Minnie Lee's Soul Food Diner — Restaurant in Decatur

I have been trying to find a "meat and 3" type restaurant for a long time. When you eat out alot it's tiresome having hamburgers, tacos, chicken, pizza, etc. Even the bigger restaurants like Mexican, sushi, steakhouses, Italian, Asian cuisine, BBQ, Chinese, French, or Seafood all get old after awhile. The closest I have seen that actually have more vegetables than potatoes is Cracker Barrel but it's always the same. I just wanted some really good down home cooking.

I came across this place from looking up food places near me after a dr appointment in Decatur and it just happened to be up at the next red light. So I told my son to pull the car in and let's see. As others have mentioned from 1st looks the parking lot really didn't have alot of cars but I took it was because we were there at an odd hour. They aren't like most places that open only for breakfast, lunch, supper closing in between times. They are open all day so there are plenty of people that can go in and out without the stress of trying to grab something between 11-2 like other "meat and 3" seem to be and waiting with large crowds for mediocre food is what you get at those places.

The food is wonderful. The 1st time I got the fried pork chops, fried potatoes, and cabbage with corn bread. They offer 2 kinds of cornbread and I told her I didn't know the difference so she gave me some of both to try! Both were delicious. My son got chicken, cabbage, macaroni and cheese, and (turnip/,collard)greens and we both loved it all.

It's now the place we go anytime we are in Decatur on that side of town. I think I have tried everything they've had so far except the pot roast and salmon patties (that's right they have the kind grandma used to make and I've never heard of ANY other restaurant making them) but those are usually sold on Sundays she said. It's just comfort food at its best and honestly where else can you even find food like fried potatoes etc anymore. The sweet tea is good but the last time I got lemonade by accident (I grabbed my kids cup) and it's the best I've ever had! I don't even like lemonade so the kids thought it was funny.

I will admit that I haven't been out to one in a VERY long time and wasn't expecting the price but the last I'd been in like this was 10-15 years ago and it was like $7 then 😂 so my son laughed at the face I made when I said mama needs to get out more. The sides of meat range from $6 to $8 with sides of vegetables being $5 to $7 I think. The meat and 2 is $15 and meat and 3 is $18 I believe. However it is worth it because the food is great and the portions are enough that I split for lunch and supper.

Take the time to visit here. If you like home cooking this is the place for you. It reminds me of a place called M&M soul food that used to be in downtown Courtland. The staff has always been extremely nice and I've gotten to know the cook and she's a sweetheart...

My mom and I visited Minnie Lee's yesterday to give them a try while we were in Decatur. It's yummy - a good option for soul food!

This restaurant is across the street from the fairly popular Francesco's Italian restaurant. Having been there before, I didn't have any troubles locating this place. The parking lot is a little rugged in spots but at least there's plenty of space.

The inside is a little sparse but there's ample seating and some kind of cool drawings hanging on the walls. A portrait of who I can only assume to be Minnie Lee is near the entrance.

Food is served cafeteria style by some very nice people. Seriously, the service was so warm and sweet. We felt very welcomed there.

We both decided on fried chicken for lunch. My mom got the last breast from the batch so I wound up with a thigh, which isn't my favorite piece but I still like it okay. You can have more than two sides if you wish, but we didn't. I chose yams and fried potatoes as mine, while my mom got yams and cabbage. Note that their cabbage is cooked with sausage. For bread, they offered standard cornbread muffins or hot water cornbread, which the friendly staff recommended (good choice!). We both opted for sweet tea to drink. I'm not sure of the price because of course my mom snuck in and paid for both of our meals before I could notice! Lol.

We found a clean booth and dug in quickly. Overall, the food was pretty good! This isn't necessarily a new favorite soul food place for me, but I'd definitely come back.

The best item was honestly the cabbage! My mom let me taste a bite. So flavorful and perfect texture. This is real, southern-style cabbage (which is to say, probably not great for you...but quite tasty!). The hot water cornbread was also really good. It's different than the hot water cornbread I've had in the past; this version was very crispy on the outside with super soft, almost gooey, corny inside. It was yummy.

The yams were also solid! Not the best I've ever had (flavor kind of one-note), but they were sweet and soft.

The fried potatoes and fried chicken were both just okay. The fried potatoes weren't super hot or crispy, but the added flavor from the onions was nice. The fried chicken's breading was crispy and flavorful enough, but the meat, even on the thigh, was a bit dry. Neither were bad, but if I return in the future, I'd probably try something else first.

We were too full for dessert, but they had pecan pie and banana pudding on display.

Overall, lovely service and tasty food make this a solid option...

We dined here while visiting from out of state. The food was delicious and well proportioned. I gave this review based on the fact that this business had a strange way of running. Again, the food was delicious BUT there is no menu, no prices listed anywhere for anything. This is a hot bar plate type place where what you see is what’s available. The lady at the counter however, did put things on the plate that were declined and placed anyway. More than one item. Come time to pay there’s no bill, no receipt and nothing to say why your total is your total. The lady just stand there and calculates in her head and runs your card. Strangely, I noticed that people coming in and eating the exact same things had different and much lower totals and I do believe we were charged more than everyone else coming in for whatever reason that lady decided. The food is worth it, but I’d ask the price beforehand if it matters to you and DEFINITELY decline anything extra they try to put...