Soulfood Kitchen

I sit here with my dress belt undone after a satisfying meal at the very new restaurant Soulfood Kitchen. Not only was I excited that an authentic Southern American restaurant was opening but it was located SOUTHSIDE!

Located at Erindale shops (around the the side near Pizza Capers), Soulfood Kitchen had very recently opened its doors to provide comfort food and flavours from New Orleans.

Currently BYOB while they are obtaining their license, this laid back atmosphere dining has only limited seating so I would suggest you book. You order and pay at the counter and because we went early-ish and it wasn’t too busy (yet), the food came out rather quickly.

Going with a true Louisianian, she knew to order extra BBQ and hot sauce and a whoooole lotta napkins!

Soul Food Sampler get the platter loaded with goodies- smokin’ ribs, crab cakes, buffalo wings, bourbon street oysters ($42.00) – My eyes lit up and I didn’t know where to begin on the plate! They say this platter is ideally for two people and allows you to try a range of snacks.

Crab cakes – golden crispy crab cakes with a simple salsa went very well with the accompanying sauce.

Buffalo wings – Yum! Very addictive and slightly spicy, they made me do my happy clap.

Bourbon street oysters – You couldn’t tell that these were oysters, I guess the batter took away most of the texture and natural taste. Even if you don’t usually eat oysters, I’d give these a go!

Smokin’ ribs – These impressed everyone without fail, maybe I’ll order just a plate of these next time. *licks lips*

A close up of the very tender, succulent and delicious BBQ smoked ribs that fell off the bone and their spicy hot wings.

Barbecue Pork Po’Boy made with fresh French bread, dressed with lettuce, tomato, homemade garlic mayo and Louisiana hot sauce ($16.00). I really enjoyed the pulled pork with the BBQ sauce and the coleslaw but I felt the bread was too thick and slightly stale, but nothing that ditching the bun didn’t fix.

Gumbo (shrimp, chicken and sausage) – the most famous dish in Louisiana is Gumbo, meaning “all together”. Hearty and full of flavour served with a stack of rice ($21.00). I had just a spoon of this but I could taste the great smokey flavour in the sausage and the gumbo.

Southern extras~

Macaroni and cheese ($8.00) – I couldn’t help but spontaneously order a side when I got to the counter, it wasn’t the best mac and cheese I’ve had but it would have been better if it was served piping hot rather than luke warm.

Desserts~

I thought the prices for a slice of cake/pie was a bit high but I was willing to pay because you can’t get authentic Southern American sweets anywhere else in Canberra.

Key lime cheese cake ($10.00) – I’ve always heard about key limes but had never tasted one. Even though it says cheesecake, this cake had a delicate, very smooth mousse texture and was very light and refreshing with the zest of the limes.

Pecan Pie ($10.00) – I thought this was going to be super sweet and I’m not the biggest ‘nut fan’ but this was delicious and I would definitely order this again. Convince someone else to have dessert and get one of everything!

Victor the owner (and USA celebrity chef who recently featured on SBS Food safari) came out of the kitchen several times during the night to have some fun and chat with his customers. They have live Blues music the first Friday of every month, Victor wanted his restaurant to be just like in New Orleans where there was music, laughing customers and kids running around. He was very grateful to his kitchen staff, front of house, the band and the patrons and even showed off his musical talents.

Despite being only opened for the fourth night and encountering internet problems, phone problems and power outages, Soulfood Kitchen showed us nothing but a good time and authentic comfort food made with love and soul and hopefully can only get better when it is well established.

They have dine in and take away which is really dangerous, like I need a restaurant close by serving delicious ribs that I can take away .

Apparently they only do takeaways between 3-6pm

Venue: Soulfood Kitchen

Address: Shop 8, 38 Gartside street, Wanniassa, ACT 2903

Phone: (02) 6231 2568

Website: www.soulfoodkitchen.com.au

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