Can't go wrong whatever you order. My son is partial to the fried chicken and Mac and cheese. This is his favorite chicken place. The grits in the shrimp and grits are to die for. read more

In the heart of Seattle's historic Black Americans Central District sits Simply Soulful, a black- and woman- owned restaurant. I tell my non-Asian friends that they should leave an Asian restaurant if you don't see any Asians inside. I am happy to say we were the odd ducks in this place! Love me some legit soul food. The menu is straightforward. We ordered at the counter. The food is brought to our table. The food took quite a while with big crowds coming in after us. I suspect they cook in batches as multiple groups received food at the same time. It was mostly self-service (utensils, water) until the restaurant quieted down, then we saw servers cleaning tables, etc. The Food: Combo Dinner with two sides, $26 - 5 Stars The combo plat offers two meat choices. I chose the wings and catfish. The wings are sizable and plump. Highly recommend. The catfish was a thinner cut and a bit dryer. I liked the very thin breading on the catfish, not greasy, and it tasted good with Tabasco. For sides, both the collard greens and fried okra are excellent. In fact, I say the okra is perfection! The little corn bread is just right for me. I thought the corn bread has good flavor while hubby said it was too dry. Catfish Dinner with two sides, $24 - 3.5 Stars Hubby complained the catfish was too thin. He's not a Tabasco person, so that doesn't help. I gave him two wings to calm him down. Lol. He loved the hush puppies the best. They are huge with a wonderful crisp. I agree with him! He thought the yams are too sweet; they do look sweet in the liquids but isn't that want yams are intended to be? I think he just needs to order differently in the future. Note they have a 3.5% service charge for credit card purchases. See line on the menu photo. read more

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I came here and enjoyed it overall. I got the dinner chicken combo with 2 sides. Picked the rice with gravy and Mac and cheese. The food was good. The service and people working there were nice as well. It was pretty busy but we got a table. The only thing we thought could be better was the time it took to get our food. It took a solid hour wait. But the food was good. We were there around lunch time on a Thursday and had to rush to get back to work. Overall, I will come back for sure and pick a day I am not in any rush at all. read more

The vibe here is very friendly, you order upfront so it's not quite full sit down restaurant but they do have seating. Food portions are big. Chicken was crispy and delicious. Honestly perfect. Pork chops were fried not smothered and were also delicious. Nothing was dry and it was all crispy. For sides we ordered Mac and cheese, yams, mash potatoes and rice & beans. Mash potatoes something tasted off about them. They were ok but not my preferred of the sides we got. The other sides were perfect, Mac and cheese is peppery but I liked that. Yams were sweet, nice tender chucks. Rice and beans were flavorful, not mushy. The pecan pie slice was phenomenal. Highly recommend trying this place for soul food. read more

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Came in at about 2pm on a Sunday. It was pretty busy. It took an hour to get our food as it seems they make each order at a time. Chicken and waffles was alright, not great but not bad. Not worth the wait. The couple that got their food before us were done by the time we got our food. read more

Service was friendly, food portion and taste was alright but the whole experience was underwhelming and unsatisfying for me and my family. We came in on a Saturday afternoon before 1p, only one other party was sitting in the dining area. We had 6 people and it was a unanimous "meh" around the table. Now the location is in a gentrified area so I understand the prices, and there was not much "wrong" with the food to be honest, for us it was the experience as a whole. Once we got our food no one checked on us so we had to go back up to the front counter, wait in line and ask for sauce as each table had about 4 ketchup packets and we already scavenged 4 tables since 3 of our plates had fries. We ordered both the shrimp poboy and catfish poboy and both were hard to eat, not due to taste but the bread was hard and you couldn't close the sandwich enough to get a decent bite so I lost two of the six shrimp just trying to take a bite which was crazy disappointing, how it's pictured is how you'd have to eat it, my nephew had to smoosh his catfish and try to tuck in the bread to take a bite. Again, not knocking the taste, but everything could have been better especially because there is another soul food spot less than a block away that we actually ordered food from to go once we left this establishment. And food was banging from Wally's Soul Food, even several hours later and their drinks were cheaper and had lids. I hate to do it to a small local business but I will not be back. On a positive note, if you see this review and you're in the area definitely stop at Wally's a half a block west and thank me later! read more

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We visited this restaurant tonight for our family's Kwanzaa dinner and left very disappointed. We are a family of six (2 adults, 4 kids) and spent about $135 including tip, paid ahead of time. Our order took over two hours to come out. At the one-hour mark, my husband went to the counter to check on our order and was told it was "on its way out." About 20 minutes later, two entrees finally came out. It was obvious they had been sitting for a while -- the melted cheese was hard and discolored -- and one of the two dishes was prepared incorrectly. Another 20 minutes later, while walking by the counter, I could see my child's shrimp po' boy being finished. The person at the counter started squeezing sauce all over it as both the cook and I said "No sauce!" It had to be remade and came out 15 minutes later. At this point, only 3 of the 6 of us had received food, and my 5-year-old was getting very impatient. I let an employee know that we were still missing dishes and mentioned that several customers who ordered after us had already received their food and left. I also explained that my 5-year-old had only ordered a basket of fries, which still had not come out. Within the next 15 minutes, the rest of our food finally arrived -- and the fries came last, which was especially frustrating given how simple that order was. What made this experience particularly upsetting is that our family chose this restaurant intentionally for the final night of our Kwanzaa celebration. We spent time as a family researching Black-owned businesses, preparing presentations, and voting together on where to go. This was an important moment for our family, especially our kids who put real effort into the process. Given the long wait, disorganized service, incorrect and poorly handled food, and the amount we spent (which is a lot for our family), the overall quality of both food and service was very disappointing. The restaurant is very clean, beautifully decorated, and the staff is super nice. The food also has a ton of potential there were just way too many inconsistencies to be able to say really how it was. The banana pudding though!? 10/10 so delicious!! read more

Simply put, Simply Soulful is a great spot to go to if you're looking for some soul food that makes you feel at home. The staff here is amazing and super friendly and makes you feel welcomed. Accompanied by a great playlist, this is the spot to be. The chicken and waffles were so good! The waffle was very thick and fluffy. It came with 7 pieces of winglets, which was more than expected, but a perfect amount. My only note was that the chicken was a little salty, but that's not stopping me from ordering it again. The pork chop dinner was an amazing deal. With two great sides and cornbread, you will be well fed. The pork chop was perfectly seasoned and super juicy. The macaroni was also very good and had amazing flavor and texture to it. This soul food makes you feel at home. Simply Soulful is a great place to go to if you're looking for great deals on read more

Simply Soulful - Chicken and Waffles - Desserts Near Me - Seattle, Washington

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I haven't had too much soul food in the Seattle area, but coming to Simply Soulful reminded me a lot of when I've been down to the American Southeast like Georgia and Mississippi. You can truly feel the southern hospitality as you walk in, with the staff happily greeting us and showing lots of love to their patrons. Popular as it may be, I had to try their chicken and waffles. Must I say, this had to have been the BEST fried chicken I've eaten in Seattle - that outer crust was so so SO crispy it was just perfect! And the waffles, crisp on the outside yet soft on the inside. Both items accompanied well together. I also ordered their kool-aid to wash everything down, yum! My friend ordered the shrimp and grits, and while I didn't try it out, you could tell he was the happiest person in the whole world. As he describes it, it "brought back memories" when he spent time down in South Carolina. Never seen him that giddy before over food, so you could assume that it was amazing. He also ordered a side of mac and cheese that I took a bite of, also delicious! My friend and I had a great experience with the food and the people, and would love to come back again soon. It's worth visiting if you're someone who misses the south or are curious to learn more about soul food. Give it a try this weekend! read more

Simply Soulful - Desserts Near Me - Seattle, Washington

Portion sizes for the price are a joke. Took well over 25 minutes to get a sandwich when I was the only person there and on top of that the fries were soggy and I got a chicken thigh smothered in BBQ sauce instead of a spicy chicken sandwich. Smelled weed coming from the back and the kid on the register was clearly high - probably why my order was wrong. This place is a joke. read more

Simply Soulful - Tiny chicken sandwich - Desserts Near Me - Seattle, Washington

Food was excellent. Took awhile to make. Service was helpful and kind. Good seating. Definitely worth supporting a black owned business

I've been wanting to try this place as I've heard good things. A few friends and I decided to have an early lunch. They have a small seating area with a television that is set to the news. It was clean and the staff were friendly - one person came over while we were eating to chat with us along with checking on our food. We ordered Shrimp and Grits; Chicken and Waffles; and two of us had the catfish. Everything was very good. The chicken was seasoned perfectly and crispy without being dry. The waffle was moist and had just the right texture to it. The shrimp and grits were good and had a little kick to them as far as seasoning. The only negative comment was about the catfish - it is was slightly dry, but was still tasty along with the greens and mac and Cheese. They have a dessert offering which is primarily slices of different types of cakes and a few pies. We had the pound cake which was delicious. One con: They do not provide parking and it can be challenging to find parking in this area - we ended up a couple of blocks away on a residential street. All in all, this was a great lunch and we all agreed we'd come here again. read more

Simply Soulful - Desserts Near Me - Seattle, Washington

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Simply Soulful is exactly what the name says. The food is great, the vibes are on point, the service is also good. Definitely a spot to stop by whenever you're in the area. read more

This place has the best chicken and waffles. The atmosphere is so inviting the service exceptional. We enjoyed our family time eating pie, bread pudding chicken and waffles. Yams and Mac n cheese is like grandma's. 100% stop and eat. read more

Simply Soulful - Chicken and waffles - Desserts Near Me - Seattle, Washington

Never order from this restaurant I'm guessing you'll have to do a walk in to experience good food but I doordash from this restaurant a couple of times in every single time I did they gave me burnt food and old food the mac and cheese smells funky like it's from 4 days ago the chicken is burnt so Chris you can't chew it the catfish is crispy and burnt also the yams smell funky like they've been sitting for days also the cornbread is hard as a rock I tried to get his place to benefit of the doubt cuz it seems black owned and I could be wrong I only feel it's black owned because the mac and cheese taste good the first time I had it so I kept trying to give them my business and my money but today I lost interest doordash had to refund me my money three times from this place because every time I door dance from this place everything is extremely funky old and smells I only have one good experience with this restaurant so please do not order from this restaurant I'm guessing you'll have to do a walk-in to experience better but they know to give doordash people nasty food and for that I'm highly upset that I gave my hard-earned money to this restaurant that has back door me over four times and I don't know why I keep going back to this place but they will never experience my money ever again for my loyalty as a customer I'm done. read more

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Soul Food! Quite literally meaning food for your soul. I placed an online pick up order to grab my piece of soul and I was happy that I did. I arrived without delay and was handed my bounty. The chicken was krispity kronkity LOVE THAT! A fried hard wing gets you closer to God I heard someone say. The Mac and cheese was a little plain. I also got a catfish and grits. The grits were marvelous and not lumpy at all. The issue came with the yams. They were less than tasty I'll say pretty oily but it might just be a one off. Everything else was absolutely fantastic I didn't even get a picture of the catfish and grits before the demolition. read more

Simply Soulful - Chicken Wing Dinner - Desserts Near Me - Seattle, Washington

Soul food classics in modern looking space! I was so happy when simply soulful re-opened in this location. It's tucked in behind a florist shop and next to the Amazon fresh store, it's easy to miss from the road. Stuff I get: Oxtail dinner: I can't resist oxtail if it's on a menu. It clocks in a bit steep price wise, but you do get a generous pile of meaty oxtail smothered in gravy over rice. Slow cooking classic! Fried chicken wings: I get these as a side, in 6 piece or 12 piece. Nice and crispy. The batter is nice and thin. Shrimp and grits: almost like a shrimp stew as the version here is more on the soupier side than a lot of other places. Shrimp are cooked nicely. I like how they display work from local artists on the walls, and the space is bright and airy. Note, the bathroom is in a weird spot down some stairs by the amazon fresh store and is a bit of a trek to get to. Nice place for soulfooding! read more

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I am not impressed with the food scene in Seattle at all. Now I will give props to the woman running the cash register her smile will light up a room. However, I am going to need the young lady who is handing out the food to pay attention to table numbers. Because whomever order those oxtails are most likely still waiting on them. Now to the food. It was just okay. I had the catfish with black eye peas and macaroni and cheese. I love catfish. Now was the catfish fried hard like I like it. Yes! But that was it. It has a lack of flavor. The black eye peas were seasoned to perfection but they weren't cooked long enough. Also, to give it a smooth taste add some real butter while they are slow cooking. But like I said seasoned really well but not slow cooked long enough. Put those things on for an entire night. The macaroni and cheese umm! It could have been better. Like it tasted decent but nothing I have to have again. The love was missing for sure. They did have kool-aid. They were out of lemonade so I couldn't get me a Sweet Samantha with red kool-aid, sweet and lemonade. But the kool-aid and sweet tea still hit well. It is a cute little spot. Crowded which is a good thing for business. Would I give it another try. Of course I would. However, the first impression of the meal I had, I see the potential but there needs to be some love and a little tweaking for a better outcome. Don't let them mess up your families recipes because the love should never fade away. I will try it again when I visit from Dallas. read more

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Treated to good ol' fashioned soul food in the CD! Loved every bite. Tried multiple small dishes and loved them all.

Probably the best chicken and waffles that you can obtain in the state of Washington. Great staff, exceptional customer service! This place is like eating Sunday dinner with my mom, sisters and brother and nieces and nephews. If you are in the Central District and your belly is rumbling stop by here. It is Simply Soulful, Simply delicious, simply everything you can desire in a soul food establishment. Oh, and they have some of the most beautiful art you can view as well, read more

Simply Soulful - Interior of Simply Soulful - Desserts Near Me - Seattle, Washington

We came here a couple of times now and I have to say that our most recent experience was not the best. We got there around 1 pm and there was one order ahead of us. We still ended up waiting about 30-45 minutes for our food. The first time we were there, we got Chicken and waffles, which wasn't bad. The chicken was on point and went well with the waffle. This time, we got the a Chicken combo and a fried catfish combo. Each comes with 2 sides and a corn bread. For sides, we got Mac and cheese, grits, french fries and hush puppies. The catfish and chicken was crispy and good, no complaints. My main complaint was the sides. Instead of giving us hush puppies, they gave us roasted potatoes instead, which was very disappointing because we really wanted hush puppies :( Out of everything we ate, the grit was definitely the best part. It was creamy, and addicting. Overall, it was ok. Probably won't be back anytime soon read more

So good! Go try it immediately! I had the fish and grits for dinner. Loved it. It wasn't packed so we got our food quickly. read more

Simply Soulful - Catfish and Grits - Desserts Near Me - Seattle, Washington

I had the gumbo and fried catfish and it was very tasty. Service was great. It wasn't busy during happy hour on a Tuesday but the wait wasn't short. Not too long either though. The place was clean and had nice music. read more

Outstanding food served here!! Excellent ownership translates to great quality food and service. The (chicken & waffles) was the very best I've ever eaten, ever...and I'm uber 'picky and particular' about my food! Hands down the best the (Black Owned), authentic soul food in Seattle. read more

Simply Soulful is simply delightful! I didn't realize they are now located in the Central District, not Madison Valley. Google maps is a little off, where it kept directing us to enter on 25th, but their entrance is right next to Amazon Fresh on 23rd and Jackson. Ordering is straight forward, you walk in and place your order at the counter then find a table. Their menus for breakfast and dinner are available all day. I went with their shrimp & grits, which I have been craving since binge watching "The Great Soul Food Cook-off", and their trio side sampler where you get to choose 3 sides. Simply Soulful's shrimp and grits exceeded my cravings. I thought the portion size was just right and love the textures of the grits, sauce and shrimp. Even with splitting the sides, I was feeling content and not stuffed. If I had to choose a favorite of the sides it would be the yams, but I definitely will get all 3 again. I personally thought the service at Simply Soulful is great, and I enjoy the laid back vibe of this restaurant. I look forward to coming back and tasting the rest of their menu. read more

Simply Soulful - Get the sides sampler: your choice of 3 sides & and piece of cornbread. - Desserts Near Me - Seattle, Washington

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Catfish, fried chicken, shrimp & grits, corn bread, collard greens, hush puppies, yams, and peach cobbler. They were all delicious. Super easy to order online and they were ready on time. Doesn't get any better. read more

I've eaten here twice, the first time when they opened and the second being the other day. This last time was worse than the first time, and the first time was nothing to brag about. When I went the first time I ordered a wing plate with greens and macaroni and the second plate was the catfish. The greens are literally just that, a pile of undercooked unseasoned greens. The macaroni was ok, but yet again, unseasoned. And my catfish was overcooked. That was two years ago, so I decided to give them a try again thinking things may have improved. They haven't, and in fact my experience this time was disgusting. I ordered the oxtails and to be honest, they need to take this item off of the menu until they have come up with an actual recipe for it. The oxtails weren't seared on the sides to render some of the fat and give flavor, they literally just threw them into a crockpot. I know a Lipton beef onion packet when I taste it, which is crazy that's the only thing you throw in there. And someone decided it would be a great idea to throw the rice in the pot to cook with everything else. Not even taking the time to separate all of the fat from you're Lipton gravy, so I was served grease rice and meat with large bits of fat still attached. The macaroni had to be scraped for bc it was crunchy and old. And I also know a box of jiffy when I taste it. Being that this meat was floating in fat, I assumed it would be tender but no, it wasn't. To be charging $40 for this is crazy. Seattle you have got to do better read more

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I had a lunch date here on a Friday, and it was absolutely delightful! I had the catfish dinner with greens and mac and cheese. The catfish was fried to perfection- crispy and well seasoned crust with a juicy side of catfish. The collard greens were tender and flavorful, and mac and cheese was a creamy heaven. You order at the counter, and they bring out the meal. The staff were friendly and we didn't feel rushed taking our time to decide and have a drawn out catch up session. Highly recommend. read more

Simply Soulful - Catfish dinner with greens and mac and cheese. - Desserts Near Me - Seattle, Washington

This was my first time in Washington and we searched for three days to find good food. Unfortunately we weren't very successful. Simply soulful wasn't bad, but it wasn't good. We had Catfish, shrimp & grits, and chicken and waffles with OJ. One piece of catfish was $18!!! It was a small filet with no bread, Chips, fries or anything. Shrimp and grits were mediocre at best. Waffle was decent and chicken was plain. Needed more seasoning. read more

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I was visiting Seattle from Los Angeles and wanted some soul food. I looked up Simply Soulfood and took the bus from my hotel. The atmosphere and vibe was inviting, friendly and warm. The food was a 10 out of 10. The customer service was a 10 out of 10. read more

Delicious!!! I have not had yams that taste as good as my momma's yams since she passed away.The service was great, very and everything was finger licking good!! You will be happy you visited it's a must. Chicago Michele read more

Simply Soulful - Pork Chop Dinner - Desserts Near Me - Seattle, Washington

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Food: in the words of my teenage...this food is bussing! Yummy yum yum!!!! We use to visit this restaurant often pre-pandemic. This is our first time back and we were celebrating our youngest high school graduation. The restaurant is in a new location and it's bigger than the last restaurant. There's nice artwork on the walls and a lounge on the second floor. Two things: #1 the restroom situation isn't ideal. You have to leave the restaurant and walk to another set of doors and..... #2 parking situation is always an issue. The restaurant is located on Jackson so parking is sometimes hard to find. Service: okay. read more

I was very disappointed. I ordered the catfish dinner with black eyed peas, macaroni and cheese, with a cornbread muffin. The catfish was very dry. the black eyed peas had no flavor. the cornbread and the macaroni and cheese were both very good though. Overall, I will not order from there again. read more

We ordered 2 catfish dinners. The sides were good. The catfish was either over cooked or cooked earlier and reheated. It was hard and barely breakable. Hardly any white fish, just crunchy dried out flesh. We waited over an hour for this?? read more

The chicken entree was excellent the chicken wings, red beans and rice, and collard greens tasted great.

All - I don't want to be a downer, but my personal experience wasn't great. The Positives: * Customer service was excellent, and the staff was very attentive. The Negatives: 1. Wait Time - The food took forever. One customer even left after waiting 40 minutes. 2. Chicken Wings - Overcooked and completely flavorless. 3. Pork Chop - Extremely dry, overly salty, and tough. 4. Red Beans - Basic, nothing special. 5. Yams - Tasted like they came straight from a can. 6. Greens - Had good flavor and weren't overcooked. 7. Cornbread - More like a dry, burnt brick. 8. Price - Not worth what I paid. While the service was top-notch, the food itself was a disappointment. read more

Black owned soul food spot with lots of great flavors. True mom and pops spot. Food was delicious and the playlist was bumping all the classic soulful hits. Highly recommended. The service was top tier. She was very helpful and knowledgeable. read more

Simply Soulful - Catfish Dinner with Mac and Cheese, Candied Yams and cornbread 10/10 - Desserts Near Me - Seattle, Washington

there is no need to anticipate simply soulful-- I WILL SIMPLY TELL YOU WHAT IT IS. i really want to love this place, but waiting over an hour for cold food makes that difficult. it was busy, and there was only one person in the kitchen and one working the front, so no shade to the staff-- they were clearly working hard. this is a staffing issue, not an effort issue. if these wait times are consistent, what would it take for ownership to have more people on shift? long waits, cold food, and overworked staff don't serve anyone well. we waited over 60 minutes for two plates of food that arrived cold. happy hour shrimp & grits was listed at $10 but charged at $20, the grits were lumpy, the greens were cold and bland, and not all of our food was brought out. this was my third visit, and the last time before today was almost two years ago. unfortunately, it feels like the same issues-- long waits and mediocre food. i want to support this place, but paying $83 after waiting over an hour for cold food just isn't acceptable. things they do pleasantly-- prepare meats well and make mac&cheese well, both are delicious choices. read more

Simply Soulful is BY FAR one of the best places to get a good meal for any and everyone. It truly brings the feel of any origion or region you may have traveled. If you want a New Orleans feel of maybe just some good of fashioned Soul right here in Central District Seattle. Its locally owned passed down generation to generation Mother to Daughter. Come and see what would be SO good for your SOUL for a chill vibe and good meal with family and friends! read more

Simply Soulful. I frequented the prior Madison street location. A really great food spot. I loved how you could see them making fresh food in the middle of the restaurant. However, it was painfully slow. I waited an hour for my food to arrive after ordering. Good thing I was alerted to slow service and brought a book to read. After their move, wanted to try their offerings again. Love the new location and more room space. Greeted warmly. Lots of lag time between being greeted and placing my order. Water was given as I was seated, but pretty much ignored until my food came. I love oxtails, so had to order this again. The oxtails were soft and the gravy that came with it was beefy and had a great onion taste. Just what I am looking for in oxtails. Shrimp and grits were really good. The grits were creamy and tasty. Next, had fried catfish, rice and beans. Plus, macaroni and cheese. Loved the crispness of the catfish. Rice and beans were well seasoned. Macaroni and cheese had a creamy cheese sauce. Have to get greens, theirs had a tasty smoky flavor. They did forget my cornbread and service here can be limited. I was not able to get the attention of my server, nor was I checked in during my meal. They did give me the cornbread to go, once I was presented with the bill. This place reminds me to going to a private home. The cooks are trying their best to present you with the best food possible. Some of it is great, some orders are not the best after sitting for too long. The service is inexperienced and overall helpful. Again, longer waits for your food. Great desserts, seems I always have to take these to go, as I am so full. Overall,worth the minor inconveniences you have here for the good food. read more