Next Phaze Cafe — Restaurant in Baltimore

Next Phaze Cafe exceeded all my expectations. I cannot remember the last time I was at a restaurant where they took such pride in their food that the taste, quality, and presentation of the food was absolutely perfect. My party ordered the Catfish Platter, the Caesar Salad with Chicken, the Shrimp Appetizer with French Fries, and some Sweet Potato Pie. All the ingredients were extremely fresh, and the Next Phaze Cafe certainly knows how to work a fryer. The fried items were crispy without being greasy, seasoned very well, and cooked to perfect doneness. The catfish literally melted in my mouth once I crunched through the crispy coating. The collard greens were some of the bests I have ever had. They were extremely tasty and tender without being drowned in liquid. And the macaroni and cheese was to die for. Definitely one of the best macaroni and cheese I have ever had. The creaminess with a variance in textures was lighting up my taste buds. Top it off with some of the moistest cornbread I have ever devoured. The serving portions were perfectly sized, and the high quality of the food definitely deserved the price paid. Of course, there was no way I was going to pass up the sweet potato pie as I am a pie guy, and sweet potato ranks in my top three best type of pies. Three decades ago, I had experienced the best sweet potato pie I have ever had in a soul food place located in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. For three decades, I have searched for a sweet potato pie to match or exceed that one, but I had all about given up hope. Well, my patience and resolution were rewarded with the Next Phaze Cafe's Sweet Potato Pie. I don't know if I was experiencing the perfection of heaven or the temptation of the devil, but either way their sweet potato pie was ecstasy dancing across my tongue. Perfect sweetness, perfect spice, perfect crust, perfect sweet potato taste, perfect texture, perfect creaminess. Just perfect. No better way to have finished the meal. Next Phaze Cafe is a real special diamond of a treasure in Baltimore. If you are an out-of-towner visiting Baltimore like me, I highly recommend you take the opportunity to visit this special place and enjoy what they...

When I say this was my worst restaurant experience as far as service and food I'm not being hyperbolic.

I came in and was seated late even after making a reservation. Then after being seated and ordering, I waited almost an hour for my food. The fish was not seasoned and in some sections tasted like dishwater. The mimosas were terrible and served in a flute not much bigger than a shot glass. While we're on that topic, I ordered unlimited mimosas but since the waitress couldn't bother to get to my table in time I only got two. The 2nd of which I had to ask for three times before she bought it around!

If you order the catfish you get two sides. Well the best thing about this place I learned was the cornbread so after eating the complimentary cornbread I decided to order another helping as a side to my catfish. The cornbread is listed as a side you can either order with your meal or pay for separately. Despite this fact, the waitress told me you could NOT order the cornbread as a side. I pointed out to her that it is listed as a side on the menu but she was undeterred. She stated she would bring the manager to me to "explain how the cornbread works" even though at that point I was nonplussed and decided to order a different side.

I have never seen a manager have to come to so many tables and comp so many meals during a dining experience. This was terrible. He never visited my table mind you as I'm assuming he showed the waitress the menu did in fact include the cornbread as a side and I was given what I requested free of charge. Despite what you may hear about this place STEER CLEAR. There are plenty of other dining experiences in the area and even the most mediocre ones are...

This was my first time experiencing this restaurant. I came on a Friday where they had live music.. let me say this I WISH I WOULD OF BEEN CAME HERE BECAUSE I FEEL LIKE I BEEN MISSING OUT. The food 10/10. I had the fried catfish, collard greens, and the Mac n cheese. When I say I want soul food. This is what I mean if it doesn't have flavor and taste fresh like this I don't want it. My husband got the Buffalo wings which he loved as well..

Let's get into next the live music.. 10/10. I love me some live music. The saxophone man was getting it playing some good R&B hits and than you had the piano, guitar, and the drums going in as well.. the music just topped the experience off because I was not expecting such an amazing experience like this.. the crowd is an older crowd which I also loved because everybody was having a good time with good energy in the room!

Now let's get into the drinks and the bartender and waitress who we had.. when you go ask for Jumannah. She is going to get you right and me saying the word right is an understatement. She went above and beyond to make me and my husband first time experience AMAZING AND ENJOYABLE. She treated us like family. Her warm personality and her attentiveness gave excellent customer service. And not to mention the drinks were sooooo good. I didn't want anything too strong for my alcoholic drink and she delivered! She will GET YOU RIGHT! DON'T JUST TAKE MY WORD ON MY LONG REVIEW GO SEE FOR YOURSELF. TRUST ME WHEN I TAKE TIME TO WRITE A GOOD REVIEW. I DON'T JUST SAY STUFF. I WANT YOU TO GET THE SAME EXPERIENCE IF NOT BETTER THAT I HAD. NEXT PHAZE IS NOW ONE OF MY FAV. RESTAURANTS I...