At Brenda's in the Tenderloin, there is a menu item boldly titled Best Fried Chicken (B.F.C.), a seemingly presumptuous title should it not deliver. However, as we learned firsthand, it is no misnomer. Three pieces of tender chicken are encased in a rich and succulent, although still satisfyingly crisp skin, with just the right amount of spice.
—SF Weekly
At Brenda’s, I was thoroughly charmed by our Southern waitress and her sparkling laugh. The pace of service remained brisk and efficient, while her doting, unhurried manner made it seem like we weren’t eating at breakfast ground zero. Dottie’s service was perfectly OK, but you could feel the strain.
—The Examiner / Jesse Hirsch
Brenda's, that venerable soul food institution traffics in deliciousness, I figured the Hangtown Fry there was a good place to start...Smoky, porky bacon was the dmoinant flavor, and the oysters had been breaded andfried before being added...they were succulent and meaty. I surprised myself by eating the whole thing.
—SF Weekly / Anna Roth
The word's out about Brenda's French Soul Food. Judging from the two hour wait around the block, Brenda's is the best French soul food dining spot in San Francisco.
—examiner.com / Laurie Farr
Ever since Oysters Rockefeller was invented at Antoine's in New Orleans at the turn of the last century, restaurants from coast to coast have been trying to duplicate or improve on this much-loved recipe.
—San Francisco Chronicle / Michael Bauer
The biscuits here are pretty much the gold standard in the city—they’re pretty damn perfect. Chef-owner Brenda Buenviaje did her own twist on a Fannie Farmer biscuit recipe, and the result is...
—7x7 Magazine / Marcia Gagliardi
For fans of Bay Area soul food, the signs of change are hard to miss.
—San Francisco Chronicle / Janet Fletcher
It used to be that the best way for a San Franciscan to satisfy a hankering for Creole food would be to hop on a plane and hightail it straight to the Big Easy. That is, until Brenda's French Soul Food opened...
—San Francisco Chronicle / Jane Tunks
Perhaps the best part of the plate, however, was the saucer-size cream biscuit, crumbly and so rich itself that it scarcely needed thepat of butter alongside.
—SF Weekly / Meredith Brody
In San Francisco, it’s often the smallest concepts that make the biggest impression. Brenda’s French Soul Food, a tiny Louisiana-inspired breakfast-and-lunch joint, is perpetually crowded with fans...
—Travel+Leisure / Anya von Bremzen
A diamond in the rough Civic Center neighborhood, Brenda's French Soul Food attracts a daily crowd of government workers with its
Creole comfort fare.
—The Wall Street Journal
