Louisiana Heaven — Restaurant in Sacramento

Louisiana Heaven (Valley Hi) – Sadly, Not What It Used to Be

As someone who truly appreciates good soul food and enjoys sharing quality meals with loved ones, I was genuinely looking forward to our visit to Louisiana Heaven in Valley Hi. My husband and I were treating a friend to lunch, hoping to give her a warm, home-cooked experience. Unfortunately, the visit left us all disappointed.

We came in during the Tuesday lunch hour, expecting a comforting, flavorful meal. With only four other diners in the restaurant, we assumed service would be smooth and the kitchen would be well-prepared. But from the moment we walked in, things started to go downhill.

The service was disorganized right from the start. Our server let us know they were out of potato salad, fries, and greens—staples you'd expect at any soul food restaurant. Still trying to stay positive, we chose from what was available. We specifically asked for our drinks before the food, since we hadn’t even been given water yet. But when the meals arrived, our drinks still hadn’t. After asking again, we were served water that was spilled all over the table, a warm can of Fanta pulled straight from the box, and two lemonades that didn’t quite make up for the wait.

As for the food—what a letdown. I ordered the catfish meal, and while the fish itself was well-cooked and flavorful, the sides completely missed the mark. The cornbread was dry, hard, and tasteless. The cabbage tasted old and mushy, breaking down in the mouth without even chewing. The red beans and rice had an off texture—the beans were mushy and the rice was oddly crunchy.

My husband ordered the boneless rib sandwich, which turned out to be anything but boneless. There were two large bones in it, along with so much gristle that nearly half of it was inedible. He couldn’t finish it, and we definitely wouldn’t recommend it to anyone.

The overall atmosphere didn’t help either. The restaurant had a stale smell as soon as we walked in, the paint on the walls was peeling, and the decor felt like it was thrown together without much care or theme. It was a sad contrast to how nice and welcoming this place used to be back in 2019–2020. The food, service, and energy were all much better then.

It was incredibly disappointing, especially since we were trying to treat our friend to a nice lunch. Between the poor service, underwhelming food, and tired-looking atmosphere, it felt like a waste of time and money. I wouldn’t recommend Louisiana Heaven to anyone looking for a true soul food experience—at least not in its...

Louisiana Heaven (Valley Hi) Review – A Disappointing Experience

We visited Louisiana Heaven in Valley Hi last Tuesday during the lunchtime hour, expecting a great soul food experience, but unfortunately, it was anything but. Given that it was lunchtime, we were especially disappointed that they were so unprepared, despite only having four other diners in the restaurant at the time.

Service – 1/5 From the moment we walked in, we were met with disappointment. The server immediately informed us that they were out of potato salad, fries, and greens—staples of any soul food restaurant. Despite this, we decided to make do with what was available. We were asked whether we wanted our drinks before or with the meal, and we specifically requested them beforehand since we hadn’t even received our waters yet. However, when our food arrived, we still had no drinks. We had to ask again, only to be served water that was spilled all over the table, a warm can of Fanta that we watched the server take straight out of the box, and two lemonades.

Food – 2/5

Boneless Rib Sandwich (0/5) – This was a disaster. It contained two long bones and a ridiculous amount of gristle. Half the sandwich was inedible. I wouldn’t recommend this to anyone, not even the homeless.

Catfish Meal (3/5) – The catfish was the only redeeming part of the meal—well-cooked and flavorful. Unfortunately, the sides ruined it.

Cornbread (0/5) – Hard, white, tasteless, and crumbly—whoever made this had no idea how to make proper cornbread.

Cabbage (0/5) – Old and mushy. It broke down in the mouth without even needing to chew.

Red Beans & Rice (1/5) – The beans were overly mushy while the rice was crunchy—completely unacceptable.

Chicken Meal (2/5) – The chicken was cooked well, but the same disappointing sides dragged the meal down.

Ambiance – 1/5 The restaurant smelled stale, and the paint was peeling. The decorations looked haphazardly thrown together with no clear theme. Back in 2019-2020, Louisiana Heaven had a cleaner atmosphere, better service, and remarkable food. Now, it’s a shadow of its former self.

Final Verdict – 1/5 Between the poor service, lackluster food, and unwelcoming atmosphere, this was a complete waste of time and money. For a soul food restaurant to be so ill-prepared during lunch—especially with only four other people dining in—is simply unacceptable. Louisiana Heaven is no longer what it used to be, and I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone looking for quality...

Ok. There's several different reasons for this rating. Food, Wait and Customer Service! Food....my wife got a two-way. Ribs and Links with potato salad and greens. The ribs were tough. The links, greens and potato salad were all pretty good. I ordered the catfish dinner with fries and Red beans and rice. The catfish was overcooked. Some parts were soft and good but there were parts that were dry. So the food was above average. The wait was extremely too long!! The reason was that they couldn't handle the walk in orders and a catering event that they were cooking for. I ended up waiting around 50 minutes or a little more! While I was waiting there were several guys making multiple trips to a truck was a lot of food prepared for a large event. That food kept coming out of the kitchen but walk in orders were slow to be filled. So waiting was a one Star ⭐ for sure. Now to customer service....the young ladies at the register were very good!👍 None of this were there fault and they were taking the attitude from a few customers for the delay. They ran out of Mac n Cheese at 3:00pm and they had to make more (or heat some more up). This added to the wait. The owner is another story. I don't know this lady and she doesn't know me but I knew that she was the owner. When she came from the back of the business she didn't say one word to any of the customers! Acknowledge your customers and apologize for the LONG wait at least. But to just walk by us and don't utter a word. Totally unacceptable! Please do better. That was a...