Thelma’s Soul Food Restaurant & Bar — Restaurant in Bridgeport

Visited for the first time during a birthday brunch party over the weekend. A lot of pros here, but there were a few cons for me. There is ample street parking with the court house and other corporate businesses closed, awesome 5/5. Fairly spacious, bright/well lit and well decorated space, not a dark dungeon like some establishments. Multiple flat screens, although some were off, 4/5. There was a live DJ playing a great selection of new and old classics of various genres and eras. Music wasn't overly loud either, great for casual conversation, 5/5. The group/party I was with had sangria and mimosa pitchers. We ordered bespoke drinks also, they were well made and pretty stiff. You get your monies worth here, 5/5. The food wait was a bit long, but the place was filling up with other groups. Great portion size, hot and freshly made. Price point was very fair as well, 4/5 here and I would love to visit again to try other menu items. The bathrooms are single person but separate women's and men's. Both were clean and well stocked as my girlfriend and I used them before leaving. 5/5. There are areas that have hanging canvas artwork but, some of the tables/chairs are overly close to them sadly and we feared some would fall if bumped/brushed against, 3/5 for the danger & lawsuit factor here. There was some sort of door security, but the gentleman they had was not attentive and did not "look" physically capable of stopping any sort of altercation/circumstance that could arise, 2/5. Safety is always a priority. Another circumstance that was a bit concerning was the fact they did not check or confirm vaccination status. The majority of the staffers/hostesses and DJ were not masked the entire time. There was no sort of proper ventilation except patrons entering and leaving the main entrance and you getting a gust of fresh air, easily a 2/5 because of this with the lingering covid concerns.. Overall the experience at Miss Thelma's was great with a warm, inviting vibe and a delicious southern inspired soul food...

I could swear I wrote a review for Thelmas a couple years ago, maybe 2022. But anyhoo, I'll rewrite best i can and add pictures later (if there is a later).I went for my sister's birthday. We had a couple tables. I got there on time (she had reservations), but of course the rest of the party were on CPT. so I was seated and I recall sitting there for a good 25mins, and never even asked if I wanted a glass of water. Nothing. Like i wasnt even there. That really bothered me. I left bc the party still wasn't there and I felt awkward. So anyway I came back when my sister finally texted me she was there. We sat in a different spot then where I was seated earlier. I ordered a drink. The music was so loud, we couldn't hear anything the waitress was saying, much less the people at my table. For people who like to dance ave such, I guess that's fun. For me, I prefer a place I can hold conversation at a decent volume and enjoy my meal. I ordered collard greens, cornbread and macaroni. I engender sleuthing that the collard greens were fire. But unfortunately that was about it. The cornbread was dry. The Mac was too... tasted like they'd made it earlier in the week and just reheated it, but didn't add more milk or cheese to moisten it up or anything. Very disappointing. As a vegetarian, I normal like to just order sides. And not often are there places that serve soulfood. So I was looking fwd to these sides. A lot at the table wasn't too happy with their food. Only my cousins that ordered some kind of taco seemed content. Anyway, I got my bill and, it was late December, so I tipped the bill. The waitress was shocked.i hope, if nothing else, they don't completely ignore someone again bc you never know how generous a person can be. That all being said, it seems this place is hit or miss with the food. I recently went back 2024 for a friend's birthday. I didn't order anything bc I was just popping in and headed to arena. But the service we had was stellar. So again, I guess even the service is...

I came here yesterday with my gf for the first time after hearing about the food for years. First and foremost, there was no sign indicating the business on the outside. Secondly, as soon as we stepped foot in the establishment the server barely greeted us and told us there were no tables available (there was a party of atleast 12 in attendance) for about 30 minutes and then asked us if we’d like to sit at the bar. After declining the bar, magically a table for two is available.

We sat there at the table for atleast 30 minutes and were only brought water while the server was running around like a chicken with its head cut off. We’re about 45 minutes in at this point and our orders are finally put in. We kept it simple and ordered chicken and waffles and chicken and french toast. It doesn’t get any simpler than that. Mind you the bartender has served us our craft a few minutes after the server took our order.

Over an hour has passed and the food still hasn’t been served to us. She finally gives us utensils after an hour and didn’t refill our waters once. Another thing that she kept doing that was aggravating was notifying us every 10 minutes that the food was almost done and it never came. So here we are sitting at the table an entire HOUR AND A HALF later, no food and loaded off of the $40 craft that we bought.

We respectfully called the server/bartender over, asked for the meal to be canceled and the drink tab to be closed. We paid and left as a another couple was being seated right next to where we were. There was not an ounce of remorse in anyones face for the terrible service that we got, not an apology, nothing and we will not be returning.We’ve supported multiple black owned businesses and this by far was the worst experience.

Maybe if the owners fixated on the actual service being good and not the restaurant having a club aesthetic in there then maybe they’d get better reviews in return. I would’ve ranked them zero stars if i could. DO...