Royal Bar & Grill — Restaurant in Albany

If you are looking for Nick's Soul Food, then you've found his new place. The well-known food truck proprietor who used to park at Two Towns near Corvallis, has moved his Southern fare into this Albany bar.

Photos aren't great because we started digging in before I thought to take them!

I'm a 20-year transplant from Nick's hometown in Alabama and his food is as close you will get to real Southern soul food anywhere nearby. This is not the upscaled type of Southern restaurant you'll find in PDX. Nope, this is much more like the real thing.

We've had two meals here so far. First time was take out and we got a po' boy. If you are looking for authentic po' boy sandwiches then go for the soft-shell crab one. It's like a Southern version of a sushi spider roll. Nick makes his with real Maryland blue crab, not the smaller Asian crabs. It's perfectly breaded and seasoned on an authentic soft roll.

The second time we stopped by on a Wednesday night. Our party of four ordered oyster shooters (yum!), deep fried deviled eggs (decadent), shrimp and grits (real unpeeling shrimp), red beans and rice, a fried catfish po' boy, and the daily special deep fried pork chop plate with braised collard greens and cheese grits.

The high points were definitely the oysters, catfish and (surprisingly) the pork chop, which was sweet, cooked perfectly and an unexpected treat.

Down the road it would be great to see more Southern classics, especially for sides. I'm thinking cornbread, butter beans, fried okra, black-eyed peas, squash casserole, etc. Since we visited only a few days after they opened I suspect they were still getting used to the new kitchen and space.

I gave the atmosphere a knock because the large windows made the place pretty chilly on the cold, stormy night when we visited. But we're looking forward to coming back as this new restaurant continues its transformation from local bar to family-friendly, unpretentious eatery. Nick's friendly service is an...

I'm really disappointed. I grew up in the South and I was very excited to try the Soul Food. When I came in, there were two couples already eating and a single male patron already with a drink. The waitress looked at me like I wasn't supposed to be there when I came in and said nothing to me. So I sat at a table and waited since I didn't see any menus anywhere. She checked on every one in the bar multiple times and spent at least 5 minutes flirting with the single male patron at the bar before finally coming over. She gave me a paper menu (which is fine), but then she simply told me "Come to the bar when you're ready to order". I used to be waitress at a bar similar to this and at the very least, you introduce yourself and ask if they would like a drink. None of that, and she wasn't wearing a name tag either so idk her name. I went up to order, and she continued to flirt with the same patron for a few minutes before loudly sighing and coming over to take my order. I went simple: Fish n chips and a diet coke. Cost me $16 total. I paid and went and sat back down. The cook was standing at the bar chatting at this time and went in the back and started my food. But he kept coming back out to the bar and touching things with his food prep gloves on and going back and forth from the kitchen. Then when my food finally came out, it smelled amazing, but when I broke the fish open, it was overcooked, and almost entirely breading. I ate my rather disappointing Soul(less) food and went to leave. Every other patron that had come in or left so far had been an obvious regular and had been greeted upon entering and exiting, but I was completely ignored. I only came to try this place cz my parents know the owner and it's relatively close by, but I will not be returning. I took photos but Google won't let me add them...

I truly was excited to dine here after hearing about it through word of mouth. Atmosphere seemed inviting at first until the service was upsetting. Being ignored and waiting to be greeted was not a good start. After being greeted, by my seemingly over-interested flirtatious server who put her interest into male patrons at the bar instead of new customers, I felt uninvited and unwanted. It wasn't busy by any means, and her direction and attention to the few customers there was not what I would want if I was trying to establish my new business footing. The reputation of the company seems tainted by the service provided by this individual. If you happen to pop into this place to try it, avoid if you can, a dark straight-haired girl with dark eye shadow. She does not have the restaurants best interest for prosperity. I believe this company has potential, but the service is the face of the company. BEING IGNORED is the biggest regret walking into here. Flirting to gets tips is selflessness to a company, but understandable in self interest. The food was wishful thinking and mediocre, I didn't expect such small quantities for such a price even with inflation a matter. Southern comfort was not felt by the food, the atmosphere, and especially...