Mittie Daughter Soulfood - Cedar Rapids

During our trip to Colorado, we decided to stop at Vivian for a meal, and it was absolutely fabulous! I'm already planning our trip to Michigan next year, with a stop at Vivian in mind. We ordered the three-piece fried chicken with two sides: I had greens and baked mac and cheese, while my partner chose greens and red bean rice. Our meals were incredibly delicious, surpassing our expectations. We usually compare everything to Babe's Chicken in Roanoke, TX, and Gus's in Memphis, but Vivian's has now secured a spot on our list of favorite places for fried chicken. Our waitress, Jill, was exceptional as well.

I had a fantastic meal, probably the best I've had in Cedar Rapids. I ordered the black fish with red beans and rice, and my partner had the fried chicken. Everything was excellent, and the service was outstanding. I will definitely be coming back!

The staff are friendly, but not very attentive. We had to wait a long time just to get our drinks, even though the restaurant wasn't busy, especially since we visited on a Tuesday at 5 PM. The catfish, fried chicken, and fried shrimp we ordered were delicious and very crispy, though slightly salty. The yam was excellent, and the baked mac and cheese was creamy and good. However, the collard greens were quite salty, and the cornbread was hard. Overall, our experience was mixed, and I’m not sure how to assess our visit.

I loved every bite. The portion size is on point and the chicken was seasoned to perfection. I had the chicken and waffles and it took me back to my childhood. I think our waitress was new because she was very confused about the bill and we had to remind her to charge us for the drinks we had.

We've been supporting local-owned businesses during COVID to keep them thriving when sales are down. For my birthday, I had many many restaurants to choose from, but decided the shrimp and grits from Vivian's sounded delicious and an amazing birthday dinner. Ordered the takeout, paid for it, went to pick it up, only to have them give away my food to someone else. An honest mistake. These things happen. However, the man behind the counter then tried to act as though WE were to blame for them giving away our food. And then lo and behold, a shout from the cooks that they were then suddenly out of the shrimp and grits so we couldn't have them fire a new meal for us. The worker throwing around the blame offered no apology, no attempt to make it right, just the guilt trip. That night, I sent a message to the owner via the restaurant's website, giving Vivian's the chance to remedy this customer service disaster. No response, no apology, nothing. If this is how seriously they take their customer service, you should find somewhere else to give your business. Sad that I'm forced to do the same.