Aunties House Kitchen and Bar — Restaurant in Vinings

Unfortunately I invited my MOTHER and her friend to join me at Auntie's House during my lunch break this week (7/2025). Little did the server know, we were out celebrating an recent accomplishment. The server didn't 1) introduce herself (state her name), 2) recommend anything off the menu, 3) come to the table with good energy (dull personality). We started to leave, but decided to stay, since I been hearing the name for over a year circling around the area. I ordered, the fried catfish with cajun rice and cream sauce, my mother ordered the shrimp and grits and my mom's friend ordered the gumbo. Once the food arrived at the table, we ONLY had silverware for two people. We all tasted our food and in unison agreed that the food was way too SALTY! After my second bite, my stomach start hurting. I was just praying I wouldn't get sick. My mom's friend initially asked if there were any CRACKERS to go with the gumbo and she said NO. I told her that is just weird, because even Papadeaux serves a variety of crackers to go with their gumbo and she replied by saying, "We ain't Papadeaux." Well, duh! By the looks of the restaurant, which is NEVER BUSY (from the two times I've dined in, there were only one or two others dining in), apparently they don't care about customer service! My mom's friend told the woman serving us that her gumbo was too salty. The server just froze, for what seemed liked one whole minute, then she snapped out of it and said, "Ok," with a disbelief facial expression, grabbed the soup and walked off. She didn't apologize, nor ask if she wanted to order anything in place of the gumbo. We asked for the check and saw that 18% GRATUITY was added to the check. I don't mind paying it, if the server/Bartender does their JOB, but if you give mediocre customer service and EXPECT a tip, you must be DELULU (crazy)! The SAD part about it all is, she said she was the Manager. She took the 18% GRATUITY off the bill, but at this point, its the principle! The atmosphere is cool, the food is decent, the customer service is bad and I think the owner should have his employees in a complimentary uniform, instead of regular clothes. At this point, I want to meet the owner personally! I truly believe the restaurant has potential, but they definitely need to be open to receive constructive criticism. I just have so many questions about this restaurant. I'm DISAPPOINTED that my experience wasn't pleasant. I could of taken my business elsewhere, but I chose Auntie's House. I don't see myself patronizing this business any time in the near future though. I don't see how the restaurant can flourish, if the servers aren't doing their part! (Being a Server isn't hard when you enjoy what you do! I can say that, because I use to be one)

I also took pictures of the food, but for some reason, I don't see an option to...

I was on the Westside and wanted some Soul Food. After a search on Yelp I came across Auntie’s House Kitchen and decided to give it a try. The location was super easy to find and there was ample parking.

Walking in, the setup is soooooo cute and the ambiance is perfect for a Sunday Afternoon kick it meal with friends. We headed to the hostess stand and were seated immediately. The hostess was very nice and ended up being our waitress as well.

The menu is small but powerful. There is an option for everyone as well as there are an abundance of sides so if you wanted to piece together a meal you could. As I was hungry I was ready to eattttttttttttt. lol.

I decided on the following:

Appetizer - Corn Muffins Entreé - Blackened Salmon with Mashed Potatoes and broccolini Drink - Sweet Tea

Now listen, you know how I am about my sweet tea, this sweet tea tastes like dishwater. When I say horrible, I mean HORRIBLE. To the point that I just pushed it to the side and let it stay there. There was no coming back from that Sweet Dishtea. I was hurt. 😭😭😭

Ok, on to the food.

The presentation was absolutely amazing. The plating was so spot on it appeared like #FoodArt.

The Mashed Potatoes were creamy, flavorful, and superb. The way they were blended with the butter sauce on top really set them in a lane all their own as it pertained to a side.

The broccolini was cold. It was cooler than room temperature, however, the piece that was in the butter was at almost room temperature. Yet, though it was cold, the flavor profile was spot on. It had a light seasoning to it and the butter sauce elevated the flavor experience from a savory perspective. The tenderness was spot on as well as it had a slight crunch to it but was still tender. Had it not been cold I really think it could have contended with the Mashed head to head.

The Blackened Salmon tasted like salmon. The cooking temperature was perfect asI ordered it medium well. It was meaty, moist, and had a great char on the top. Though the flavor was __ the butter sauce added to the flavor profile, however, the natural fish flavor didn’t afford it the chance to infuse from a flavor perspective.

The corn muffins were bombbbbbbbbb. They were moist, flavorful, and sweet. The sweetness was a perfect balance to the salt as it allowed the natural corn flavor to remain present but not dominate the bite.

The music at Auntie’s House Kitchen was spot on from the moment I walked in through my departure. I mean nothing but R&B Hits after Hit. I was def in my element.

Though I’ll never come back for the food. I’ll come back for the ambiance and to kick it and order some corn muffins...

This is the type of black owned restaurants Keith Lee is talking about. This is a long review but I have to get it out.

Let's start with the service. Very slow and dry. Server took forever to take our orders. Looked like the owners or managers spent most of their time laughing and joking around the bar area and not focused on making sure the customers were taken care of.

Server started off by offering us 3 options for water. Spring, Canadian or TAP. Who offers tap water? What restaurant doesn't have filtered water? I usually get water with my meal but since I didn't like the options I got the sweet tea. Big mistake. Tea tasted like someone put their cigarette out in it. Disgusting. No other drink options other than alcohol and I don't drink.

I ordered the oxtail meal. Oxtails were tender and flavorful. Only 3 pieces but they were a good size. I asked for gravy for my rice and was told they don't have gravy. What did they cook the oxtails in? Oxtails should always have gravy. Greens were good. Also got an additional side of candied yams. They were canned sweet potatoes doctored up.

After food was dropped off our server never came back to check on us. Hardly anyone was in the place so no excuse for that. Didn't see her again until she brought the bill.

There was a 20% "event gratuity" added too my bill. I didn't know what that was for and didn't ask. I wasn't here for any event! I wasn't going to tip the server on top of that so I gave the exact amount for it all. When she took the money to the back and saw I didn't add an extra tip she came back and told me she removed the "event gratuity". They obviously hope you tip on top of that. I just gave her the 20% that the "event gratuity" would have been even though she didn't deserve it for not tending to us during the meal. This kind of shady practice is what gets these places shut down. I don't see them being open for long doing that.

Food was overpriced and not...