Vonda’s Kitchen

I stumbled upon this fine establishment due to a recommendation from an employee of mines. Immediately stepping in you see how well kept this place is. The staff are flowing and there’s a window so that you can see through to the kitchen, an image of hardworking cooks and it sure does reflect on the food. I am a big breakfast person so I ordered a kitchen omelette with home fries and toast. The home fries were a gift from God, they were perfectly seasoned and cooked to a beautiful golden finish. The eggs followed suit. My coworkers were also so amazed they let me taste some of their dishes and overall the food here is unlike any other place in Newark. I will definitely be visiting more often.

I was greeted upon arrival by many of the staff members. They made me feel welcomed and provided great service. Once I got the menu I wasn’t sure what to order everything looked so good. I decided to go with a healthy choice although I really wanted fish and grits. I was very satisfied with my food choice. I look forward to coming back and trying the dinner menu.

I called in an order for breakfast since I live nearby. This is not the most desirable area to have a business yet this place is located in a new building across from my old Elementary school. I walked in and the owner was there she greeted me and offered me a coffee. This is my first time at Vonda’s but not my first time having their food. The place is nice. My Fish and Grits were so good! I substituted catfish for the whiting which the order comes with. Nothing unpleasant can be said about their cooking or food. The owner seems focused and passionate about her business. What this place could use, is a better coffee selection. I know this is in the heart of Newark but times are changing. I have heard it gets crazy when it’s busy, but I enjoyed the quietness of an early morning visit… I will definitely stop by again. Fish & Grits is normally $ 10.50 w/​the catfish I paid $ 12.50 it was enough food for 2 ppl.

Food is great. However service could be way better. Takes long to get food. Would be a 5 stars if it wasnt for service/​long wait.

First time using Unilocal for anything and decided to sign based on sign on the door of this establishment… The food is 100% top notch. tasty seasoned served hot and nice portions… As far as the service… since reading these comments and kinda knowing Vonda a lil personally, I will voice them to her and direct her to reading some of these so that others can have a better experience in the future… I’m sure she will address some of y’all concerns

I would consider myself to be a regular at Vonda’s. The food for the most part is pretty good. They’re not a lot of soul food places in Newark so there’s not plenty of competition. The service needs work! I mean a lot of work. If the food wasn’t really good I would not have returned a long time ago. The server normally takes too long to acknowledge you, too long to take your beverage and food order, too long to bring your beverages. And the food never comes out in a timely fashion. I can always wait for food (if I’m not in a hurry) but I don’t like to go to places with subpar service. Hopefully they will train their staff better and I believe this place will be even busier!

Came to Vonda’s because I was craving some fried fish. I chose this spot because it had the most reviews. The place was very clean and wasn’t crowded however my order about 25 min to come out. With this long a wait time I was expecting this meal to be amazing. My cornbread was cold and the fish wasn’t flavorful. The Mac and cheese was above average; the yams where the best thing on the plate. I will try one more time because I believe everyone has a subpar performance to see if this is a constant issue.

The first time I ate here, I just finished swimming around the corner at JFK pool. Yes, shame on me, I shoulda ate first, then burned off those calories. LOL!
Food, I had whiteys which were was excellent, my uptown was perfect, and that mac and cheese, well it was just like back in the day. I first looked at the fish and thought. .. wow only one piece, but it was really really big, After eating it, I realized it was more than enough and perhaps my eyes were bigger than my stomach. The corn bread was good too.
Today, I had the same, but with take out. My family loved the food, chicken in waffles, shrimp and mac & yams, chicken & fries. They just raved and raved.
Now I’m a pretty good cook, but sometimes its just worth letting someone else do the cooking. Today was one of those days.
OH, I forgot to mention the service was really good. Go and enjoy.

Yum Yum & Yum! My meal was excellent & exceeded my expectations. I’ve been here before but today the service was great, I didn’t wait long for my takeout order. The collard Greens taste fresh, the Turkey wings were well seasoned without the taste of salt & I absolutely loved the Macaroni & Cheese. The portion size was more than I could eat at 1 sitting, so I guess I’ll have the left-​overs for dinner. The cornbread was good, but would have been better if it were hot, but overall I give today’s experience 4 stars; I would have given it a 5 if the menus were online & if I were able to order online, after all, although this restaurant is in a residential area its also across the street from a school & I work for another neighboring school, so having the menu assessable online would be more convenient, as well as great for business.
11÷11÷15
Not sure what they put in the grits, but I was already to add salt & before I knew it, I was eating then without adding salt. This is a first! The grits were great!

Went around 10am, Nice and empty, parking on the street which wasn’t bad at the time but I can see being a problem if it was rush hour. Now to the food I had the Balckend Whiting, grits, eggs and cheese, also tried the French toast, The Fish was well seasoned, Grits was really good and French Toast was on Wheat bread and very good Banana Walnut, Overall Nice place but go early!

Came here to support local business and get some good soul food. When we entered no one asked us to seat so we found a seat. It was pretty crowded for a Friday early afternoon. After waiting about 15 min the waitress came. Food took about 25 min to arrive. I had the blacken catfish, collard greens, mac and cheese, and rice and beans. The rice and beans were watery and disgusting but the waitress was nice enough to give me a mac and cheese to go instead. The food was good. The only issues i can see is that the people working there do not know how to work quickly. Also took a yellow and chocolate cake home and it was old and grainy.
P.s the best things are the cornbread and mac and cheese

All the way commerical food looks good but the taste is nasty .i orderd as the menu read scrambled eggs and seared salmon cakes. Take a good look do those salmon cakes look seared to u them shits was like eating a bowl of capn crunch root of my mouth is jacked up eggs tasted burned they must toast the bread on the grill because thats what it taste like. Grits ok homefries soso ginger lemonade good i can do better. Total for that diaster 16.95 would i go back yes for my money

Vonda’s was referred to me by a friend, so I figured I would give it a shot. When we arrived the server, who didn’t seem too enthused that we were there, told us we could sit at any table, majority of which looked like they had not been whipped down from previous diners. We ended up having to sit at a dirty table.
We were handed the breakfast menu (which we found out by listening to another server was one of two menus the establishment has) and we order the shrimp and grits and fish and grits. Although the food was well seasoned, the shrimp was overcooked, the fish was very bony and the grits were not creamy, rather grainy.
Our server (young male) did not check on us, another server asked us if we were okay as she went to check on the table she was servicing.
Unfortunately, I will not be returning to Vonda’s.

This was my first visit to this restaurant as I am new to the Newark area. Based on other reviews, I was prepared for the worst. As others mentioned, the food was pretty delicious and satisfying.
However, the customer service was almost insulting. No one greeted me as I came in, although 2 gentlemen that walked in after me were greeted with a parade. The cornbread that was given was accompanied with no butter, so I assumed they didn’t offer it. However, when I looked over to the 2 men sitting next to me I noticed their waiter put jelly and butter in their basket. I asked my waiter why I didn’t get any and she stated «Well, I dont like it on my cornbread so I didn’t think to put it in your basket.» Seriously?
Moreover, I over heard the 2 men next to me ask their waiter while they were making their order if the oxtails were any good. Waiter’s response…“I dont know, we are not aloud to try it since its more expensive. We can only try the cheap stuff i. e chicken and fish.” Flabbergasted I was. Another disturbing thing I noticed was the bus lady cleaning the bathroom with the door wide open and the entire restaurant immediately engulfed with ammonia. I had to wrap my food to go. Another customer had to ask the bus lady to close the door. Something else that shocked me was the fact that two more customers walked in and were greeted by the waiter while he sat on a chair texting. He yelled across the restaurant while asking them if they were eating in or taking out.
Great tasting food means nothing when the service is horrific. Never mind the 20 flies flying around my food. Get your customer service in line or else you will lose all of your customers. For these reasons I will def not return… plus Ive had better soul food in NY anyway!

I’m pretty much a regular here but unfortunately it will have to come to an end. It takes over 20 mins to receive your drinks. The waitresses will take your drink order and pass it off to someone else and before you know it you’ll have to request your drinks again. It takes much longer to get your cornbread and your entrees as well.
I kept coming here because I was loyal to Vonda and to support black businesses but I don’t think it’s worth it if the service gets worst and worst. The place is also very small so I do not recommend this space for large parties. It’s hard getting an order right with just 3 patrons. So sad, but today I won’t be returning here as much. Food is great but I can do without the service.

8÷30÷15 —- This was my 5^th time coming to dine here and it was the ABSOLUTE WORST!!! This time I brought my sister and it was her first time! First of all it took ¹⁵⁄₂₀ mins to get MENUS and another 10mins just to get the drinks… on top of that there was something IN MY CRANBERRY JUICE. They changed it for another one
We finally put in our food orders and 20mins later they said «THERE ARE NO MORE FRIED CHICKEN WINGS»
They acted like they didnt care whether we were satisfied or not, so we got up and walked out and they didnt even stop us… its obvious it didn’t bother them that we left so WE WILL NOT COME BACK! sorry but that REALLY turned me off!!!
We went to another spot and the service was much better and the food came in within 15mins!

I’ve heard nothing but good reviews about this place so my mom and I (major foodies) decided to check it out. The décor was very nice. Very modern and hip with beautiful art on the walls. It’s a sit wherever you feel place which is alright I guess. The service was ok. A little slow. We ordered the lemonade which was actual sugar water with a hint of lemon. Smh.
My mom ordered the fried chicken (came with 2 pieces of chicken. Wing and breast for $ 17.95) with potato salad and Mac and cheese. I had the oxtails (rice and beans with oxtails on top. 19.95) with Mac and cheese and collards greens. My mom said there was nothing special about the chicken at all. It fell very flat. The potato salad was very bland and needed more flavor. The Mac and cheese was mediocre at best. Definitely have had better. The collard greens were little under done. Oxtails were amazing tho. Tender and flavorful. Best thing I ate. I didn’t try the cornbread which was complimentary but my mom said it was moist and fluffy but bland.
I really had high hopes for Vonda’s based on reviews and I’m all for supporting local businesses but unfortunately Vonda’s didn’t hit the mark. Sorry but I won’t be returning.

Great food, atmosphere, service and décor. all of the food was made fresh to order the excellent. They really care about their business what people think of the food that they serve. Very friendly staff with a passion for the business. Started with the black eyed pea dip with blue tortilla chips and then had the shrimp and grits, baked whitefish, blackened flounder, Mac and cheese, garlic spinach, potato salad, salmon cakes and the corn bread was off the hook as well as the candied yams were awesome. Definitely will be returning.

JUST WHAT NEWARK DESERVES!
From the moment I stepped inside this neighborhood café I was struck by the vibrant green color and beautiful artwork on the walls! The large picture windows light the room and help to create a comfortable easy atmosphere. The space is modern, bright and airy!
My family and I were quickly seated by a welcoming and attentive server. While we awaited our breakfast we enjoyed the soft sounds of gospel music playing in the background… a nice touch, particularly on a Sunday morning.
The food was well-​seasoned and the portions were hearty. I couldn’t decide on sweet or savory, so I over indulged by ordering the Fish & Grits, as well as, the Silver-​dollar pancakes. They were both amazing! I also can’t say enough about the iced tea served in Mason jars! A very soulful gem for Newark. I’m looking forward to my next visit.

A gem in Newark with real soul food and a great ambiance. I feel like I was transported to the South without ever leaving Jersey! It felt like a home cooked meal made with love. I came on a Saturday morning and got their pan seared salmon cakes while my friend ordered their BBQ chicken. The corn bread is perfect and so are their grits!
My only qualm which echoes some of the other reviews is the service. As soon as it got a bit busier, they had a hard time keeping up. Despite that, I will return!