Oohh’s & Aahh’s

One of the best places to get some down south, home cooked food. Everything I had was yummy!!! The collards, potato salad, yams fried chicken. UGH! I want another plate!
Eat here. trust me. You will not be disappointed.

It being an early Friday night, my friend and I finally decided to embark on a journey long overdue. After hearing about this place December of 2015 and promoting among my foodie friends at school, it’s always been a craving of mine to try a dinner platter with some fried wings. I love Wingstop where I’m from (orange county), and consider myself to have relatively high standards for wing eaters, so I wanted to see what Washington, DC brought to the table when it came to topic of deep-​fried chicken wings. Entering the restaurant, I was pleased to feel the ambience a soul food place should give off. I ordered the wing dinner combo with sides of yams and mac and cheese. My friend ordered the short ribs with rice and gravy. His entire platter was pretty bomb, to say the least. (5 stars)
To be honest, my wings were relatively dry and under-​seasoned. The skin was meh, and could have been a lot crispier. I’d give it a solid three stars. However, my sides were amazing. The mac and cheese was heavenly. You know how they have those questions that ask people what their last meals would be? I just added Oohh’s & Aahh’s mac and cheese to my list. (5 stars — A+)
Cumulatively, my whole experience there genuinely earned a 4 stars out of 5. I would still be happy to go back, but I’d probably stay away from their wings or try something else.

I absolutely love this place the mac and cheese so amazing and the yams are no short of perfect. The turkey wings however are dry and if you go there past 10 pm it may take a long time to receive your food. So I recommend calling in first. But other then that it’s great !

Terrible. Just terrible. Don’t. Even. Think. About. It. If it was the only place open in all of DC, I would ride a bus to Virginia to get better food rather than go here again. The food was good but nothing special, especially when considering their ridiculous prices. Soul food my ass – it looks like soul food but it don’t taste like soul food. Me and my friends paid $ 80 for three meals (about ~$ 16 average per meal) and three drinks. I could have gotten a really delicious meal for that price. And the lemonade left us instantly in a diabetic comma. Unfortunately, we did not see the sign that said tables of four or more would be charged an UNDISCLOSED «table fee» because we had four people at our table – our fourth friend ordered lemonade. With the table fee AND mandatory tip included, our bill was 30% higher than what the bill should’ve added up to. The service was not good either which was really frustrating because he was getting a 30% fee and tip! Our waiter could not remember our drink order (two lemonades, one coke, and a water) – he had to ask us three times what we ordered. What kind of restaurant tacks on a fee for parties of four or more? Isn’t the standard typically higher than that, such as parties of five or six? Most families will get screwed on this alone. And you don’t find out about the fee until you sit down upstairs and eventually look at a sign that says it. It doesn’t say it anywhere on the menu which is bloody useless. Had we known, we would’ve done take out, only to discover that the food is mediocre. The wings are just wings – nothing particularly tasty about them. The macaroni and cheese is good but I’ve had far better at cheaper places. What. A. Joke. In the end, we got free to-​go plastic bags, so the upside is that we avoided DC’s plastic bag tax :(.

Came here and wasn’t sure what I was expecting. Went on a Saturday night around 9pm. The process for going upstairs to grab a table (standing up against the wall and waiting) is a bit odd but whatever, hole in the walls are my fav.
Going upstairs instantly takes you back to the First Ebenezer Missionary AME Church Fellowship Hall… NO LIE! I could not believe we were still in DC. It definitely had a Coldwater, MS feel to it. But like I said… hole in the walls are my fav. Once we adjusted to the décor, the church fan in the corner and the tight seating we proceeded to order. I don’t know if they ran out of food and had to make some more right when we got there but my friend was able to go from Branch Ave to the U Street metro and our food still wasn’t ready. In the interim we just sipped on our Route 44 in a styrofoam cup drinks. I don’t know why I was expecting glassware in the fellowship hall.
One big kudo is the staff… they were very nice and accommodating.
So anyway… our food comes and its in a to-​go box. *lowered eyebrows* I’m all for lowering your operating costs but I must say this was SO black! Not only that but there is a huge piece of foil separating the meat from the sides. BBQ official plastic cutlery completes the look. My people, my people!
My friend swore by their fried chicken wings but I’m leery of people’s seasoning, or lack thereof, so I went with the blackened catfish, sweet potatoes (those are NOT yams) and the macaroni. My fish was alright, I wouldn’t order it again. The sweet potatoes were really good, all I needed was a pie crust! The macaroni was subpar, I damn near choked on all the cheese. I make a 5 cheese macaroni but this was different. It was cheesy yet stringy. The highlight of my night was their sweet, damn near diabetical tea. It was SO good!
Overall, I would go back but I’d order something different and be sure to remember my church hat! Lol

I came here for a late night meal with several friends. I’ve been several times awhile ago during the day for carryout so I thought I knew what to expect for the food — quality/​quantity and prices. The staff was very nice as always.
Quality/​Quantity — I got catfish with Mac and cheese and yams (the cornbread never came to our table). For some reason the catfish was lightly fried in some ttpe of bland flour. Fried catfish is supposed to seasoned well and fried in and cornmeal mix. The fish was so limp and tasteless. There wwre also 4 slivers of catfish thesize of maybe two fingers. For the cost of that meal there shouldve at least been 2 filets. Very disappointing, but the yams were great. A little on the sweet side but not overly sugary. The mac and cheese was decent. Once again, I have had better from them before then this gooey cheesy globs on noodles. But, hey its cheese.
Prices — That late night menu is robbery! Every meat option is $ 25 with two sides (except for the 5 wings and half a waffle for $ 13). We only stayed because my friend really wanted chicken and waffles. They pile up the styrofoam containers with whatever your side choices are, but expect the meat portion to be skimpy. During the day, it feels much closer to actual value. I have no idea why the prices are marked up like that.
Overall — There are better places to spend your money on flavorful food in that area late at night than this place. I think it’s just too overhyped now

I have lived in DC for 10 years and never went to this place until this week. I am on U street all the time but something told me it wasn’t worth the time to adventure into.
Food: I had the rice & gravy, fried shrimp, and Mac & Cheese. The rice & gravy was bland. the fried shrimp had too much salt. The Mac & Cheese was a complete disappointment. I am a lover of Mac & Cheese and they pissed me off with the over consumption of cheese. I had to literally search for the noodles, but I see that another reviewer had the same issue.
Price: WTH am I paying for?
Atmosphere: This is where the price confuses me. $ 50 for two people in DC can get you so much more! I wasn’t impressed walking in and even less impressed when seated upstairs. I am from the Deep South and this type of atmosphere would mean you get a cheaply priced meal. Heck usually the cheap not so appealing places have the best food! Was I seriously drinking out of a styrofoam cup? Was the waitress seriously extra loud talking about personal business in the hallway? How can they charge these price when Bus Boys, Ben’s Next Door, and so many better options are down the street.
Why three stars: When serving us the waitress was nice and did her job. My fiancé liked his food. He had the fried whiting and greens. The cornbread was good.
Maybe, because I am from the Deep South my standards are higher, but this place is hyped up by locals way too much. They caught me on a day where a after work early dinner was on the whim, but my gut was right even without looking on Unilocal.
Next time I will just pull out my grandmother’s recipes.

The food is 5 star but the place is more of a three. It is very small but what they lack in size they make up for in food. By far THE BEST fried chicken I have every had in my life. They have a upstairs eating area but I have never been up there. Everything that I have tried from here is great though

Came here with a couple friends during a late night visit. The food is very good. The service is on point. The only downfall — prices. The prices during the day are probably reasonable. But the late night menu is OUT OF CONTROL overpriced.
But the food is good. My friends had the fried chicken and seemed to like it. It wasn’t the best, but good. The fried whiting was on point. And the mac and cheese — DELISH. Really all the sides were good, but the mac and cheese with fish was my favorite.
Portions are super big — and shareable.
The service was good. We dined upstairs and the server was super sweet and attentive.
It’s definitely a small hole in the wall and gets SUPER busy.
I recommend this place, but if you aren’t trying to pay an arm and a leg for the food — don’t go during the late night.

The food is decent but the location and experience is not.
It’s a very cramped hole in the wall location for take out with no incication of a dining area and rude staff.
Keep in mind it’s cash only.

I’ve been wanting to try this place. So when two of my Louisiana friends came to visit, I thought this would be a good place to take them, so we went. My friends are hard-​core, Southern-​Baptist cooks who make everything from scratch. They endorsed the food at Oohh’s and Aahh’s as excellent. We all sampled each other’s entrees. My thoughts:
Fried catfish — Crispy, deep fried and piping hot. Perfect if it had abit more seasoning.
Mac-​n-​cheese — Very cheesy and sticky. Tasted awesome.
Potato salad — Made with mustard and cooked the «right» way. I was caught off guard by how good it was because most people cannot cook it right. Excellent!!!
Collard greens — Tasty, but way too SPICY for my tastes.
Yams — OMG! These were the bomb! I mean just totally delicious.
Meatloaf — Not my favorite. The gravy was overpowered with sage. My friend sent it back and got turkey wings instead. The meatloaf was not good and the turkey was meh. Avoid the gravy; it’s not good at all.
Cornbread — Might as well have been dessert as it was sweet and delicious. My friend complained that it was Jiffy mix to which I replied — «Who cares, it’s only a $ 1 and it’s good.»
As others have mentioned the seating area is upstairs. My Louisiana friend thought it was «cozy». I thought it was rather cramped. Overall, it’s a decent spot worth paying another visit if I’m in the neighborhood.

Soul Food restaurant on U Street in D.C., right where all the bars are and not too far away from the infamous Ben’s Chili Bowl.
There was a line there for to-​go orders, but we found out that if you went upstairs to the seating area you can order from your table, I wondered if the people waiting in line also knew that. My friends and I did that. It’s a cozy little dining area that maybe seats 20 people total, there was a tv showing movies on cable, and someone came to take our orders and brings us water/​drinks/​etc.
This was around 1am.
My friend ordered a bbq entrée with 2 sides for $ 20 before tax and tip. I was really hungry so I ordered a 2 entrée and 2 side combo for $ 30 which I feel was worth it.
I ordered the Beef short rib bbq style (there’s also an option for gravy), fried catfish, collard greens and potato salad.
There were all pretty tasty, the beef short ribs fell off the bone and melted in your mouth. My own criticism would be I wish the bbq sauce was a little sweeter and maybe had a kick to it. I added some hot sauce to it myself and it somewhat did the trick.

Amazing late night veggie platter (3 sides) — collard greens, sweet yams, and rice w gravy! So delicious, so welcoming. Fantastic team behind the counter take great care of everyone.
Six seat counter for eat in.
Kitchen keeps cooking until close.
Music is jazzy, definitely forgot where I was. Delicious food. Great company. Homey feel.
xoxoxo
chuck and shampoo are the best!
Xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

This review is based on my late night experience. First of all, the prices are higher on the late night menu. All the meals are $ 20 or more. I got 10 party wings with macaroni and cheese and sweet potatoes. My friend got fried chicken breast with Mac and greens. I tried the greens and they were good, my food was good, everything was pretty good.
The macaroni and cheese is about 60% cheese, 40% noodles though; I’d have liked a few more noodles in mine. I had to sift through the cheese to find actual noodles. We each got a sweet tea with our meals and our total was $ 25 each. $ 20 for our meals and $ 5 for a 20 oz styrofoam cup of sweet tea. I think the late night prices are ridiculous but I might return during regular hours.

Let me preface my review with this, Oohh’s & Aahh’s is a hole in the wall. Nothing wrong with that at all, I’m southern and I know that a hole in the wall can be better than any 5 star restaurant on any day of the week.
We parked a block away and walked up to this restaurant. It’s tucked in between some stores so you might miss it if you’re not paying attention. The entrance is super tight, I just put my back against the wall and slid down the wall. They asked if we wanted to dine in and we said yes. We walked up some super old and narrow stairs into the dining room. Honestly it looked/​felt like a fellowship hall at church if you know anything about eating after church. On the walls there were pictures of celebrities who have eaten there, a flat screen that was playing a Kevin Hart dvd, and a window unit A/​C blowing snow balls. Cozy though.
I ordered the half & half (sweet tea and lemonade), 2 piece whiting and macaroni & cheese. We luckily got the lunch price because the dinner prices were a little pricey. My friends also ordered the whiting with different sides (potato salad & greens). The fish was HOT out of the grease. Unfortunately it didn’t come with white bread but I did order corn bread (more like jiffy or cake). It also had a few bones in it so be careful. They didn’t have any tartar sauce which was also unfortunate. But I made do with what I had. The macaroni was golden cheesy goodness. it was not your blue box macaroni. It was BAKED macaroni. Homestyle. The half&half was a bladder buster. It was decent but nothing special. The potato salad was ok. Nothing to write home about.
All in all, I enjoyed my meal here. The waiters didn’t have the best customer service skills but I don’t think you go here for the 5 star service anyway. Definitely check it out if you’re in the mood for some good, greasy, soul food. It’s not as good as it gets but apparently in DC there is not much soul food to choose from. Check it out! I’d go back.

Just looking at the menu, I already Oohh and Aahh over the amazing selection of sides, appetizers, lunch, dinner options, and just everythang you could dream of when it comes to soul food. And did I mention, Guy Fieri went here?!?
For the price, this place serves a lot, but I rather have quality over quantity. The lunch prices are amazing and just the right portion – I usually get the Whitting or chicken wings (buffalo is the best!!). You can even order their dinner options any time of the day – their baked chicken and short ribs are just so good! Wish they offered more ribs! Top this off with a side of their mac and cheese (a little too cheesey for my liking), collard greens, and rice with gravy, you got yourself a meal! Currently, there is a groupon being offered, so this really cuts down the price so I would act on that fast! A lot of their food is super greasy and fried, so if you’re not into this, then just get a dessert or their awesome sweet tea!
When sober, I don’t think this place is amazing and personally believe think they can improve on their service as they are super slow especially in the night, but it does hit the spot for a late night snack, or DRUNCHIES… Fried chicken slabbed with mac n cheese while drunk – talk about AMAZINGNESSS.

Great food and good service goes a long way!! Walked into this place after almost passing it up only to find a small entry with a line of anxious ppl. It was quite hot inside so didn’t know what to expect. To my amazement everyone was in cheerful spirits.
Frequent guests were excited to get their food and first timers like myself were happy awaiting our turn to experience it.
I had the wing dinner which came with 2 sides: I opted for greens and mac chz then ordered a small side of cabbage. Don’t judge me, I’m a tourist and need the full affect lol. Food was seasoned to perfection and taste just as good as I was hoping with all the hype.

About a 2 – 2.5: Oohh’s & Aahh’s is a restaurant that is owned by Chef Abbott that offers appetizers, salads, sides, lunch specials (12−4PM), a dinner menu, desserts, and a late-​night menu. I came to check this place out for an early dinner with a good friend of mine, getting a little more excited than the usual when I found out that certain celebrities had dined at this place (like Durant and Wale) :P We decided to just dine at the counter, as there was about a 20-​minute wait in the upstairs dining room. You just walk up at the cashier at the front and place your order, and they’ll bring the food out to you. We tried the 8-​Piece Wings, fried (these were forgettable, as there was no seasoning, and even the side of hot sauce and the lemon/​pepper sauce didn’t help); Turkey Chops (fried; this had a nice crunchiness to them, and no hot sauce was needed, but adds a nice kick if you want); a grilled Rib Eye Steak (thin-​cut, this was just okay, but more on the tough end; they did have steak sauce, but the steak could have been seasoned more); Cabbage (large slices of cabbage, steamed and slightly crunchy, but no flavor whatsoever); Rice with Gravy (the rice was slightly overcooked, and the gravy had a funky taste to it); Macaroni & Cheese (it was super cheesy, which I appreciated, but still a little too plain); Potato Salad (this tasted pretty okay, but it was more of a mashed potatoes consistency); and, washed it all down with ½ & ½ (supposedly homebrewed, but I wasn’t a fan of the lemonade and the sweet tea taste). I was so disappointed that they had run out of the Meatloaf, which seem to be a favorite of most; the staff told us they didn’t have any all day, so I’m thinking you’d have to call ahead and place your order if they do have any availability. I was also sad that they didn’t have any of the Hummingbird Cake, as I was pretty curious about that place as well T_​_​_​T The portions were definitely generous, and the staff here were all super friendly and really cool. I just wished I liked the food better! Parking is a little hard to find, but I was able to snag a spot off of 11^th — woot woot!
+underseasoned items T_​_​_​T
+off-​tasting sides/​drinks T_​_​_​T
+food items tend to run out quick/​become unavailable
+can consume food at the counter, rather than dine-​in upstairs
+friendly staff: D
+extremely limited parking (free 2-​hour residential parking on 11^th)

Honestly, I was just joining a friend as company and had just eaten before stopping into this place. I had vaguely heard about it but never taken the time to check it out. I pretty much pass by it every time I’m in DC on U Street and pay it no mind.
Upon entry, I was taken aback by the narrow space and was thinking, «I guess we’ll take it to go sit in the park across the street,» but a guy hanging by the counter instructed us to follow the waitress to the back up the stairs to an «intimate» second floor seating area.
My friend ordered the simple fried chicken, macaroni and cheese, and collard greens. The portion was in a very large carryout styrofoam plate/​box. I reluctantly, because I was already very full, decided to try a bit of the food. It was the best piece of boneless chicken breast that I’ve had in the last two years at the very least, hands down. The Mac and cheese was amazing and greasy as it should be. I don’t eat collards but it got stuck on the fork with Mac and cheese and I believe it was good as well.
I think once I go back to DC and stop back in, I’ll have a full meal and my review will likely be amended to 5 stars. The staff was cool too; real chill.

I don’t like the overall ordering system!
And it is a wait! But I did come in on a Friday night so this area is always crowded!
You won’t find beautiful décor or anything (I can only speak for downstairs)
But you will find;
Friendly staff
Some YUMMY Mac/​cheese, greens, turkey wings, baked chicken & yams! (Our meals)
Both meals with 2 sides was about &15 each, & They give you so much food!!! We could’ve shared one dinner and been satisfied!
I will be back!!! (On another cheat day:)

My housemate Dave wanted to come here and I thought why not? Cool name and um, soul food? I’m in.
Love:
+ Mac & cheese (so cheesy in a good way)
+ Sweet tea
+ Friendly staff
+ Takes debit cards
+ Location on U Street
Not so love:
— Wait time (people after me got their food before I did. When my housemate Dave asked, they began to make my box)
— On the pricier side for what it is ($ 13.95 for a meal)
— Limited seating (it’s a grab & go type of place)
Overall, I think the food is surely worth a trip if you want some soul food. However, I hope you’ll get a much shorter wait time than I did!

I had this place bookmarked & was shopping in Oxon Hills, so I decided to swing by. It took longer to find parking than to actually arrive at the destination. Finally, opted to drop my food homie off to order as I circled the block; then we swapped as I went in to order. Didn’t want to chance any parking violations all for the love of some soul food.
When you initially walk in don’t just fall into line. Some of the people are actually waiting to be seated upstairs. I knew I wanted my food to go so I asked who was waiting to place their order & that’s how 5 minutes of my time was wasted by simply lining up along the wall. They do take credit cards and you may as well use yours to earn your points because the food here is a tad overpriced.
I ordered the turkey wings (w/​gravy), macaroni & cheese, and collards. I got home and had to add a lil of my own soul to it as it was merely seasoned. The portion was plenty so I will be eating the other half of my food tomorrow for lunch. My own greens, turkey & mac n cheese tasted better than this but at least I gave them a try.
One of the servers had the fire turned up on a skillet & we were all in that lil broom closet coughing. She was oblivious to 10 people all coughing at the same time and another customer had to hold the door open to offer some ventilation. I came, I saw, I ate. Thank you Oohh’s & Aahh’s; I’m glad we had this time together but I shan’t return.