Dakari Soul Food — Restaurant in Maryland

This is an updated review

...I decided to stop by to pick up dinner. I was greeted at the door and asked for my phone number for my order. The guy said, "You've been here before, so I'm going to give you a free drink." Thanks for coming back. That was a kind gesture, I ordered catfish, and it comes with 2 sides. I asked for greens and mac and cheese. He said your order will take a few minutes we cook it fresh. He offered to bring the food out to my car and I said ok. Their website says that meal is $16.99 but in the store it came to $24+ I mentioned this to the young man who brought my food out to the car who was different from the guy that took my order. He said the owner was right there in her car, and he would let her know. I got home, and I knew from the look of the food it wasn't going to be good soul food. This place is a hit or miss to me. It has honestly been more of a miss than a hit. I am not sure how old the greens were, and the turkey meat in them looked funny. I cook my own fresh greens and have eaten them in other places so I know what they should look like and I know when they're old. The mac and cheese was ok, the fish didn't taste right and it wasn't cooked properly. The cornbread was hard and stale. It crumbled as soon as I got opened it. It tasted stale. I've never owned my own restaurant, but I am sure it's not easy to please all customers all the time. I just believe that if you can't serve the quality and quantity you would desire to eat, then don't serve it at all. I prefer to be told we are out of this at the time. Is there something else that piques your interest today.

The food was hot, but the overall taste was not good at all. I write reviews because I read them, and I want to be fair and honest. I've ordered from Dakari's quite a few times because I genuinely want to support a local and black owned business. Unfortunately, the food is just not that good, in my opinion. Maybe I am not ordering a dish that they have perfected, but I don't think I'm going back. I threw away most of it because it just didn't taste right, and I started to feel sick. $24+ in the trash. I wanted this to be an awesome review.

I gave it 3 stars on my first visit, which was a few months after they opened. It's...

I would give a 0 if I could. Eat there if you want but don’t expect any customer service with it. I drove an hour to go to this place for chicken cheesesteaks. To begin I was told 15-20 min for my food, I arrived in 20 & the cheesesteaks we’re done but sat in a bag while I waited another 15 for the wings they hadn’t even started making. Not only did they not give me beef cheesesteaks instead, but they told me I had to bring the cheesesteaks all the way back for anything to be done. My receipt said chicken and the young lady at the register repeated my order but yet they still said store policy allows them to do nothing unless the food is brought back. I think it’s crazy they want food back to fix a mistake THEY made. We’re in the middle of a pandemic & the fact that they told me to hold on to the food they messed up and bring it back when I said I would not be returning to that area for another 2 weeks is absolutely disgusting & makes me wonder how sanitary they really are because what will be done with that food 2 weeks later? In addition, they couldn’t even admit to the mistake, I had one person tell me I ordered wrong except the receipt matched what I ordered perfectly, & I had one employee tell me the printer “printed it out wrong”& the person responding on the google review still couldn’t apologize. I’m usually really good about things like this & I know mistakes happen and would have had no problem returning the food(even though still a big inconvenience) but I live in an hour away. & refuse to hold onto food for god only knows how long. Bottom line, how can you be a place of business but absolutely no way to accommodate your customers. I’m disgusted & it’s sad people think their food without even a little customer service can make a business. I did not want anything for free or any money back, all I requested is that the next time we return I would be able to get the food I was deserved & even that was too...

When I walked into Dakari's, the aroma was amazing. The computerized menu was eye-catching and it's pictures made my mouth water. The young cashier was very polite. I paid for my food and tipped them $2. Bought drinks in a separate transaction and tipped another $2. Unfortunately, that is where the pleasant part of my experience ended.

I ordered the oxtails, rice and peas, cabbage and corn. I watched the employee come from the walk-in refrigerator with a take out container filled with cold oxtails and place it near the microwave. That was the first red flag, but I decided it wasn't a deal breaker and waited until I tasted the food.

The container came to me hot, but when I took a bite of the oxtails it was still cold in the middle. I could have looked past this if they were flavorful and delicious, but the gravy was salty and poorly seasoned.

When I brought the food to the counter and told the man why I did not want it, he seemed annoyed and responded, "Did you you want something else?-- Because I don't give refunds." No apology, no concern for the lack of care they took in reheating the cold food they served me. And I had never left the restaurant with the food.

I decided not to argue with the man and chose another item that was two dollars less than what I'd ordered.

Customers have full view of the kitchen from the stools and table directly across from the front counter. The man then asked me and my friend to go away from the counter where we had been standing for the past 15-20 minutes.

It made me uncomfortable that after I complained we were not allowed to see our food being prepared, but before there was no issue with us standing there.

I decided to take my drinks and leave without any of the food I paid for. I had lost all trust in their food and practices.

A bit of good customer service could have remedied the whole situation. I will not be returning and will not recommend this...