Elvira F.

Food: 4.5/5 stars Service: 1/5 Bartender: 4.5/5 Ok firstly the food here is GOOD. Flavorful and rich. My boyfriend and I ordered the gumbo fries, the gumbo over rice and I ordered their biggest platter (half of a snow crab, shrimp and 2 sides). I had the garlic noodles and mac n cheese. We also had their King Crunch. Overall the food was delicious, hearty and rich. The crab meat was delicate and the garlic noodles were overall good. Everything we had was delicious. We had Purple Rain and a sidecar for drinks..both which were good. Not amazing but good for the price. Now why the 3 stars? Honestly the stars are for the food and our bartender/waitress who was really sweet. Our experience there was subpar at best... We arrived at 2:30 p.m. on a Saturday. It was decently busy but we got immediately greeted and seated at the bar. Now..I guess the bartenders also serve tables and that made for a very chaotic and LONG meal... It took about 15 minutes before we were greeted. Another 15 minutes before we received cornbread & water, and that's when our order was taken... but it took AN HOUR before we even received our cocktails. I know it's not the bartenders fault. She had some pretty difficult tables who wanted refunds, split checks etc. But for an over $200 meal...we expect more timely service. Not sure if it's understaffing, timing, training or what but it took almost 2 hours before we got our food.. Mind you...it took an hour before we got our drinks. We also received our entrees before our appetizer.. the total time there was close to 3 hours. It was a bit frustrating seeing other tables get their drinks before us who were seated after us. But their waitress seemed to be making their drinks personally and unfortunately ours was just SWAMPED for the first hour after we sat down. The prince portrait, art and decor are dope. There are about 15 tables and 6 or so seats at the bar. Overall food was great, our bartender/waitress (who did check in on us multiple times and apologize) was sweet but the time it took to get our drinks and food was just ridiculous. Waiting 1 hour for drinks & 2 hours for food is unacceptable in my opinion. Usually if it's that bad the manager would come talk to a party and apologize for the wait or at least comp something. We aren't the kind of people to ask for that but it's a good faith showing. Since it wasn't the servers fault we made sure to give her a 20% tip, but for a $200 bill (including tip) we expect a better experience than what we received. Anyways, we won't be returning...when we go out to eat, the experience is just as important as the flavor & quality of the food. And this place falls flat on its butt.

Carol P.

Attention Kings & Queens: There are some good places to eat in not so great areas of town. Gumbo King is one of those places, located in the middle of an old tiny strip mall on Northgate Blvd. Don't let the outside turn you away from trying some delicious soul food! We were welcomed in and seated right away but the host took our party of 4 to a table with only 3 chairs. LOL No worries. I still liked the vibe: small, casual, and simply decorated with some cool artwork/ posters and R&B and old school hip hop being played a little loudly. Also the servers address you as "king" or "queen," which I loved. They brought our waters without straws and without the sliced lemons we asked for. I didn't like that they were out of straws, but luckily we had our own in the car. My friend had ordered a blended drink, which definitely needed a straw. I wanted a watermelon lemon drop but they were out of watermelon. I ended up getting the blackberry lemon drop. Pro tip: They have about 5 cocktails that are only $5 when added to an entree. We waited almost half an hour to get our drinks. There was a big party seated when we got there, so not sure if our drink order got lost or what. Anyways the sweet female manager (I'm assuming she was the manager) came over and apologized for the wait and said our drinks were on the house. At least the rocky start got smoothed out, and from that point on, it was a better dining experience. They have a "rotating menu" of specialties only available on certain days. Saturday was "fried ribs," so I already knew what I wanted! But sadly they were out! (Note to self: go or order early if you want something from the rotating menu.) Instead I got the fried pork chops that were recommended by a friend and chose fried cabbage and mac n cheese as my sides. We had to try their signature "gumbo wings" that I ordered as an appetizer but pretty much came at the same time as our entrees. Everyone else ordered the fried catfish, fried chicken, rice & gravy, yams, greens, and the alfredo fettucine. The gumbo wings were smackin'!!!! Large pieces of fried drums and flats that were smothered with the gumbo "roux," basically like a gravy with bits of chicken and sausage from the gumbo. I loved the pork chops the most! Super crunchy on the outside and tender and moist on the inside. Everyone loved their fried fish and chicken. I say "fried king" fits them well! Not that there wasn't already a ton of food on our plates, but I asked if they had cornbread, and glad I did. It was buttery sweet, moist, and even though the bottom was a little burnt, it was still one of the best I've ever had! All of the sides were ok but my cousin raved about the fettucine alfredo. I'll have to order that next time, maybe with the fried lobster, which also came highly recommended. Support black-owned, small, and local!

Kyshia M.

My fam wanted to come here to grab something to eat after seeing them on Instagram. Don't. Well, it wasn't horrible but it definitely didn't add up to what she saw. The math wasn't mathing. For my drink I ordered the peachy princess. Large for $20. Comes with Titos vodka and a lot of peach flavorings. It was good. Not too sweet. To eat I ordered the fried okra and lobster tail. Both were fried and came with the gumbo juice. The okra & gumbo juice was good af! Smacking! I'd def order that every time. The lobster was bad. Something was off about it. I eat seafood all the time and knew the taste wasn't how it was supposed to be. Idk how to describe it but after 3 bites to make sure I wasn't tripping, I stopped eating it bc I was afraid of getting sick. And, the lobster tail was fried with the shell. The meaty parts wasn't even separated. Took more time trying to get the meat out than it took eating those 3 bites. A total miss for me. Needless to say, I came, I saw, I concurred. Probably won't return.

LaWanda A.

Well let me first start off that it took no time to be seated since it was barely anyone in there. The waitress did not speak to us but just sat down and brought us a napkin that was dirty. We told her and she brought us another set Moving forward, I order the fried fish red snapper in which did not taste like it and it had no seasoning. The greens were a little spicy but had a big bay leaf and skin from the turkey meat there which was very interesting, the yams were good and hopefully it was not canned. My friend order the shrimp plate in which she stated the shrimp were shrimp with no season to taste, the Mac and cheese was very good but can do without the greens. All and all this place was okay but if this was for Gumbo, I wanted to taste the GUMBo but it was just sausage and chicken and the roux but missing shrimp and crab since that was extra prices are high but no where that we can order a small bowl to taste it as a side. Would be good if it was part of the menu since you stated GUMBO King it would be nice to stand on your name.

Teresa B.

Didn't realize the Natomas had southern food joint right in its backyard! The restaurant is hidden away in a strip mall. We ordered fried wings and French fries because of the happy hour special, the queen's gumbo, a beer and turkey greens. They also brought out complimentary corn bread. Because we arrived during happy hour, fried wings and French were 50% off, and the beer was $4. The fried wings came out crispy and tender but they were drenched in sauce so after a few minutes the skin was soggy. If they had used less sauce, I think the wings would have been fantastic. Seasoning wise, everything was a little too salty. The turkey greens were a little bit disappointing and an overly salty. The Queen's gumbo was good, good sauce, tender meat. What I enjoyed about the place: they had. good happy hour specials, from 7-9pm. They also had good friendly service. The bad: wait time was pretty long - took more than 30 minutes for us to get our meals. Our server was really nice about it though. The ambience is pretty bare bones. The entrees are pretty pricey. The queen's gumbo was $20 and the turkey greens side $8 was pretty small. Overall total was over $50 for two people after tip.

Amber S.

I've been waiting to try the food at this establishment for some time now and I finally had the Opportunity this past football Sunday. When me and my son arrived it took about 15 minutes before my presence was even acknowledged. Very disheartening because the lack of training came across as if no one cared to even greet me and let me know there would be an extended wait to be seated. Once seated, the waitress with the super long cute ponytail greeted me and she was so nice and professional. Although she seemed to be working through short staffing issues and it took longer for her to come back and take my order but she was very knowledgeable, helpful and pleasant. The ambiance was nice and seemed family oriented. The food was hot and tasted ok. I will come back to try the seafood gumbo and then update my review if I have better experience.

Niasha D.

I ordered here for the first time Online through the App which is very convenient. I ordered in the evening so like dinner time approximately 2 1/2 hours before the business closed. The delivery time took about an hour and when we received our order the drinks were missing. I called the restaurant and I spoke with a staff member, she was very nice and helpful. She also explained that the app has been glitching and a lot of drinks were missed on previous orders which I told her it's okay don't worry about it. FYI: ( call after you place an online order and make sure they have your drink). basically! I ordered 2 plates of the Kings chicken dinner , side of fried okra, garlic noodles , x2 sides of mac and cheese, side of cabbage and a kids side of gumbo to just try it. -Gumbo! BOMB so now I know I'll order a bigger bowl -Cabbage was good but a little heavy on the pepper -Mac and cheese didn't like so much but I ate it lol -The garlic noodles was really good -Great service over the phone. - fried okra did not taste good The only bad thing I will say is that the fried chicken I received was NOT IT! And maybe that's because it was later in the day/evening and the oil may have not been fresh or something idk but my chicken was dry and burnt........ burnt! Very disappointing because the pictures on yelp of other chicken orders looked way better. Not sure if I'll ever order the fried chicken but if I do I'll make sure to order right when they open. I want to give this business another try in the near future but I will say the gumbo was very tasty so don't hesitate to order that.

Kia J.

The chef and owner came over to the table to talk to us . The waitress was nice they make sure to call you kings and queens the whole time. Everyone was nice it was a big party and the food did not take long . The Mac and cheese was not all that great

Latecia P.

So husband wanted to take me out he wouldn't tell me where we were going and we ended up here at Gumbo King Y'all know I'm going to give it to y'all straight ... we pulled up and first thing I thought to myself was ..... awwww shi* I deff shouldn't of worn heels lol don't let surrounding area turn you around... once you get inside it's nice and laid back. I walked in and was instantly greeted by auntie Antionette she seated us, asked us if this was our first time (which it was) and how did we hear about Gumbo King. What I loved most was that she took her time to explain the menu ... told us her fav meals... the popular meals but was very confident in what ever we ordered because she stated and I quote "everything is good" Gumbo King know what they were doing when they put auntie in the front .... She took us to the south with her hospitality. Everyone is served cornbread.... I'm going to be honest our cornbread was a little over cooked and at this time the resturant is getting packed.... BUT EVEN over cooked the damn cornbread was FIRE and it was HOT. Our server came her name was GG .... Who was also bartending. She took our orders again another person who was very knowledgeable about the menu. We started with appetizers in which we got gumbo wings & fried lobster with Alfredo .... Hear my voice as you read ... the $hit was fire, my husband does not like Alfredo we killed that Lobster. The gumbo wings came later .... And they were bomb not to much not to less it was perfect. For the dinner I had wings yams Mac & cheese husband had fried fish Mac & greens. I'm not one to really order chicken at a resturant because you kinda want something different but .... What made me order the chicken was the ppl next to me I literally can smell their damn food and it smelled so good I was hoping they wouldn't catch me staring lol but it smelled good and looked good. The chicken had so much flavor The yams tasted fresh I could of done a little sweeter but that's just me ... they still were bomb and I would reorder if I went again. Same with Mac and cheese ... I like mine creamy like Alfredo and a crust top but theirs tasted like auntie put her foot in it so it's something deff I'll order again. The drinks ...... I had the Hennessy and husband had that big red drink that he couldn't finish because it's deff shareable like the menu says lol GG did her thang with her bartending and service. Icing on the cake the owner came out and asked how was the food , the vibe I get when I walk in there is everyone is in Sync and vibe off each other feels more like a southern family business.... Thank you guys we will be back. Oh and let's not forget they were deff jamming with that old school R&B

Nina G.

If you're not sure if you want to try gumbo king, try it! Food is pretty good. King gumbo - 9/10 (wish there was more chicken in it - great flavors and spice balance) Cornbread - 10/10 Candied yams - 10/10 Greens - 8/10 super tasty and some of the better greens I've had Crab & Shrimp - for some reason, there were small pieces of garlic noodles in the container with the order. Shrimp had good flavor, but was overcooked and rubbery. I don't blame them, I blame the 20 min car ride home. crab was OK but due to the mixed in noodles that didn't seem intentional, we opted not to finish. I am an overly cautious person and seeing food that looked like it was from another plate made me worry. So No score. I would recommend eating seafood in house rather than as a Togo for fresher quality. Issues: - we ordered a side of corn on the cob but were given greens instead - one of the candied yam containers exploded in the bag making a huge mess Pro: flavorful food. Fast service when ordered ahead the food is NOT too salty as others have said. Guys it is SEASONED and seasoned super well Ambiance: lots of families inside when I picked up my order. Staff was kind but seemed quite busy. Great music. I would have rated a 4/5 if I had gotten the correct sides and if one of the containers didn't explode in the bag. Would I be back? Yea, I'd come back.

Deborah R.

My families from Louisiana and I'm so glad that we found this place. The food was very yummy. We had to try everything.! Alicia was our waitress she was very helpful. Decorations was good. The service was fast. The food was delicious. We ordered every side dish from the greens, macaroni and cheese, gumbo, gumbo wings, red beans & rice. The cornbread is amazing, desserts pudding & peach cobbler. My son and his wife found this place. They live in the Sacramento area where in the Bay Area we will definitely be back.

Savierra G.

My first time trying this place as I always hear so many good things about it. Not hard to find and we got seated right away. Good food and great customer service. Ambiance was relaxing. Had nice pictures and food music to listen to while we eat. Also a few TVs to catch a game. They have a happy hour menu which was great because I planned on ordering the gumbo wings anyways and that happened to be on the happy hour

Vinny C.

I really wanted to give this place a good review but just can't do it. Firstly, I had issue with the customer service in which a young lady who worked there purposely cut me off as I was walking to sit at the bar area and had major attitude. After thinking about it for a second or two I initially decided to walk out and find somewhere else to eat. However, another young lady (who noted that she was the manager) asked what was wrong and after explaining she apologized and took care of me. I didn't realize it until later in the day that I was overcharged on the base prices on my receipt (over charged $1.00 for the fried lobster (base price according to the menu is 24.95), $0.80 for the kings gumbo (base price listed as $19.95 on the menu) and $0.24 for the mash potatoes (base price listed as $8.00 on the menu)). A discount, according to the manager, was noted on the receipt for my trouble in dealing with the rude young lady earlier. All in all, this is my first and last time supporting this establishment. The money is nothing but it's really the principle that concerns me. I guess the short term hustle was worth losing a customer that would've truly loved to support them and give them more business. The food was actually good which makes this sad smh. Oh well. God bless them.