Twisted Soul — Restaurant in Town of Poughkeepsie

First time getting takeout from here last night, and we have mixed feelings. The food was good overall but the wait time and service were unacceptable. My husband called in the order at 6:40 and was told it would be ready in 35 minutes. He texted me at 7:30 to say that he was still waiting, and had no idea how long it was going to be because the woman working there gave no indication, she just said that my fried chicken was taking a bit longer. So I called and asked and I was told that it would be about five more minutes. I asked the woman if there would be anything taken off the check or anything thrown in and she replied with a very curt “no.” At 7:50, the food was finally ready so that 35 minute estimate was pretty much doubled. Husband said that the woman just handed him the bag of food and walked away. Based on the service, I absolutely would not return. I understand if it’s a busy night, things happen, but your attitude makes a lot of difference. If she was apologetic, my feelings would probably be different. My Malaysian curry noodles with fried chicken was good. Flavor was nice, but I can’t believe the order was held up because of a thin fried chicken cutlet. My son‘s chicken empanada was fine, the pastry was very nice and the filling was OK, not super flavorful or interesting. My husband’s pulled pork mac & cheese was outstanding. The steamed pork belly dumplings were inconsistent. Some had no sauce and the meat was bland and others had more sauce and were more flavorful. The only other complaint is that everything was already dressed with herbs and cucumbers which suffered as they wilted and were not pleasant to eat hot. They should have been put in separate containers for adding at home. Overall the food was good, not great, and suffered because of the service. I also felt like everything was a bit overpriced for what we got. We had tried the pastry shop across the street a few months ago and thought the pastries were really outstanding so we would go back there again. But it’s doubtful we will go to this restaurant anytime soon. Customer service is important and made all the difference last night, in a bad way.

Update 2/23: The owner reached out to us on yelp and refunded half of our order. That shows great character and we are very appreciative of the message and the refund. We will not hesitate to order from here again in the future however probably not during a busy night on a...

Just a little update, though I'm keeping the rating at five stars:

Since the pandemic began, the opportunity to enjoy Twisted Soul has become more elusive than in the past. They started doing takeout only, which was unavoidable back when hospitals were overwhelmed. But last time I was there just a few months ago, they still were shy of letting people take a seat inside, while most other spots were fully open. And lately, even the takeout hours seem to be getting harder to come by. I'm hoping they can get back to being truly and fully available as a normal restaurant. The crimped availability to diners has to be hurting them quite a bit as a business, and I want them to be around for the long term.

Now, onto my review from four years ago:

Good food tastes good and is good for you, with bonus points if it also expands your horizons with new ideas and flavors you will crave coming back to. Twisted Soul nails all these dimensions with verve and class.

The format is hard to classify. It is informal, modern, and quick. Lunch typically takes no more than five minutes to arrive after being ordered. Dishes, ingredients and flavors draw inspiration from southeast Asia and Latin America, but with some surprising twists from the southern soul food tradition and other cuisines.

Meat and vegan options are given equal attention, and the vegan options are equally delicious, filling, and satisfying because the dishes are built up from high-quality, whole-food ingredients. A meal at Twisted Soul will sustain you without weighing you down.

Perhaps the most surprising thing of all is the really great value. Most meals run in the $10 range if you stick with water to drink. These days, that's the going rate for just a boring, plain old meal at a diner. So, you're getting inspiring, world-class cuisine at a bargain rate.

I only give five-star ratings to truly outstanding businesses. In my estimate, Twisted Soul has earned five stars...

I was excited to see a store offering Fusion foods the combinations were a little nuts but so am i so why not i said !! I ordered 3 empanadas sweet potato was ok Chicken empanada ok beef was ok too .... I worked in food service as Executive chef of many NYC locations and realized that they were stamped like from a commissary . Not store made . The Bibimbop Rice bowl was ok . The killer today was the pork belly rice bowl this was not good , white rice smothered in Sweet Thai Chili Sauce and chunks of old pork belly and where was the crackling nowhere to be found. The highlight of the meal was the fried egg , Like you cant mess that up right luckily for them that was on point a perfect fried egg wasted over mediocre rice and store bought sweet thai chili sauce isnt fusion ....... Please get your flavors in check , i will not order from here again empanadas were ok for not being made in store ....Because this owner cant take consumer reviews and makes an argument out of any review they disagree with i will extend not an apology but now my brutal honesty this place sucks food is horrible and those that eat here must definitely have major problems with there palette!!!! Its like they let a 10 year old put random flavors together , In the words of Gordon Ramsey learn to cook...