Bonnie Jean's Soul Food Café

The outside looks really sketchy, my Hubs wasnt even sure if he wanted to Go in, haha. Came here right after they opened and we seemed to be the 1st ones for the day.
The service was a little slow and it took a while for our food to come out.
We ordered:
Chicken & waffles (honey pecan glazed)- the chicken was moist inside, crunchy and seasoned very well. The glaze was good and wasn't too sweet. The waffle had a good texture and tasted really good.
Fried gizzards- seasoned well and the hubby really liked it
Fried catfish- the belly parts were a little slimy. The cornmeal breaking was delicious
Mac & Cheese- delish!
Jalapeño cornbread-a little dry
Chicken wings (pecan glazed) hubby thought it was too sweet. Maybe not enough meat to balance out the sweetness cuz the chicken on my waffles was good!
I would def recommend!

The skin is really crispy and light; it's my favorite in San Diego! If this place ever wanted to go hipster and start serving chicken skin only, I would definitely order dish upon dish of that. As it is, you get whole pieces (2 drumsticks and 1 thigh and two sides come with the three piece meal for $10.99). The chicken is served piping hot, meaning you are going to wait at least 20 minutes for your food but it tastes so much better fresh out the fryer. The dark meat is tender, but it's nothing special. The skin is what elevated the dish. The mac n cheese is so cheesy that it warranted three lactaids. My friend who grew up in the south thought the fried okra was done well.

I love gizzard, and they give you a large portion for the price. All was good except the one piece I ate that was slightly bitter and, upon examination, looked a little greenish in color (ick).

The ambiance is a bit surprising; when you walk in it looks like half Internet cafe and half grandma's house. Remember to ring the bell if no one is up front to greet you.

Service was friendly; I will definitely be back for the fried chicken and Mac n cheese.

Got catfish dinner. Fish was dry. Mac and cheese was dry. Cornbread was dense and hard. Greens were ok at best.

Hubby and I had a taste for some down south soul food.  We  decided to go here tonight for our Friday night dinner. We called ahead...I ordered 1 chicken breast, 1 wing, an order of gizzards (spicy) & Mac n cheese. My husband wanted a turkey dinner and was told...we were looking at the on line menu and that wasn't available!!???? Ummmmm, why is it on the menu. 1st HMMMMMM.....he decided on the Pork Chop dinner with mashed potatoes and fried okra. We were told it would be ready in 30 min....we live in Mission Valley, so we headed out, a few minutes after ordering. We arrived at 5:55, and the restaurant was empty.  2nd HMMMMMM...we noticed a sign in the window that says...I support Trump...3rd HMMMMMM. I was done and ready to go. My gut feeling said to leave, but my husband said, since we're supporting a black business, let's pick it up. We ended up waiting until 6:25 for our food.....4th HMMMMMMM.  We figured oh well, it took so long, it must be good and fresh. We were so wrong!!   We were disgusted when we opened the containers. My husband tasted the mashed potatoes and didn't want anything else. If you can't cook mashed potatoes, there's no hope. I reluctantly tried the Mac and cheese and was highly disappointed, it was worse than boxed Mac n cheese. Whole Foods Mac n cheese has more flavor than that. The gizzards (not only not spicy, but no seasoning) and fried chicken, taste like old grease. No flavor or seasoning!!! Hot sauce didn't even help. Just horrible. If you're looking for a southern cooked meal, save your money and don't come here. I wish there was a way to leave a negative review. Moral of the story....ALWAYS trust your gut feeling!!! Needless to say, our 1st and last time he

Man! If you care about your help stay away.  Paint chip hanging from the ceiling.  Also, asking for volunteers to help paint.  MAN!!! Get professional painters.  I can not understand why this place looks the way it does. l was not able eat my food.  I will never return back. However, if you like that atmosphere good on you.  I will need to check with medical twenty years from today I may have asbestos.

A solid Soul Food spot. No frills, no pretense, just like I teleported into the spot back home.
Of course you know I went for the fried chicken. It is cooked to order, so you better be patient, sip your sweet tea (1st refill is free), socialize, and be ready when it lands.
First impressions, right on the money. Hot, fresh, and crispy. Lightly seasoned (salt & peppa), firm, but flaky crust, that didn't completely separate from the meat. The meat was flavorful, juicy, and cooked well, but not over.
The greens were cooked properly, i.e. slowly, with neck bone. IMO, I suggest checking their saltiness before adding.
And duh, yes I had fried okra. And it was delicious. I could it it by the bucketloads (have I mentioned that previously?)
All of the above and a piece of cornbread came with the meal, at a price comparable to SoCal's other Soul Food spots.
BUT!!!! The sleeper at this table was the fried gizzards!!!! I mean they were flowered proper, and fried perfectly! Not chewy at all, not even after they started to cool. I would go back for the gizzards alone, and who has ever said that?
I also ordered peach cobbler to go. My only disappointment was that I let it get cold before I dove in, otherwise it was a sweet finish to the meal.
The young lady that took care of us, was a delight! Family-owned/operated warms my heart, and encourages my return, esp when the food is this satisfying.
My summation, if not Southern raised, this place is certainly Southern inspired, so you know this country boy will be back.

Super happy I finally got to try this!! I wanted my New Year's traditional soul food plate and I got it! Black eyed peas, collard greens, yams, cornbread, pork chops, red snapper, and macaroni and cheese with hot sauce. I felt like I was home after eating here. Best soul food I've had since I got to San Diego! Service was great too! Very friendly.

Time to hang it up Ms Bonnie the wait time the food quality everything was bad I felt like I was on an episode of kitchen nightmares I'm sure this place used to be good but it's ran down now and ain't no soul left in that food either. My search for good soul food on the west coast continues

So.. just leaving this review because I don't want anyone else to suffer the way I did. Back in 2001 to about 2007, I loved the restaurant. I'm Navy... my friends and I would play basketball from 830 til 1p, Sunday morning. Then we'd come here to grab food afterwards... faithfully. I'm not sure what happened, but this place completely dropped off the deep end. From the customer service to the quality of food. It went from fair prices and well cooked food and the portions were filling. I'm 6'5", 250... yeah, we left stuffed. Then it changed to overpriced, slim pickens, bull$#!+. I'm from Atl, I've been all through the south. Save yourself the headache and cook the food yourself. Not worth energy it takes to open the door and enter the restaurant. Not worth the energy of driving by and reading the sign.

I started eating in this neighborhood about 20 years ago.  Huffman's Bbq was my favorite spot to get fried chicken.  Sadly while the building looks much the same they sell cell phones instead of my favorite crunchy fried chicken in town.  The strip mall where Bonnie Jean's is located looks much like when I first visited except the paint has faded and cracked on Bonnie Jean's sign.  Inside I feel like I have stepped into the past.  Bonnie Jean still greets her guests and lets you decide where to sit.  I appreciate the southern hospitality here.  There are old board games.  If my kid was younger I'd bring her and we would game.  I notice they longer serve bbq ribs but there are many other fine dishes to try.

Crinkle cut fries were crunchy and full of potato flavor.  Delicious with the seasoning.  I think it was salt and pepper.

Fried catfish was coated in a corn meal batter.  I loved the mix of flavors from the catfish and corn meal.

Fried chicken was coated in a crunchy batter while the meat was tender and juicy.  Loved the flavor of the seasonings in the batter.

Oxtail was tender and coated in a savory gravy.  I loved the flavor which was subtle and kinda like how my mom use to make it.  

Thank you Bonnie Jean for serving me the delicious oxtail dinner.  While the oxtail is on the menu it is only served on special occasions. Bonnie Jean snuck me in before a big party that was serving oxtail so I got to try it.

I will be back for the delicious soul food and moments preserved like in a snowstorm ball...