Hard Knox Cafe

When sat down for order, server served corn bread. Soft, fluffy, out of the world.

Ordered fried chicken with sides of beans +rice and picked cauliflower. Portions are good, I couldn't finish them. Crispy and spicy chicken, yeah

I have eaten at Hard Knox in the past and have always gotten some pretty decent food. I haven't eaten there since the the pandemic. I was seriously craving a shrimp po'boy so I placed an order through Uber Eats.

The first issue was, even though Hard Knox is literally 5 minutes away, our food arrived barely warm. My friends were happy with their order (3 piece fried chicken and blackened catfish) I had ordered some extra sides plus my po'boy.

One of the sides was wrong. They gave me potato salad instead of mashed potatoes and gravy. I don't know if they have new cooks or what, but the potato salad and the shrimp po'boy did not have remoulade or straight up mayonnaise but some kind of sweet,barbque type sauce on/in them.

YUCK! I was ravenous but could barely eat the po'boy due to the cloying, sweet, barbque type sauce it rendered my sandwich inedible. The same sauce was in the potato salad! WTF! My side was also kind of gross. I usually love candied yams/sweet potatoes but this version had some weird, over abundance of some kind of seasoning (I couldn't figure out what it was supposed to be but it overpowered the sweet potatoes and they were not appetizing, at all!).

Since my friends were happy with their meals, I am giving 3 1/2 stars. Whoever is preparing the food here, you need to check your recipes. A TRUE po'boy has remoulade or mayonnaise. I was very disappointed and still hungry. Since the order was delivered through Uber Eats, I couldn't directly complain (and the "bots" on UE had a hard time understanding what I was talking about)

I probably, unfortunately, won't order another po'boy from Hard Knox.

Sigh

So today me and my lady went to hardknoxs for brunch today. She had the oxtails with mac n cheese and greens. I ordered the catfish with grits and toast and two eggs scrambled with cheese. I get my order and looked at my plate. My eggs had cheese on them but it was literally a slice of cheese. I had to cut up the cheese and eggs which was frustrating. So then I tried my grits and they were not cooked all the way. They were very grainy. This really made me disappointed and not wanting to come back. I didn't eat the food I ordered anymore. I was very upset. I didnt bring it to the manager on staff attention either. Still payed for the food as well with a $10 dollar tip. Just very disappointed that this happened.

One of my favorite spots to eat whenever I come to the city. Everything I've had is delicious, but today we decided to have the fried Catfish, smothered pork chops, and fried chicken. We sat pretty quickly which is rare since this place is normally packed. Great service and they had the football game on so it added to the lively atmosphere.

Third time here for lunch! Needed the fried chicken fix. Got the 3-piece regular lunch with greens and potato salad. Service was friendly, as usual, and efficient. Chicken was crispy and piping hot. The two complimentary corn bread muffins were great. All good!

Best fried chicken sandwich ever
Crab cakes also were delicious
Service was amazing and they were so quick!!
Cool atmosphere and comfy booths

Solid food, generous portions, homey ambiance, and top-notch service! Seriously, they were so attentive that they came by to refill my water 3 times lol. Their portions are huge, and you could probably split an entree between 2 people. I would definitely recommend this place to a friend.

Was in search of oxtails while in town for work. My bf sent this place to me since I couldn't look due to driving. I placed my order and went to pick it up. Upon my surprise, I did not see one black person in the kitchen. Not to say that other ethnicities can't cook soul food, but there's def a difference.

I had the black eye peas with rice, collards, oxtails, fried chicken, Mac n cheese and corn muffins. Don't judge me, I was hungry lol. I enjoyed the chicken, collards, and the muffin. I was very disappointed with everything else. The oxtails had a ton of fat on them and weren't properly seasoned like I would expect from a soul food restaurant. The Mac was super bland, and the black eye peas and rice had no real flavor.

Doing your research is so vital because I ordered almost $50 worth of food and only ate maybe $20 worth. The rest went in the trash. Maybe I didn't order the right items because I see so many good reviews. Maybe it was a bad day, maybe it was just the wrong restaurant choice for my level of hunger that day. I'm not local, so I know I won't be back.

F-in amazing soulful food, great service - the ox tails, mashed potatoes and stewed cabbage is my favorite!

Hands down, one of the BEST soul food spots in the city! The service could be a bit slow but the food really was THAT good that I wouldn't mind waiting again. We got the fried chicken entree with the mac and cheese and cut corn sides and it exceeded our expectations. Firstly, the portions are huge and enough to feed both my boyfriend and I. The entree came with free cornbread too and words left my mouth when I took a bite. It had the most amazing crumbly texture with the crispest edges. The interior was moist and buttery too. The fried chicken was moist, crispy, and fried to perfection. I would want to try the spicy fried chicken next time. The mac and cheese was sooo thick, cheesy, indulging, and just bursting with flavors. And the corn was the pefect side to balance out the heavier parts of the meal. Overall, I really want to come back and bring friends out to this location! You really just have to try the food here for yourself.

Update: Lowered my rating down two stars. Came back a second time and the wait was not okay. Several people who came after us ordering the same thing got their orders before us. Waited over an hour and 15 minutes. Seems like they prioritize to go orders over those in the restaurant as well.