Suya Parlor — Restaurant in Huntsville

TLDR: the people are kind, the food is good, they are way underprepared for their viral fame, they need more hands in the kitchen and seats for the guests. If you go now, you’ll probably wait way too long.

I was SO excited to try this place, and the food was good, and the people very kind, so this was a really hard review to write.

This restaurant went somewhat viral in a TikTok posted 8/13, where a Huntsville guy tried them out and raved about it, and I think they have struggled since then. If you look back, there were no negative reviews about long wait times before that timeframe. I suspect they weren’t at all prepared to become a sensation overnight, and are a bit of victims of their own success.

The food wasn’t without room for improvement but it was genuinely good. I could eat the beef meat pies all day every day. Asun (goat meat) and Suya (beef—very spicy!) were excellent.

However, we waited 15 minutes at least just to place our order, then were told it would be a 45 minute wait on food. Not ideal but I know Nigerian food often takes time and I was really excited. It actually took an hour and 10 minutes, meaning we were there for 1 hour 25 minutes.

There is only one 8x11 paper laminated menu that had to be passed around, no tables or chairs (only one short bar seating that had 2-3 chairs), and about 10-15 people standing, waiting an hour+ for food. The lights weren’t even on in the area I suspect they mean to make a dining area, or in the bathrooms.

I also want to verify the experience of the prior 1 star review from Stacey— I don’t know her, but she was in line ahead of me, waiting at the front counter, for 15-20 minutes that I was there. She told me she had a pickup order and was waiting understandably frustrated that she hadn’t even been able to say she just needed her order. When the time came to tell the cashier, she said “oh, your order just came through! I’ll approve it now and send it to the kitchen to be made”. It was clear that this customer had NOT just placed that order as she’d been waiting with me to pick up the whole time...

There is quite the lack of seating with only a small bar and 3 stools available, so I wouldn't plan to sit down and eat unless you happen to arrive at a calm time like I did.

Other than that however, everything is absolutely wonderful. Staff are friendly and frequently check on you if they have the ability to do so. Atmosphere is simple bit nice, with a sort of brown and orange theme, clean environment, smells of the food, and Afrobeats playing from a TV behind the counter.

And the food itself is perfect for me. I got Egusi and Pounded Yam, Suya ( that I took from my friends plate), meatpie, plantain , puff puff, and malt. And the only complaint I can think about any of it is that I finished my yam before I finished my soup. The serving sizes are good, the flavour is wonderful, and it is well priced, with everything I have just mentioned (minus the suya I took from my friends plate) going for just north of 30 bucks. So a normal meal and drink should probably cost you...

I places my order in toast 30 minutes prior to my arrival. When I got there there was not a soul in the front. I waited 20 minutes for the girl to come back to the front to let her know I had a to go order. There were 4 people in front of me also waiting. She never got to me before going back to the kitchen. About 15 minutes later I finally was able to speak to her. She said my order had to be approved, then they would make it. It had already been an hour. I was patient. I waited. 30 minutes later she says my wings are in the oil. 20 minutes later.... I'm still waiting. At that point my patience was gone. I waited 15 minutes for the girl to come back to the front to cancel my order. She said the food was about ready now. At that point, I wasn't even hungry anymore. I just canceled and left. Hopefully I'll get my money back from toast. I'll never try to patron this...