Calavino’s Soul Kitchen

How could you not want to eat at a place called Calavino’s Soul Kitchen? The name alone sings to me.
Had brunch here with the girls. After a 20-​min analysis of the extensive menu, G got the blueberry french toast (which looked glorious but she doesn’t share and we know the rules) and R got lots of sides including the biscuits & tequila gravy (yum yum yum). The breakfast burger was 7 inches tall, packed with meat, eggs, cheese. Wasn’t feeling the cuban french toast, which they use instead of the bun. Herb grits were great — I appreciate when people make food adventurous.
Feels a little uninviting but the food is worth it. Made mental notes of the food I must try when I come back… and come back and come back.

Went for brunch.
Ordered:
— biscuits w/​tequila gravy — WOW!
— coffee — a little on the not great side
— 3-​egg omelet w/​andouille sausage and gouda — WOW!
— cheese grits — good, but of course, not as great as my FAVORITE grits place (it’d be bad form to mention another restaurant in this review)
— homefries — WOW!
Service was not bad, not great.
Price was… AWESOME.
Am I going again? YES!
Soon? YES!

So two people walk into a bar… Actually, it’s a brunch place 10 – 3. And we walked in around 2.45, not quite realizing the time.
Brunch food often requires equipment, like waffle irons, that takes time to heat up. It gets turned off around closing to cool down. Most places won’t turn the equipment back on, simply saying they’re out of waffles. Here, however, the executive chef pops out and asks if we’re ok waiting for the iron to heat back up. And the place was just about empty.
That level of care extended into the food. My wife’s waffles with duck was great. It’s not wild duck (we’re a tad spoiled), but the duck still is rich and goes well with the waffle. And the (secret spice mix) jam was *perfect* with everything. We’d love to try it on pork sometime (hinthint). My cajun burger was listed as spicy. It’s not the spicy as in melt-​your-​brain-​and-​make-​you-​cry but rather as in well-​spiced while not hiding the food beneath. The flavors mixed and the ingredients still stood out (ah, bacon). The textures left me happy, too.
This place definitely is on the short list whenever my wife can make it down here.
And we’ve heard Doria is quite a musician…

I am so disappointed about the three stars. I’ve read so much and I was so excited about trying the place. The atmosphere was great. The service was outstanding. I ordered the turkey hash and my partner ordered the crab cake benie. My food was out of this world!!! My partner’s however, was not so good. The taste was fabulous, but the crab cakes were burnt on the bottom as well as the biscuit it was served on.
The other problem was we were charged incorrectly. Outside on the daily special sign the hash was $ 8 and the crab $ 10. Inside on the menu, the prices were $ 10 and $ 12. We were charged the higher. We didn’t realize this until we were on the way out.
I want to think it was bad timing. A party of 12 was there at the same time. I was so hyped up to try the place! I may give it one more shot down the road. I just don’t know yet.

What a combination: Italian and Southern Soul Food!
I would not imaging some of the pairings but it worked. The food was fresh and very affordable. I had the fresh salmon sandwich with homemade mac and cheese. The only salmon patties I’ve ever had give this one a run for the money is from my grandmother. The staff was welcoming and entertaining. I felt like I was going to meet friends (the staff).
The only downfall is that you can only get this great food on weekends before 3.. . Support them (you won’t be sorry) so they can move to a location with more hours!

Calavino’s offers fantastic, southern food with some interesting twists. You can always count on the food being freshly made and delicious. There are plenty of vegetarian options (besides salad, yay!) that are definitely not lacking in flavor. It’s agonizing to decide whether to have one of the weekly specials Calavino created or something you’ve had before and know is wonderful. They have the best fried green tomato sandwich I’ve ever had and the cherry pie rivals my grandmother’s.
Hope they are able to extend their hours soon so that I can get my Calavino’s craving under control more than two days a week!

Cals was closed for several weeks as the building has some renovations. They are currently only open for brunch on the weekends 10 – 3. :(
I’m upgrading the rating to 5 stars now. I’d still like to see the service get a little better, but the food does not suffer when they get busy anymore.
Menu has been redone a bit so there are some new things to explore. Everyone raves about the biscuits with tequila gravy, but I always seem to get something from the specials menu.

While walking by this location, I noticed a sign advertising Peanutbutter and Jelly French Toast. We decided to return the following morning for brunch. After placing my order, it finally clicked that this was the same woman that had owned the Roman Lily (my former favorite restaurant in Atlanta).
Atmosphere: nothing special in décor, but brunch is served while you watch classic Loony Tune cartoons on a big screen. There’s a very friendly casual sort of feel to the place. I have a feeling that showing up in your PJs for breakfast would not be an issue.
Service: the wait staff was very friendly. Calavino (the owner) even came by to say hello, and thank us for coming to her latest restaurant. We even had a server that was not ours stop at our table as she was walking by.
Food: try the peanutbutter and jelly french toast. Awesome!
Note: I plan to return in the evening to try their dinner menu. Wednesday nights they play movies on the screen.

I have been to Calavino’s three times since they opened and I am in love with it. Latest was yesterday and I took my 75 year old father who must-​have-​traditional-​breakfast-​everyday and we both had a great meal. I had the egg/​cheese/​soysage homemade biscuit with the delicious herb cheese grits. He had the pork chop breakfast plate and raved about it! I didn’t get to visit again last night for the inaugural dinner & a movie. may have to do that next week!
Everytime I have been it has been consistently delicious and ridiculously affordable meal!

Some friend’s and I met up here for brunch recently. The atmosphere is open, friendly, and laid-​back: very comfortable. I arrived much before my friends, and not wanting to unnecessarily take up a table, I sat by the door to wait. A server brought me a cup of coffee while I waited — which was not only quite polite and thoughtful — but the coffee was superb.
Once everyone arrived and we were seated, the wait-​staff was a bit uncoordinated. It took almost 15 minutes for us to get our drinks: orange juice and more coffee. Someone in the group ordered a hot chocolate halfway through brunch — and it never came. Also, the wait was between 30 and 40 minutes for food.
HOWEVER — it was worth the wait!!! The food was simply delicious! They have so many options for carnivores as well as vegetarians too. Everything was cooked and seasoned well. The portions could have been a tad larger, but it was only brunch. The pancakes/​Johnny cakes are amazing — they simply melt in your mouth. The herb grits are just to die for. I had an egg and cheese biscuit — and the biscuit was so flaky and moist! Absolutely worth any wait, and any price — but even the cost is great! Fan-​freaking-​tastic. Go there — this weekend. Do it.

Ok, I’ve been a fan of Calavino since her days running the Roman Lily Café in the Old Fourth Ward. I was really pulling for her with Calavino’s in Oakhurst, but it seemed to be the wrong place at the wrong time and didn’t get its tempo.
But…now…
Calavino’s Soul Kitchen is going to be Brunch Spot #1 for me now!
Calavino is an incredibly sweet and talented chef. You can taste the care in the food, it feels home-​like, but without the GUILT for stealing the car last weekend.
We ate with Sarah E. (Review below) so she covered most of the descriptions, and it’s spot on. The only weakness was the Bloody Mary, which was basic-​as-​basic-​gets, and perhaps from a mix. But I’m picky on those and like having a freakin’ GARDEN in my Bloody Mary.
I had a near-​perfect egg white omelet with gouda, mushrooms, sun-​dried tomatoes and I think some Heaven. Jalapeño cheese grits! Coffee-​infused pancakes! Johnnycakes! Fried green tomatoes!
I hurt all day as I waddled around Inman Park, but oh lordy, it was worth it.

My husband and I had brunch plans with some friends and were going to go to Ria’s. Then our friends realized it would be packed and recommended Calavino’s instead. After a strange drive around some of the less savory areas of town, courtesy of our GPS going batsh** insane and directing us somewhere odd, we finally arrived.
Fortunately, our server quickly brought us Bloody Marys to soothe the leftover anxiety from being lost. The chill vibe on the back patio helped, too. We ordered several small plates to share as appetizers: the fried green tomatoes, an order of johnny cakes, and some coffee cakes (which were one of the day’s specials). All were wonderful. The fried green tomatoes were PHENOMENAL.
For my entrée, I had another one of the daily specials: the Neptune’s Beni. It was an eggs-​benedict-​like concoction with a crab-​and-​crawfish cake instead of the usual pork product. It was freaking delicious. Even my friend who normally hates crab cakes was gushing about it. I also tried the «special side» of the day, which was jalapeño grits. Yum.
Our server was friendly and on top of our orders. Unfortunately, he also apparently got fired while we were there for trying to sneak a free drink while on the clock. No, I am not even kidding. I’m telling you, it was a really strange day all around for us.
We did also get to meet Calavino, who came around to our table, asked how we were doing, and let us know that she was about to cook our meal. She also came out after we had eaten to check on how everything was. She was just as sweet as could be.
It’s refreshing to find a brunch place in Atlanta that’s not constantly mobbed. We will definitely be back. I do hope, however, that people will realize that Calavino’s exists and give them the business they need in order to stay open. This place is too good to lose.

I am SO PROUD that I’m the first Unilocaler to review Calavino’s Soul Food Kitchen, now located in my fab ‘hood of East Atlanta Village. I believe it was once (and perhaps briefly) open in Oakhurst but closed — now they are sharing the same space with My Sister’s Room, and are open for brunch, lunch and dinner. There’s barely a sign to let you know it’s even there but they are — for those not familiar with MSR it’s right next to the pizza joint at the corner of Glenwood Ave. and Flatshoals.
I’ve only been there for brunch, but am certain their lunch and dinner menus are equally fantastic. This isn’t your average soul food or brunch menu. But before the food, let’s talk about another equally important component for brunch: the drinks. During their grand opening weekend, they served free, bottomless Mimosas and Bloody Mary’s — spiked with plenty of the good stuff and oh so good. Now they’ve decided to charge the recession –friendly rate of just $ 2 a glass. Hard to beat and for that alone, worth a visit.
The food is simply fantastic. I’ve gone with friends and sampled so many dishes — they serve an unbelievably tasty breaded duck and duck hash, shrimp and grits, pork chops, a «blue plate» of boneless moist fried chicken, and a «green eggs and ham» dish consisting of eggs, kick-​butt collard greens and a thick cut of ham on the side. We also sampled their daily specials including coconut panakes with lychee and chocolate sauce (heavenly, I hope they have them again) and Neptune benedict consisting of a crawfish and shrimp cake with poached egg and biscuit covered in Hollandaise sauce. Calavino’s also serves great side dishes and desserts, including tilapia, sweet potatoes with coconut, and a superb banana pudding with caramelized bananas and ice cream. The plates/​pairings are creative, re-​imagined Southern fare without entering into pretentious «nouveau» stylings of other restaurants that typically miss on authentic southern flavors — chi chi never beats soul satisfying taste.
The chef, Calavino, came out during my second visit and was as nice and humble as she could be, even agreeing to take a picture with my friend from California who marveled at meeting a female chef (alas, women are in the minority it seems in that industry). Doria is Calavino’s partner and the manager /​hostess; she explained that operating the restaurant at MSR helped them in terms of overhead costs which can kill a young restaurant in this struggling economy. Service is tops. People are still figuring out that this place exists so please go and let’s keep this little gem open for a long, long while.