Soul Food Bistro — Restaurant in Jacksonville

Went there Saturday 12/19/20. Line was socially distant which was good. There was probably 20 people ahead of us give or take. It literally took 45 solid minutes to get to the front of the line to order. That’s completely ridiculous. The food is already made and ready to go, it just has to be scooped into a box. There’s several reasons why the line moves so slowly.

The workers go at one speed. No sense of urgency at all.

The menu board is located behind the workers that put the orders together. They should place one at some place earlier in the line. Like take down that board on the wall that advertises catering and the website and put another menu board there. That way people kind of already have an idea what they want when it comes their turn to order.

The workers let customers get on their cell phones when it comes time to order and customers are calling other friends/family members to see what they want to eat. I know the restaurant has a sign prohibiting this, but they do nothing to enforce it. When a customer does this, they should be skipped and made to re enter the line. It’s not fair to the others that have been waiting a long time.

The workers do nothing to speed up customers through the line. What I mean by that is that the menu really isn’t that big. You pick a meat from a choice of 6 or 7, then two sides from a list of 10. How hard is that? It’s not but you will get a single customer that will be up there for like 10 minutes straight because they are super indecisive and being overly needy when it comes to customizing their order. So everyone else behind that person has to wait. If a customer is taking long, they should be told to stand back and continue serving the rest of the line while the indecisive one makes up their mind. There were a few customers like this when we went, super held up the line.

Food overall is really good, especially the fried chicken. And the fried pork chops. Except them mashed potatoes, they definitely seem like instant ones to me. It’s a soul food bistro where most everything seems to be made from scratch. They’re skimping on those potatoes. Everything else we’ve ever had there has been good.

We have been here several times before. But the wait on this last time was worse than usual. The food is good but when it takes you 45 minutes just to get to the ordering point, for food that’s already pre made, that’s crazy. It almost overshadows the food. By the time you get that good food in front of you, you’re so aggravated by the wait, you almost don’t want to go back. It seems like I’m harping here, but you can go to a steakhouse and order a well done steak and have your whole meal cooked to order and it comes out faster than the wait here. They really gotta get...

Ordered oxtails yesterday the food was so greasy it was like a puddle!!! Of grease! I ate a little bit then had to stop bcos my blood pressure went so high ended up having a horrible night bcos of that. Hopefully I'll get a refund or something. Cos I'm definitely taking this back to them TODAY. I know it's souo food but no reason to be SATURATED IN GREASE! DEFINITELY MADE ME WANNA MAKE MY OWN OXTAILS

UPDATE: I came up around 12noon to return the food and get a refund and to let them know about their food so they don't do it to somebody else. And the man who helped me basically just offered me some more food and I didn't want any more food but I could just feel his energy was like he was not trying to give a refund because common Sense tells you I don't want nothing out your store anymore. I just told you I had a horrible high blood pressure Spike from eating your food no I don't want no more food but I wasn't going to even get into it with him so I took the food. He gave me some baked chicken, a leg, a thigh, and a wing. He didn't even ask me what pieces I wanted cuz I really only eat the breast then he didn't even ask what sides I wanted. He gave me collard greens again and they still look greasy and then he gave me yellow rice(free side with most plates)with gravy on it. So everything you gave me didn't even add up to the 25 plus dollars I spent on an oxtail plate. You didn't really help me so but I guess he attempted to do something and he was cordial. So I guess that's why I'm going to give it two stars one star for the brand in itself because I've been eating here for over 10 years. I was here when this store first opened but as of now this location has went to crap and I will never be eating here ever again because the food is not good like it used to be. Everything is a hit or miss your food might be real good or it might be real bad. I will make my own food at home from now on happily. And the service was good so that's why they got the other star but nah. I'll probably give this plate to a homeless person. Or a dog. N don't get me wrong the flavors are decent but it's not even worth the health risks...

What a great place!! I've been in search of some good southern cooking, and someone who knows how to cook it!! I've found the place here finally!! Great flavor lots of choices and the people were so kind!! 5 out of 5 stars!! Highly recommend!! Also if your looking to dine in they are following all of the guidelines for the coronavirus and have a very large establishment. Also felt led to mention that no matter who you are they make you feel right at home!! Being away from my hometown,... hospitality and food have been challenging and going here was just what the doctor ordered!! As we waited in line which by the way was like out of the door, yet moved at an amazing speed; still super swift service, i kid you not ! With much care and due diligence, not missing a beat, but more importantly than the great food and the great hospitality, as I observed from one person to the next just taking it all in, In this establishment I noted that there were all different types of people from all different walks, yet there we all stood treated fairly and equally so much so that I almost felt as one as we all approached to order, and I say that with a heart full of appreciation because this is exactly how we should be!! Love one another!! You never know who's watching, well God is always watching!! But you never know how you affect others!! God bless you all and especially the Potters house and tremendous staff!! They don't call it soulfood for nothing!! You all touched not only my stomach, but my soul and heart!! Keep doing what your doing!! We will definitely be back!! Aiming to try everything on the menu!! And lastly I thought it important to mention it was so clean you could not only just smell clean but they were constantly cleaning!! And both visits thus far there was even a rep that visited us while waiting in line to meet and greet and make sure everything was going well!! And not just for us but everyone like going to a homecoming!! So welcoming and heart warming!! Looking forward to seeing...