Shrimp & Grits, Fried Chicken, and Beignets at Brenda's French Soul Food in San Francisco

You get transported to New Orleans with a visit to Brenda's French Soul Food in the city. Coming from the Peninsula, it's a trek, but it's so darn good.

This place is no secret, in fact, they've got almost 12k reviews already on Yelp. And it lives up to the hype.

We got the whole spread, the top sellers: shrimp and grits, half a chicken with biscuits, collard greens with bacon, and gumbo. Okay my mouth is watering just thinking back on this delicious meal. I wasn't expecting much from the shrimp and grits, but it was by far my favorite. It was an explosion of flavor and perfectly balanced. My only regret is that there was only 1 dish of it for us to share. :P

My second favorite has to be the fried chicken. You can dip it in the hot pepper jelly or eat it plain. It's so crispy because in fact, it is double fried! And it's also very juicy. My third favorite is the biscuits - these are also out of this world, so buttery and soft. Slather on some of that strawberry jelly and it is perfection.

The collard greens were okay, it was like our "healthy" vegetable side dish lol, amongst all this indulgent food. The gumbo I was excited to try but it was meh alright. Our waiter said he only recommends it if people have tried all the other items on the menu, so yeah probably go with the other items first. The person at the table next to us got some fries and that looked enviously good too.

We ended up being too stuffed to order dessert, but their beignets are also their speciality - they have sweet ones like apple but also crawfish ones. There are lots of pictures on Yelp of their beignets, which looks impossibly fluffy and hot.

I believe there's also other locations throughout the Bay Area, but I prefer going to the original spot!!

Here's more about Brenda, she describes her food as a mix of Southern, Creole, and French cuisines and even coined the term "French soul food." This food indeed has a lot of soul and everyone should stop by to try a bite!

Brenda's French Soul Food

652 Polk St

San Francisco, CA 94102