Soul Food Chess House — Restaurant in Stroud Township

It saddens me to say that they have fallen off since last year. I went during a time of day when business would be slow so I wouldn't have much of a wait time..I also called my order in ahead of time. I asked for potato salad..they didn't have it. I asked for yams instead of potato salad..they didn't have yams. Now, this was early afternoon noon! I asked for CORNBREAD!...NO CORNBREAD! What soul food joint doesn't have cornbread on the ready? That's a staple when it comes to soul food. And, the banana pudding was also subpar. Way too much cookie crumbs in the pudding. It made my mouth dry...the banana pudding made my mouth dry from all of the excess cookie crumbs. I'm just praying that I can return to this review and give more stars in the near future..hope they pull it back together. 9/31 update..food is still very good. And, still NO CORNBREAD! Also, wait time was a bit too much..but, not complaining about wait time. I'd rather wait than to rush them and the food isn't good. However, they need to get it together with the whole NO CORNBREAD thing. I'm gonna keep them at 2 stars for now...this is a soul food restaurant..no way should they ever run out of CORNBREAD. 10/18/20 UPDATE: They actually had cornbread today!! And, I must say that the cornbread was VERY TASTY! Best cornbread i've had in a long time. Food, good as usual and they give you healthy servings. The ox tails, on the other hand, had way too much fat on them..they should have cut more fat off of the ox tails. But, the biggest downside is their prices. Way too high!! $16 for a wing dinner? $20 for an ox tail dinner? No way! Yes, they give you a healthy plate...but in comparison to other soulfood restaurants, this place prices are a whole $5 more per dinner. I felt as if I paid too much...I literally felt it...like I was fleeced. I didn't buy drinks or dessert because I already overpaid too much for the dinners. I actually compared prices to other places, that's just as tasty and gives around the same portion size, and this place is $5 more per dinner. I gotta keep them at a 2 star rating because of the prices...way too inflated. 9/22/22 food still good. Just need to work on service. Service is everything..it's the difference between continuing to give them my business or...

I don't eat meat, haven't in over 20 years. So, I can't comment on that. The food I usually got was good, but inconsistent. I would get fish, such as grilled Salmon, fried Whiting, fried Catfish and fried shrimp. Sometimes it was good, sometimes ok and sometimes the fried seafoods were too salty. The mac & cheese was very inconsistent. Sometimes good, sometimes ok, but mostly not good. I've even thrown the mac & cheese away because it was nasty. Guess, it depends on who's cooking it. Potato Salad not good. It's too tart for my liking. Candied yams were good and seemed to be the most consistent. They have been ok at times, but never nasty. I can't comment on the vegetable sides as I don't eat meat. They flavor them with meat. Overall, the best thing about this place is the portion sizes. The wait time can be very long, over an hour. If you cannot order over the phone, probably should skip going there. The phone isn't that reliable though. I've witnessed them purposely not answer the phone and even took it off the hook. Sometimes it was busy, sometimes not. In my opinion, the owner's attitude is the worst, which is why I'm not giving 3 stars. I saw the way he talked to his staff, which is probably why there is a high turnover rate. When he spoke to me like that, especially being a faithful customer, never received my business again. It's unfortunate. I tried to support my brother, in the end, I believe he doesn't appreciate...

Truthfully there food is good but I started getting food there right before the pandemic and online it said there beef ribs were $16.00 for the dinner when I got there to pick it up the guy told me oh the price went up a long time ago so it's $18.00 now I was like ok..and when I saw there was only 3 ribs I there I was disappointed but it tasted good so I was like ok...then the pandemic started 2 weeks later and I sent my daughter there with a 20 dollar bill and she was like hey mom the price went up it's now $20.00 I was like wow ok..went I got home and saw there was only 2 ribs this time I was annoyed...but the ribs are good so...and I'm not sure where you can get good beef ribs from around here...today I went to get them again...I walked up and went to order it and the price went up again...ridiculous...I feel like they taking advantage. It's not a restaurant it's take out...black people always trying to rip off their own people you go to the Portuguese place get a whole pan of ribs with a whole lot of rice and fries for $18.00 it is cooked differently but it's not over charged. If you are going to charge more money don't lower the quantity...that's why that black owned soul food seafood place went out of business on Springfield Avenue in Newark...because their food went up in price too and lowered in quantity as well. This place does have good ribs but when I heard the price it just made me go home and cook my own beef ribs...minds are...