Southern Fires, Detroit

I visited Southern Fires on December 27, 2011, and had my vehicle valet parked ($3). While we were eating our food the valet attentant came into the restaurant and gave me and others our keys to our vehicles. He not only left the parking lot unattended but he was passing out keys over of food. Unbeknownst to me the attendant STOLEN my GPS as well as personal information that was in my vehicle and opened a cellular telephone account ($800.00) and attempted to open a Guitar Center credit card. That is what some of us call (black taxes) because if you park on the street your vehicle may be vanalized. Good luck if you plan on attending Southern Fires. #%^*&#

southern fires may not have the best service and they can be a little slow, parking cost, etc., but based on the food alone, i will always go there! the best soul food, they always have everything on the menu, it is very affordable and takeout is just as good as dining in. i always get the meatloaf, mac'n'cheese, yams and extra sides of dressing and greens AND sweet potatoe pie! LOVE IT!

Although the food is generally good the service is sooooo slow. I once waited for a table for 2 hours and one we were seated we waited 30 minutes before they even took our order. The waiters have this strange attitude I can't even describe it. I can cook the same stuff at home cheaper and with less snark involved.

I don't care how good and establishments food is if the service is horrible. I have patronized them on four ocassion each time was worse than the last. No one answer when you call to place a carry out order, the order isn't ready after and hour has passed, arriving to pick up your order (on your lunch hour) and there's a sign on the door stating, "Not Open Till 12:00 noon" (11:00 is stated on their website) and the person who took your order told you 30 minutes. NEVER AGAIN!!!!!!

Well, I went to this restaurant for my birthday with a party of nine. I asked them prior to arriving if i could set reservations, and they said that reservations would NOT be needed. Arriving at 7:30, I wasn't seated until 9. The staff could have A LOT better customer service. The food was good but the overall atmosphere and service was horrible. Too many rules also for a restaurant of such poor service.

This is a family-owned black-business that hires young people from their own ethnicity, giving them the opportunity to be employed especially in the summer. They are usually very busy so they are quite often crowded but very few people leave without something to eat. Their food is delicious especially their short ribs, chicken, and fish. They give large portions usually a lot more than you can eat at one seating.

The go-to (see: only) place for southern food downtown, as their dining area is huge and the food at times is very good. My problem is with the service, as it always seems to be understaffed. The wait area is small and wait times are excessive. Also the layout of the dining room seems a bit too spaced out. The food can seem a bit on the cookie cutter side too as there's no real flavor to many of their dishes.

I've eaten here ever since they were called East Franklin. So it is with great sadness I write this review. Cleanliness. There bath rooms are filthy and so to me the kitchen must be to. I was eating there famous fried chicken and as I brought my fork to my mouth sticking out of the skin was a fried roach. Full grown. A FULL GROWN ROACH! My favorite place to eat had roaches. I should have known if they didn't care about dirty bathrooms why should they care about clean food. I can't get it out of my mind. I will not be back

Absolutely delish! Tasted like we were at someone's home. I had Short Ribs, Collards, Potato Salad & Peach cobbler. Everything was delicious! Can't wait to get back to Detroit to go back! Yes, I would reccomend to a friend

I was a patron at Southern Fires on (3/29/09) and had the WORST dining experience. Our servers name was Christian. The service was for a table of eleven guests (five of which were children) which meant that his gratuity was automatically included in the bill. When this is the case, it does not mean that the Server is allowed the opportunity to ignore customers, serve poorly and delay service. Below is a list of occurrences during my visit: 1) I asked for an extra chair and it was sat at the opposite end the table, not where I was standing; 2) One guest requested extra gravy and had to wait 25 minutes just to ask again for extra gravy; 3) I asked for an extra glass of sweet tea and was told "OK" by Christian as he proceeded to pick up a broom and dust pan to begin sweeping a station across from my table; 4) Christian then put the broom and dust pan down and walked away returning with gravy for the guest, but did not bring my tea; 5) After giving the guest her gravy, Christian then proceeded sweeping the section across from us. When asked about the tea he responded, "OK", but did not refrain from sweeping; 6) I located a Manager to express my displeasure, the Manager assured me he would bring my tea, but Christian approached my table holding the glass at rim level with his fingers touching the rim and ice in the cup, this is just after he completed sweeping the section in front of my table; 7) After waiting 30-35 minutes to pay the bill, my party walked to the front of the restaurant to locate someone to take the money only to find Christian aimlessly wondering around the kitchen and beverage area doing nothing. The reason I visit Southern Fires once a year is because I know the service will be lacking in personal attention and graciousness. The idea that this Server was rewarded for unsatisfactory work is not only insulting for customers, but it reassures my decision not to return to your restaurant. I also intend to express my feelings to colleagues and family. I believe in supporting small businesses and encouraging the upholding and promotion of black owned businesses in Detroit particularly in today's economy. I am also a believer in expressing my dissatisfaction with the same measure. Paying for rudeness is not tolerable and should not be standard practice. Customers offer T.I.P.S : To Insure Prompt (or Proper) Service and until Southern Fires can guarantee this level of excellence, they should reconsider the automatic gratuity until their Service is up to the standards that deserves this option.