J. Rucker's House of Soul — Restaurant in Ponchatoula

When we arrived, the restaurant was pretty empty so we were happy we got there before the crowd (that we thought would be coming for dinner time). We were seated immediately but it was about 10 mins before we saw a waiter and when we did, it was a fly by and we told him we hadn’t been waited on yet. He said he was not a waiter and that he would get one for us. After a couple mins, he came back as our waiter. We ordered our drinks, appetizers, and our dinner for 3 all at one time since we had ample time to look over the menu during our wait. After ordering, we got our drinks but we waited another 25 mins to then only receive a salad, no appetizers! This was the salad that was supposed to come right before our meal! After waiting another 20 mins after the salad, we finally got our 2 appetizers which were awesome!! But, I was also told at this moment, 45 mins after we made our original order, that they were out of red beans and rice, which is what I ordered for my entrée. Now, we arrived there for dinner at about 6:30 pm; with hardly any people there; how in the hell did the run out of red beans and rice unless they never cooked them!! So, at this point I have to change my order. After another 15 mins, and yes we were looking at the clock because we were starving and tired of waiting, the waiter comes back to tell us that they are out of mac and cheese, which was the side dish that both my husband and friend had ordered. So now it’s been an hour and 10 mins and we have had a Sid salad and all shared 2 appetizers. It’s a good thing we splurged and bought 2! Oh, and the waiter said they are just now dropping the fried ribs in the grease. After hearing this, and the couple next to us complaining about being there for over a hour and they still hadn’t gotten their appetizer, we decided to leave. We told them to give our food to someone else who is waiting. All in all, the staff stayed very polite during the whole ordeal and the appetizers were amazing. I have no doubt that the food would have been awesome but, Jonathan Rucker needs to get his but down there and run his business properly because this was a Saturday night and no one will ever get to know how good the food is if they are...

This was my first time visiting J Rucker's, it was nothing like the negative reviews I've seen. From what I was told it is under new management. I really enjoyed the service and the food. You would rarely find a restaurant that say they're "Soul Food". The food taste like a "Southern Home Cooked" meal. Nothing (Macaroni cheese, Sweet Potatoes, Collard Greens, Fried Okra) taste like it was out of a can or bag. Flavor was tasty and portion was just right for its price. Not to forget the smothrred baked chicken & rice and Seafood dinner - seasoned fried catfish (not smushy or fatty) & shrimp. We couldn't eat it all. Thumbs up 👍 to the cooks, bartender, waitress, hostess,and everyone that came to check-in on us. It is a nice southern touch venue that is great for an event, party, mini- concert, etc. Whatever the y'all did tonight, keep it up. Enjoyed everything,even the music. Need a live band or...

Went to J Ruckers On a Sunday With A Party of 9. Our waiter named Shelby was VERY PATIENT AND HUMBLE even when our party wasn’t the nicest. Me and my wife ordered the seafood platter together and decided to split it down the middle. It came with two soft shell crabs (which we don’t eat), but we were able to switch it out for more catfish and shrimp. It was a VERY generous amount of food, and the Mac and cheese sounded like a honeymoon getaway lol. The only downfall was the drink selection. We got the opportunity to speak with the owner, Who’s very kind and respectable BTW. He informed us that the deliveries were delayed due to a hurricane that was suppose to come our way. Other than that, the experience was great. The setting was very chill, and welcoming. Would definitely refer to Any and Everyone....