Soul Food Joint — Restaurant in Charlottesville

Very small restaurant. We did enjoy the music like 70-90's R&B. The music was really loud but the owner respected our request to turn it down some. Our table was not clean or the floors. I kicked some food to the side that was there before we sat down. We see so much potential for the place!

The table was wobbly. Nice spot for open mic. The owner was very friendly! He was working alone it seemed. It was nice finding out the history behind the restaurant. We wish them the best! Make soul food proud! You have a gem and your place can be on the map.

Food: the fried deviled eggs were too salty! Like someone took the top off the salt shaker and it all came out. The Mac n cheese was good but some of the cheese was dark and not melted all the way. The fish was good but I had to ask for sauce. I requested tarter sauce. For 3 huge pieces I was given one sauce. The potato salad was good but way too many onions! It overpowered the salad. Certain parts of the fish was salty as well.

Thr cornbread was sweet not overly sweet. But also dry. My dad/myself we make cornbread that is moist (tastes like cake). Our suggestion: have melted butter at the bottom of your pan then add your mixture. That's a game changer. No cornbread should be dry.

Our other dinner: The collards were on point 100%. The baby back ribs weren't really baby back ribs. It was huge dry ribs. Seasoned good, but they were not fall off the bone ribs (he said they were). I tried some and it was tough, not tender, and some parts you couldn't eat. Same for this meal w dry cornbread. We both agreed on that.

The yam they said was good but butter would have been nice to add with that and the cornbread. We walked out paying $56-59. Sad bc we don’t see ourselves returning. We enjoyed eating a meal together. But agreed there was nothing exceptional that would make us return.

They need a menu that is printed up nice and laminated. That looks more professional vs a 8x10 black and white print out. Update table decorations. We hope those things change for the future and...

If you are looking for delicious comfort food, this is the place to go. Between my husband, my son, and myself, we had the ribs, pulled pork, collard greens, candied yams, mac and cheese, friend chicken, with deviled eggs and corn bread for appetizers. The entire meal was incredible. The service was great too. Friendly, informative, and prompt. Go to the Soul Food Joint, you will not be disappointed. If you want to read my more detailed report: They have 15 types of devilled eggs, how cool is that? We tried two versions, and they were both soooo good. The ribs were the best I've ever had--and I've had a lot of ribs. The sauce was amazing and the meat fell off the bone. The pulled pork was delicious. They didn't drench it in sauce like so many places I've been to do. They drizzled sauce over it and gave you some on the side if you wanted more--I appreciated that. The collard greens were so good. Tender, full of flavor, but not any one spice overwhelming the rest (many collard greens I've experienced are super heavy on things like vinegar. Not these though). The candied yams--oh how I could go on about the candied yams. So good. Sweet, but with such a wonderful depth to them. I don't know how they make these, but they need to just keep doing what they're doing because they've got it down spot on. My 3 year old had the fried chicken and mac and cheese. He gobbled down both. It was so nice to have homemade mac and cheese with real cheese. So in conclusion, I loved this place. So did my husband and son. We will be back many more times to enjoy this...

I love this place and hope to see it flourish. The food here is made with love and a reasonable amount of seasoning. I had the fried chicken, with a side of mac n cheese and a corn bread the other day. I watched the owner make the chicken himself with care and attention right in the kitchen, and when he brought it out it tasted better than expected. Even cooking, a good seasoning mix, rich breading that wasn't too greasy. Usually fried chicken gives me heartburn but this batch didn't bother my stomach one bit :-) the Mac n Cheese was also great. Usually mac n cheese at a restaurant tastes mid at best and it's always made with some nasty quality water. The mac at the Soul Food joint was not like that at all- far above the usual standard. The consistency was stellar and the taste matched. The only complaint I have is the corn bread. it was weird! I love cornbread and usually only eat it when it is made at a black owned establishment- that way I can get it like my family used to make it. Well for some reason this cornbread- though it was the easiest dish to make- was overly elaborate and had sweet ginger in it? it was more of a dessert than a side to a savory meal. If I liked ginger maybe I would have been fine but I'm personally not a fan. Couldnt finish it. Aside from that my night eating at this establishment was great. Overall the food was flavorful, atmosphere of the restaurant was lovely, and service was warm and welcoming. I will be...