Black-Eyed Sally's Southern Kitchen & Bar — Restaurant in Hartford

(Last visited 7/29/2021.) As a very popular and local favorite I've been to this place a couple of times, but have never gotten around to doing an actual Yelp review! Shame on me. Well, now it's time!

Atmosphere/Appearance: Set right downtown Hartford on Asylum Street is this gem. It's located underneath the awesome Pig's Eye Pub and has a very casual, yet, upscale feel to it. There's red everywhere, dark woods, high ceilings, great music and a lot of room. There's like 3 separate dining areas and even a place for live music. I haven't seen a show here in quite a while, but it's such a good time when they get a good jazz band in here.

Service: Daria took good care of us! She was fast and made sure that we had everything that we needed.

Food: So on this visit I got to try out their wings and their blackened catfish. Let's discuss the wings! The Buffalo flavor was so Heavenly. They tasted like they were smoked then fried. They were so tender, juicy and with great flavor. I could've totally grabbed some of the other flavors and made a meal out of it. Boom. For my entrée I went for the Blackened Catfish and this is a dish I normally wouldn't go for. I've been trying to expand my horizons and eat OTHER things aside from wings all the time. Lol. This catfish was delicious. It was nicely salted, with incredibly rich, deep flavor that just touched my soul. It was amazing. With the catfish comes cheesy grits & garlicky green beans. Just the best freaking side-dishes to complement the main.

Value: So for $12.95 you get 8 wings and I think that's fairly decent. They're of good size, incredibly flavor and the quality is just next level. My catfish dinner was $17.95 and that's very good in my opinion. It's a filling dinner with great flavors and I mean, what more could you want?!

In conclusion, this place is awesome and there's a reason it's been around for so many years. Check this place out if you're in the area! There's so much that they have to offer.

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Terrific Experience! Your belly, ears and ego will be treated properly!

It’s about the food and the food is terrific – if southern comfort food is on your radar screen.

Homemade feel and taste. Decorated in an organized, cluttery way that can start a conversation with ease – mostly music decor, a nod to boxing, props to the USA and a clear focus-on trailblazers from the south. Southern charm kicks-in from the time you enter to the time you leave.

We started with ice cold waters and some corn bread. The corn bread is what you expect with a pleasant vanilla cake flavor that rolls around your mouth. Borderline decadent.

The fried okra is fried whole, which I like, others prefer coins. To each their own as this okra and fried pickle coins slap with flavor and a house dipping sauce that is French or Catalina in taste.

Our platters included the Low Country Shrimp and Grits which is sautéed Gulf shrimp served over creamy cheddar cheese grits with bits of Andouille sausage. Amazing!

Next was the Southern fried chicken. Buttermilk brined bone-in chicken served with mac and cheese and collard greens – proper, salty (not sweet) collards. With a variety of hot sauces available, I went with Crystal poured on the greens. A trip down flavor lane.

Finally, the hungriest had the combo of Ribs, Chicken & Brisket. This platter came with a side of red beans and rice, and Sally's slaw. Ribs slid easily off the bone, and the brisket melted in your mouth. Two BBQ sauces were on the table, a sweeter one and a spicy/vinegar (Carolina Style) one. Both were good.

We finished with the Bourbon Pecan Pie Tart that was topped with vanilla ice cream. We were stuffed and smiling.

The dessert was enjoyed on jazz night where local and regional folks do a little friendly competition on stage. Enjoyable! It was our understanding that the winner at the end of the year or month (?) gets a trip to Nashville, TN to compete and maybe become a star. It’s very cool to catch a glimpse of this.

Menu has much, much more to offer – which will keep y’all coming back!

This is on our must...

Black-Eyed Sally's is a BBQ and southern cooking restaurant that has been operating for two decades in an 100 year old building. The decor was bright and soulful; there were paintings of artists, folk art, and blues memorabilia on the walls. They also have live music; the genre of music they host are jazz, blues, and rock.

My family and I actually stumbled upon this after exploring Hartford. We were lured by the music and bright colors. We were seated and a waitress came by to take our orders. The restaurant was packed and spacious. I ordered a Sally's Hurricane drink; it had passion fruit and 4 different rums; this drink was so good! It reminded me of a scorpion bowl.

First off, I wanted everything on the menu, it was so hard to decide. For my meal, I got the low country shrimp and grits; it had 7 sauteed jumbo shrimp over cheddar cheese grits with small bits of andouille sausage. One word, AMAZING. The shrimps were fresh and I loved the sausage and green pepper combo in the grits. It also came with corn bread and sweet butter. My child had Mac and cheese, which was delicious. My husband was not hungry so he ordered a dessert, the chocolate brownie mousse cake. Every was delicious!

It would've have been 5 stars but our server was just okay. She was missing for a while when we wanted to ask for the check and to go boxes; she also forgot our child's straw, which I got up to the bar to get myself. Also, when we asked what types of juices they got, she responded with a snarky "everything?". Other than that, the food and ambiance was great. I look forward to going back to try out their other...