Doug E’s

Actually, pretty decent. Good chicken and whiting, flavored & cooked thoroughly. All sides were up to «homemade» standards (collards, yams, Mac & cheese.) That’s saying A LOT for a fast food joint. I’ve only taken out but there’s a few rationed seats to sit and eat.

In my opinion, the best soul food in Harlem right now.
I hope people support this place because it needs to be expanded into a sit down restaurant. The fish is THE BEST. The Mac & Cheese is THE BEST. The collard greens are THE BEST. The Yellow Rice is THE BEST. The candied yams are THE BEST. The corn bread will make you ask the person eating next to you, «You want your corn bread?» And yeah, there will be consequences and repercussions if you try to take their corn bread.
Doug E is a Hip Hop Legend that should be supported and the food at his spot is AMAZING and under $ 20. How can you beat that?
I sincerely hope it expands and I HIGHLY recommend this spot. Even if you come in just to get a fish sandwich, DO IT!
TWO THUMBS UP!

I have not eatten at this place, but have ordered through delivery. Their waffles and chicken is very good. More on the spicy side with cinnamon and nutmeg so if you like your thanksgiving flavors this is the spot for you. Consistantly good.

I come here regularly since it’s just around the corner from my apartment.
I love the girls that work there; they’re sweet and work SO hard!
The food can be hit or miss at times (not often) but the chicken and waffles are consistent. They also have a tasty brunch that includes salmon cakes that are so delicious but, as a tip, 2 is the standard with a meal, not 1, regardless of whether eggs come with it or not. Either way, Greg does a great job, and I keep coming back at least once a weekend. The cornbread and lemonade /​sweet tea /​half ‘n’ half deserves its own mention… I’ve never had better ANYWHERE that wasn’t my own family’s kitchen.
I wish management could get some things together:
–The wait time is astronomical and atrocious AND the main reason I could only give 3 stars instead of 4 or 5. Last Friday night around midnight, I waited almost a FULL HOUR for 2 orders of chicken wings, drinks and a pack of cookies. So really, I waited an hour for 8 chicken wings since everything else is prepackaged and ready to go. I could have made it faster going to buy chicken and frying it myself.
–If you’re not going to directly help the above mentioned problem, do us all a favor and sit in the back where irritated patrons don’t have to see that there is a capable set of hands not moving the process along or speeding it up. Don’t sit out front at the counter staring aimlessly and talking about nothing to customers who I’m sure would much rather be moving their mouths chewing, not shooting the shit with you.
–Figure out a proper balance. The restaurant is only open 3 days a week, during club hours only. If that’s the only time you want to open, fine, but there’s no reason for only 2 people to be at the counter trying to do everything (take orders, drop the chicken to fry, make waffles, grab drinks AND cashiering??? It’s too much, even for the best of the best and does more harm than good for the people that matter: employees and patrons! If you’re only going to keep 2 people at the counter, train them to be more efficient.
Pros: The food is yummy, convenient location, late hours
Cons: Limited availability, wait time is ridiculous, training in efficiency is needed on all levels

I ve had the opportunity to work here and while working there i had the option to eat the food there. My favorite chef are George and Sasha. My favorite things to eat there are the mac n cheese, curry chicken, honey bbq wings, fish, shrimps, fries, brocoli, corn brea, chicken fingers and the Waffles.

Went back for chicken n waffles. Delicious meal but it doesn’t beat ordering a meal that comes with THE CORNBREAD. I also ordered the half and half, it was on point. No tartness or weird aftertaste.

Very inconsistent. I’ll start off by saying I live a stones throw from Doug E’s and have lived in Harlem longer than this place has been here. A decent spanish restaurant once occupied its space. With that said, I wish the spanish spot was still there.
With a fried chicken spot on every other corner in Harlem, I have many options. I find myself traveling far and wide rather than going right next door to Doug E’s. Why? Because I know better. Starting with the fact that they open and close whenever they want and now are only open on the weekends apparently.
Next, the staff isn’t the friendliest or helpful. Service is important to me, especially if your food is mediocre.
Which brings us to the actual food. I’ve gone here when they first opened and then swore it off. I came back to give a second chance as I know it takes a while to get the kinks out. The chicken was over fried to the point of being burnt. The collards were bland and yams tasted canned. The best thing I’ve ever had there is the corn bread.
The 2 stars are for the cornbread. They must know it is good because they charge $ 1 plus tax for the tiniest piece of cornbread that I have ever received from a «soul food» place.
This is a weekend, late night, after the club/​party spot. When you are drunk and trying to hook up at 4am, it doesn’t matter what you’re eating I guess. For me, I’ll go to Popeyes instead. Real fried chicken lives at Charles’ Pan Fried Chicken and I’ll leave the comfort of my immediate neighborhood to go there if I want great fried chicken.
I respect what Dougie has done for Hip Hop, just not for his chicken or waffles.

Service here sucks. waited 10 minutes for nothing because the two counter people there didn’t know how to make money and take care of business. This place could use better management

OMG the chicken and waffles! I’ve had chicken and waffles at a lot of places and this place is on point. We got lucky because we got there while she was frying the chicken so ours was hot, ready and fresh. I don’t know what they dip the chicken in to fry but it was still crispy after I heated it up the next day.
I shall return Doug E

Wasn’t impressed. Fish was best item. Chicken had good flavor but didn’t live up to the hype. Side dishes weren’t par. Mac was flavorless. Greens were undercooked.

I think Dougie’s has hurt his business by being closed for so long. Even though it has re-​opened I do drive by on ocassion sometimes it opend and sometimes it’s closed. They have in effect hurt there client base. If they can’t be consistent by staying open they won’t be around much longer

It is what it is.
The cornbread was great wait staff was nice, cook was confused but he’s great on the fryer

I visited this restaurant with my sisters one late night after leaving a nearby party. Ordering was difficult for us because most of the choices we made they were out of and we were told that they only had fried and bbq chicken. Two of us opted for the fried and the other chose the bbq chicken wings (she was the smarter one).
We were not impressed with the fried chicken at all because we have all made better. BUT the bbq wings were amazing and werent your typical bbq because it had a teriyaki taste to it. Our mac & chese sides were simply ok but the cornbread was very good and was not the typical style. It tasted like a cross between corn bread and bread pudding… delicious!
i’d definitely return to try more.

Great jerk chicken, good portion for the low price. High quality food. The staff was great, very friendly and accommodating.

Mixed feelings here. I want to like the idea but the execution is poor. I enjoyed Doug E Fresh as an artist growing up so it was a nice nostalgic touch. It is nice that they hand out free CD’s of Doug E’s music to patrons.
Food flavors are good but everything is heavy and grease-​based. Not great for anyone with food restrictions or following a healthy food diet. Also do not eat in for the simple reason that their ventilation system sucks and you will smell like hot oil as that is what the place smells like. Bathrooms are well cleaned and maintained.
As much as I tried to enjoy eating my food, I think it would have been a better experience to eat as take out. Seating arrangements are odd and you may end up eating your meal while the line wraps around your table. ALSO, lines are usually long so it’s probably better to call ahead or not come in when you are at the point of starving.
Their drinks are good and they have a nice variety of choices. There is a lot of work that needs to be improved facility-​wise but for the most part the food here will be acceptable – just dont eat in!!!

Came here last week off of a whim… had nothing to do on a Saturday afternoon and was gonna go to Harlem for some…(ahem) specialty drinks. lol. So, while on facebook I saw an advertisement for Doug E’s and I remember hearing sometime ago that 80s rapper Doug E. Fresh had his own chicken and waffle spot in Harlem.
Decided what the hell, why not try it… was kind of in the mood for some chicken and waffles too but did not feel like doing the typical iHop thing. Came here and was pleased. Not OVERLY pleased but pleased enough. The place isn’t like an iHop or a chain breakfast restaurant spot but more so like a Mama’s/Kennedy’s/Kansas Fried Chicken spot… only thing is their chicken is actually good and not greasy. The waffles are okay, tasted more like wheat waffles and I am not a fan of anything wheat but I guess if they wanna keep things healthy I am not complaining…
Food is a decent price for the portion they give you. And thankfully its just not chicken and waffles they serve. Also have shirmps, fries, veggies, a nice variety of food.
Would come here again probably on some random day when I don’t have any plans and want something different to eat.

The food is usually great and the service friendly.
Every time I’ve gone into the restaurant, the place is spotless.
HOWEVER, what continues to baffle me is why a place that is serving chicken and waffles all day every day, does not have more (working) waffle irons. There have been times I’ve been there when only one waffle iron was working and had to wait over 40 minutes for my order. It seems they would have back-​up irons in the back, even if they were just household models.
Delivery is iffy. Even though delivery is advertised, call and ask if they are delivering BEFORE you get your mouth fixed.
Check your order before you leave. I’ve been PO’d at least twice when I discovered something had been left off the order or something was wrong.
The sides are over-​priced, but most are tasty, although I’ve had some with an off flavor. The greens just were not right for some reason. The cornbread is always great.
Don’t plan on sitting down at a table to eat. There are only a few tables which some people tend like to linger over at certain times of day/​night.

You might be tempted to judge the fast food, over the counter feel. Or be skeptical when your food comes out to you in a styrofoam box with plastic utensils. DO NOT BE DISMAYED! For $ 8 you will get enough food to give you a serious case of the itis and make you feel right at home in central Harlem.
The waffles are made with ambrosia. The chicken must be laced with crack. The dichotomy is what makes it work. Peanut butter and jelly, chocolate and pretzels, don’t knock the beauty of chicken & waffles until you’ve tried it yourself.

Chicken & Waffles, Chicken & Waffles. Chicken and (insert expletive here) Waffles!
Very excited as I type this and eat. Maybe I’m just super hungry and anything I consume is gona taste super super good? (I take two more bites of the waffle) … or maybe this freekin waffle is just that damn good!
«What in the hell is this?» I thought to myself as I chewed slowly then gradually chewed faster while my taste buds surveyed this anomaly of a waffle.
«I know how you like your waffles, and this is not how you like your waffles» my brain scolded my taste buds. «You like your waffles crispy on the outside and somewhat fluffy on inside… Just like you said in your Amy Ruth’s review, remember?»
My taste buds wasn’t tryna hear all that and seemed to say otherwise. The Cinnamony flavor and the Fluffiness of the waffle caught me off guard. Just when I thought I had my waffle world all figured out Doug E’s waffle done changed all that up in one bite. Flipped my waffle world upside down and now I’m back to square one. Good Lawd Good Lawd!!, eating a waffle won’t never be the same! Came home and got me looking at the Ego Waffles in my freezer with contempt. «You ain’t no damn Doug E waffle, yuse an imposter» I muttered to myself and slammed the freezer door shut.
The décor is pretty simple. Super Clean table and chair set up. Two flat screens with the local radio station providing the soundtrack. The place has that loud friendly neighborhood swag to it that you can just call a «Harlem Thing». The staff is friendly, super cool and very helpful.
I know I harped on the waffles but the chicken wings are a great sidekick; crispy and seasoned well. Stuffed my faced with the baked macaroni and sweet yams. Macaroni was good. Yams were fresh and drenched in sweet syrupy sweetness, straight cavity waiting to happen. Don’t know what their putting on the broccoli, but I promise you won’t have any trouble feeding ‘em to your kids. The moist cornbread had me thinking I was eating sponge cake. Thumbs up.
It aint’t hard to tell, This is the place for Chicken & Waffles.