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    Food For the Soul

    3.6 (76 reviews)
    InexpensiveSoul Food, Barbeque
    Closed 12:00 pm - 7:00 PM
    Updated 1 month ago

    Order Food For the Soul Takeout or Delivery

    Food For the Soul Photos

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    FOOD FOR THE SOUL ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Casual
    Moderate noise
    Good for kids
    Good for groups

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    Free cake slice!
    Kristina N.

    Southern girl here (Panhandle Florida, born and raised). Had a comfort food craving and came across this spot on Yelp. Food For the Soul happens to be one of Providence's attempts at southern food. Not bad! The menu and pricing here are on point for cheap and simple southern food, generally. I came here for fried fish and got a whole dinner with 2 sides, cornbread, a free sample of yams, and a free slice of cake all for $7 + tax = $7.49. The mac 'n cheese was great, but I was hoping it would have that baked crusty cheese goodness on top like I could get anywhere back home. The collard greens could use a little more flavor though, as I'm used to the kind of greens that get rendered with smoked turkey for forever and a day. The fish was some white fish that was seasoned well and complemented my hot sauce nicely. Lastly, my favorite part, the CORNBREAD was AWESOME. I gotta try the fried chicken next time. The guy at the counter was super nice and you could really tell he was passionate about this business doing well. Although the interior isn't the cleanest looking, it's simple. Like the south. A few tables and some chairs, that's all you really need in order to have a heavy meal before your food coma hits.

    5 Piece Wing Dinner with mac and cheese, yams, and corn bread

    one of the best hole in the walls in providence, have been coming here for years and they never disappoint. all of the workers here are so kind and the food is amazing

    This is the cake we received, horrible packaging. I ORDERED SLICES NOT THIS. Did not want a mix of vanilla and chocolate, I wanted seperate

    So I ordered through a food delivery service, which was perfect on their behalf, however, the restaurant was a huge problem. I ordered 5 different cake slices: two vanilla, three chocolate. When I go to get my delivery, it was some weird looking cake (I ordered slices). The cake was poorly packed and didn't look at all appetizing. We threw it out without even trying it (see photo). The major problem here was two of my guests are allergic to chocolate so we got vanilla slices for them. Even if we were to eat it, they would not have been able to enjoy dessert due to chocolate frosting. This was my first and last time ever getting food from this restaurant.

    The two funky wings that were suppose to be 5!

    I am beyond annoyed and disappointed with this order! I asked for a large 5 piece and instead I get two raggedy wings with smashed up cake on paper. So basically the vanilla is on the paper not the cake. This is so sad and I will never ever order from here again nor will I recommend and anyone who is interested in soul food I'm making sure to let them know to never patronize this establishment. Not only was the food cold, I got a kids burger and some of the fries were burnt. I don't even want to eat I'm so upset. And don't call them because they don't answer the phone. If anyone sees this don't support this restaurant. I wasted thirty bucks for crap.

    a menu for a sandwich
    Aniyah S.

    I absolutely love Food for the Soul. The food is always delicious and the service is amazing. The yams are amazing!!!! All of the food is great. The gentleman that owns/runs it, has a wonderful soul. The energy and the vibe of the place makes you feel at home. I always come back for more.

    Your taste buds want these flavors!!
    David S.

    If Food for the Soul is wroooong, I don't wanna be right! I haven't had a bite of collards so good since being in the Deep South where they sauté em in a pool of fat back. The baked chicken, which a fellow customer emphatically praised as I ordered, was coated in a generous layer of seasoning that created this war of salivating flavors effectively placing my taste buds in override! Finger lickiń, tongue kickiń chicken! The rice was also done to perfection and, as any great restauranteur knows, boiled in stock, not water. Next level. Cap it all off with a fluffy corn muffin and you have yourself a soul succulent seven dollar dish! They even offered me a free cupcake upon ordering. Shizaaam!

    Dominique W.

    I am in Rhode Island visiting and I wanted to find some soul food. This place did not disappoint! No it's not your mama's cooking, nothing is, but they satisfy the craving for soul food. Small place, but nice and neat. I had the rib dinner with greens and mac and cheese - it comes with a piece of cornbread on the side. Ribs were either baked or broiled but they were good, cornbread sweet and moist, greens cooked to perfect tenderness, and the mac and cheese was uhhhh decent. My wife had yams that were delicious! I also had a side of fish that was sooo good! Seriously, perfectly seasoned, golden fried fresh fried fish! To top it all off they have is 2 complimentary pieces of chocolate cake!

    The view from the street
    Allegra P.

    Worth it! Parking is a little tight because this place is small but it's so good! Cheap and delicious! Even the lemonade is homemade. The free cupcake was a sweet treat too! $7 dinner really leaves you feeling stuffed. Try the fried chicken and make sure to leave a nice tip for these hard working fellas.

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    6 years ago

    Good food. Friendly staff. Lots of options and combos to choose from. Quick and easy to order. Sit in options. Park in the residential area.

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    5 years ago

    Food had way to much salt on chicken , mashed potatoes and collard greens! Ain't worth it trust me ! Won't be going back

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    5 years ago

    The owner Rob is just about the Nicest Person I have ever met. He is right up there!

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    6 years ago

    Disappointed . Woman who answered was rude when I called to inquire about missing sides . Mashed potatoes tasted old.. won't order again

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    Ask the Community - Food For the Soul

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    Yeah, but the food isnt worth it

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    JoRo

    JoRo

    4.9
    (18 reviews)
    1.3 mi

    We visited JoRo for the first time on Mother's Day. We were greeted by Joe, who sat us down at a…read morelovely table with comfortable seating. It feels like you are visiting someone's home and you are immediately comfortable. Joe was very attentive and kind. The music was fantastic. We started off with the warm, buttery cornbread and plantains with a spicy herring sauce. The food was cooked and seasoned perfectly. The jollof rice was delicious. The cocktails were refreshing and tasty. Jo and Ro's mom was so kind and sweet, and she cooks all of the meals. I highly recommend JoRo. This was our first time trying a lot of the dishes and the ladies and I loved it.

    Stepping into JoRo feels like home - we were greeted and shown around by Joel Sr, there were family…read morepictures on the walls, dining seating was so comfortable, and Joel's mom cooked up our meals. I loved the family feel! Joel mixed up delicious drinks for us. We had espressRo martinis, pain killers, old fashions, and wine. Everyone loved their cocktails. For food, we tried most of the snacks/shareables: Cornbread - dense and delicious Meat skewers with pepper sauce - quite the kick, but definitely a favorite Lasagna bites - savory and flavorful Mac and cheese bites - excellent comfort food Fried chicken - the meat falls right off the bone Fried plantains - sweet with an optional kick Everything was served hot out of the oven and we got to enjoy our food while appreciating gentle music from a vocalists and keyboardist. Her voice was amazing and not too overbearing for dinnertime conversations. Joel was an excellent host, server, mixologist - you name it. He made you feel at home and everything was served to perfection. We will be back!

    Photos
    JoRo
    JoRo
    Kush

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    Kush
    Island House

    Island House

    3.3
    (35 reviews)
    1.9 mi

    The food was good. But with other factors like the sides quality + the amount of food for the price…read moreand things that is what took down our ability to give it a higher rating. This was like $60 in food. And the oxtail was my husbands food and he doubled down that it just wasn't enough protein for what it cost. The greens were good but needed salt. The Mac wasn't cheesy. The rice was super good and my chicken was also good. But a little dry. The broad street location off little Italy has not "dedicated parking" we just live close so we walk. They have music and events sometimes I hear. They don't answer the phone when they're busy lol so be aware for take out. I didn't pick up the food though, he did ; so I can't comment on the service correctly. * Jerk chicken * Ox tail * Greens * Mac * Rice and beans

    I was craving jerk chicken so we decided to try this spot out. This location is located on a busy…read morestreet (especially during the day) and there is no private parking lot. We arrived there about 1.5 hours before it closing. We got lucky and found street parking in front of the restaurant. You can sit down and eat here. The lady that helped us was very friendly yet warned me that she had only 1 chicken left (jerk chicken). I decided to get it with the sauce, on top of rice and peas and cabbage. In all honesty, I've tried jerk chicken in the Bay Area and even as far as Springfield, Massachusetts. This location was okay. The chicken quarter was very dry but the sauce was really good which made up for it. On top of that, I wanted to try the oxtail stew but $18 for a small was outside of my budget. I did try a bite of my partner's beef patty was it was delish. Aside from that, the restaurant was empty when we were there. We got to sing in our seats while we waited for our food since they were playing oldschool 90's rnb music. I was definitely vibing. 4/5 stars for me. I would've rated it a 5 if the chicken wasn't tough and dry.

    Photos
    Island House
    Jerk Chicken $14
    Jerk Chicken $14
    Island House

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    The Slow Rhode

    The Slow Rhode

    4.4
    (300 reviews)
    1.6 mi
    $$

    Slow Rhode, little spot open late for food, and hijinx. Foo love hijinx…read more "Antonio, best bartender, how you been my homes?" Foo says. "Hey Foo, good to see you, have a seat." said Antonio. "Menu please?" "Of course. Specials are on the board, what will you have for a drink?" "I'll have a Canadian Club Manhattan." "How about Rittenhouse Foo?" "Sounds good Antonio, best bartender but how about Crown Royal?" "Foo, relax, I'll make you a nice drink," said Antonio. "Hey Antonio," Foo says, "I'll have a cheeseburger, medium, no bacon, fries is okay." As Antonio put down my Manhattan I told him that I was at 22 Bowen's and ran into Chef Eric. Antonio said Eric invented the grind ratios for the Slow Rhode burgers. "Well, Foo believes you best burger in city. Not in state but in city," said Foo. Antonio said, "Who best in state?" Foo, me, the reviewer of the review leaned back in the barstool, looked around the funky ambiance space, and stroked the long scraggly beard Foo tries to grow and said, "I believe best burger is Clarke Cooke House on English muffin with the Gorgonzola." "Really?" "Yes, but one that beats that is Newport Creamery Big Beef patty melt!" "Yo homes, that's a tasty burger," said Antonio. "Righteous!" Foo yelled while giving daps and hugs to Antonio all while jamming a massive stack of grat, all tens, into his pocket and yelling, "My name Foo!" and disturbing the nice people at Slow Rhode. Foo loves Slow Rhode.

    The Slow Rhode has been on my radar since stumbling on a pop-up brunch there a few years ago. I've…read morebeen drooling over their social media posts ever since & was thrilled to finally get here. On a busy Saturday night, we were prepared to not find space, but gave it a shot. Luckily, there was a perfect corner of the bar had just opened & we grabbed the seats. The atmosphere was convivial, upbeat & super comfortable, despite the crowd. Service was fabulously friendly & competent - the bartender handling the packed house with ease. We decided to go with an array of small plates to try as much as possible. The menu it designed perfectly for grazing & the prices are super reasonable! The selections are definitely on the comfort-food side with a strong southern hint. Ingredients are often locally sourced - something I greatly admire. We began with the a small plate of Pimento Cheese Toast. Just a few bites each but a nice start. Duck Drumettes. The horseradish-y white sauce was delectable! Even my non-duck loving partner was blown away. I was happy to hear that the salad was available in a half portion - enough for a light fresh break to our heavy selections. Next came a much heavier choice - the gravy fries with duck confit. We left off the cheese, but it wasn't missed at all. These were decadent, delicious & super filling! Next time we'd get a half portion - that would have been plenty! Our final dish was the Shrimp & Grits, but we'd already filled up on the other dishes & ended up asking for this to go. Even reheated, it was a perfectly delicious accompaniment to our brunch the next day! I'd be tempted to order this to-go again for just that purpose. While we didn't imbibe, the cocktail list looked wonderful & the bar was very well stocked. We did enjoy a nice selection from the interesting beer list. The sandwiches that we saw come out looked delicious & huge! We'd love to try them as well. We will be back - this is certainly a new favorite for us!

    Photos
    Ambiance
    Ambiance
    Mac and cheese
    Mac and cheese
    Jerk chicken sandwich

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    Jerk chicken sandwich
    Wes' Rib House

    Wes' Rib House

    2.4
    (291 reviews)
    2.2 mi
    $$

    RI Food Fight- Lord of the Wings 2025 Review:…read more First time ever at Wes'. I grew up hanging out with previous owners kids. The wing coupon brought me in. Off the beaten path, decent sized parking lot, inside is very modern. There were only like 2 people working on a Saturday night at 5pm. When we walked in we had to wait to be seated for 5 mins but the place was pretty empty?? Once seated, we placed an order for drinks. I went with a rum punch (it was advertised as moonshine but I asked for the liquor switch) and my husband eyes a posted $5 margarita sign. The drink was more liquor than punch. I like it the opposite way. My husband had no problems with the margarita's or the deal! The wings: we went boom boom sauce. It was a decent wing but the boom boom just didn't do it for me. It's me- not the sauce! Just not my jam. He told us it was like a Cajun ranch. I didn't find anything Cajun about it. We ordered mozzarella sticks (I don't think you can really mess up a mozzarella stick.), (2) cornbread's and 1 rib. The cornbread was ok. (With winging it, I have had a lot of cornbread around the state recently.) The rib was large! Overall this place is ok. My husband and I chatted as we pulled out: if we were in the area again we would hit it up again!

    Wow! After reading so many reviews with a wide variety of ratings we didn't know what to expect,…read morebut our visit to Wes' was great. We used to frequent Wes' back in the 1990's, but hadn't been there since it reopened. We spoke with the owner today (who was also our server), and learned it recently changed hands again, so maybe the poor reviews were under the previous ownership. Our experience today was awesome as we really enjoyed the environment as well as the food. Wes's has its own parking lot, which is great since parking in Olneyville can be tough. The exterior of the building has been fixed up from the good old days, and when we went indoors, we were very impressed with how the interior has been renovated as well. New windows, new furniture, new bathrooms, and everything is spotlessly clean. Menu choices are great with fair pricing, and service was prompt with just the right amount of attentiveness. We were using our RI Food Fight sandwich coupons and were given three choices: pulled pork, fried chicken, or the All-American burger. We went with the pulled pork and the burger. Both were served on good rolls that didn't fall apart, and both were nice and big with plenty of meat. The burger had a delicious smokey taste and the pulled pork was tasty as well. We did not use any extra bbq sauce, but we did see a bottle of what looked to be house-made sauce on another table. In addition we split corn bread and sweet fried plantains and really enjoyed both sides. Wes' is still working on obtaining a liquor license (should be soon!), so we ordered sodas and were impressed by the large cups. We also checked out the arcade game area, which looked fun, and the additional seating room upstairs which includes a small stage. The new owner told us that they host karaoke and trivia, and this room looks perfect for these types of entertainment. We loved that the event space is separate from the main dining room as oftentimes it's tough to eat dinner and converse while other events are happening, and it looks like this won't be a problem at Wes'. We would like to wish the new owner lots of success - Thanks for bring Wes' back to life and we hope to return soon!

    Photos
    Renovated bar
    Renovated bar
    Family Platter
    Family Platter
    Wes' Rib House

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    Great Northern BBQ

    Great Northern BBQ

    3.8
    (192 reviews)
    1.9 mi
    $$

    I know New England isn't known for BBQ, so my expectations aren't high but our order was mostly…read moretossed out tonight. We ordered pickup: BBQ brisket - there was hot sauce but no BBQ sauce included. He said the brisket was okay, but the cheese didn't even taste like cheese. He didn't eat most of it. BBQ seitan - I liked the texture, but BBQ sauce was barely there unfortunately. The cold slaw smelled terrible. Mac & cheese - the cheese didn't taste like cheese, barely any flavor Brussels sprouts - this was the worst! Soggy and burnt! So bad we couldn't eat them, I spat them out! We took - picture. Corn bread - only thing good enough was the piece of corn bread. I'd honestly like the business to offer a refund.

    UPDATED: They charged me an extra $4 for picking sweet potato fries as the side despite the menu…read moreclearly saying "choice of side." Nowhere does it say that a certain choice will incur a higher charge... feeling a little scammed here! Here is the five star review I left BEFORE getting the check but I have to say it left a bad taste in my mouth hence the 3 stars: A great spot for some great BBQ! I say this as someone from the South-- I do think they did an excellent job with their BBQ and their name makes me laugh because it feels almost like a disclaimer. I got the pulled pork plate and it was delicious-- the cornbread had maple syrup on it and it was so yummy! I got sweet potato fries as my side and they were so good (maybe some of the best I've had?) I saw someone else had mac n cheese and it looked good so I ordered mac n cheese as well-- also delicious!! My boyfriend got the brisket which was great and enough to take home for a second meal. The plates are a great bang for your buck, not to mention delicious!! The vibe is like dark/casual/BBQ-- relaxed and spacious seating. Service was good too. There's parking outside that can probably fit 6-7 or so cars-- we got lucky and snagged a spot. There's some street parking around too though.

    Photos
    Great Northern BBQ
    Huge Platter
    Huge Platter
    Ice cold Gansett

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    Ice cold Gansett

    Food For the Soul - soulfood - Updated July 2026

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