The Food Shoppe

Oh was I in luck the day I stopped at The Food Shoppe. I was welcomed into the restaurant by pretty much everyone who worked there, and as I was dining the chef came out and struck up a conversation. I tried the pasta Yah Yah and it changed my life for the better. That’s what my tastebuds have been missing being trapped in the midwest. Great spice. Great flavor. I would honestly trek from the airport on a layover just to attempt to eat here again. And the little shot of bread pudding they give you is dangerous. Makes you want all of it. Come here. Eat here. Live here.
Only problem I experienced is that it’s one of those «We’re open til we’re closed» type of places, so you never actually know if they’ll be open when you get there. But its makes it worth a chance.

We are from out-​of-​town and came across this place on Unilocal.I read the reviews and decided to give it a try. The food here is AMAZING and the employees were very accommodating… enough said! Give this place a try, especially if you like a little spice.
Btw, you have to get the bread pudding!!!

We got there just as they were about to close. We were greeted with apologies and the promise of being able to place a to go order. This was our last day in Georgia and we saw the reviews on Unilocal so we really wanted to try their food. We ordered the Mac and Cheese with chicken and the spicy jambalaya. They were both wonderful but our fave was the jambalaya. I haven’t had any bread pudding yet but my friend loved it so I’m sure I will too! If you’re in Georgia this place is a must!

Just ok,
Front Staff: Rude & Unprofessional
Food: Very Salty, tasted just ok, nothing fantastic
Overall, Unprofessional appearence everwhere, didn’t look clean, customers service issues from front staffs (people with low standard probably won’t mind,
if my check is over $ 50, I expect better service OR Fantastic food which I got neither here)
***Restaurant has weird smell inside even on their napkins, stunk my clothing… My eyes were burning from the smell/​cooking smoke while inside.

My friends and I were visiting from NC and we were super excited about hitting this place up. We got to the restaurant around 1pm and there was a sign that said they would open in 30 minutes. A customer sitting inside saw we were at the door and took off the sign, suggesting that we could go in.
It was open and there were customers lined up at the register, so we just assumed that the 30 minute sign was probably from earlier in the day. We were wrong. The 30 minute sign (if you ever happen to see it too) is there ON PURPOSE. The restaurant was filling so many take out orders during the time we went in that we ended up waiting almost 30 – 45 minutes at the register before we could even place our order. The cashier kept telling us she would get us in «5 minutes». We came in as a party of 8 and only 2 of us stayed.
Fortunately, the food was amazing. I ordered the bread pudding and my friend ordered the Jambalaya, Hands down best bread pudding and Jambalaya I have ever tasted. The bread pudding is just phenomenal. They give it to you warm and drench it in a caramelized syrup. The syrup is very sweet but it’s delicious and seeps into every crevice of the bread. Just try it. You will not regret it. Also, the portion size is HUGE.
I only tried a bite of my friend’s Jambalaya, but the flavor was incredible! The shrimps were well seasoned and cooked as well.
Next time when I’m Atlanta, I would definitely like to come back again! The wait time was pretty unreasonable this time, but they did put a sign on the door and it was my group’s fault for ignoring it. After my friend and I got our food and they completed all the take out orders, the cashier service was much quicker.

This place is definitely a hidden gem. We decided to try it after every place we went was crowded. My husband had the jambalaya, it was delicious but a little too spicy for him. The flavor was really good. I had the pasta and chicken and I really enjoyed it. My husband mentioned that the jambalaya so they gave him an order of the red beans and rice to take and try. They gave us a sample of the bread pudding and of course after that I just had to get some to go. It was delicious, I really inhaled it.

My first real soul food experience! I came here earlier in the week but I missed it because they had just closed. And then today, I came 2 hours earlier and made it on time because it was chef’s birthday today and they were closing early.
The place is a nice hole in the wall with a mini ice cream parlor inside. The workers are really fun and there’s a nice atmosphere inside.
I got the shrimp and grits bowl and I was so excited. You get a huge portion for the price. And it was loaded with cheese and quite a lot of shrimp, too.
The next time I come back to Atlanta, I’ll be sure to stop by The Food Shoppe again! I’d definitely like to try something different on the menu.

Full disclosure: I am currently in a food coma after having lunch at Food Shoppe today. That said, here goes:
Delicious jambalaya (rich, flavorful & spicy), the baked goods looked amazing, staff was friendly (though, as others have mentioned, they are sticklers about locking that door at closing time) — this was great food at good price. Didn’t get to try the bread pudding but will on my next visit. And there will definitely be a next visit!

I was visiting the area around a month ago on a Wednesday, touring Georgia Tech in my college admissions process. I needed an authentic and cheap Creole experience in what may be the only time I will ever be in the South, and came across this place after hours of Unilocal research. Needing lunch before my flight back to New York, this was the place I chose.
First off, be wary of the hours they’re open. I came in around an hour before they closed (~2:30), and the doors were already locked. There were still a few people inside, but I stood outside for at least 10 minutes waiting for a staff member to open the door (only thanks to one person consistently badgering them to do so). She took her sweet time walking over to the door and did so with a scowl on her face, so immediately my experience took a nose-​dive. She never said anything to me while I ordered either, only muttering the total price after placing my order. Not sure what was up with the staff today, but it definitely dragged my experience down.
Now for the food. Considering that this might be the only time I’m ever down in the South (and that I wanted to take some things home too), I ordered the Pasta Yaya, Creole Chicken Pasta, Angie’s Bread Pudding, and a fountain drink. They didn’t have caps for the drink, so they just saran wrapped my cup after filling it up with a drink (which after a few blocks and bumps, started leaking from the top anyways). Would’ve appreciated if they would’ve just gave me a bottled soda instead (or at least given me the option).
The portion sizes were great (especially the bread pudding) for the prices. Considering that I ate the latter two dishes the next night (and the Pasta Yaya an hour after getting it), the food still all tasted amazing; just imagine what it would’ve tasted like hot and fresh. There was some heat in both pasta dishes, which I liked. The Pasta Yaya, with three large pieces of shrimp at the top of the container resting on a bed of cheese pasta and sausage, may have been my favorite. The Creole Chicken Pasta wasn’t bad either, with a cut chicken thigh on top of cheese pasta. The Bread Pudding was the highlight; I probably would’ve bought two orders had I taken a taste of it right there in the store.
My food was brought out by who I assumed was the owner, and his attitude/​demeanor was definitely a stark contrast to the rude staff member; he was polite, welcoming, chatty, and made me feel welcome. He heavily wrapped all my food up in saran wrap, included a bunch of napkins, and even included four pieces of bread (instead of just two). You could tell he really cared about me and his food. We talked a bit about Georgia Tech and my visit here, before he opened the door for me to catch my train to the airport.
So all in all, it was a mixed experience. Had the staff member not been so unwelcoming and rude, and the restaurant not locked an hour before closing, I would’ve given it five stars. The food was outstanding, the owner a typical example of «Southern hospitality», and the portions for the price was great. Maybe taking off two stars is a bit much for a bad initial customer service interaction, but I’d still come back for the food (and hope that I get better luck with the service).

The food shoppe is a great find in the city! I come here exclusively for the bread pudding. It is delicious! They give you a huge portion that is worth every $ 5. The glaze on top is everything. If you are ever downtown you have to come by this place and give it a try. They never disappoint.

Omg! Why didn’t I know about this place? This was my first time here and I love my food! The chicken mac and cheese is ooey, cheesy goodness and the chicken is well seasoned. I was also given a sample of bread pudding which was to die for. I’ve never had bread pudding so I wasn’t sure what to expect but it was sweet ooey caramel flavored moist goodness. I love it! I’ll definitely be back soon.

Tried the gumbo… nothing to write home about. Then I had the Pasta Ya Ya and that was amazing. They give you bread and samples of their amazing bread pudding. It’s a great place if you like cajun food and you are in the downtown area. I’m assuming most people take it to go since there is hardly any seating inside.

Recommended by my coworker from Atlanta, I decided to come here for some good ol’ Cajun food. And wow was I impressed!
I started off with the shrimp jambalaya. The portion of shrimps and sausages in the dish was absolutely perfect. With every bite of the rice, there was enough shrimp and sausage to go along. And the jambalaya sauce was perfectly spicy and sweet. I finished off with an order of the bread pudding. Seriously, I think I can eat 5 plates of this bread pudding. It’s perfectly baked just so the middle is soft with the outside being a little bit crunchy. The flavor from the sauce is not too sweet which is not overwhelming.
End of the day, I would definitely recommend to anyone going to downtown Atlanta. And thank you for the great workers working there as well since they were so nice with their recommendations when my buddy said he was allergic to shrimp.

Delicious! !!I’m not going to even go into first getting there. …they weren’t ready and therefore I deducted a star. But the food made everything worth the wait. Seems like a new business so I hope they can push through because I am sure the demand will be HIGH.

I ran in about 15 minutes before they closed… I was a little scared because you know people half do it before quitting time trying to hurry and leave. Not this place! We called and he told us come to quickly order before closing. We did, and were so grateful. We ordered the shrimp&grits, Chicken Mac, bread pudding, and strawberry cake. All of which were the best thing on this side of heaven. Ms. Brittany and the rest of the staff were so nice. You really need to stop at this place. It’s close to major attractions like the Aquarium and CNN.

1÷8÷16 12:51 pm I paid $ 9.67 for a box of cheese noodles and a sick server.
From the outside I thought it was going to be a modern southern food place, but when you get inside it looks busted. Jerry Springer was on TV, there was a chicken bone lying in the walkway. There were barely any seats. The coke machine was broken.
Then the server kept touching her mouth to her plastic glove, then she’d cough into a napkin, never changing the gloves. Kill me. Like an idiot, I continued to order the ‘pasta yaya’ a paper box of noodles, cheese, sausage and shrimp based off reviews. They also included french bread and a tiny thimble of a dessert. Then ate it while watching some girls fight each other. I’d expect this in Union City, but in the tourist/​GSU area of Atlanta, I was surprised.

The Food Shoppe is a small, family run place. There aren’t many seats inside, and most of the food is served in to-​go type containers so, it is a great place to grab lunch and take it with you. This place does seem to run out of menu items frequently so, if there’s something you’re craving you might want to get there early.
The Ooey Gooey Chicken & Mac from here is amazing. It’s a magical, black box filled with creamy, spiced mac n cheese, topped with delicious rotisserie style chicken. I’m addicted to this stuff. I’ve only tried the regular size of this dish, and I always get at least two meals out of that. I can’t imagine what the large size must look like.
I personally found the bread pudding here to be far too sweet. So sweet that I got sugar burn of the mouth. It would be really nice if it had some kind of non-​soggy fruit, like apple or pear in it, to help break up the copious amounts of sugar and sogginess.
Overall, I give The Food Shoppe four stars, for their friendly staff, fair price to food amount ratio, and for one of THE BEST mac n cheese dishes I’ve ever had!

This is a small restaurant that is more geared towards a person that is on the go. All the food is served in disposable boxes so it’s easy for you to pack it up. They actually have a section in the menu called the walk and eat bowls. The service is great, a woman at the counter kindly explained some dishes to me and gave me samples of the banana pudding and jambalaya. I ended up ordering.
Gumbo– more of a soup base. The rice at the bottom was a little hard, it kept getting stuck in between my teeth. It contained all the usual basic ingredients shrimp, sausage, chicken.
Creole chicken pasta– the funny thing is I made mac and cheese from scratch the day be fore and it tasted just like this. Nothing creole about this pasta. They even used elbow Mac and cheese. If this is a pasta why would you use elbows? They have another item on the menu called the ooey gooey chicken mac. I really thought they got my order wrong and gave me this instead but nope, what I got was the creole chicken pasta. It was lacking flavor.
The banana pudding seemed like the best item on the menu. Everyone loved it but I thought it was a little too sweet for my taste. The jambalaya sample tasted good, it had that creole Cajun taste. The sausage I realized wasn’t an andouille sausage though which I thought was strange. It was just a regular beef smoked sausage.
The prices are a little steep for some items. Especially if it’s just Mac and cheese or a cup of gumbo. Everything is an average $ 9.

The Food Shoppe is a small Cajun and Creole restaurant that opened in downtown Atlanta’s Fairlie-​Poplar neighborhood in late 2013. It’s about a block away from Centennial Olympic Park and less than a block down Luckie Street from the Tabernacle. This is a nice little daytime café designed primarily to serve breakfast and lunch.
There’s not much to the shop. It’s got a fast-​casual setup and is narrow with limited room to dine in. There are a couple four-​tops inside plus some additional bar/​counter seating and a few small tables on the sidewalk outside. This is more of a grab-​and-​go type place for office workers and others in the area. Stand in line to order. Several items are made-​to-​order so there is a short wait for orders to be fulfilled. There’s a basic Coke fountain machine and three self-​serve fridges filled with various bottled beverages (mainly Coke products including Powerade and Gold Peak Tea). There’s also coffee by Louisiana-​based Community Coffee and a stand with assorted bags of chips.
The menu isn’t terribly big. The Food Shoppe offers breakfast from 8:30 to 10:00 and serves plates such as scrambled eggs, omelets, oatmeal, and croissant sandwiches. The omelets, including their creole omelet with shrimp, each run about $ 8 and up. Non-​breakfast items include soups like authentic gumbo and seafood bisque (about $ 8 – 9 per 12-​ounce serving); 8-​inch sandwiches including ham, roast beef, chicken salad, and a Cajun sausage sandwich; basic salads; and entrees like spicy jambalaya, shrimp & grits, and pasta yaya (Cajun-​style pasta) made with shrimp and sausage. Expect to spend about $ 7 – 8 for a sandwich and $ 8 – 13 for an entrée (depending on size). Pastries and sweets, such as muffins, cake, and apple turnovers are available for less than $ 5 per single-​sized serving.
One interesting thing about this place is they don’t give out change. How odd. At least they take credit card. All food and drink is served in disposable Styrofoam or paper containers.
I’ve tried a few of The Food Shoppe’s most popular items which include the Cajun sausage sandwich, Creole chicken pasta, and bread pudding. In the Cajun sausage sandwich, a Cajun sausage is split vertically down the middle and served inside soft, grilled, and buttered bread. Cheese is optional and several types are available (I was recommended and chose pepper jack). On the side are lettuce, pickle, and tomato along with packets of mustard and mayo.
The Cajun sausage had smoother texture than I expected. I was expecting more of a coarse-​grained Andouille sausage, but the Cajun sausage had more of a fine hot dog consistency. It was salty, but savory, flavorful, and appetizing. The slightly crispy bread was tasty too. Not bad.
The Creole chicken pasta was rich and creamy. Yummy, but a bit too heavy for me to down in one sitting. The dish essentially amounts to a couple pieces of boneless chicken thigh atop a mixture of what appears to be elbow and shell mac and cheese. Lots of cheese sauce. Oh, and it’s spicy too. The chicken was good. Tender and juicy. There’s another item on the menu called «ooey gooey chicken & mac.» Add «spicy» to that name and it could well describe the Creole chicken pasta too.
The bread pudding is phenomenal. They give out samples and that’s how they hook people. One $ 5 order nets a nice chunk of bread pudding — enough to fill almost an entire regulation-​size Styrofoam box. The bread pudding is drenched/​soaked in a delectable caramel sauce and topped with powdered sugar. This is simply a delicious dessert that can just about make some people melt with each and every bite.
Service is great. Shout-​out to Alvin who is hospitable and gracious.
I don’t believe there is any free parking in the immediate area. The street spots are monitored and enforced by PARKatlanta. Additionally, there’s a pay surface lot across the street and a pay parking deck nearby at the corner of Luckie and Cone.

I was pretty unimpressed with the Food Shoppe overall.
It is located on Luckie St. right before or after Ted’s Montana Grill depending where you’re coming from. The interior is relatively small. They have 2 fake* (small and kind of in the way of the sidewalk) tables outside with limited seating inside. I’m assuming most people pick up lunch to-​go during the week.
In the front right side of the store is a makeshift ice cream stand. You walk to the back to order your food. The nice thing is, all meats are made to order aka they put it on top depending on what you want. Dustin T. ordered the gumbo which came with shrimp and chicken, and I got the jambalaya with sausage. I asked for no shrimp. Now I know this is a Creole place and my distaste for shrimp belongs elsewhere but… I do like a good andouille sausage! They were very accommodating.
They have a series of rotating desserts but they list all on the menu. This gets confusing because 3 of the desserts I tried ordering we tried ordering were not available but on the menu. I think it would be nice if they updated the blackboard in the back with the daily options.
While eating, I noticed a very pungent smell coming from the kitchen. It smelled like day-​old, used oil/​grease and burned my nose. Not a pleasant feeling.
The first thing the bf says to me after taking his first bite is, «Man, this would taste better if it was on real plates.» And I wholeheartedly agree! This is so true! In fact, all food tastes better on real plates, in my opinion. I didn’t even try the gumbo because of the shrimp but the he said it was only okay. The jambalaya was flavorful but I found it entirely too salty.
The highlight was definitely the bread pudding samples the lady gave us. HOLY CRAP. I always thought bread pudding was the raisin (of snacks) of desserts but this bread pudding is amazing! In fact, I could come back just for the bread pudding… If I knew when they had it.