pm and shuts down for approximately an hour for the evening dining at 5pm call time. ] collards are on the dining menu and most likely already prepared. She dropped the ball for sure. [ dark colored framed glasses, pulled back ponytail/bun, non melanated, of fuller figure... she never gave her name.]

●that ADDED Gratuity to the bill: this SHOULD NOT be added for a party of 2!! ESPECIALLY IF the service was NOT met or of high quality based on the restaurant advertisement. Honestly, I was ROBBED as knifepoint for a lack thereof service 😕

As a result of my experience, I will not do brunch until I have been informed of better experiences. However; my husband is STILL open to trying the dinner menu in hopes of a more seamless...

Boyfriend’s BUSTED Birthday Dinner

New location, Same Foolishness.

Arrived on time for our 7:30 Saturday reservation and was seated about 5 or so mins after arriving. The waitress promptly took our order, which we gave in its entirety: a cocktail, Pepsi and double shot of D’Usse, cheesesteak beignets for an app, oxtails entree, short ribs and grits entree and a side of collard greens.

The DJ was great, but it’s obvious he’s there to pacify the people. You’re less likely to get too frustrated waiting forever for your food if you’re lulled by good music.

We got our cheesesteak beignets about 40 mins later and our drinks (my cocktail was mediocre) at 9p, only after asking for them a second time (the bar was backed up said the flustered waitress). We were given no refill of water in the meantime as our waitress, one of three, was too preoccupied with the other birthday party she was serving.

We got our entrees at 9:13 (timestamps provided). My boyfriend’s oxtail WERE COLD and unappetizing. My entree was great, although the meat could have been a little more seasoned (they were relying on that watermelon sauce). The collard greens NEVER ARRIVED to our table. It took so long for our food to arrive, we completely forgot about them (I just skimmed and signed my bill). I remembered the next day. After I paid our $202 bill, the owner finally came over and asked us “how was it?”. We responded that our experience wasn’t good due to the excessive waiting, and his cold entree. And again, it was his birthday. She tried to appease us with shots of tequila, not the D’Usse he was drinking. She did not take the oxtails off. And the waitress who was too preoccupied to even give us a second glass of water while we waited an hour for our drinks, got her 20% mandatory gratuity (patrons are not made aware of that beforehand). Such a bust. I could think of a dozen better places from Eddie V’s, Steak 48, and South to Iron Hill Brewery, Redstone and Tierra Columbiana that would have been better money and time spent. 🫠 Severely understaffed, overpriced...

I came for Mother's Day dinner. If I'm being honest, I dreaded coming here after reading the reviews before my reservation. I really didn't want to leave a bad review. Whew... Ok. So it's not ALL bad, but I don't think I'd return. We were seated in a timely manner. The service started off great, but faded away eventually, lol. We got our water, and were never offered refills. She didn't have enough the first time, so my father was left without for a considerable amount of time. I asked for lemons on the side, and those took forever to come out. We asked for enough for the table and received a small amount. We were told they ran out of lemons, and someone had to go into the basement storage to get more. We never got any more lemons. I ordered a drink from the bar, never got it. My mom got a mocktail, and it was very watered down, and didn't taste a darn thing close to how it was listed and described. My family got the shrimp tacos for appetizers, they said they were very good. Only 3 come with this. My sister got the scallops, I can't speak on the taste, but she didn't finish her whole dish. My mom got the smothered turkey wings. Um, they completely missed the mark on the "smothered" part. They send out dry wings with a little dipping side of gravy. The wings were almost tasteless. They only tasted of the charred rosemary on top. The brussel sprouts that came with them were also tasteless. No salt. No pepper. Nothing. My dad got the salmon & it was actually very good, but it's a smaller portion that really should be ordered with a side of you want to be satisfied. I had the jerk turkey burger. It was ok. Nothing to phone home about. The pineapple that was on the burger wasn't ripe, and was hard. The fries were undercooked. It took forever for a box to be brought out to my mother for the remainder of her dish. This place has potential, but they need help. In the kitchen and service wise. The aesthetic is nice, and the DJ did his thing. The location is great as well, they just need...