Vonda's Kitchen

The ladies at the front were friendly and there was a steady flow of customer orders being placed and being picked up. The wait was about 20 minutes and the food looked scrumptious. Despite being super thin, the whiting fish meal was good. The mac and cheese was not too creamy and was not bland. The green bean's were delicious too. The chicken breast sandwich and fries looked commercial ready, but wasn't as great. Unfortunately, the thicker end of the chicken breast was not fully cooked and didn't come with what was listed on the menu description. It came with a piece of lettuce and tomato, which wasn't even listed. The coating on the fries gave them a weird, flavorless sweet potato vibe. Seems like the menu was outdated because a few items I asked about weren't available.

Whoa! This spot is incredible. Some of the most DELICIOUS breakfast food I've had in a LOOOONG TIME! Ingredients are fresh and food is made to order. Great service and the owner Vonda, is great! My friends got the catfish and grits and I did cheese eggs, home fries and cheese grits. Will definitely return. Go, you won't be disappointed, I promise!

The food was delicious! Every item! I especially loved my catfish ! My friend ordered the salmon cake and tore em up ! Our waitress was so sweet and smiled a lot, loved her service ! Her name started with an F. I would def eat here again !!!!

I ordered on Uber eats. Catfish and grits. The food was neatly packed and good quantity. The home potatoes were so flavorful. Tasted like mushroom unions and peppers. I loved them. The grits with white cheddar cheese was very good too. Overall great meal.

We searched for a black owned breakfast restaurant and I'm so glad we found this gem! We had the shrimp and grits which were amazing sorry - no pic. The consistency was on point and the jumbo shrimp were sized and seasoned to perfection. The fish whiting and grits with eggs and homefries were also perfect. The fish was well seasoned and delicious, the homefries were delicious, the eggs were cooked perfectly. Even the blueberry as well as strawberry lemonade were delicious if you like sweet drinks. Vonda's owes us nothing. It was well worth the 40 minute drive from our hotel. We had hoped to return while in town today but unfortunately they are not open on Tuesdays. We will definitely return when in NJ.

We came from L.I. and it was well worth the trip. We had several dishes and sides, everything was delicious. The service was welcoming, friendly and professional. Nice place on a quiet block. You must get the shrimp and grits.

***4 1/2 stars*** Several years ago, I came here with a friend and had a perfect experience. It didn't get any better - the food was out of this world and at one point Vonda herself came out to chat with us for a few minutes. It just checked off all the boxes, and I recommended this place to tons of people. Shortly after this meal, I actually had Vonda's cater my Oscar party. I couldn't have loved this place more. This was my first visit in a while, and while the food was still amazing, some of the magic is gone, which is a shame. Vonda's is not in the best neighborhood, but I've been in worse. We found street parking very close by, probably a hundred yards or so from the entrance. As with my last visit, my chum and I were the only white visitors, but I definitely didn't feel like we were being eyeballed or anything - we were treated just like anyone else and I go out of my way to mention this because I know some people WOULD be nervous coming into an area like this; it is what it is. Also, I stick out like a sore thumb in all-white neighborhoods too. We stopped by around noonish this past Sunday. There were a few tables to choose from, but you could also tell Vonda's was slammed with to-go orders based on the frenetic activity behind the counter. Throughout our meal, there was definitely heavy foot traffic in and out, and I'd guess our food was delayed by 10 minutes or so because of that. Not a huge deal, especially since this is made-to-order goodness and you should expect a slightly longer wait time as a result. I opted for the fried catfish entree $12.50, which came with two sides - I went with the mac and cheese and the candied yams. Vonda's has the best mac and cheese I've ever had. It's not up for debate. I LOVE it, and like basically any warm-blooded American, I've had my share. It's just scrumptious on all levels. The candied yams are amazing. I definitely haven't had nearly as much of that particular dish for comparison purposes, but I feel like it's a good way to get dessert without actually getting dessert, if that makes sense. Perfect candied taste and texture. The fried catfish was also amongst the best I've ever had. I think it was supposed to come with some type of sauce but it was so juicy I didn't bother to follow up with the waitress. My chum ordered the chicken and waffles $13.50, as well as the kitchen mac bowl $11.50. She liked the food but wasn't as over the moon about it as much as I was. That's probably at least partially on me since I talked this place up massively ahead of time, but what actually prompted this visit was a March meal that we had at Sweet T's in Montclair. They serve very similar food, and during that meal I told her that I thought Vonda's was better. For the record, I really liked Sweet T's but I had concerns about their service and an oppressive reservation policy. She still thinks Sweet T's is better, but she can write her own review if she feels that passionately about it. The price point here is excellent WAY lower than Sweet T's, and the food is noticeably yummier. So why can't I commit to the full five stars here? It came down to the staff. Everyone we interacted with seemed super stressed and overwhelmed though I wouldn't say anyone was unpleasant to us. Our young pup waitress was very nice but also seemed to be in charge of manning the phone, which rang constantly. There were a few little things that slipped through the cracks. For instance, she forgot to take our menus off the table after we gave our orders, which prompted one of the other employees to ask us if we had been helped yet, and my catfish entree was supposed to come with corn bread and didn't. Huge problem? Absolutely not, but some of those tiny issues can add up over the course of the meal. This is still a recommendation for sure, but my enthusiasm has diminished a bit. I think the problems can be rectified fairly easily, especially since they've mastered the food.

I really wanted to give this place 5 stars, but I did not have a good experience at all. I was barely greeted on entry, the floors were sticky, and the service was terrible. The only thing saving this place was how amazing the food was when finally came out. I hope the owner gets the employees some much needed retraining

Dirty dishes when we enter... No place setting... I order coffee.. no spoon or cream... My food was ok... Turkey bacon a lil burnt... French toast with bananas were good.. But my Bf ordered the Salmon Cakes... Under cook on the inside. overcooked on the outside.. Grits hard with no butter... Vegetarian options: Turkey or beef... Salmon Parking: None... On street

I live 10 Mins from Vondas Kitchen and I ate there alot when they first opened a few years back. I took a very long break and decided to order from them through Door Dash. The collard greens are INEDIBLY salty! I am so disappointed because their greens were decent at one point. The potatoe salad is perfect, it took me back to my childhood, very good! The Mac and cheese is basic and the shrimp were cold,hard, and bland. The drinks are always great and the corn bread is very tasty, I am still really disappointed in the greens, noone should put that much salt in collard greens. They also didn't give me any hot sauce/tartar sauce but I have some in my cabinet.