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    Soul Central

    3.9 (252 reviews)
    InexpensiveSoul Food, Caribbean
    Open 10:00 am - 9:00 pm

    Soul Central Photos

    SOUL CENTRAL ATMOSPHERE

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

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    Recommended Reviews - Soul Central

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    Arnold Palmer
    D A.

    This review is overdue. I used Uber Eats for lunch on Saturday, 11-26-22. Work kept me from a traditional Thanksgiving dinner, so I figured I'd get some of what I was missing. I vegan lunch, 4 sides: candied yams, cabbage, fried okra, mac n cheese, an Arnold Palmer; collard greens, and banana pudding. It was a decent substitute. I also walked in during September 2023 just to get a side of mac n cheese. The cashier was surprised about that being the only thing I ordered.

    Fish is bomb.
    Lydia K.

    Loved this place, it's clean and they have fast service. The fish is excellent, so were the yams , Mac and cheese, mashed potatoes . I would pass on the potato salad. The pork chops were okay, the chicken was good but cold. I don't like cold fried chicken. Prices are reasonable. We were visiting from Cali and went in back to back to eat , so we could get it in one last time before we went home. I would highly recommend.

    Front area
    Kate S.

    Soul Central gets 5 stars for Covid-19 safe practices, friendliness, and just darn good food. We ordered over the phone and then I went to pick up. They had very clear signage about wearing a mask, and everyone working there was following safe mask wearing practices and keeping good distance. I got barbecue chicken with sides of collards and cabbage and my husband got meatloaf with sides of collards and pinto beans. Both of our meals came with delicious moist cornbread (impressive considering we had to bring it home with us, so it had plenty of time to dry out). The prices are very reasonable. The staff was incredibly friendly and helpful, and their smiles were so big that you could tell they were smiling even under their masks. This is definitely the kind of place we want to keep afloat during these tough times.

    My soul reason for visiting Charlotte
    Fox E.

    You may think I'm stupid or mental Or that I need some work done (dental) It's my butt that gets floss And Barbie is my boss And she sent me to eat at Soul Central Not in Korea (Seoul Central) or Minnesota or Scandinavia (Skol Central), this is one of Charlotte's top rated soul food spots. But I'm not a massive fan. My Soul reason to come here was to try some Soul food, and it wasn't bad. Especially the people working, who were lovely. Barbie's Sole reason for coming here was to show off her high heels. Lovely little place with really nice employees. Their meatloaf is good if you like meatloaf - which I don't. Their mac and cheese is excellent and the collard greens are delicious. I'm looking forward to coming back to maybe try pot roast or ribs or Fried Chicken, all of which are highly rated. But I do think if you're a fan of Meatloaf you'll love this one. Prices are pretty decent for the large portions you get, much like when you hire me for the night. But that's not central to this review.

    3pc fried chicken, Mac and cheese, with black eyed peas over rice and a piece of cornbread
    Dijon F.

    My favorite soul food place in Charlotte! I've been coming here for years and it only gets better!

    Laurie I.

    I hadn't been to Soul Central in several months so I decided to get some food from there. I ordered baked chicken, collard greens, rice and corn bread. Although my chicken was really dry, I enjoyed the rest of the meal. The corn bread was DELICIOUS!! I liked that the best. My collard greens were a little salty to me, but they were good. I'd return but I wouldn't order the baked chicken. My daughter had the fried fish and she really liked it. If I wasn't allergic to fish I would have had that.

    BLAND SWEET POTATOES
    Natalie C.

    So this WAS my favorite place to visit for Soul Food! Not certain what has happen but is the second trip that I have been disappointed. The greens have been salty both trips. The Mac n Cheese was so so. The chicken was fresh and hot as usual but slightly over cooked. The candied yams lacked the candy, bland and not sweet. The worst thing ever was the peach cobbler purchased from the frozen section of the grocery store. No vanilla flavor no butter or sugar not one speck of cinnamon or nutmeg! The lemonade was good. $30+ later for 2 meals has left a bad taste in my mouth!

    Fried chicken with mashed potatoes and Mac & cheese
    Porter M.

    Discovered this place on google when I looking for hood soul food places around Charlotte. The overall experience was really good from food to service. I got the fried chicken with mashed potatoes and Mac/cheese and it was all really damn good. Everything was fresh and seasoned to perfection, the place is kinda small and seating outside isn't too bad depending on weather but I would definitely recommend this place.

    Cornbread, candied yams, collard greens, flounder, and half & half tea
    King D.

    Updated review: So I see there's new staff and started to wonder about how the food would taste. I was disappointed. I ordered the fried flounder, candied yams, collard greens, and cornbread with half & half tea. The founder was decent but the breading had crumbs falling off like a Dutch apple crumb pie, candied yams were way too sweet even for me, the collard greens were HOT & Spicy (why are they hot and spicy with all these red pepper flakes) and the cornbread was over baked. Also, the sweet tea was bleh; didn't even taste lemon in it. Ate most but didn't enjoy it and am tossing the rest. It was an all Hispanic staff with Hispanic music playing on YouTube. I miss the old staff. I won't be coming back.

    Side of fried chicken wings consists of 5 pieces
    Saniqua P.

    Let's see...they've got greens, beans, potatoes, tomatoes, chickens, turkeys - YOU NAME IT! (sorry I had to...) Seriously though, this place actually delivers on providing delicious and affordable soul food. As mentioned in numerous other reviews, the place is tiny. It's right next door to the ever-popular Three Amigos and just like Three Amigos, the place can fill up quickly depending on the time of day. Because of aforementioned size, I wouldn't recommend dining in. They have about two tables indoors and two tables outside. However, there's no working A/C. At least there wasn't the day I visited. Take your food to-go and enjoy it all in the comfort of your own surroundings. I would say come prepared knowing what you'd like but due to the availability of some items, they may sell out early on in the day and not have them refilled as of yet. When I visited around 3/3:30 on a Saturday afternoon, I was told that they were already out of collards (I'm going to place blame on the lunch rush). I placed an order for a side of chicken wings (minimum order of 5 pieces) and flounder fish combo with green beans & mac & cheese as sides. To note, they bread and fry every piece of fish and chicken fresh to order. That's right, there are no pieces of fried chicken or fish laying around getting cold/hard, which is the norm at other establishments. So be prepared to wait around 10-15ish minutes or so if you didn't call in your order. The time they spend to do that is WELL WORTH IT. When I got home, the chicken was so crispy and juicy. They keep the other sides such as the green beans, mac & cheese, yams, mashed potatoes, pinto beans, etc in the cafeteria-style line up. They also now have macaroni salad. Again, the availability of all is subject to change depending on the time of day. Don't forget to check in to yelp for a free sweet tea with purchase! They also have lemonade and a soft drink machine. For dessert, there's apple/peach/cherry cobblers, sweet potato pie, and banana pudding - all $2.50/slice. My only advice? go to Soul Central and order as much food as possible. Enjoy. Repeat.

    menu says curry goat on Saturdays (check availability), I asked, and the lady said "no, it's chicken."

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    Ask the Community - Soul Central

    Are they under new management? There use to be a Trini family that ran it and I know they used to sell Trini food on certain days. I went in to ask recently and none of the workers knew what Caribbean food is.

    I'm positive it's under new management. The food has changed as well.

    What is the dress code?

    Definitely casual.

    Don’t See Your Question? Ask Away!

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    Soul Central - soulfood - Updated July 2026

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