Mama Sheila's House of Soul

I'm a Mississippian, so I'm very hard on soul food. Take my word when I say this place was IMMACULATE. I had BBQ chicken, greens, fried chicken, rice, black eyed peas, mashed potatoes and gravy, and a lemonade.

SO. SO. SO. good.

Highly recommend.

And a special thank you to Sheree, who was working the WHOLE place all by herself.

Surprise from start to finish! Soul food in Minneapolis!???!

The storefront is no no no. It isn't open...and if it is, would I dare go in?

You walk in; empty showcase but there is a whole other world beyond. Tin ceiling. Murals. Gold. Velvet

Stand in line. Customers look real. we are the only white guys in the place.

Food, food, food. Pay by the pound! It was too good to photograph. I started eating before I got to my table! Mmmmmm. If you are into crisp, dente vegetables and grilled meat, this is not your spot. It's southern home cooking.

I had a scoop of cooked cabbage, about a cup and a half, collard greens, yams, mashed potatoes. The only surprise the gravy was thin and light. Delicious. Meat loaf, falling off the bone jerk chicken.

Corn bread that looks ordinary and was the best I have ever had. Next time I will take two pieces. No honey but it would only distract from its goodness. The only crisp food was the fried chicken.

It's unique. The staff was super, down home friendly. Great booths for private conversations. Beautiful setting.

If you want an experience go. Take your time, embrace. We went on a week night. Quiet but comfortable. I would love to go back on a busy weekend; I bet the vibe is phenomenal!!!!!

The food was delicious, I particularly liked the collard greens. The people working there were kind and extremely helpful. We will definitely be back!
PS - Dine in, the ambiance is 12/10

This is a buffet style restaurant. We were in the mood for some soul food take out! They didn't take phone orders so we were ok to go in and wait but we're really surprised when she brought us back to make our plates.

We got an assortment of different foods and some of the top pieces were the bbq chicken drummies, the fried chicken, and the cabbage. Cabbage was done to perfection and seasoned well. The fried chicken was perfectly crispy and still juicy and the bbq chicken had a really nice subtle bbq that wasn't over the top. Cornbread really stole the show for me as a little dessert.

Thinking back, I should have for sure splurged on the pineapple upside down cake that was shown in the front. ‍

I am a huge greens fan, but I am particular about the taste and salt content. These greens didn't impress me too much, and I left them on my plate. The jerk spaghetti was something new I was excited to try. I don't like olives and there were olives added. It also had a sweet undertone that I wasn't super big on.

My grandparents joined us for dinner and got the meatloaf and both of them were highly impressed though I didn't personally give it a try.

Good place overall. Service was friendly and kind. The woman that helped us was really sweet and made the meatloaf plate look a lot more presentable and I appreciated that extra step she took.

Price is by pound.

Wow, can't rave enough about the food. 5 of us had dinner and all thought the food was delicious -so much flavor. Some of our favorites: Mac and cheese, smothered chicken, sweet potatoes and the collard greens but all were very delicious. The peach cobbler added a great finish to our meal. We will definitely return. Our plates were around $15 each and there was plenty of food!

This is the real deal soul food. From the mouth watering smothered chicken to the corn bread, everything was amazing! Top notch service from the staff. I swear momma was serving me the food. I felt like I was at home with the awesome ambience of all the R and B great's hanging on the wall.

If you are ever in the area come check them out!

Food was excellent Everything was seasoned well not salty corn bread like grandma used to make I recommend the barbecue chicken service was on point remember they weigh their food audience was old-school. All celebrities were on the wall. Whoever took the photographs they were excellent. I will be back!

The "ambiance" of this place is dreadful. The dark, cluttered and dusty decor is awful. There is nothing inviting about this scary place. The food is both over salted and over priced. Furthermore, Yelp needs to stop their political censoring of reviews. Lastly, what is the reason for all the celebrity photos posted on the walls? It's not like any of them have ever dined at this place.

I definitely recommend Mama Shelia's House of Soul if you are in the Minneapolis area! My fav and I were in Minneapolis to see the Bears vs Vikings. Unfortunately, the Bears lost, but finding Mama Shelia's House of Soul for lunch after the game was a huge win! The establishment has dine in or carry out available. You are immediately greeted with soulful sounds of the best R&B/Soul has to offer. The walls are lined with pics of the biggest soul artist of our time, some beautiful hand painted pieces of Aretha Franklin & the legendary Prince! We dined in for a good meal before getting back on the road for a six hour drive to Il. When I tell you, the food was delicious it was DELICIOUS! It's a buffet set-up, All You Can Eat or Weigh & Pay. There was a good variety of soul food menu items available. Everything was hot & fresh, just seasoned to perfection . We enjoyed taste of: creamy, golden topped mac & cheese, palate pleasing greens w/turkey, cabbage, buttery corn-on-cob, yams, flavorful jerk spaghetti, red beans & rice (that were truly off the chain good) and a finger licking good smothered chicken wing. (For dessert chocolate cake to go! I cannot even tell you how moist & delicious this cake is! Even as I sit here & pig out on it as I write this review!!!!!) We also each ordered a catfish filet as our entree. They were prepared to order (not part of buffet price) and very much worth $10.95 ea. Delivered hot & fresh to our table; we were comped our glasses of red kool aid for the extended wait; which we appreciated. The food, the service & hospitality is just what you look for in local family owned businesses. We were asked several times during our meal if we were enjoying it, and if we needed anything additional. It was a complete pleasure to watch the owners young grands, move about the restaurant actually putting in service! Everyone --the gentleman that took our initial order at the register, the young man serving at the buffet, the woman w/dimples that ultimately took over at register Mama Shelia's husband & Mama Shelia Herself were phenomenal host! They make you feel right at home, like they appreciate your business. Mama Shelia took a moment to come to our table to greet us & chat. As well, her husband was quite welcoming; made sure we had everything we needed. We learned she is originally from Chicago & that alone would be enough for me to shout out & support her business.

It's more than that though.. great down home southern cooking & the excellent service at Mama Shelia's House of Soul left an awesome impression on us.. This is a fine establishment and I can guarantee you won't be disappointed if you check it out

Mama Shiela's gave me the total soul food experience I was hoping for while in Minnesota. The decor immediately featured so much black excellence I was in awe. From the many artists and bands featured on the banner to the large print out of facts of African American figures, the restaurant felt like a soul feeding history museum. I was a huge fan right out of the gate because of this.

The chicken was by far the best part of the meal. The Kool aid definitely HIT as well, just enough sugar for me for both the red and the blue. Everything else was okay, I was expecting the mac n cheese to be cheesier and less runny but it wasn't terrible just not a fan favorite of mine. The service was good too, it is buffet style but everyone was constantly stopping by the table to make sure we had enough to drink and we're good.

I loved that you paid for buffet style and were free to keep going for more, although we were full after one plate. Something I found intriguing about this restaurant is the hole in the wall feel it gave and I had no idea it was down the street from the George Floyd memorial.