Smellys Creole Catering LLC. — Restaurant in Oakland

Sooooo I want to see this restaurant win! It's a tough business and it's hard to get everything right but it's necessary to keep the doors open in this competitive East Bay restaurant market. That said, I will admit I have rated Smelly's more generously than I do normally. Considering the exceptional deal we received for Oakland's Restaurant week, the food was great for the price. Who gets a whole crab, blackened shrimp and garlic noodles for $60! That's totally unheard of! I also ordered a side wings that were absolutely delicious! I had to toss my napkin to the side and lick my fingers to make sure I didn't miss any of that phenomenal flavor! While the crab was covered in garlic and butter the flavor was just OK but the garlic noodles were a great consistency and had a good amount of garlic and some other ingredients that made me turn into a magician who made them disappear! The blackened shrimp was so yummy! As far as atmosphere, well, the day I was there it was comfortable to me as an African American women because I could fully relate to the cultural dynamics of a large group of women singing along with most of the music that was played lounder than you will find in any other restaurant. I found their singing to be lighthearted and uplifting. The party atmosphere of Smelly's was wonderful - for me. They can use some more sturdy tables as they are a bit cheap feeling and light weight but perhaps they need something light since they are there only about 4 days a week and maybe they need something easy to move around but they should invest in something more substantial. The host was so sweet and super attentive! I felt she took each person's comfort and food delivery personally. Now, about the "food delivery" it took about 45 minutes before we got our food after we ordered it. Maybe this was due to the $60 deal that day. I will go back and update my post if it changes. I only saw a few people leave but all who sat down waited for that super priced meal and it was worth the wait. I look forward to ordering other items from Smelly's and sharing my experience in the near future. Sorry my pics were not available since I attacked my food before taking pics. These are from their site but look almost identical to...

First, I look forward to dining here at Smelly's Creole Catering again. This is my 1st trip to Oakland and I wanted something quintessential (Black) Oakland.

I found Chef Smelly, and by extension his staff, to be pleasant, open-minded, considerate, fair, accommodating, and customer-centered. I had a slight issue with my food and brought it to the attention of his staff. Within a few minutes, Chef was there to inquire and remedy the situation. And, that's when I knew that I'd return again.

I really enjoyed the garlic noodles. Apparently, it's somewhat of an Oakland thing. I would definitely order those again.

I especially enjoyed the collard greens (made with turkey). So much so, I drank the potlikka (IYKYK) out the bowl once I was done eating. I'd absolutely order that again.

I thought the macaroni and cheese was good, but mine came out a little more on the lukewarm, not hot, temperature side.

I liked the taste of the sweet potatoes, but the texture was a little soft for my preference.

The only thing I didn't care for was the fried salmon bites. Salmon is one of my favorite types of fish, and the one I eat most frequently. Admittedly, I've never had it fried -- mostly because I just don't understand why folks want to fry it. BUT, I REALLY WANTED to like this one a lot. I didn't. It was rather bland for my taste. Next time, though, I would try the blackened salmon.

Overall, this was a good experience. Our party arrived about 7:30p on a Thursday. It was a pretty packed house, but there was no wait for us to be seated (party of 4). The music was on point; and, the DJ was playing my favorite Marvin Gaye song (Got to Give It Up) when we walked in. Smelly's has great ambiance. The staff was attentive, particularly our server Victor. I would definitely recommend the place, and plan to patronize again upon my next visit to Oakland.

If you haven't already, check it out!

~ Rukiya...

I first heard about this place on Instagram, and a friend brought me here about a year ago. I loved the food then, so I decided to come back to celebrate my 33rd birthday. Since I didn’t make a reservation, I ended up sitting at the bar. Despite that, I really enjoyed the food, which made me want to return again. I even thought about bringing my sister here for her 43rd birthday.

At first, when I arrived without a reservation, one of the hostesses at the front was rude, but she eventually became nicer, which encouraged me to give the place another chance. So, for my sister’s birthday, I made sure to reserve a table in advance—three weeks early, to be exact. I also emailed Chef Smelly to let him know about the reservation.

On the day of the reservation, we arrived at 7:15 p.m. for our 7:30 reservation, but we weren’t seated until 8:15. We didn’t get our food until 10 p.m., and we were the last ones to be served. As we ate, staff members were cleaning up and preparing for the nightclub that the venue transitions into, which made the experience feel rushed and uncomfortable.

We were seated in a corner, and honestly, I felt like we were treated differently because we are Hispanic. It seemed like we weren’t given the same level of service as others, which was disappointing. In this day and age, it’s upsetting to feel like we weren’t treated equally due to our race.

That said, the food was still fantastic, so whoever is in the kitchen, keep up the great work. However, the service needs a lot of improvement. I’d like to come back , but not anytime soon hopefully when I decide to give it a try again they take these reviews into consideration some of us drive over an hour . Kindly...