Well I'll admit was worried due to some of the reviews I read about the service. But to my surprise when I went with the wife we were greeted on a Tuesday afternoon with warmth and attentiveness. The food wow that was some of the best soul food I've had. The greens were fresh and back eyed peas had a wonderful taste to them. All in all the flavor was delicious and had more than enough for dinner tonight and possibly for lunch tomorrow. Our total was $63. It was well worth the price point. The ambiance was amazing with good vibes with an open concept. If you're looking for a more quieter and easy dinning experience try going in the afternoon as they do become extremely busy during the weekends!! The wife and I will be back again. read more

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The server was very pleasant and courteous! Great job!! My first time here, I wanted to try somewhere different, and this did it for me!! The environment was very relaxing and chilled! The food was absolutely amazing...collard greens, candied yams, Mac & cheese, fried catfish (fried just right) and honey cornbread!!! You will definitely get your money's worth!!! I will be back and will bring friends with me! Thank you for your service! read more

Busby’s Soul Bowls - Soul food - Soul Food Near Me - Tempe, Arizona

Saw this on TikTok and decided to give it a go last Saturday. I was confused by the hours but I saw other people going in so I knew it was open. I was greeted immediately, very warmly too! I placed my order to go for a catfish honey cornbread skillet with a macaroni and cheese base, with candied yams and red beans as a side. I was told my food would take about 25 minutes. It was 1:07 pm (yes I looked) and I had to be at work about 3 miles away at 2 pm. Perfect! I waited, took a seat and began my wait. The music was great to vibe to while waiting! That playlist was fire. I looked around and noticed the space seemed a little dingy, like it could use a good deep cleaning. Oh well, we eat at fast food and other less desirable places, right? My food wasn't ready until about 1:45 pm. I was pushing the line to get to work but I made it on time with the most delicious smells filling my car! I was drooling, no lie. Catfish: I never eat this but I will get it from here again and again. 10/10 Cornbread: could use some richness. Adding butter to the mix before baking would kick it up a notch. Didn't reheat as good the next day. 6/10 Mac & cheese: This is for people that don't like the casserole style. I am not one of them. A roux would have been my jam. 4/10 (but that's my preference) Candied yams: A couple were not fully baked but they heated up great 7/10 Red beans: Listen, I could eat these every day for the rest of my life. The flavor was consistent from start to end and I was mad when I finished them day one. No leftovers! 10/10 In other words, I'll be back!!! read more

Busby’s Soul Bowls - Soul Food Near Me - Tempe, Arizona

Tonight was my husband and l second visit, and it was just as amazing as the first! The food was full of flavor and made with love -- real soul food at its best. The portions were generous, the service was friendly, and the atmosphere felt like home. Everything we ordered was delicious, and we left full and happy. This place has truly become our favorite spot for soul food. Can't wait to come back again! Taylor&Ken read more

Let's begin with the service...from the time we entered, staff were extremely friendly--which could've been different since we walked in a few minutes before closing. Our greeter was extremely welcoming and offered great options for us to order, since this was our first visit. We opted to have the food to go so that the employees could go home. Side note, we were extraordinarily impressed when the employee offered we could dine inside. Now to the food...now we can EAT and love to eat. Our plates were overflowing!! There's no way we expected that much food for the very reasonably priced menu!! Everything tasted fresh and homemade. Them wings, FIRE!! The catfish, mac and cheese, yams, etc. all good. We'll be back, but not too often because my diet and poor willpower are not a good match for eating great food at this volume--but I'm thinking about you and sending people your way always. The wait time was reasonable and if you enjoy good music, you'll be vibing and not watching the clock. Good things take time!! But the music, service, food, clean restaurant, all deserve 5+ stars!! read more

Went in tonight for the first time. And let me tell you from the moment you walk in you feel welcomed. Staff is amazing. And the food is 100/100 the portions are so big and hit the spot. That food is made with love. I could go on and on about this spot. Everyone needs to try and show some love. And the big plus it's black owned . read more

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Absolutely delicious. From the moment I walked in, I knew from the aroma that I was in the right place. I'm originally from the South and I've had a lot of good soul food. This was GREAT. Service was fantastic. Food was hot and fresh. Went later around 545 so I missed out on the Mac&cheese. But that just gives me another reason to return. Good stuff happening here. read more

Busby’s Soul Bowls - Fried chicken wings. My favorite by far. - Soul Food Near Me - Tempe, Arizona

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Love this place. The food was good service was great amazing place. I would recommend this place to anyone interested in the southern cuisine. read more

I dined in and was told the serving time of the order would be an hour long. I decided to wait, but the but food was delicious.

We were curious about this place for a while and we finally got to try it yesterday. The food is very good and the waitresses were very pleasant. However, there was a woman in a blue blazer top that I think is a manager, that ruined our experience. We were picking up our food to go and sat at the EMPTY bar while we waited and although only 2 tables were being used and the rest of the restaurant was also EMPTY, she discourteously ordered us to wait by the front door bench instead. We would not have minded moving to the bench, had it not been for her unfriendly tone and lack of attentiveness to the customer. The food deserves the 5 stars but thanks to her I give 2. Way to discourage us from coming back and from recommending others to try it! read more

Food is excellent. Love the concept. Cornbread served in an iron skillet and all the good stuff on top!!!!! read more

Busby’s Soul Bowls - Cornbread skillet. Base... Mac n cheese, garlic green beans (Dayummm so good!!!!), red beans and rice and to top it off fried catfish!!! - Soul Food Near Me - Tempe, Arizona

They don't open until 4 regardless of what you might hear. The place looks dirty from the outside and the woman who came to the door was . . . sketchy. No website and they don't answer the phone. Not going back to give it a try. read more

I was super excited to try this new soul food spot. It took them 40 min to take our order forgot to bring our waters and kool aid. I think they forgot about us being in the corner. We finally ordered and 2hrs later I had to follow up to see where our food was at, they haven't even started preparing it. The servers had 1 speed and it was slow. No one communicated on when our food would come out. I seen people being seated and walked out after 40 min of waiting to take their order. I see a couple come in waiting for the hostess to address them doesn't come to greet them , they left. I seen a door dash pick up food with no food because it wasn't ready & left! It was 2pm and it wasn't even busy. No toilet paper on the women's bathroom. Where is the Manager coming around checking on their customers. If u plan on eating I suggest a different soul food place, The food may be good, but waiting over 2 hrs and no one letting us know status of our food is unacceptable. If this place want to survive we need workers to work the floor check on their patrons, fill our drinks. No one asked how we were doing. I had to get my own to go box because the person said they going to bring was doing nothing behind the counter. This experience was horrible. And they had a content creator booth. I don't think I will be back unless the service gets better. This place has so much potential and other people should have stepped up. Your customers is your business!! Good luck' read more

Wanted to try this place badly. Walked in, no one greeted us said we'll be with you in 5 minutes. NOTHING!! Waited more than 5 minutes. Rude. Will not be returning. Would wait this place a 0 if I could. There were also a few flies inside, that's when I said let's go. Otherwise we would still be waiting if up to my husband. It's Saturday a little after 5 Pm read more

Update: Did a take out order and all went well. People were great. Food was on point. They were super busy and we only had to wait 30 minutes. Still a little long for me as we ordered an hour and a half earlier but if you go in knowing that it's going to take a minute it is totally worth it. We will go back for sure. read more

A couple of my Sassy Sisters & I stopped by Busby's Soul Bowl for a bite to eat. IT IS EVERYTHING!! If you want to experience true soul food this is the spot. The serving staff is friendly and attentive. The atmosphere comfortable and welcoming. The music is exactly what I'd play at home while cooking. The concept of serving a meal in a cast iron skillet is brilliant! 5 stars isn't enough how about 10 stars. Definitely going back with the sisters next time we're bringing our husbands too!! Yep it's that GOOD!!! read more

Busby’s Soul Bowls - Busby's Soul Bowl - I chose Honey Corn Bread Base- Dirty Rice; Catfish 2 pieces; Sides- Collard Greens; Candied Yams and Mac&Cheese - Soul Food Near Me - Tempe, Arizona

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Busby was recommend by a friend. I want to start off with the service which was impeccable. They made sure we were ok while we waited for our meal, friendly smiles and their kindness made the food even better. If you are looking for a good soul food dish Busby Soul Bowl is the place. Alice McGhee read more

Honest Review - Visit on Saturday, November 1, 2025 This is my honest review based on my experience this past Saturday, November 1st, 2025. I paid about $25 for an Uber from Laveen after seeing mixed reviews about this restaurant on TikTok. Despite that, I wanted to give it a fair shot. Atmosphere: The space itself looks nice -- open layout, outdoor seating, and booths inside. They even have Kool-Aid on tap, which is a fun touch. However, I didn't smell any food cooking when I arrived, which was my first red flag. As a Detroit girl, I'm used to authentic soul food spots that hit every time, and the aroma alone usually tells you you're in for something good. Service & Food: Within two minutes of being seated, my waitress brought me a full plate of cornbread with honey butter. It was generous, but honestly, not a smart business move -- especially since their main dishes are cornbread bowls. Giving away that much free cornbread seems unnecessary. I ordered smothered pork chops (not in a cornbread bowl -- I built my own plate with dirty rice as a base), greens, and mac and cheese. About five minutes later, I asked my waitress, Aaliyah, to please add a piece of fried catfish (fried hard). After waiting around 40 minutes, my plate finally came -- two very thin pork chops covered in what tasted like jar or packet gravy, a huge pile of rice with no portion control, and cold greens. My mac and cheese never came, and neither did my fish. By then, I was starving, so I started eating what I had. I told my waitress I felt some type of way about only getting half my meal. For us, it's kind of an unspoken rule -- we mix our greens and mac, so it threw the meal off. To her credit, Aaliyah was sweet, understanding, and apologetic. I even offered multiple times to pay for what I had, but she professionally declined. Then the owner, Brandy, came out. Instead of listening with understanding, she seemed offended. Her tone, facial expression, and body language came across as dismissive and disrespectful. When I finally did get the mac and cheese, it was extremely salty and oily. I took one bite and decided not to even mention the gravy at that point -- I just wanted to leave things peacefully. When I offered again to pay, her reaction made me feel like my money wasn't good enough for her establishment. Final Thoughts: I would never recommend this place and will not be returning. The food quality, portion control, and management's attitude were disappointing. New business owners should understand that not all criticism will be positive, but professionalism is key -- especially in hospitality. Good job, Aaliyah, for handling things gracefully. And to Brandy, I sincerely wish you growth and better success in the future. read more

If I could give zero stars I would. BE AWARE what the business hours are they do not care and will close whenever with no sign posted. No phone number and not on IG I wholeheartedly do not recommend this place. 10.18 I drove 40 minutes to eat and I get there at 730pm they are closed. Doors shut and locked. Hours on the door say 10pm 11.2 I return to give them another chance and the server is at the door. Saying to go orders only. I swear it's always something with this place. We were told the owner was out of town and the workers didn't feel comfortable opening the seating area without the owner there. Then we were told the seating area was closed because the owner like her food a certain way and she don't want a bad review. Meanwhile we ordering food right at the door. It took 35 minutes to get the food. Catfish - fire Yams - fire Mac and cheese 5/10 Red beans and rice 0/10 Dirty rice 7/10 needed to be spicy Blackened salmon 10/10 And to add. We got three whole pans of cornbread and it was nasty. Everything was in a to go container. I'll never return to this place they don't even hour their hours of operation. VISIT AT YOUR OWN RISK read more

I had the pleasure of dining at Soul Bowls yesterday and it was an amazing experience. The food was off the chain. I had the fried red snapper with honey butter cornbread, collard greens, macaroni and cheese, and black eyed peas. Nobody in Arizona offers fried red snapper and being from the Bay Area that is what we eat all day. I am very particular about soul food and this spot is excellent. Great prices, amazing service, no long wait, and a super friendly atmosphere. Arizona really needed this. Five stars and definitely my new spot. read more

Busby’s Soul Bowls - Fried catfish, collard greens, yams, and macaroni and cheese, which is under the fish and honey butter cornbread - Soul Food Near Me - Tempe, Arizona

Decided to try a new restaurant called Busby soul bowls and let me tell you, I will never again nor tell anyone to check this place out. 3hrs later waiting on my food and then the waiter has the nerves to come and say so bad news we are out of the black eye peas and we are out of the greens. Now my question is why didn't you know that these sides were out earlier and his response is we had it earlier thats why I let you order it. So then what your saying is thar you gave my food to someone else then? Like wtf kind of establishment is this that I sat here 3hrs to get nothing. Yea get your game up because I see you being shut down in no time. Do not waste yout time sadly this place is garbage. read more

Busby’s Soul Bowls - Soul Food Near Me - Tempe, Arizona

First off it's so great to finally have some Soul Food in Tempe. I can only tell you in a nut shell the food was "AMAZING". I ordered the Catfish, Grilled Salmon with the candy yams and mashed potatoes and black eyed peas. I wish I could make your cornbread OMG so yummy. Everything was SO delicious and worth the wait. My order was to go and our wait was about 45 minutes. The server was awesome. I had my 4 year old with me and The server treated my boy with treats. He was a happy boy. We will be back.....soon!!! Thank you for the delicious food!! Sylvia read more

Walked in to support this place and was surprised to see it nearly empty with plenty of available seating. Despite that, the hostess had a very unpleasant attitude and was unnecessarily disrespectful. First impressions matter, especially when the front-of-house sets the tone. As a business owner myself, I'd be disappointed if an employee treated potential customers this way. Unfortunately, the experience was enough to make our party leave and didn't eat the food. read more

Black black black black...black. Food good vibes better. Just what my soul needed. Service a little slow but worth the wait.

Service was terrible only one person assisting with tables and the food, black eye peas were hard not fully cooked no taste, Mac and cheese was mushy (overcooked) with too much cheese no taste, yams were hard, greens had no flavor. French fries had entirely no much salt. read more

Ate here for the first time tonight and the food was incredible! You get a ton of food for a decent price. I had a cornbread bowl with grilled pork chop, potato salad, and candied yams. The yams were to die for! Highly recommended! read more

The hours on the door are a lie. I arrived in a uber just to find out they were closed.Wont be back

Good service good Food you get your money worse food for three days I enjoyed myself and fellowship. Catfish is the bomb love my catfish yams mac n cheese green the cool aide Grape honey cornbread read more

Save your money. At a certain time they stop selling the full menu, (only deep fryer food fried fish and chicken & fries) my server was obviously avoiding us. I asked for my chicken extra crispy the presentation looked nice but the taste a quality was not there. Imagine spending 24$ on a meal an only eating fries. My friend ordered cat fish it was huge and mushy in the inside like mashed potato mushy. I say go when they open the doors or don't bother you can definitely prepare better at home. My server was a light skinned girl I can't remember the color of her wig but she was horrible she didn't even acknowledge that we didn't like the food she just wanted to be off. She obviously didn't make the food but she wasn't interested in making us feel any better about it asked for refund she said they don't do refunds I was basically forced to take it home or throw it away I drove 27 mins home I threw it away I don't think I'll ever give them another shot!! read more

Had the honey cornbread bowl with mashed potatoes greens Mac and cheese and chicken. Oh my god it was fabulous. So much food for $22. Easily could have split with my partner. Cornbread was the best I've ever had. read more

A few of my Sister's and I wanted to check out the restaurant that was recommended. Busby's didn't disappoint and owes me nothing but a foot rub. The customer service was amazing and I appreciate the staff checking in to see if we needed anything before and after we recieved our food. Next time we'll bring our husband's. This place is a 10 our if 10. Keep it up! read more

1st time we went i drove from Casa Grande o ly to find out they had a gas leak...mind u there aint no phone number to call which I wldve done before driving out there...so that rubbed me the wrong way...went yesterday 10-26 after church with 15 members of family and they had some more bull sh it going on...one of their ovens were down so only yo ho orders and no seating....waited 40 minutes for food...and most of us was disappointed with food.....but what an oven got to do with sitting and eating..yall still cooking and doing TO GO orders....ok my fish was bomb...but sides of Mac n cheese and yams and rice were not so good...wings were huge but way tooooo much batter and they were kinda sweet....I dont know if maybe I needed the sit down n dine experience but this experience makes me not wanna give another try. Also some of our mac n cheeses were dry and few of us ordered collard greens and qerw told when out order came that they were out...ya shldve told us that when ordering. I dont know what to think anymore. read more

Customer service was terrible. Staff were rude. I walked in and was told to order at the bar. No one took my order for about 10 minutes everyone just walked past me. I was told the wait time would be an hour after I ordered which was fine because they were busy. I waited for 2 hours & 30 minutes when someone finally came up to me & said the things I ordered were out of stock. They wasted my time. read more

We ordered at 4:57. Waited until 7pm to tell us they could not fulfill our order. Our order was $62 and they didn't even have the decency to let us know beforehand that they couldn't fulfill it. And then had the nerve to want to argue read more

Restaurant falsified items missing on a delivery order. very shady business practices

They are definitely trying to improve customer service. Our server was awesome! Super attentive and helpful and gave us free corn bread and refills. The food does take a long time but it Soul food! Bring your friends, connect with ppl, relax and have a good time. The food was absolutely delicious. Great Mac and cheese, the catfish meal came out first and it was flaky and hot. The dirty rice is so good! The fried pork chops came out 2nd and they were super tender and flavorful. The fried chicken took the longest but it seemed worth it I was too full by then too try it. The portions are amazing. I will be eating well all week! Loved it! Will be a regular and I hope they stay open for a long time! read more

I wish I could rate the food, but never can catch them when they're actually open. Their IG says they open at 12p. We went on a Saturday around 12 they said they wouldn't open until 3, went on a Tuesday around 2 they won't open until 4p, went by today (Sunday) at 4ish not open at all. My husband and I love supporting local and black owned businesses, but we also live 40 minutes away. There's no published number to call ahead. No website. No current daily post to update time on social media. Maybe the next time we're out that way we'll try a 4th time. read more

Horrible experience!! I came in with my mom driving all the way from GLENDALE to TEMPE to try this place... the hostess greeted us and sat us down then gave us some water....cool Then for the next 10 minutes I see employees walk by us and not acknowledge us not once. There were only three tables sat when we walked in. 1 was full and the other 2 had only 2 people each sitting at them BUT everyone has food??? So me and my mom were confused on what the holdup was... couple minutes go by we see the employees just walking back and forth from the kitchen empty handed still passing us by... 20 minutes went by and then one of the employees as he was walking back towards the kitchen asks us "yall ready to order" AS HE WALKS AWAY asking us this??? We say Yes....We waited for like 10 more minutes he didn't even come back out the kitchen. We just got up and left. We will never be back to this place!! tryna support your own peoples and they treat you like this?? Crazy read more

excellent food service and music we had an amazing time for our first visit and now we go every sunday after church. read more

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The food was good and the portions were plentiful. However, the wait time is bad and the food temperature is not up to par. We waited over an hour to receive our food. The catfish was hot, but everything else was not...room temperature, if that. The need more trained servers. Our server checked on us once, then left. She didn't tell us she was leaving, nor did she introduce us to our new server. The owners have a good thing going, but definitely need to make improvements. read more