Big Pat's Soulfood Cafe - a Forest

Good place to eat. The lady who took our order was very nice. We did carry out. It took about 15mins to get the food. The meats are cooked to order. They give you decent portions of food. We really enjoyed the chicken wings, Mac n cheese and cabbage. The collards are made with vinegar. So be advised, just incase you don't like your collards that way,

This place is amazing! The backstory of how the restaurant got started is heartwarming and inspiring. He truly is keeping his mother's legacy alive! Everything is homemade and quality is consistent. Great atmosphere very welcoming staff but don't take my word for it look at the pictures and that'll tell you! Oh, and the Uptown tea is a must! The cake is Butter Pecan btw and they have different kinds of cheezecakes. Please support small business!!Parking: Good location with plenty of parking- strip mallWheelchair accessibility: Definitely accessible, my client enjoyed it as a first time diner.Dietary restrictions: Great to dine somewhere where it's swine free!!????????

This is a small restaurant. I'm not sure if it's family owned, but it definitely has that feel to it. The staff was very friendly upon my arrival. I was seated right away. The food was hot (temperature-fresh) and was delicious. The bread was a biscuit, I wished it was cornbread. I have been telling all of my family and friends about this place. I will visit again soon. If you're in the Burlington area, and enjoy soul food, I highly recommend visiting Big Pat's.

The second star is only because the person who waited on us was super nice. So let's start there. Our server/cashier was the only person we interacted with but she represented the restaurant well. Very friendly, gave recommendations, etc. However, you go to a restaurant to eat and despite the kindness of this employee, I would not recommend eating here. I went on a Thursday afternoon around 1pm and when I arrived only one other table was there despite it still being pretty close to the lunch hour. Despite the scant number of customers inside, my order of fried fish and shrimp, Mac n cheese and greens took nearly an hour to arrive. The presentation looked great but I found the food to be largely inedible. The batter on the seafood was thick and heavily salted. It could have been fried anything and it would have tasted the same. The greens were garlicky and vinegary which maybe some people like but I can't imagine that has widespread appeal. Finally, the Mac and cheese tastes somewhere along the lines of a fancy Kraft Mac n cheese. It's not baked (which seemed odd for a soul food establishment) and doesn't taste like good quality cheeses were used in the preparation. It was also overly seasoned/salted. While I know the exact prep of soul food can be a matter of individual preference, I doubt that most people would consider this quality food. As evidenced by the nearly empty restaurant at lunch time. I REALLY hate to leave poor reviews for small businesses but I hope they will have an opportunity to improve.

Too pricey for the appearance of the business. The waits are too long and the place is not as clean as it should be.