I visited Madea's for the first time on a Thursday while in town visiting family, and I was…read morewelcomed right at the entrance. The hospitality set the tone for a great experience. I ordered the pork chop plate, and the server kindly let me try both a fried pork chop and a smothered one since I couldn't make up my mind. I also had fried cabbage and yams. The cabbage had a little unexpected heat to it, but that's actually the same way my family cooks theirs, so I ended up really enjoying it. One thing that stood out to me was the staff. I'm not sure if the restaurant is always staffed this way, but I was genuinely impressed that all the front-line workers were men -- and every single one of them was courteous, respectful, patient, and mindful of each customer. While I enjoyed my meal, I watched them treat each person who walked in with the same positive energy and attentiveness. If you're in the area, go support this restaurant. The food, the atmosphere, and the service all made my first visit a memorable one.

I was on this side of town and was a little famished for some soul food. Decided to call in a take…read moreout order. The young man who answered the phone was very kind and ensured he had my order correct. Even verified I was ok with paying over the phone before he took my order. I arrived about 15 minutes later and once inside the cashier called for my order number then requested to see the card I paid with and my ID. In today's world it's comforting to know there are businesses verifying identity! Kudos!! Once seated at home I opened my container to hot fried catfish, tomatoes and okra, Mac n cheese and hot water cornbread. My first bite of everything was very good and seasoned to perfection. I got so full so quick that I wasn't able to finish but it made for perfect leftovers later that day. On to the desserts! My mom got a slice of pecan pie and I enjoyed the strawberry cake. Both were tasty and prepared perfectly! I will stop in again for fried pork chops when it's time for an off plan meal.

Lolo's Chicken & Waffles We tried the chicken & waffles AND…read morethe shrimp & grits, and both were delicious! The chicken was crispy, the waffles were fluffy, and that salted butter with syrup created the perfect salty-sweet combination. The shrimp & grits were so well seasoned, and the mushrooms were such a nice touch--I've honestly never seen mushrooms served with shrimp & grits before, but I'm here for it! Everything was flavorful, and I enjoyed washing it all down with some sweet tea. Lolo's definitely knows how to do Southern comfort food! Have you tried it yet?

Lolos is the best Chicken n Waffles in the State of Texas. Hands down ... I have not had better…read more The chicken is the most succulent, right amount of seasoning and always the right temp. I finally tried the collard greens this time and goooodnight!! They were amazing. Can't say enough about the waffles... always great, right amount of soft and crunch. The service is like I was being served by my cousin, always feel at home at Lolos. The ambiance and what to expect is this.... Family just got together after church and everyone is hungry. Some tv stuff light music but plenty of conversations!!! Just absolutely love Lolos.

We were looking for soul food not too far away, and found this place. While still a bit of…read moredistance from us we decided to order pickup. I placed the order online for pickup with no issues. Inside had a few tables for people that wanted to dine in, but there were only people picking up when I arrived. I only waited a few more minutes for it to be boxed up. We ordered the wings, fried fish, sausage, and rib tips. No complaints from anyone - everyone loved their food. I had the wings and they were really good - a bit spicy and loved the flavor. We will definitely get this again.

We decided to order from this restaurant through the Too Good To Go app…read more I rarely write harsh reviews, but this experience deserves every bit of criticism. What happened today was unacceptable from the moment we walked in. The place was visibly dirty and completely unappetizing. The back area was mostly hidden behind what looked like a shower curtain, which did nothing to inspire confidence. There appeared to be only one man working, and he came out only a few times during the entire 45 minutes we waited. Even more concerning, there was a child who looked to be about eight or nine years old wearing latex gloves and repeatedly coming out to the front, apparently helping with restaurant tasks that no child should be doing. Despite having prepaid through Too Good To Go, no one acknowledged us for nearly 10 minutes. We stood in a hot dining room with almost no air conditioning while the child wandered in and out and the adult remained behind the curtain. More people arrived behind us, also with prepaid orders, until there were about 10 people waiting. We watched three other customers receive their food before us. One was a DoorDash driver, which made sense, and one woman had arrived before us. However, another woman with a very small order was served ahead of us even though she arrived after we did. When the man finally came out, we showed him our Too Good To Go order. He swiped the app, marking our order as picked up, then disappeared behind the curtain again and never returned with our food. After waiting 45 minutes in a sweltering dining room on a nearly 100-degree Texas day, we gave up. We left without the food we had already paid for. At that point, losing the cost of the meal was preferable to staying in that environment any longer. This was one of the worst pickup experiences I have ever had. Between the unsanitary conditions, the lack of staff, the presence of a child apparently performing restaurant tasks, the complete absence of customer service, and the fact that we never even received the order we had already paid for, I can say with complete confidence: We will never return.

I would recommend going during slower times. We as people…read moreshow up hungry and expect a McDonald's drive thru service. This is real food that takes time to prepare. The wife love's the greens and and hush puppies. Catfish plate with yams were great. I went to sleep after we ate. A must try.

Came here for the first time. Ordered the 8pcs Honey Garlic Wings, Oxtail Soul Bowl w/ a side of…read moreChicken Tetrazzini, Collard Greens, and Pork Cabbage, a mini Brisket Mac-n-Cheese Bowl, and Loaded Brisket Fries. We also ordered a slice of Red Velvet Pound Cake. Every dish we ordered was delicious and flavorful. The wings were crispy and very flavorful. The Oxtail Soul Bowl was packed and loaded on top of a bed of corn bread and it came with a huge piece of corn bread on the side. The red velvet pound cake was something different, but good too. Just very sweet especially drinking their half gallon "Mystery" juice which was good, but also pretty diabetes sweet. I tried my best to get the mystery ingredients from one of the cashiers, but she held strong lol. Overall, it is a pretty expensive type of food, but the portions is pretty huge and fulfilling as well so it balances out. The staff were super friendly and the food didn't take too long to come out. They were under renovation so they only did takeout orders which was a bummer. Parking lot is a bit small, but you'll be fine.

Absolutely worth the drive from North Dallas. The portions are gigantic!! No joke. Come hungry…read moreor bring lots of friends because they are not stingy with the servings. I had the two meat special with fried chicken and pork chops and it came with three pieces of chicken and a huge pork chop plus three sides and cornbread. For those complaining about the prices, stop it right now! My plate was $25 but would easily feed 2-3 hungry people. In this economy that is honestly a great deal. I can't say enough about how good everything was. Do yourself a favor and go try it yourself!!!!

I'm starting with the astronomical increase in cost…read more There was an option for one pice of chicken and sides for $21. Still looking for the deal there. The chicken and pork chops included 3 pieces of chicken, one pork chop and 3 sides $26.99. 2 meat plate with dried brisket and oven chicken with 3 sides was $30. Sides were broccoli cheese rice, Mac and cheese and yams. Notice the bag of cornbread too. Total $67. Same crew. Nice folks. It wasn't busy. Maybe due to timing or cost. The ambiance was friendly. No line. Clean. Definitely shareable plates. Maybe have smaller portions with a drink or smaller portion for desert. Might be a crowd pleaser

Fantastic food, great service, and the prices for very reasonable. I'll definitely be back when…read moreI'm in Oak Cliff.

After living in Oak cliff for four years, I finally made it to Normas. I went with my friend who's…read morebeen coming here for like 20 years because she really wanted their chicken fried steak. our server was Jesse and he's amazing. Actually, everybody working was super friendly. I ordered the chicken fried BLT and she got the chicken fried steak. Our main entrées were great. She ordered sides of broccoli, fried okra and mac & cheese and I got a side of onion rings and then we also had the rolls and cornbread. The fried okra and bread were great. I appreciated that they gave us plenty of butter for the bread! The mac & cheese and onion rings were not very good. I will say she told me that they can be inconsistent with quality, but since they have a newer chef, things are getting better. I will definitely be back and try more things on the menu. as far as the mac & cheese, it was not very flavorful and the pasta was way overcooked. The onion rings were also way overcooked or frozen or something too. It's hard to explain, but they were tough. I did enjoy my sandwich though! I also really wanna try the pie, It looks amazing. I also thought the texas/americana decor was very cute.

The food was A1! I had the catfish basket. The catfish was perfectly seasoned and crispy. The…read morecollards were seasoned well with plenty of meat (smoked turkey?) and what my dad called pot liquor. This was my first time here. Service was great, too. I loved the R&B playing--/atmosphere was casual and not too loud. I had to update my review. I bought a peach cobbler TO GO. I of course tried a sample. It's GREAT. The crust is flakey and the peaches are wonderful,

Okay if I could rate in service alone it would be a 5 plus! Ciara is wonderful and Sparkle the…read moreowner's energy is infectious. The egg roll with collard greens and turkey chef's kiss. The drink refreshing. So why not a five. Well I should have known not to order a hamburger at a soul food restaurant. I just had better and I wasn't feeling it. But the coolest thing was karaoke. Please come and get your sing on! I will go back just because of the service. I just won't be ordering a hamburger. Also they were out of the fried green tomatoes. I was so sad!!!

I just moved in the neighborhood and figured I would try it out and it turned out to be a great…read moreidea. I ordered the catfish plate. It was seasoned well and tasted great. My son and nephew ordered the wings and had no compliants. We will be back.

A must try are the sweet and spicy wins and fries. 1st time and will definitely go again. God bless…read morethe hands that made this food, amen.

The food is GOOD! The building is nice, the music was good, and everything was seasoned to…read moreperfection--just like my Momma's food! I had catfish fillets, cabbage, and fries. Weird combination, I know , but it was my cheat day! My granddaughter had chicken and waffles, and my daughter had beef tips and rice. Yes, I tasted everybody's food and everything was delicious! I'm giving 4 stars because the service needs a little more organization and training. When we walked in, my daughter asked a petite young lady how long the wait would be, and unfortunately, her response came across as unprofessional with a bit of an attitude. Even while taking our order, some of her responses didn't reflect a team-oriented attitude. When one person looks good, the whole team looks good--and when one person doesn't, it reflects on everyone. I don't hold that against the young lady; in my opinion, she simply needs more training and guidance for her role. One of Ms. Nana's friends even got up in her church clothes to help sweep. She later went home, changed, came back, and immediately started helping--that's a friend! I also LOVE that some of the staff are part of a second-chance organization! THANK YOU, NANA for giving our babies the training, guidance, and tools they need to succeed. Great food--I'll definitely be back!

My husband is from the south, Virginia to be exact, so my review will be biased based on that. I am…read moregiving a very generous 4 star review mainly because of the woman who was plating all the food behind the counter and because this place is a soul food spot not southern. I came here today a little after 5pm and did not get a greeting like everyone else did when I walked into the door. They were pretty busy with to go orders around this time. There is an entrance area where you order and pay for your food and a separate area for dining in. I ordered a catfish fillet with Mac n cheese and sweet potatoes and fried shrimp basket with fries and greens to go. I ordered at 5:15 and got my food at 5:45 and let me tell you, it was the longest wait of my life. I think the A/C must've been broken because it was hot in the waiting area and it didn't help that one of the front desk girls kept complaining about them still being open for another hour. There were a bunch of flies everywhere and the front area doesn't seem to be cleaned throughout the day. I also feel for the woman who puts the plates together because she's doing it by herself and was constantly asking the front desk girls to bag the orders. She stayed calm though and still greeted people as they were coming in. Now for the food. The shrimp basket was $25.99 and the catfish was $19.99. The shrimp was good, kids approved. The catfish was good too. All the food was made fresh to order so I can appreciate that for quality. Onto the sides. I think the French fries were accidentally season with sugar instead of salt. The greens were ok, just drenched with garlic. The Mac n cheese, ehhh. I was looking forward to the Mac n cheese but it wasn't as cheesy as I was expecting but tasted ok. The sweet potatoes were really good, probably my favorite side out of the four. The cornbread was moist and good. Overall, food was good but definitely overpriced. However, I do support small businesses but still think it's a bit overpriced based on portion size. They do require you pay for your food before you sit down if you are dining in. This may be because of too many incidents where people dine and dash. I do think that the lady behind the counter putting the plates together needs better help. No offense to the young girls they have working there but either train them or get someone who can actually do the job. If you are looking for true southern food, this ain't it. Texas food vs. southern food are 2 completely different things which I am learning the hard way now having lived here for a year.

Decades ago this area was just being developed from cow pasture to civilization…read more PO Melvins opened and started slinging the best lunch grub in the area. One of the few places to eat a great meal back then, is now lost amoungest the 7-11s and McDonald's. However,they've evolved from a big room full of tables to a comfortable restaurant with a creole them. All the food here will do the trick including, today's blackened catfish over dirt rice and my co-workers shrimp po-boy( legit) and hand cut fries. Go!

A friend and I were overdue to meet for lunch, he raved about Po' Melvin's and suggested we meet…read morethere. As I had never been, it was an easy decision as I like to try new places. Upon arrival, we were quickly greeted by the hostess and seated without a wait. Within no time, the server arrived with water and gave us time to look over the menu. It is a relatively large menu with lots of options so I appreciated the extra time. For my entree, I decided to go with the Grilled Blackened Catfish which came with a bed of dirty rice and a salad. While waiting for our food, the server brought out a basket of bread rolls which were very tasty. After a relatively short wait, our food was delivered. While the catfish was not as blackened as I prefer, it was flavorful. My friend ordered the chicken fried steak and he thoroughly enjoyed it. That entree comes with 3 sides and give the size of the chicken fried steak, it makes for a lot of food. When it comes to service, everyone was friendly and welcoming which I aalways appreciated. The space is fairly large and seating consists of table/chair combos along with several booths. Additionally, there is a bar area in the back of the restaurant with seating. Based on what I could see, the bar appeared to be fully stocked. There are also a few TVs in the bar area. Overall, I was pleased with my first visit here and will definitely return to try other things on the menu.