South Dallas Cafe

Duncanville

Lunch & Dinner

$-$$

First and last experience

Just off Hwy. 67 and Wheatland sits a buffet-style restaurant called South Dallas Cafe.  As you see from the picture of the outside, it looks like your normal run-of-the-mill cafe, but inside is a very different picture.  Imagine walking into a New Orleans-style eatery full of eclectic wall hangings, huge mirrors and chandeliers.  Booths run along the sides of the inside, and tables in the middle are reminiscent of the Grandy's restaurants which it probably was at one time.  There are all sorts of nick-nacks around every corner with no particular theme, just something that might interest collectors.  There was a stark contrast between the eating area and the cafeteria-style, food line buffet. This made for a visually-"interesting" experience but unfortunately that was the best part of our meal.

   

Moving on to the food.  They have a lunch special where for $5.95 you can get one main entree and two sides as well as cornbread. One of us got meatloaf with a side of mashed potatoes and sweet potatoes, and the other fried chicken with a side of mashed potatoes and macaroni and cheese. The meatloaf was smothered in ketchup, which if you like that sort of thing is okay, but it overwhelmed the taste of the meat. The mashed potatoes and gravy were good, but the sweet potatoes tasted like they had been reheated for days. The fried chicken was all fry and no chicken. The macaroni and cheese was crusted over and would make Kraft look like gourmet. Getting hungry yet? 

  The silver lining and probably the most memorable part of our lunch was the service. The ladies at the buffet were very nice and helpful in letting us know what food choices were available. Although it was a buffet and you had your food before you sat down, there was also a charming man that refilled our drinks, brought us anything we needed at the table, and was so kind to us. At first it seemed a little overdone, but by the end of our meal he had won us over with his thorough service. So all in all it's safe to say we won't be back for lunch, but we would be willing to give dinner a chance, especially during Karaoke night!