Manna’s Soul Food & Salad Bar

Amazing… Lots of selections, friendly staff, they know my kids already. If it was up to them we’d live in the restaurant =]

Whenever I head up to New York City, Harlem to
be more specific, I always look forward & enjoy the abundance of fine restaurant dining that
always seem to pop up and suddenly collapse all the time. Some are great meet-​and-​eat places,
yet they still fail. Others are overpriced and you have to wear fancy digs to
get in; those restaurants don’t seem to last long at all. One place I noticed
that has stayed around for some time is Manna’s Soul food. Mann’s is set up
like an Asian buffet place but with a variety of soul food dishes you’ve longed
for since childhood. They sell their food by the pound; that’s because if
you’re not sure if you want the jerk chicken or southern fried chicken, you can
get both. You can’t decide among the cabbage and macaroni or the oxtails, rice
and peas or just a bunch of barbecue rib? You get all three! While the prices
may be steep (remember you’re buying by the pound) and diabetes will
slowly creep its way into your life, at least you don’t have to wear a suit and
tie to get in!

This is my go-​to spot when I visit the Schomberg a block away so I’ve had the buffet maybe 4 or 5 times. The selection of vegan and vegetarian items varies but is usually pretty decent. I like the vegetable fried rice and noodles, beet salad, avocado salad, and Chinese-​style sautéed vegetables with fried tofu. Maybe I just tend to order heavy food, but my food always ends up being mad expensive. $ 8/​lb? I try to avoid that high a price in Midtown and you can find organic buffets for $ 10/​lb so I do feel their food is on the pricier side given what’s offered.

Amazing soul food, awesome oldies playing over the speakers, and a very friendly staff.

What is it about businesses that serve people of color that do not offer the same professional courtesy to their customer as they would certainly do in a different community. Below is a letter I wrote to the owner:
Betty Park
Manna’s Restaurant
New York, NY 10 037
Subject: Lack of professionalism at Manna’s 125^th Street
Dear Ms. Park
I am a new customer at Manna’s having just returned home to New York after spending 20+ years in California. As a consumer, I do not think it is too much to ask to be treated professionally by your staff. Simply looking at a customer and saying «thank you» after handing over hard-​earned cash would seem to be very appropriate.
Unfortunately, this has not been the practice at your 125^th Street outlet. Would you please get back to me and explain why professional courtesy is NOT an integral part of your customer service? Is it because this is Harlem, and the residents do not deserve your respect even though they are supporting your business?
As a customer, this is very discouraging and it prompts me to find other places to spend my money.
Sincerely,
William H. Smith Jr.
Customer

Was in today 01÷10÷16 at about 11:30am for the first time. Wide selection of by the Lb. Soul Food. From Fried Fish, Fried and Smothered Chicken, and BBQ Ribs to Baked Mac & Cheese, Cole Slaw and Rice and Beans. Also saw plenty of Veggies, Salads and Fruit. The place was clean and had nice Old School R&B playing in the background. The staff were very pleasant and helpful. And was glad to see that the Soul Food was being created by people of color.

Surprisingly the food was good. I didn’t know what to expect. We needed some food fast. Decent for the price. Not fancy place tho but they have places for you to sit.

This restaurant is dirty, and the staff horse play in the dirty kitchen, wear dirty aprons, and are very unprofessional. The whole place is dirty, the kitchen floors and tables. The bathrooms are dirty with graffiti on the doers. The food gave me an upset stomach and is very greasy and old. It sits out all day. The manager Andy Kim is very cold and looks unclean and unkempt. Nasty! The food is salty and old the place is filthy.

I’ve tried them for their ramen (SoulRamen?– awesome) and tried a bunch of food from their buffet. Pretty reliable spot since there isn’t much to eat in the area. This offers variety for the indecisive eater. They have a good amount of space for seating. I would say they should work on cleanliness, it seems like there’s always things out of place or the garbage is too full.
If you go make sure to try their apple kale salad.

Best Manna’s in town. Some of the best fried chicken I’ve had in NYC. I constantly tell myself I shouldn’t be eating this because of how unhealthy soul food is in general… however I keep finding myself coming back for a quick bite after work. The service here is always exceptional. Buffet is stocked frequently, food is delicious and flavourful, price is cheap, what more can you ask for?

What great value! $ 6.99 per pound for everything you’d want. They had a great variety of meats, veggies, and fruits. Everything was so delicious and fresh!

This place is heavenly!
$ 6.99/$ 7.99 per pound. Can’t beat that price, for the amount of food you get and for the delicious taste.
If I could give more stars I totally would. I came here with my mom when she came to visit for her birthday. She was dying to go to Harlem (she has never been to NY), we were starving and came across this place, we both had huge eyes and maybe had a little drool coming down our chin. The smell of the food was fantastic, the fresh taste, again HEAVENLY!
If you’re EVER in Harlem and want great food– please go here. Begging you to go and enjoy.
Clean area, helpful staff, typically busy.

Breakfast is ok. Only thing is they have a young man in the back tossing salad with no gloves on and a band aid on his finger tip. That’s not a good look. I alerted another Chef to tell him. In doing so he out gloves on.

Little something 4 everyone’s taste. A great place to get your eat on. (Uptown 134 st. location)

They had a nice selection and their fruit looked very fresh, but their food did not do it for me.
The sweet corn lacked flavor of any kind. It was sweet but it tasted like it had been sitting in water for hours.
The sweet plantains were so hard. I thought they were just crispy on the outside and soft on the inside but I was SO wrong. It had no taste because it had been cooked for so long.
The Mac and cheese lack flavor as well along with the cabbage. The only things I enjoyed were the pork ribs, honey wings, and fruit.
Everything else lack flavor and was not worth the $ 9.
If you want REAL Soulfood with REAL Flavor, go somewhere else.

Close to 2 – 3 station. I thought food quality was on par with Korean-​deli salad bar. Sweet Mama’s up at Lenox btw W 144&145 is a lot better.

well seasoned food.
I had something light. I had a small portion of Mac and cheese with collared greens, sweet plantain and a vinegar vegetable salad.
my boyfriend thought the banana pudding was «fabulous»
the store gets packed quickly, and there’s a small seating area…

Muy recomendable sitio de comida tradicional afroamericana o «Soul Food», llegas, te sirves lo que quieras en una de sus bandejas, y vas al mostrador a que te lo pesen y pagar. es económico y tienen una gama de comidas, ensaladas, postres y acompañamientos enorme. Yo me decliné por el pollo con arroz que nunca falla, a parte de ser la base de este tipo de comida. :)

The best (and only) soul food buffet I’ve been to so far. The Barbeque chicken was so delicious! Be sure to have cash for payment.

Hungover we went searching for something good to eat, stumbled upon Manna’s and were extremely pleased! Fresh, tasty and great price.
Staff was friendly, and they kept the food buffe refilled and clean. The fruits were ripe and juicy (mange really good!), and I liked everything I tasted from both the cold and hot side. The turkey was especially nice. A lot of different types of food to choose from (yes, I had problems making decisions here!).
I have no complaints at all. Had a great meal here, and would absolutely come back, next time in NYC.

Super Buffet mit üppier Auswahl an Gerichten. Einsehbare Küche in der ständig frische Gerichte zubereitet werden. Hier kann man stundenlang verweilen und die verschiedensten New Yorker bzw. Harlem Charaktere beobachten. Ein Ort zum schlemmen und Leute beobachten.

Manna’s isn’t bad. The food is decent. But sweet mama’s right up the street is just so much better in so many ways!

Très bonnes salades avec des produits frais. Large choix de plats chauds avec en particulier du Crispy chicken très très bon. Atmosphère un peu froide mais accueil chaleureux de la part du caissier et du préposé aux smoothies.
Rapport qualité prix correct si on recherché un endroit ou manger rapidement sans rechercher de la grande cuisine mais plutôt la cuisine de tous les jours.