Soulful Dishes — Restaurant in Seattle

On Saturday, June 7, 2025, my sister and I decided to embark on a venture and try a new restaurant in the Central District area. We were in the mood for soul food and opted to try Soulful Dishes. There was zero parking, and we parked a few blocks away. Upon entry, the ambiance was cold & left much to be desired. Also, there was no greeting or welcome whatsoever. Matter of fact, no one was ever present at the service counter. We waited a long time before a guy came out, he was the only one there. He did not apologize for the wait, introduce himself, or even offer any dinner suggestions. He just stood there with a blank expression.

There was no scent of food or any way to tell if anything was actually being cooked. I did hear the microwave beeping in the background after we ordered. We made our selections and sat down. I ordered fried catfish, Mac-n-Cheese, and the potato salad. My sister ordered the chicken tenders, Mac-n-Cheese, and the collard greens.

I liked the potato salad. The Mac-n-Cheese was okay. The chicken tenders were okay. The collard greens were flavorful and tasty. My catfish however, was undercooked, and wet in the center. I was displeased and did not finish my meal. The portions were very small to be so costly as it was.

As someone who is honest, direct and to the point, I told the guy that my food was not right and he just stood there with that glazed eyes/blank expression.

It was not a great experience so I would not recommend Soulful Dishes. Worse, my stomach was very upset after eating there (my only meal of the day), and that lasted through the night. We will not be returning. This was our experience at Soulful Dishes....

I'm definitely not a fan of this place. A friend of mine wanted fried catfish & this was one of the only places open before 4p. So we walked in & ordered.

Seafood Platter Catfish & Grits 3 Shrimp poboys to go. Sides mac n cheese & yams

The seafood Platter seemed normal. I had the catfish & grits. I've never heard of the two combined. I've had only negative experiences eating southern fair in this area. The catfish was served in/on top of the grits with fresh veggies & the grits looked frothy & milky. I knew this had to be some sort of Caribbean restaurant vs southern type comfort.

I never think of catfish & Caribbean. As a Louisiana native i don't trust these hybrid dishes they pass up here. The flavor was edible but im not a fan of onions, bell peppers, mushrooms on top grits or catfish. Or wet fried fish. I ate some of the dish. The yams were soft but a miss. The mac & cheese was a miss for me too. I'm not used to paprika on top of it.

I know better than to trust these places bc its just not what I'm used to. I also didn't understand the concept of 1/4 full containers of tartar sauce.

The waitress was really nice and could tell we weren't feeling the food. But, I just said it wasn't what I expected. Oh, make sure you're not in a hurry if you dine in bc you'll be sitting there & realize its been a minute before the...

After walking by while it was closed (pandemic, then hours) I finally got a chance to stop in Soulful Dishes location. From the outside, it's any other small restaurant, making its way in a chain restaurant world (thank god I live in Seattle). The inside, simple decor, a pair of display fridges for beverages, and a counter with paper menus all over it. I ended up ordering the catfish po'boy, after asking the FOH person which she'd recommend since they were out of oysters. It was a great choice. The right mix of crisp and moist, seasoning that could could taste, but not scald your brain with. The fries were also served piping hot, with what I'm pretty sure was a really light seasoned breading. What really sold me though was the interaction between the FOH person and the BOH person. They sounded like they were having fun, and liked each other. During thier exchange a person from the bbq place next door came by, and I also learned why they were out of oysters. The BOH was going to have to freeze them a few days ago and knew that rethawed, oysters taste as little off. Due to this, they were gotten rid of, rather than serve subpar seafood. I'm cool with that choice. Hopefully, I'll...