Po-Bill’s Cafe

Come for the food not the atmosphere. Had meatloaf, mashed potatoes, yams, and cornbread. All were good and the yams were better than grandma’s. Just don’t tell her I said so.

Y’all, I think the Po Bill’s closed. I drove by and all the signs are gone and no one was around. Tried calling and the phone rang and rang.

Great soul food and plenty of it at a cheap price.

I finally got to try this place and got to say that it is quite deli-​sh.
I may not be the best to judge good soul food, but being the voracious food lover that I am, I can say that it is one of the best Soul food places I’ve been in the metroplex.
Unfortunately, they didn’t have oxtails today, so I had to go with the neck bones with mac & cheese and corn on the side. The neck bones didn’t have a lot of meat to them, but the little meat that they did have was super tender and flavorful. The mac & cheese and corn were good enough to enjoy my meal.
I don’t think it was as cheap as the lunch special ($ 4.99 for the special) but still was pretty decent for what I got.
I’ll definitely go back to have me some oxtails and smothered pork chops!

I brought a fellow Austinite up to Dallas to try this newish eatery (opened April 2009). We had gotten a tip about Bill’s from the friendly folks at Doublewide Bar, also in Deep Ellum.
The four of us arrived at 11 am Sunday, just as they were opening. We were greeted warmly by the staff from the sidewalk as we were walking up. Three of us got baked chicken, one ordered the oxtails. The chicken was done right, moist and spicy. My friend Joey’s oxtails were plentiful and full of authentic southern flavors. Successful side dishes were mashed potatoes ‘n’ gravy, fried corn (I’m guessing here that the cobs are fried, then scraped off, a bit like creamed corn). Less successful were collard greens (dynamite preparation but over-​salted), and cornbread stuffing (bland).
Joey substituted peach cobbler for one of his sides. Nice and flaky crust but the filling a bit gooey.
Overall, satisfying meals all round and the price is low (under $ 10 for entrée plus 3 sides and drink). The service is super friendly, like having an aunt that loves cooking and pleasing her company.

I’ve been waiting for a day like this to try Po-Bill’s… 65 degrees and drizzling rain… the kind of day where you just need something hot and comforting to, well, warm your soul.
Po-Bill’s didn’t disappoint… better than that, they knocked it out!!!
I knew I was in for a treat when the smothered pork chops fell from the bone as they were scooped from their gravy. I also had cornbread dressing, cabbage and red beans for sides all of which were just like Granma Cliff’s back in Pontotoc, Mississippi. The gravy on the pork chops was so flavorful and thick and there was plenty left over to sop-​up with my cornbread. I could honestly make a meal out of the cornbread, chop gravy and red beans. Now that is REAL «po» eatin’!!!

Po-Bill’s: short for POOR, as in low on greenbacks, cash. You get value for money here, but it is what Soul Food is all about, poor people food.
With this in mind, show up to eat good basic foods: meatloaf (in a red sauce), blackened chicken, pork chops (lightly breaded and baked), smothered pork chops (brown gravy), chicken tetrazzini, neck bones, oxtails, chitterlings, collard greens (not cooked to a mush, but good and leafy), yams (divine, with a hint of cinnamon), cabbage, mac-​n-​cheese, mashed potatoes (your choice of brown gravy, red sauce from the meatloaf, or plain), creamed corn and more. For Dessert you get a choice of peach cobbler, banana pudding, pecan pie, and pound cake.
They have daily specials: last time I went, I had the meatloaf, greens and mashed potatoes. All delicious. I have also tried the Pork Chop (not smothered) and it was very good, not dry and very tasty, worth picking up with your fingers and cleaning up the bone to get it all.

I really wanted to love this place. I read all the other reviews and was so glad to be trying it! I have to say my experience was not good at all.
I ordered the meatloaf, which was indeed a great price at $ 4.99 with two sides, and my sides were mac&cheese and cabbage.
The biggest problem was the food temperature. It was lukewarm, and food that’s supposed to be hot just doesn’t taste good when it’s not hot. The meatloaf probably would have been pretty delicious if had been hot, and I still think it was pretty good. The sides, though, left a lot to be desired. The barely warm mac&cheese was watery and lacked flavor. The cabbage was so-​so. The cornbread was a good solid cornbread, but nothing to write home about.
I really wanted this place, run by two ladies, to be awesome. I was really disappointed.
The service was very friendly.

Oh God, I think I’m too full to even write a review. Best Southern fare in Dallas. You cant even begin to imagine the amount of rib stickin’ food you’ll get for 6 dollars (yeah! 6 dollars, lunch specials).
Perfect lunch time place. Open Friday-​Saturday in the evening as well (til 9pm)
Nothing fancy, but God, is it ever good. (skip breakfast if you’re going for lunch, or dont eat all day for dinner lol you’ll need the space in your stomach)

MY NEW FAVORITE RESTERAUNT!!!
Free Beer 2 coronas or 2 frozen margheritas
BYOB!!!

Ordered:$ 6 Daily special (meatloaf that day) meatloaf was excellent
short ribs (best entrée ordered)
chicken stuffing and gravy dish was ok chicken was ok
Sides: Mac N Cheese top ten
Collard Greens-​best i’ve ever had (only had this 4 different places)
Yams-​real yams NOT canned top 10 best i’ve had
Stuffing-​its good you can tell they substituted broth for water very good
Gravy-​the type with the liver and guts in it very good
They give you a pound of each side item and of the entrée easily a pound and a half. Very much like georgia browns but not scary much cheaper, and free beer!!!

If you are looking for down south home style cooking then this is the place to go. Not quite Soul Food but has the elements of it. A good foodie friend of mine was in town visiting from the ATL and i know Dallas food can never compare to the real durty south home food cooking but i knew Po Bills can at least give her some hope so we ventured to this place on a late saturday afternoon.
I ordered the Blackened Chicken and the Short Ribs and for my sides i had the Navy Beans (reminded me of butter beans), Collard greens and some candied yams. The sides were amazing especially the navy beans which just had an additional flavor to it. My friend had Blackened Chicken and Meat loaf and she was very pleased with the outcome. They had Sweet tea and Lemonade but since they had Complimentary Margaritas and Corona i decided to try out the Frozen Peach Margarita which was refreshing.
Our entrée also came with Cornbread and the portions were large enough for one greedy person or two medium eaters. My Friend noticed that i got served more food than her and i had to explain to her that Down South it is customary for the Man to be Fed and judging by the way my friend looked they probably figured she couldnt finish a piece of chicken without an assist and by the way i look (I am talking about 6’4 & 210 lbs) it brings a smile to the face of a older black woman to serve me a healthy serving and watch me clean my plate lol which i did like a champion.
True to the game, my friend didnt finish her plate and i killed mine but i do know that i wont be going back for another month or so because i know for something to be that tasty it must be allergic to my midsection so i will make sure i only patronize once a month or two but its definitely worth the splurge.
The interior is nuffin to write home about but the good food makes up for that. They are working on their Liquor license but i dont see why cos after all that food there really isnt much room for alcohol left. I am happy i dont have to drive all the way to Sweet Georgia Brown for a taste of home cooking since Po Bills is just a stone throw from me.

Po Bills was my first UYE in a long long time, but when I heard that they were staying open just for us, I knew I had to go.
I was a tad late arriving, but the group was just sitting at a long table waiting for everyone. Until Po Bill’s receives their liquor license, they can offer you free margaritas and beer but they can not sell it to you. I didn’t know this ahead of time so it was BYOB. I had a couple of Lambics in the refrigerator at home, but I’m alcohol-​challenged and didn’t have a good enough wine bottle opener to open them. This was the perfect opportunity to drink one of them, and Nickie was there with her awesome opener to open my Lambic for me.
Once everyone arrived, we lined up cafeteria style to order our food. I went with the meatloaf, mashed potatoes with gravy, corn, and sweet yams. OMG. This is what food coma dreams are made of.
The meatloaf was moist and flavorful and smothered in an amazing tomato sauce. The corn was creamy and sweet. The masted taters had that old rustic feeling the gravy was the perfect topper. No room for dessert? No problem here because I had the sweet yams… soft succulent yams swimming in a mapley, sugary pool of yumminess.
My only problem here is the distance between Po Bills and my home, or I would be there on a regular basis. I can’t wait to have a free night to drive down there, because this soul needs some soul food.

Joined the club yesterday, had lunch at Po Bills! As everyone has said, the food’s good, the people are sweet and they have free beer. What’s not to like!
I had the meatloaf with mp and corn, everyone else had smothered pork chops. Sides ranged from okra (not fried), greens, mp w brown gravy (YUM) and the best corn in town.
Didnt get offered any hot water cornbread, bummer, and the sweet tea was AWFUL (hence 4 stars and not 5) but overall I enjoyed everything and definitely ate more than was necessary — the portions are huge!
I can’t wait to go back, looks like they change the offerings every day, or at least on the weekends. If you are a true soul food connoissuer, like myself, I can break it down for you like this:
Better than Vern’s, but not as good as Sweet Georgia Browns (but WHAT IS???) — but luckily for Po Bill, Miss Georgia’s is too far away! We’ll be back, and tell everyone we know to go check ‘em out.

Unlike some of my fellow Unilocalers, I DID grow up on this type of food. It’s po’ folks food. It’s country food. It’s the kind of food that you have to go kill before you eat it. I still wake up weeping over all the chickens I had to kill before Sunday dinner at my Mamaw’s house… poor little (tasty, oh so tasty) bastards.
Anyway, this is the real deal. Good, hearty food may by super nice and super sweet ladies.
I had the meatloaf, corn, & candied yams. I stil prefer my own meatloaf, but I’m just so effing good that I can’t be stopped. The meatloaf here is pretty damn close to perfection. The corn, tasty as all get out. The yams. Dear lord the yams. I could eat a whole plate of these and still want more.
The only negative for me is that they didn’t have any banana pudding and the peach cobbler wasn’t ready yet. Damn my early lunches!
My HUGE lunch (including the free beer) was only $ 6.50 with cornbread. It would have been $ 6 without.
Best. Deal. Ever.

Everyone’s saying it but it’s true: there’s no way to explain the mound of food Miss Fran and her girls pile on your plate. Seriously, the photos do nothing to demonstrate the sheer magnitude of yum.
Before we (UYE crowd) got there, we already knew Miss Fran was wonderful — Kristie called to warn her of the horde soon to be descending upon her, and she stayed open late rather than batten the hatches! Good woman. :D
I grew up in San Diego with a health-​food kinda mom (grew her own bean sprouts… yeah); smothered pork chops were not really in my vocabulary! Although I know I’ll have meatloaf next time, I had to try the pork chops first — they smelled yummy, tasted even better! For sides, I got cabbage, taters & gravy and yams. The cabbage… I don’t even care about being slightly stinky after eating it, it was GREAT. Nothing fancy about it — cooked to exactly where tender meets still fresh.
Oh! The fresh hotwater cornbread. Oh MAMA, that stuff was good! I ain’t even gonna lie — I was all over that while it was still burning-​hot-​lava hot, inhaling it like I hadn’t just put a good dent in my 47 pork chops. Shut up, don’t judge!
Then, the yams. Not really a side, more like a dessert! As I told Nickie & Nascar, they tasted like love. Pure & simple. And once Miss Fran came out and visited with us (and helped us sing Happy Birthday to Grant!), I knew why. She DOES love us, pretty sure. She’s that kind of lady.
Po-​Bills is as warm and comforting as a soulfood place should be, but bright & colorful too. A great little spot.
I am telling everyone I know about this place, both because it’s so delicious & a GREAT bargain, but also because I want them to do well. I’m going back soon, and I kinda think I might even score a hug.
**
Oh, and don’t let Megan’s nonchalant «Grant got cobbler & ice cream, yay for him!» fool you. She had cobbler envy. BAD. Proof? I’ll quote her: «SUNUVABITCH! He got COBBLER!» :D And yes, it did look that good!
* smiling & waving at Megan so she won’t hurt me*

I would have written this review last night but after all the food. Dang! My eyes got sleepy.
I had the smothered pork chops, cabbage, mashed potatoes and gravy AND the yams. I know I’m a pig! I ate almost everything on my plate. It was just all SO GOOD. I got the big girl plate ‘cuz I wanted to try a little of everything. Little did I know that I was going to eat it all. (I’m still wearing my fat pants FYI)
The food was good, but the service was awesome. Yes, I carried my tray back to the table like a pro. No, I’m kidding it is cafeteria style where you go up to the window. But they kept the doors open late for us, kept the drinks and food coming for everyone and seemed truly happy to have us there. That’s what I’m talkin about!

As far as soul food goes, you aren’t going to get much better than this. Showed up at Po-Bill’s at 6:30 which was 30 minutes after they normally close on a Tuesday. Any place that is called and says they will stay open late because they hear that 13 people are coming by to eat — well, that’s some good people.
I was worried that now that Fran and her daughter were so nice by staying open that I would have to give a bad review because the food would suck. Not the way it went, thankfully. Each day they have specials to choose from and the plates include two or three sides. You go up to the cafeteria style line, grab a tray, and tell the guy what you want on your plate. I had the meatloaf, corn, mashed potatoes and gravy, yams, and a cornbread muffin. The meatloaf had the sauce all mixed in with the meat which was freakin genius (my mom always did it on the top only). The potatoes were good, the corn was buttery and slighty sugary, and the yams… dear God the yams. Those were in a vat of butter, sugar, and a touch of cinnamon. They were dessert. They were delicious. The syrup was awesome. My BF and Grant both said it was too sweet… but I disagree, it was sugary awesomeness! I also tried the smothered pork chop and I must say holy shit that was the business! I am getting that next time. Unless they have salmon croquettes. I digress. Also, the hot water cornbread was awesome… thick crunchy crust, hot cornbready center. So much of this reminded me of my grandma cooking for us when we were growing up so it definitely brought back some good memories as well. Oh, and two people with a meat and three sides and cornbread — $ 17. Reaaaaasonable price!
Fran was the best too. She kept bringing drinks, hot water cornbread, and even brought Grant a surprise thing of peach cobbler. Dude, PEACH COBBLER! I wish I could have fit one of the desserts in my belly (hehe get in my belly) but I was too stuffed. Next time I’ll skip one of the sides and then will fit dessert in.
They don’t have their liquor license yet so they can’t sell you beer… but they can give you one (or a margarita) with your dinner purchase. Somehow I ended up with one of each but that wasn’t my fault, promise.
I highly recommend when you are craving a full on meat and three that will stick to your ribs and remind ya of your granny out in the country. It isn’t going to be a light or calorie free meal, but it is going to be good for your soul. And isn’t that why it is called soul food?

You can’t begin to fathom the amount of food they’ll put on your plate for $ 6.49. Really, you can’t. Even the pictures don’t do justice.
Fran and her daughter have opened up the kind of place that just feels GOOD when you walk in. Like your home, and mom’s standing in the kitchen with a big smile and potfuls of good food steaming away on the stove.
I had the meatloaf, mashed potatoes/​gravy, creamed corn, sauteed cabbage/​spinach and cornbread. The meatloaf was moist and tomatoey, the corn and mashed taters went together like PB&J, the cabbage was crunchy but soft, and that hotwater cornbread lasted like the entire state of Mississippi comfort in my mouth. I had to take several breaks and embarrassingly asked for a to-​go container at the end, but I did the best I could. This is the place to come if you’ve got a really deep appetite.
I didn’t have any dessert (for obvious reasons), but they had pecan pie, millionaire pie, cobbler, banana pudding and an assortment of other yummy treats to choose from. Sigh… next time.
They know how to do it right here, fo’ sho’.

I’ve never had true soul food before, so I don’t have anything to compare my meal at Po-Bill’s to… but I do know good food when I see it. And Po-Bill’s not only served up a good meal, Fran and her daughters — one of whom is the owner — served up a huge batch of love.
We were made to feel welcome from the second we walked through the door. Not to mention the fact that they kept the doors open late for us. What restaurant does that? None that I’ve ever met.
I chose smothered pork chops, mashed potatoes & gravy and corn as my meal. When I asked about the hot water cornbread and was told they’d run out for the day, I switched to a corn muffin. Fran wasn’t having any of that, she went into the kitchen and cooked up a fresh batch of hot water cornbread. Which was some kinda good, let me tell you.
I wish now that I’d gotten the kid’s plate because the regular plate is ha-​yuge. You won’t leave with an empty stomach ’round these parts. The candied yams that I stole from Erin M. & Katie C. had crack in them — it was hidden under the cinnamon.
Fran even sang happy birthday to Grant, after she gave him a bowl of peach cobbler and a mini-​cup of Blue Bell ice cream. How cute is that?
Even though this isn’t a sit-​down restaurant with waiter service, Fran and her daughters took care of us like we were sitting at their dining room table at home. These are seriously some of the nicest ladies ever and they deserve to do well. Serving up home-​cooked goodness with a dash of love? That’s a winning combination if ever there was one.

I grew up in Tennessee… and Arkansas… and never once was fed real, authentic SOUL FOOD… Thank you, Texas, I really owe you one.
From hot water cornbread made special for our group, to smothered pork chops to candied yams… this was a lesson in soul if I have ever seen one.
Everyday, Fran and her beautiful daughter (who owns the place)…push up their sleeves and make food straight from their heart… and you can taste the love with every bite. Each day has different specials… ours today were smothered pork chops, blackened chicken wings, meat loaf, chitlens (sp?), corn, potatoes and gravy, cabbage and candied yams… and of course a corn bread muffin. And let me tell you… these are not small portions. I saw Grant get his plate and thought to myself «that’s probably because he is so big»…then the girls get up there and we got just as much if not MORE!!! They know the way into ANYONE’S heart!
Everything was amazing… and the candied yams proved to be just as much of a desert as the cobbler or banana pudding (yes I said banana pudding). And with all that food, we were even offered a complimentary margarita and/​or beer… although that will only last until they get their liqour license… it was still very nice ad they were very generous with it.
I want to thank Fran and her crew for staying open late just for us and serving us some southern comfort, I had to go home and put on the stretchy pants after that meal!
If you live down that way, or are near it for lunch… I highly recommend you stop in for a heaping dose of southern soul… we all need it every once in a while.
ps…i love cornbread. That is all.