Sunday Dinner Company

The food is always meticulously made, the wait staff are at one’s beck and call and the chef pops in and out of the kitchen to check on things. The ambiance is very warm and cozy though it is a rather large dining space. I try to get there as often as I can.

Beautiful décor, very helpful servers, and of course good food.
Only ever got takeout, but it was very good, very authentic soulfood.
While waiting for my order I watched the staff interact with the other patrons, and they did a fantastic job. Upscale atmosphere serving casual food. Room is decorated by local artists work which adds a definite charm to the environment.

Great food and a great time. Our waiter, Maron, was helpful and had a great smile. And the food was wonderful– no bitter greens!
We came after the dinner rush on Sunday night, around 7pm, and had the place to ourselves. We got to chat with Chef Eric who is incredibly sincere and heartfelt about the mission of SDC. Coming here is not just a delicious meal, it’s support for the community and the people living in Detroit.

Food is good. Service is crazy, crazy slow. Which is crazy, because it is a buffet. Turns out the fried food (chicken, catfish) is cooked to order. But at lunch when there were only three tables, this process took over 45 minutes.
In that time, I could have driven to Zingermans Roadhouse in Ann Arbor for better fried chicken.

I want you to go to Sunday Dinner Company, and so I’m going to barrage you with a two-​pronged attack. First, I’m going to appeal to the epicureans with dancing visions of buttermilk fried chicken and southern sweet tea. Secondly, I’m going to rouse the champions of Detroit with the good things SDC is doing for the city. Divulging one’s strategy probably isn’t favored in the Art of War, but I’m a lover not a fighter anyhow. Don’t ask my friends about that, though, just take my word for it.
Any Unilocal review more than a couple paragraphs long requires a commitment from our attention deficit society (it’s not just me, right?). So if you’ll pretend this is a real article in an official publication, I’ll pretend I’m getting paid.
So let’s set the scene.
Once you finally find the unmarked building, the inside is tip to toe southern. It’s a converted post office whose look and definite, embracing atmosphere is reminiscent of a backyard celebration. It’s a very open space with twinkle lights on the ceiling and tall front windows that impart tons of natural light. Even with the southern charm, it feels distinctly Detroit thanks to the art (by local artists and available for purchase), framed periodicals and jazz playing in the background. People tend to say places in Detroit feel «New York» or «LA,» but I think if SDC were in another city the non-​haters would have to say it feels «Detroit.»
The deal is soul food reinvented-​buffet style. Salad and cornbread are served for starters before you follow your waiter to the buffet line. He serves it up for you, which probably keeps things moving, but I’m still not sold on any buffet style. Fried chicken, roast chicken, pork chops, catfish, mashed potatoes, mac n cheese, sweet potatoes, dirty rice with shrimp, black-​eyed peas, dumplings, collard greens… and now even my fingers are out of breath. My personal favorites were the fried chicken, mac n cheese and the sweet tea. The fried chicken is meaty, flavorful and not greasy, although could have been juicier (courtesy of buffets everywhere). The mac n cheese tickles my umami taste buds and is now my absolute favorite anywhere. The sweet tea is so good I drank a gallon of it. It isn’t saccharin sweet, and you’ll really be missing out if you don’t give it a try. To put this into perspective, I normally hate sweet tea
I should probably mention that I haven’t had any southern cooking in the South, because I don’t venture there. I still haven’t gotten over the civil war, plus I’m afraid I’d be stoned to death with bibles.
The fifth star awarded by the prestigious me is on account of the work SDC is doing for the community. They hire staff through Goodwill Industries’ Flip the Script Program, which provides mentoring and on the job training to at-​risk teens and adults looking for a second chance. Food prepared during training is donated to Forgotten Harvest. Getting involved and actively making a positive change for individuals and the community is something I deeply respect and wholeheartedly get behind. For those interested in the Detroit Renaissance, this is an edifying concept that is particularly valuable in revitalizing a city like Detroit.
If I had to create a banal sentence to end with, using the world «soul» a minimum of twice, which describes Sunday Dinner Company it would be: soul food and food for the soul. Alternatively: just do it. If this extended review fails to elicit a single bookmark, my thoughts and I shall reconvene and see if we can’t compose a technical argument. However, my thoughts and I have a hard time working together, so if just for my sake, please check this place out.

The food at this place is off the chain! All you can eat for $ 16 bucks and totally worth the drive from Ann Arbor. Don’t be fooled by the super pretty placement of the food in the pictures here on Unilocal.It’s all-​you-​can eat til your jeans rip, but mind you, it’s a buffet restaurant with service. They’ll bring out your salad and cornbread before inviting you to the main entrée food line. And their sweet tea is like liquid candy — amazing! Their collard greens and black eyed peas and their catfish, holy crap. My advice: Hit the gym before coming here so you don’t feel so bad maxing out your day’s calories!

After reading the other review (not close enough) I decided to take my family here to celebrate my mothers birthday.
Even though I set a reservation, upon entering Sunday Dinner Company (SDC), I was taken back at how unorganized everything seemed. We were not shown to a table even though that is the ambiance they are trying to present. Our waiter, was a scruffy looking high schooler who struggled to tell us what the daily specials were. After waiting almost ½ hour the young man reappeared and this time I noticed how dirty his shirt was (disgusting is a better word). I also observed him coming out of the bathroom with a rag and a bottle of cleaning solution moments before he appeared at our table. That’s a major no-​non for me… We told him what we would like and while yes you can order your chicken fried to order, so can everyone else and that means if your server is better than mine, you get the choice picks and I get the leftovers, and that is exactly what happened. Prior to the chicken I had the most unremarkable salad ever!
Here’s the kicker, we are a non pork eating family, so the question always has to be asked, «What type of meat is in those greens? What type of meat is that in those green beans?» While I get soul food I also understand that smoked turkey will give the same flavor of some of its oinky cousins. The same youngster tells us that it is «fat back or neck bones or something like that…» What, you don’t know… Luckily another waitress was standing by and corrected the young man! It was smoked Turkey! But what a ditz for stating the wrong thing.
The food was not up to par! The mac and cheese was the worst I have ever had. The chicken had black bones which is never a good sign, the greens tasted burnt and all the other food was simply poor to medium on my scale.
The most insulting part of the night was the bill. Now I am not afraid to spend money for fine food, but when it is simply a terrible meal with bad service, I should not be made to give a tip. The bill was way too high for a meal that was so low!
In closing, I get what SDC is trying to do, it was simply not pulled off very well on that snowy Saturday night. Poor service+ mediocre food+overpriced+same dude cleaning the stalls in the restroom that is dishing up your food+ unknowledgeable staff=Bad write up from the BigFella!
Try a little harder next time Sunday Dinner Company! And if your staffers are not excited and willing to help out with a simple Birthday picture for its customers, SHUT DOWN!!!

After hearing about this place on my beloved (and now DEFUNCT *single tear*) 107.5 I knew I just had to go. And it did not disappoint.
This is a soul food buffet, y’all. And before you’re all like «Ew buffet» it’s not like anything from the Old Country variety. This is a served buffet, meaning you’re not going to have anyone heavy breathing into or all touching up on your food. We had the option of ordering one trip to the buffet that allowed us a doggie bag for $ 9.95 or unlimited trips but no doggie bag for $ 13.95. We thought we wanted the unlimited, but holy crap did they fill our plates. We ended up only making one trip and not taking a doggie bag.
The meal started with a salad that unfortunately was not great. It was dried out bagged salad, but who goes to a soul food buffet for the salad? The correct answer is no one. Just eat the sad looking salad and move on.
You get the choice of fried chicken or fried cat fish MADE TO ORDER. That’s right. if you want chicken, tell them what piece you want and they batter it and fry it so it’s piping hot and deliciously made just for you. We were served delicious corn bread and complimentary sweet tea while we waited. Just before the fried foods came out, we were escorted to the buffet where we loaded up on ALL of the goodies. Our plates overfloweth. The fried chicken was insanely good, and the rest of the food was comforting and exactly what I was looking for.
The wait for our fried feast did take a little while, but again — this is made to order fried chicken so I didn’t sweat it. People need to chill and enjoy the leisurely side of life, and maybe that’s just a nice side effect of Chef Giles’ lovingly prepared soul food.
Speaking of Chef Giles, do you know that he hires at risk youth and released prisoners to work at the restaurant? And before you get all AFRAID, read the other Unilocal reviews about how kind, attentive and just plain nice every person that works there is.
The Sunday Dinner Company is one of the most unique, genuinely uplifting and freaking delicious places to eat in Detroit. Go there.

We were thinking about going to Slows but are SO glad we didn’t. All of the things we tried were absolutely delicious and the atmosphere was cozy and warm. The staff was friendly and felt like family :) It reminds you of the rich cultural heritage of African Americans and places like this capture the best of Detroit.
In particular, the free sweet tea, corn bread, and salad are a nice touch, and the candied yams, Mac and cheese, and friend chicken («these may be the best I’ve ever had» –my boyfriend) were delectable. At this time of the year they also have beautiful Christmas lights and R&B music.
Highly recommend it!

This place is just so damn charming. The food is tasty but the feeling is what puts it over the top. Earnest is a word that comes to mind. The people here care a lot about it and you can tell. I am bitter I cannot partake in any sweet tea but I think my husband had plenty for both of us.
I liked the buffet because I was obviously a newbie and it gave me an opportunity to sample more items. I, like Maria, was a big fan of the catfish and the cornbread. The yams and collard greens hit the spot but did not blow me away. My husband liked the chicken and mac and cheese best. They have plenty to pick from though, all definitely with soul food and southern leanings. That works for me.
The pace here is set firmly on mosey. It definitely has a true southern feel. Homey, welcoming and comforting. Not for the impatient, carb watchers or cholesterol monitors. You will not find an abundance of health food nor will you be in and out in any hurry. The name says it all, it’s Sunday dinner, relax and bring the family.

Oh, do I wish that more people would eat here.
This place is a traditional soul food spot, offering traditional soul food fare– fried chicken, catfish, pork, ribs, collard greens, yams, mac and cheese, cornbread, etc. And it’s all very, very good.
But there are also a couple of other things about this place that deserve mention. The first is the space, which is beautiful. The building is a converted something, but its one of those somethings that makes for exposed brick walls, super high ceilings, and beautiful picture windows.
The second thing is that, if you’re paying attention to the framed articles in the waiting area, you’ll learn that this place is doing great things for the community. And that’ll make you feel even better about the place.
And the last thing is that the walls are covered with art from local artists. Not in that way that’s really annoying, but in the other way that’s really quite classy and understated.
So you can think of this place as «soul food plus.» But no matter how you think of it, you should go and try it out for yourself. Because then I think that you’ll come back. And if enough people do that, this place will still be here in the coming years. Which would be a very nice thing.

Savory.
Scrumptious.
Succulent.
Sensational.
These are a few words that best describe my recent meal here!
We went here on a Saturday afternoon two weeks ago, and i’m still salivating over the food while writing this review.
Let’s start at the beginning… Sunday Dinner Company (SDC) is a Soulfood restaurant nestled among a plethora of vacant buildings; the infamous weathered ‘Enjoy Detroit’ signage is on the abandoned building across the street from SDC.
On your first visit it may be hard to find this needle in a haystack restaurant. The ‘Sunday Dinner Company’ window decal is miniscule and the only thing that is distinctive are the artsy handrawn address numbers painted near the door.
Anyhoo, walking in we were promptly greeted and seated by the hostess. Our waiter Marone soon arrived, all smiles, and explained the menu and buffet etiquette at SDC. Basically you have two options: a.) You order a dish off the menu or b.) You pay the flat rate for the buffet.
Now i’m not a huge fan of buffets… just the word ‘buffet’ brings back unpleasant flashbacks of dining experiences at places like ‘Old Country Buffet’. But, i heard Sunday Dinner Company’s was a controlled and closely monitored style of buffet dining.
One table at a time is called up to the buffet counter, which is located between the kitchen & dining area. Once you’re up at the buffet you will 1.) marvel at the selection of foods 2.) let the worker behind the counter know which items you would like 3.) don’t be shy to ask for that second piece of chicken or an extra scoop of yams :)
The service at Sunday Dinner Company is painfully slow… i’m not gonna try and sugar coat that part, but the wait staff are both hospitable and accommodating.
Now for the main attraction, the food! (ooh & ahh at the pics… hehee):
We started out with a salad with a housemade Italian dressing, accompanied by buttery perfectly cooked cornbread! One bite and i was instantly transported to the time i first tried REAL cornbread… WOW! This was the real deal, buttery, sent from heaven cornbread. More please!
Main meal: crispy perfectly fried Catfish (some of the best i’ve ever had). Collard Greens with chunks of Smoked Turkey were amazing! Fried Chicken was good. Great tasting Yams (glazed in maple & brown sugar). Herb Roasted Chicken cooked to perfection (tender, juicy, infused with oregano, thyme, and rosemary). Fab Black Beans & Rice! Peach cobbler for dessert? No room… but i will be back for more :)
p. s. their buffet prices are very reasonable: $ 10.95 per person for lunch (which goes till 4:00pm) or $ 15.95 per person for dinner.

This is more like an open letter about my last experience at the restaurant that I would like to have had emailed to the owners but I cannot find a working website or email. I’ve visited this restaurant twice with my fiancé’ (at the time) and on the first occasion, we were so impressed that we decided to hold our rehearsal dinner here for our wedding. I inquired, was told we needed to put down a 45% cash deposit for the number of people in our party so that the restaurant can be prepared with food for our arrival. My in-​laws were hosting this event so I forwarded them the information and they set everything up. I stopped by two days before the rehearsal, just to make sure that we were all set, spoke to a young girl that said she was the manager, she assured me that everything was a go for our arrival. When we arrived at the restaurant on the day of the dinner they were not prepared. We had originally reserved seats for a party of 23 and we ended up with a party of 27 plus 3 small children. We needed to add I think two more tables which originally didn’t seem to be the issue. Not sure if the air conditioning wasn’t working, or they just did not have it on, but it was sweltering inside. The only air coming from the few ceiling fans that they had working. Once we were seated, we waited about 20 minutes until all of our water glasses were filled. They did not have any cornbread ready (which they usually serve upon arrival), the manager that waited on us said that they had just put a fresh pan in the oven when we got there and he would «microwave» leftover cornbread for the children that were starving. Then said salads would be out soon. The brought the salads out finally and when I asked for their special house dressing, I was told they were out of it. My soon-​to-​be husband and I counted the number of bottles that they had for sale of the special house dressing that I requested (approximately 4). About another 20 mins go by and the manager that was waiting on our table came and said that he would now take our drink order. I asked him if we would again have to wait for him (he appeared to be the only on waiting on a party of 27) to fill these orders before we were able to eat, and he said no but they were waiting on more fried chicken to come up before they served us. At this point I became really frustrated because:
1. It was at least 90 degrees in this place, no industrial or kitchen or window fans anywhere. Just the few ceiling fans that were barely moving.
2. Cornbread was not put in the oven until we arrived (we actually got that cornbread as we were leaving).
3. If we were required to leave a deposit, how is it possible that the essentials (cornbread and fried chicken) are not ready???
So, after that response, I asked him, the manager, «weren’t you guys aware that we were coming?» and he said yes but we were expecting a party of 23 and you guys had more… So, yes we had 4 more adults than we had planned, but what did that have to do with NO cornbread or chicken being ready upon arrival? Not to mention that the restaurant was also still open for business and I’m sure any other customers that walked in and waited at the door for several minutes, would probably like to have cornbread too. That was the managers first account of not taking responsibility for not being prepared for our visit. Later, he told us there was some sort of mis communication between himself and other staff.
My fiancé’s and I first two visit were great, which led me to not only desire to have our rehearsal dinner here but also recommend this place to my job that looks to have places for our staff to have lunch meetings. I was a little embarrassed to have highly recommended this place and brag on it so much for things to turn out the way that they did. Yes, the food was good, but the sweating from the heat, the waiting on good service did not put us at ease on a already stressful and anxious evening. I hope that the owners are aware of this situation. I met both of them on two different occasions and I was actually surprised that neither was there to oversee such a large party. I hope that there is a new procedure for parties of this magnitude so that this never happens to anyone else.

I decided to give this place one more chance this week. And it will be my last. I thought after they’d been open for a while things would get better. I was wrong. The prices went up. The quality of the food went down. The service didn’t get any better. Anyway go at your own risk.

Oh my lord, the collards were delicious. Mac and Cheese, the candied yams, the green beans, what else did I have? Fried catfish — that oil must be hot because it was perfectly crisp and no hint of sogginess! Oh and that corn bread also delish. I had that crab rice thing, I think the others buffet items were more memorable.
It’s less than $ 16 for buffet style dinner with a salad and sweet tea included. I would have gone for seconds but I was eating more than all the dudes so I refrained. Sometimes, it just sucks to be a lady!
It was the first restaurant experience in Detroit and probably one of the best out of the 4 days (see my Finn and Porter review for some fun) I was there. The dining room is large and it wasn’t too crowded on a Thursday night, I do hope that the locals would patronize it more — the service was impeccable — Jacinda is a doll and a total professional running the entire front of the house. The chef is dressed in his perfect whites and greets the customers and even clears the table! I do wish that I came here twice than had gone to some other joints.
Will definitely come back again on my next jaunt into Detroit.

Ok maybe four stars, but the chef was so great I made it 5. This place uses only the freshest ingredients! Fried chicken was the best we have had in years. My mom loved her catfish. My husband kept distracting me and stealing my Macaroni and cheese. They don’t use pork bellies in their greens and other items. They use turkey tails! It is so much healthier. Now I wouldn’consider this soul food, it’s southern comfort food. My husband liked the lemonade. I had the herbed chicken. It fell apart… Mmmmm. The chef’s marinade was delicious on my salad. I could go on, but you need to try it for yourself! The waitress would forget things here and there, but she was so sweet we were ok with it.

Best fried chicken I have ever eaten! MAC and cheese was awesome! Chef/​owner came to our table to make sure everything was ok. A definite must while you’re in Detroit!
Careful not to park too close to the fire hydrant! You WILL get a ticket!

Visited The Sunday Dinner Company again, this time for lunch, and felt an update was in order.
There were quite a few people there for their lunch buffet ($ 10), and I was excited for them. Service was a little lacking (i.e., slow), but nothing dealbreaking. It was somewhat crowded, and from what I could tell everyone was doing everything. Nobody was just waiting tables, or working the buffet.
They appear to have taken the gritty stuffing off of the menu, at least on that day (I don’t know if the menu changes), so that was good. This time I got to try the green beans and fried corn and both were outstanding. There was something providing the slightest bit of heat in the green beans and it was lovely. The salad seemed to have gotten a tiny bit of an upgrade as well, although not much. It seemed like a small amount of leafy greens may have been mixed in to the bagged salad mix. The sweet tea and cornbread were as stellar as ever, as was the fried chicken and collard greens.
On this go around, I realized the peach cobbler is entirely skippable, but still tasty. We ended up splitting a portion and going somewhere else later for our sweet treat needs.
All in all, it seems like The Sunday Dinner Company is growing and improving at a steady pace. I’m happy to see that they’re doing well, although I don’t know if it’s with any regularity. I hope they keep it up and I love knowing that the people there are working hard towards something and I get to be a part of their efforts.
Keep it up guys and gals!

I would like to first off by saying how this is a wonderful Place to take your friends and family. Not only is the Food Good but the Service is Exceptional! This is a place with a purpose and that is to Serve and Give back to the Community (which I Love that). Everything they prepared is Made locally and Fresh, also the Décor of the restaurant is done by Detroit artists. I will Definitely be back for a second serving.:)

Like Kate — the Vman and I were scrolling through my bookmarks deciding on something new and different… or else it was going to be tacos.
When we did a quick drive by of the joint (almost immediately before the bridge to Belle Aisle) and it looked NICE inside. And I thought I was going to get turned away for wearing scrubs (HUUUUNGRRYYYYY NEED FOOD NOOOOOWWWW). But Vman protested (as I drove off and then did an illegal U-​turn in front of a DPD) that he say someone wearing shorts inside and THEREFORE they would not turn us away. Even though I swear one of the hostess was giving me the stink eye — they seated us! Hurray!
For $ 13 all you can eat — it’s pretty good. Better than any of the casino buffets or Chinese buffets, in my opinion. But it IS soul food and it IS reflective of how people, when they’ve got nearly nothing make things taste good without things like truffle oil and proscuitto. What I’m trying to say is – there’s a lotta canned food. But it’s not that it is bad — it’s tasty and accurate — but it threw me. If you know what I mean.
How this place works (because it’s NOT intuitive):
1. Get seated by hostess.
2. A nice young man will come great you, fill your water glass, and ask if you’ve been there before. Beverage? Only the sweet-​tea (and trust me – it’s sweet, but SO dang good and refreshing) comes with the $ 13 meal. You pay extra $ 1.50−2 for a soda beverage. No booze.
3. They bring you out a salad with 2 choices of dressing.
4. If you want something like fried chicken and need it made fresh — they will ask what you want — and how many pieces. But keep in mind, this is a buffet — you can order as many pieces as you want. And it’s made TO order! Crazy!
5. Cornbread was brought to the table (very good).
6. We ate our salads ravenously, and waited patiently for more instruction. This is where it gets confusing.
7. If you’d like something from the buffet BEFORE the chicken is done — you will be escorted to the buffet by your waiter. The plates are there, you don’t get the plate yet. He puts the food on your plate. You just point. And you escort your plate back to your tablet.
8. Eat chickeny goodness.
9. Want more? Go back up to the buffet with your waiter.
10. No mas? Order dessert.
11. Get check. $ 13 for dinner, $ 10 for lunch buffet (drink, foods, and dessert included) + tax + gratuity! We didn’t know gratuity was included! 15% automatically.
12. Pay with cash or credit card.
The peach cobbler was meh. It was canned peaches, totally reminiscent of my childhood. The fried chicken was good — not blow your mind great. My thigh was cooked perfectly, and I think they pulled out the legs at the same time because they were OVER cooked. The sides were all amazing. The yams, the rice, the everything. I think the collard greens were originally not from a can, but what do I know? The candied yams were from a can. But whatever, I’m obsessing.
Everyone is nice to you. It’s like being welcomed into someone’s buffet-​style home. It makes you feel GOOD about Detroit’s attempt at a come back. It gives me this thing called «hope» and dampens my cynicism … until I go outside and take a look at the awesome abandoned factory with punched out windows.
HUGE downside for summer — NO air conditioning. Or if it was on – It was still hotter than satan’s balls. Bleh. No like. Odd neighborhood with sketchy parking.