Soul 4 Real

Hanging out tonight in Zion IL and stopped for a bite to eat at Soul for Real. The food was great I had the ½ slab with Macaroni and cheese and sweet potatoes and it was delicious. Great choice for real get down soul food that tastes like Big Momma makes.
Come to Zion and enjoy a good meal in a good atmosphere with your family and friends.

Although they take literally FOREVER for their delivery…
The food is well worth it. The wings, macaroni and cheese, and collard greens are to DIE for.

The usual soul food classics. I’ve had the catfish, smothered chicken, collard greens and mac & cheese on various visits. The food is good, but be patient. They are very disorganized when it comes to getting your meal to you.

Collard greens ERMAGAWD!
Baked chicken, catfish, Mac and cheese
Everything is sooooo good!
Such a nice man behind the counter.
Definitely coming back. Taste explosions, bite after bite!

I would love to write a glowing recommendation, but I cannot! We ordered two catfish dinners and an order of Chicken Wings. I was told 20 minutes. I waited 20 minutes and then left my house. 5 to 10 minute drive. The order was not ready in fact I Waited another 25 minutes before it was ready.
Now for the food!
I was told they had no cabbage, so we ordered greens instead. Well we got cabbage not greens. There were a few greens mixed in, but it was cabbage that was over salted. The catfish was over cooked to the point that it was dried to thin pieces of paper barely edible. The macaroni and cheese was tasteless and so over cooked that the noodles melted into the cheese.
The chicken wings were obviously cooked in the same oil as the chicken, and again was over cooked and tasted burned. They did not have the fries that comes with the wings, so we ordered rice and gravy. The 2 spoonfuls of rice was probably the only thing worth eating in the whole lot, but the so called gravy was 3 clumps of pork chop bones sitting on top the rice.
We wanted to support local black owned businesses, but I cannot recommend or return to this business for fear of being sick again. This is or 3 rd time visiting at this location, it has never been good, but this by far was the worst eating experience ever.
Eat at your own risk!

The best greens I’ve had from a restaurant. Seriously. I ordered catfish and really expected it to arrive soggy and not great, BUT it was extremely hot, crispy and amazing. Great, great food. Will order from here every time I’m in town, in fact I did every night I was in town :)

My family and I have ordered from Soul 4 Real several times. The main dishes we got are the following:
Food
* Catfish
My family loves catfish, so that was one of the main dishes we’d get. The catfish itself had a nice breading and was well cooked, but it was over salted.
* Macaroni and cheese
The macaroni and cheese was very oily and the noodles were too soft. The cheese and oil coated mashed up noodles. I really like macaroni and cheese, but this didn’t live up to my expectation of home style, soulful mac and cheese.
* Yams
The yams were alright. Sweet as to be expected, but not amazing.
* Greens
The greens were pretty tasty. It had a home style taste which I liked.
Service
Overall, Soul 4 Real has a very casual etiquette when it comes to customer service and professionalism. I’ve had to call back several times because someone hung up. And I’ve had to wait in the middle of ordering, because the employee had to do something. It’s like calling a busy mother, and expecting her to give you her full attention as you ask her how to make a certain dish. Furthermore, if they tell you to wait 30 minutes for your food, add an additional 15 – 20 minutes. They are not timely.
In conclusion, Soul 4 Real could be a better business. I feel sorry that they aren’t. They’re located in a small city with a moderate amount of restaurants, most of which are fast food franchises. So if you wanted a home cooked meal, instead of a burger and fries, you would expectect Soul 4 Real to have it. If they prepared their food better, changed the ingredients, were more professional with better etiquette they could be a forerunner of restaurant businesses in Zion. But due to the aforementioned I can’t take them seriously. Also their portions sizes for their sides aren’t worth the money you pay for them.

The owner came into my work to hand out menus and I was really excited to give this place a try. The owner was extremely professional and even offered a discount for a first time customer. I phoned in my order and was told it would take approximately a half hour which was great for me. That was around 11:30. I still hadnt received my order by 12:15 so I gave them a call. The girl on the phone was extremely rude and told me that my food was homemade so it would take a while, but it would be done in 10 minutes. At 1pm my lunch was officially over, I called to tell them to forget about the order. the girl picked up the phone, said «Soul 4 Real, hold» and I ended up hanging up 13 minutes into the call because she never picked up again. By the way, she didnt really put me on hold, she put the phone on the counter so I could hear everything. The owner did finally show up with the food an hour and a half after delivery time, but we told him we were finished with lunch. Instead of comping the food, he shrugged and left. VERY VERY Dissapointed– will not order again.

FIRST THE GOOD:
The food took me back to a thanksgiving holiday full of great memories. I had Meatloaf, Mac and Cheese, and Yams with a corn muffin. This place GETS SOUL FOOD. It is hands down the best soul food outside of my mothers.
THE BAD:
The wait is horrendous. I was there early right at 11 am and food was not ready for an additional 20 minutes. I was going to eat in but had to go because of the delay. Based on the reviews here, I don’t think I will get delivery. It makes you want to hit someone with a steel chair, WWE style.
I ordered again later on that day for my mother online and went to pick up my food and they WOULDN’T MAKE IT! They ran out!!! I said i placed the order online and they still refused. I called Grubhub and got a FULL refund. If its online as «available» and its not there when you arrive thats a MAJOR problem.
CONCLUSION:
The food is the best soul food. Its WAYY better than Sweetie Pies in St. Louis. I’ve been there. The wait and the fact that you never know what you are going to get is infuriating. I wish I could go back, but my pride won’t let that happen.

Being from the South — I know about «Soul Food». I was very disappointed in this place. I waited for almost two hours for my order to be taken (mind you I was in a walk-​up line to the window) many of the side items wasn’t available and you either had to wait until they warm/​cook some more. The quality of the food was not good either my greens were salty and the fish was also. The fish was also fired extremely to hard to be frozen and not fresh fish. I like to patronize my African American business but this is not one I will ever again.

0 Stars JUST because of delivery. The food is amazing, but they need a new delivery driver because him alone is going to ruin how people feel about this business. Showing up hours late with people in the car with you is not professional and it’s sketchy. I don’t know if he’s a family member or what, but there’s a reason why you shouldn’t hire family. I love supporting black-​owned businesses, but this the poor services doesn’t make want to tell people about this place.

Would give it 0 stars if I could. ordered through grubhub and 2 hours later food never came. Business was called and said they’d be over in 20 minutes with the food never happened. Business then called me and asked if I still wanted the food said they had a catering event so we’re behind. I said well thought you were already delivering it. said they are on way 30 minutes later nothing called and canceled my order. I placed order at 530 and at 840 nothing. Be warned at least on the delivery aspect as I have yet and will not be trying there food after this experience. Culver’s sure tasted good after a long wait on what I refer to as slow 4 real.

Food is delicious! Homemade soul food! It’s great to find some good ol soul food up north, hubby and I are in this area a few times a week for work, we live in Georgia and miss having this type of food at times, looks like we have found a favorite place to eat up here. Very happy they offer delivery too, wonderful man delivered our food minutes ago, very polite and kind. Great customer service when they called us regarding an item in our order that they sold out of. Give this place a try people. If you’re a southerner or a soul food lover, I think you’ll enjoy this restaurant

Service was slow, because they were so friendly. Food was much better than I anticipated. If your not in a rush it’s the best soul food in Lake County.

The food is generally good, but the service was slow and uncoordinated. When I asked for no cornbread I got it anyway. After I told them I was allergic they tried to tell me there is no corn in cornbread. Really?

That was the worst experience of my life!!! Worst customer service I’ve ever experienced. After waiting over an hour for our food without any communication on what the hold up was; there was hair in it. So, they didn’t even apologize and gave us another one… but there was hair in that one too! We just threw it in the trash and left. Food is so-​so, ambiance is terrible, and service is worst! If I were you, I would NEVER eat here. Oh, and who opens @ 1pm on a sunday! IJS.

I really like this place. It’s cute and has a nice homey feel to it. When you walk in the atmosphere is what you would expect of a small soul food place.
The food is delicious the macaroni and cheese is on point and while i am picky about my candied yams thiers is some of the best that I’ve had. The meat loaf is good, so is the Turkey.
This restaurant gets busy so if you are coming during a lunch rush expect a little bit of a wait. The workers work as fast as possible to get you out on time and the food is amazing enough that it is worth it.
I was really impressed with the level of service. With a restaurant as busy as it was they worked really hard to maintain a personal and professional feeling to each of thier customers. I was impressed.
Overall the place could use a couple of decorative touches and a little more organization behind the counter but that is to be expected of a well run family owned business. I love this place and will return for sure.

Great food, what’s not to love about soul food. Best Yams I’ve ever tasted, Mac and cheese is always on point and starting to a fan of their greens. I drive 15 minutes to come here and its always worth it. Looking forward to trying their beef short ribs on Wednesday. There are a few changes that could be made to make customers dinning in experience better but this is more of a family run restaurant. Besides the dinning experience and small process improvements this place is great. Staff is really nice which is the reason I will be coming back :)

We had the 3 piece wings. The catfish sandwich and the pot roast dinner. Corn e bread was excellent and kids liked the macncheese. My catfish was good also. The pot roast not so much. be prepared to wait at least 15 minutes for them to make your food. Also have cash. Ok place could be a great place with a little organization.

My order was very nicely prepaired, «Carry-​Out.
Roasted Chicken:
Absolutely increadible. The skin is very well seasoned and presentation is amazing. The first bite was very mild, yet shouted southern flavor all over it. Skin was ever so lightly crisp from the butter and the meat itself was very juicy and tender. Turn off was only some left over residual butter left at the bottom of the plate. Can there be something to improve that? Not really, there is always sacrafice in one area to benefit another. If the benefit factor is amazing flavor, then BAM you got it! Besides, shout fatty with the butter, but hey, it’s chicken and it’s roasted! It’s even! –4 stars–
Collared Greens:
Amazing! Great flavor! Some cabbage peices appeared a bit on the large side but the taste was great. Full bodied greens cooked nicely in herbs and spice. A very nice hint of spicey to give it that full taste and experience. Was not over bearing and not at all bitter and bland! If you go here, this should be a must EVERY time! –5 starts–
Mac & Cheese:
Very good, well flavored and enjoyable. I’m a big cheese lover, so would I wish there was a large abundence? Sure, but in no means is there a lack of. Flavor was great, well rounded and the top of the mac had an additional layer of cheese nicely browned and slightly crispy giving a new flavor on the cheese. I have had better but I have had a lot worse, oh so much worse. For those two factors it’s not an average rate of 3, but the fact that I have had better, not 5. But easily –4 stars–
Rice & Gravy:
Well, it’s just that. Rice and Gravy. As stated before I was hoping for Mash and Gravy (I guess it varies based on day). Even so, it was still worth a try to get a taste on the Gravy. Sadly, I was not able to achieve so. Enough gravy was placed on the rice to wet them and not make them dry but the rice flavor was able to over power the gravy flavoring not allowing me to evaluate. In a large sense it’s hard to judge on this dish. rice was cooked well, but it really lacked the zing. i can’t expect much from Rice and Gravy so I could just say 3 starts, but it lacked a lot of zing and pazzaz, flavor. Not that it’s much fault of the recipe, just for me personally I didn’t not enjoy it. — 2 stars–
Corn Bread:
I tend to like sweet corn bread. This was sweet, but I do like it sweeter. Either way, without my own preference this bread is very well done. Great home made flavor and good sweet corn taste. I believe I even might have tasted a butter milk? But this is a must get for every meal when you