Tessey’s

It is pricey (at least on grubhub) but from beginning of ordering everything was great. Employee made effort to call me to let me know they were out of a side I ordered and was able to replace. Food arrived quickly. Everything exceeded my expectations. One of the best soul food spots I’ve found in NYC. Got the fried chicken, whiting fish, yams, mac and cheese, potato salad, collard greens and half/half iced tea lemonade. Well cooked and seasoned, everything tasted fresh. I recommend and will definitely order again. 10/10 satisfactory

We were looking for some soul food and read some positive reviews so we tried it. The food is good with healthy portions. It's pricey but worth it. The banana pudding is a must try. The atmosphere is not so appealing but I didn't mind since we were doing takeout. The beef ribs were fall off the bone tender, we also tried the mac & cheese, collard greens, yams, cat fish, shrimp, fried whitening, turkey wings, and they did not disappoint.

This is a good place with good food. Black owned soul food in the bronx is HARD to come by, so i was rooting for this place. I went towards the end of the night, got jerk and bbq chicken, greens, macaroni and cheese and potato salad with a half and half. It was all Good. I hope to go back and grab a turkey wings on Saturday. 💪🏾💪🏾 UPDATE

The food here is just okay… They price gouge on DoorDash, a 5 piece wing and 2 sides for $47 (with small portion sizes). The food is mediocre at best lacking flavor and the feel of homecooked soul food (specifically the sides) I hate to be so harsh on a black owned business but for $47 a plate I feel you need to be serving at par if not better.

I went here because of the reputation they have with the banana pudding and it's some of the best I've ever had! I must say the food is terrible. In my case, I had turkey legs and Collards. Both were really bad! Maybe it's hit or miss, and they definitely missed on this one. Don't know if I'll go back for the food, but will definitely get the banana pudding again!

Been eating here for three or four years. I love her and her cooking so much. We also ask for catering service and she’s always on time. THANK YOU TESS

I love this place. My daughter who is probably the world's pickiest eater. Love's their banana pudding. And so do I. The prices are amazing.

Okay, Let’s tawk about this meal. Absolutely DELICIOUS. The chicken was well well seasoned, the yams were perfect and the Mac and cheese was great! The perfect example of Soul food right here in the Bronx! I always order from here but tonight’s order was something to post about. Ms Tessy!! And crew Thank you for the wonderful food! I’ll definitely will be back again of course!!

You gotta check out Tessey's. They're serving up some fire soul food. Service is on point. The vibes are there from the aesthetic to the music. I love to get the Mac & Cheese and Yams for my sides. Then switch up the protein. The Mac & Cheese is cheesy & savory. The Yams are sweet to perfection. Here I got the jerk chicken and it's fire.

Oh, Tessey's International Kitchen, where do I start? As a fervent food enthusiast, my expectations were high, yet my experience was, well, a bit of a rollercoaster - and not the fun kind. First off, let's talk about the whiting. It seemed to have gone through a spa treatment of sogginess, completely missing the crispy memo. Whether it was a delivery mishap or a container conspiracy, the result was a sad, damp fish, desperately needing seasoning. The tartar sauce tried its best to be the hero, but alas, it could only do so much. Moving on to the Mac and cheese - or as I'd like to call it, 'Mac and Mystery.' It was so bland, I wondered if the cheese was just a figment of my imagination. The noodles had gone past al dente to 'al don't-te.' They were so mushy, I contemplated whether I was eating pasta or pudding. Speaking of pudding, the banana pudding was a paradox in a cup. It had this peculiar artificial vanilla vibe that made me question its existential authenticity. It was like expecting a symphony but getting a kazoo solo instead. Now, I'm not one to shy away from spending on quality food, but this felt like a gamble where the house always wins. The pricing seemed to be playing in a league of its own, not quite in sync with the quality of ingredients or the culinary execution. So, there you have it - a 2 out of 5 stars for Tessey's International Kitchen. It's not all bad, but it's definitely not all good either. If they align their prices with the quality on offer, it might just turn the odds in their favor. Until then, my fellow epicureans, you might want to roll the dice elsewhere.

African soul food?? This place has amazing fried chicken, collard greens, fried fish. It's not very big, but you can sit and eat or do takeaway. The woman who owns the place is really great and does a lot of catering for the community. My father looks forward to ordering from this place all the time, he brags about it, so naturally, we had to try it. I can't wait until I come back.

Love this place! I ordered two times, first time got the whiting, this time got the catfish strips. Both meals were delicious!! Everything was hot and fresh. This is my first time having jollof rice and now I am a fan!! Will definitely order again and again and again!!

I forgot to take a photo of my order but I got a lunch special of 3 pieces of jerk wings and one side. I selected the collard greens. The greens were tender and the chicken was falling off the bones. It was just enough food for lunch. There are tables if you want to dine in and that's what I did. They also take a variety of payments, so you have options.

I don't understand what these ppls problem is with making sure you put tartar sauce in customers orders. Second time now where they didn't give us any and now we're stuck with dry fish with no sauce. We even made sure to put it in the notes this time. I see that other customers have gotten Tartar sauce with their food but they seem to hate me or something. Food was good again but we had to go on Instacart to order a bottle of Tartar to go with our food. They need to have someone checking orders before they go out.

So I used to love this restaurant, the food there is good even though it isn't that affordable. I recently had a bad experience there a couple of days ago and the owner of the restaurant was the cause. She was extremely unprofessional and unsanitary. The lady was on the phone while trying to get orders ready, she was barely noticed me after 5 mins of me standing waiting on her to take my order, when my fish came out she let my food sit for over 10 mins waiting on the order before mine which made no sense considering all of the sides are cooked soI was very upset that my fish was cold, my breaking point was the fact she had gloves on she touched the customer's money with the same gloves never changed them and them proceeded to touch my food with her gloves. I am a germaphobe so that really put the icing on the cake. Never Again

Chose this spot on a whim for lunch based on the positive reviews on Yelp and Google. I ordered for me and my coworkers for pick up. They have great portion sizes, but each meal will cost you $20 which I feel is overpriced. I've had authentic soul food in Harlem so maybe I had high expectations. Question to the owners of a soul food restaurant, where's the cornbread??! 5/5 - Fried chicken was fried perfectly, not oily or greasy, moist and seasoned well. One order serves about 8 pieces. Yum! 5/5 - Fried Shrimp was excellent according to my coworkers. Clearly the fry person knows what they're doing! 2nd question, no cocktail sauce? 4/5 - Collard Greens were very tasty and well seasoned 4/5 - Seasoned Fries were tasty but I could tell they were frozen and not made fresh. Again, fried shrimp and fries for $20? 2/5 - Mac n Cheese was bland and boring. Didn't taste fresh. There was no soul involved in that process, I can promise you that. 1/5 - Candied Yams tasted oily and greasy. Didn't taste anything like candied yams or sweet potatoes. I would only return for the fried chicken and collard greens.

Love this place. They have catered a graduation party, Thanksgiving, birthdays, and a few other events. We think very highly about this establishment.

Tessey's is amazingly delightful! Literally, the BEST soul food in the Bronx. (On par with Blvd Bistro in Harlem, NY). The oxtail, Mac cheese and collard greens taste like a (loving) hug on a plate.

Unfortunately I have been experiencing stomach bug symptoms since the day I ate here. It's been three days, I don't want to ruin your appetite but the symptoms aren't vomiting. Both me and my bf are having the same symptoms. Idk what it is, I really enjoyed the food here but I'm wary now due to this experience. Proceed with caution. edit: I JUST read the other comment about there being a dog behind the serving counter in the past and the staff petting the dog before serving. This violates NYC health codes https://www.nyc.gov/assets/doh/downloads/pdf/rii/dog-dining-factsheet.pdf I am very concerned now that I'll have to go to the hospital due to food contamination and contracting a virus from who knows where. I cannot recommend this establishment unfortunately.

The food at this establishment is fantastic. I especially love the unique twist on their banana pudding which swaps out the usual nilla cookie for shortbread. It really was one of the best banana puddings' I've tasted. The jollof rice is currently a favorite. It was seasoned well with just a kick of spice! I can't forget about the fried fish and shrimp which was filling and delightfully tasty.

Made me very sick for days. My GF and I contracted stomach virus that is STILL affecting us days later. Can't say I would recommend trying this restaurant, but eat at your own risk.

I went to order take out. There were two staff behind the counter they seemed very pleasant. However they had a pit bull back there with them. One of them was sitting and petting the dog. The other asked her to prepare an order and she stood up and grabbed the spoon and began to scoop up rice. The restaurant appeared clean but the condiments containers were dusty with ketchup and sauce residue that looked like it had been wiped off in years. I could have dealt with that but the pet dander to hand and bare hand to prepare food was too much for me. There also isn't a partition blocking the staff from the food so she was sitting there rubbing the dog and I'm sure pet dander was all in the air.

Great food. The whitings, collard greens, and Spanish rice is out of this world. They give you a good portion to satisfy you for lunch or dinner.

Food here is A1. Jerk chicken is on point as well as the Mac and greens. Fried seafood is good as well as the portions with their food. Only complaint is I feel as if their prices have just been going up and up. Other than that the food is superb!

Hit or miss w/ the collard greens. They seem to never have any mostly cabbage available. If your lucky to get them they are okay nothing special. No menu to read from but a little paper menu that's by the register; so if someone is ahead of you then you can't see the menu. Extremely over priced. Won't be back.

The food is always hot and fresh. I typically get the catfish and it is prepared fresh (takes about 10 mins). My plate is always packed with food. The service is great. The cooks are friendly and the vibe is always good. Never had anything bad from here. It's typically busy but you can always call and order ahead.

First time ordering from Tessey's and definitely will not be my last. I had the fried catfish strips with collards and mac and cheese. So good! Fish was super crisp but not oily, collards and Mac were PERFECT. Hoping they have peach cobbler in stock next time I order, as that is all that was missing! Make sure to support this business!

Just ordered with this restaurant for the first time through Uber eats. I was really craving soul food but afraid to order online with a restaurant I've never tried before. I had a horrible experience ordering soul food with random places. Tessey's did not disappoint. The food was so delicious. I ordered fried shrimp, chicken wings, Mac and cheese and candied yams. I wish I would've taken some photos but I scarfed the food down before taking pics. Lol. This will be my go to spot for some soul food. By the way I hardly write reviews but I know how difficult it can be to find good food to order online so I thought I would share my experience so it can help others. Food was also packaged nice which I appreciate.

Customer Service Issue. I had to throw the order out... I was waiting for Sweet Potatoes. The cook (a little annoyed) brought out two sides of Sweet Potatoes in a bowl and threw them in the old empty Sweet Potatoes pan. The cook never took out the old pan and replaced it with a new pan of Sweet Potatoes. 1. Why wasn't a new pan of Sweet Potatoes brought out and my order taken from a new pan? 2. If the Sweet Potatoes were not ready and may have taken a little longer than what I was told, then that should have been made transparent, before I paid for the full order. I didn't trust to eat the Sweet Potatoes because of how they were delivered to me. Why wasn't my sweet potatoes from a fresh baked pan and not from a separate bowl dumped into a previous pan? I didn't say anything because I know how I get, when I get upset (not pretty at ALL). I really like Tessey's food, but this was unacceptable, as Food and Money has been wasted. I did not eat the Sweet Potatoes because, I just couldn't understand why my orders were not within a new pan. Keep in mind that the Sweet Potatoes were already paid for. I was just waiting for a new pan (not a bowl thrown into the old pan) to be brought out. Unacceptable Treatment. I know, I've should have said something but the cops would have been called because I explode when I get upset and I am working on self-control, but it is hard when people keep doing dumb CRAP. Unacceptable Treatment!

The BANANA PUDDING WAS SO DAMN GOOD I FORGOT WHAT ELSE I ORDERED!!! I didn't take a picture b/c that was the farthest thing from my mind. The 1st taste on my tastebuds made me forget about the virus! I hope they are open tomorrow. I want to expose my friends to the goodness.

Currently my favorite place to eat. Limited indoor dining options but that's ok. The food is spectacular. You can't go wrong ordering anything from here. Perfect if you want a homemade feel good meal. I would highly recommend

Happy to find Tessey's on door dash in my quest for soul food I found a really gem. My food was hot delicious and taste like southern soul food. I ordered the fried whitings fish and two sides collard greens and jolloff rice and extra sides of potato salad and extra greens and the banana pudding. Everything was so delicious. I will be a repeat customer from now on.

First time ordering seafood from this restaurant & judging from the menu pics I thought the food was going to be good. Appearances can be deceiving though. The most noticeable disappointment was that there was no corn & potatoes included with the crab legs which was shown on the menu. Never have I ever been served broccoli & carrots with a crab legs. Furthermore, everything was dry. Seems as if they just threw some old bay on top & added some butter & that was all. I could've made a better crab legs at home.

I don't often write reviews-but this restaurant is the truth The atmosphere is warm and friendly, the service is awesome and the food is great I have had several visits and every meal has been on point The portions are generous and delicious But I have to mention the banana pudding- light airy flavor filled and lactose free, it's live!!!!!! The oxtails are meaty and ample, the greens are on point the baked Mac and cheese is fantastic, the catfish is crispy and flaky, and not dry they fry it fresh when you order (hot damn) the jollof rice is delicious and I'm looking forward to my next visit since I like to try something new each time- so drop through and check them out and wear your elastic waist pants/skirt (Hot damn)

The owner is the best...pleasant and accommodating. Food is fresh and always tasty. Oh, they give generous portions

Wow, Tessey's International Kitchen was definitely excellent. I have zero complaints fair prices, absolutely worth for what you get. My friend got Crab Legs, which I tried and also loved. It was really flavorsome. The crew was very welcoming and service is great. Tessey's International Kitchen... Thanks and keep up the good work.

I understand it's COVID Times but I'm currently wanting 45 mins for 2ps of shrimp and fries. Missed my entire lunch break. Food is good but not hat good

We ordered the fried fish wish the Mac & cheese, sweet plantain, jolof rice and steamed vegetables. We had our food delivered and it arrived hot anD delish, the fish wasn't soggy from being in the steam. Sweet plantains were perfect. Mac and cheese was pretty good also. Husband enjoyed the jolof rice. Everything was good. We will definitely order from them again.

Oh my. My brother told me to order from here and the food was so good. I mean the collard greens needs some more seasoning which I just dolled up myself with a little vinegar, season salt and a pinch sugar and THEN it tasted just like my mothers greens, hahahahah, but the macaroni and jerk chicken and fries was slammin' !!!!!! I can't wait to order from them again.

I ordered chicken and waffles and also shrimp and seasoned fries and banana pudding, the chicken was seasoned nicely and the waffles were fluffy, and the shrimp were really good I liked the fried and the banana pudding tasted homemade so I will definitely order from here again the food was as close to the taste of home and everything was nice and hot

They girl who took my order said my food should take about 15 minutes it's been 30 plus and I'm still waiting wish I didn't pay first customer service is awful wasn't offered a drink of water or anything after paying almost 50 for my food lots of improvements to be made and still don't know how my food taste

I don't recommend there catering services our food didn't get there on time to a 4 hour event and our woman's appreciation event was ruined. The owner was very unprofessional and was not empathetic at all.

I went inside This establishment to ask to ya the restaurant the owner said no this is not a public bathroom so my girlfriend ask if we could buy something. As she went to pay to said " go ahead and us the restroom while I pay for you" the owner does ahead and Slams the door in my face and starts getting loud sayings any my girlfriend was giving her attitude and never gave me my refund for my drink so no I wouldn't recommend anyone to to an establishment where the owner treats customers as if they are inferior to her

My boyfriend and I got to the restaurant about 5 o clock. We were greeted and ordered right away, being that there were no customers before us. We both ordered baked salmon with 2 sides each and fried shrimp. The salmon is made to order and we were told it would take about 10-15 minutes. After 45 minutes go by, we're told it should be coming out soon. Long story short, we don't leave the establishment until 6:05 pm. Not sure why she would tell us 10-15 minutes knowing it would take much, much longer. The Mac and cheese was bland, noodles were over cooked, which was a big disappointment. Collard greens were okay, baked salmon was okay. Food was mediocre and definitely not worth the prices they charge or the wait that comes with it. Won't be returning.

I've been twice. The first time I got oxtail, which was superb. Two days ago I got the jerk chicken with rice and collard greens, also delicious. The rice had green olives in it, a nice touch that went well with the greens. I was waited on by a different person each time; both were helpful and pleasant.

By far the best soul food around these areas. I was really impressed with the presentation of everything . The portions are actually generous , and for the flavor much appreciated . Again I was expecting to find this restaurant to be exactly like the others , a one time experience. But I must say tessey's is the real deal and that banana pudding !!!!!!!!!

We heard about this restaurant through restaurant.com. Ordered food with a printed discount code that clearly stated it didn't expire. Showed up and the owner said they don't accept my promo code and they wouldn't honor the money I spent from restaurant.com on their business. I wasted my time walking 20min there and now I am out of the money I spent. I even offered to take 8$ worth of food instead of the 15$ worth i paid for. I wanted to support and try it out. I did not purchase the food after they declined my coupon. The food did not look appetizing and I am not really into wingettes.

We ordered the baked turkey wings, whiting, jollof rice and banana pudding. Everything was excellent. We will order from here again and again. I immediately recommended this spot to family members and will continue to do so.

I was craving soul food ! It was Definitely worth the wait ! First time having soul food in the Bronx and I've lived here all my life ! The fried chicken and bbq was amazing ! My favorite was the candied yams !! I will definitely be ordering from here again ! Keep up the good job guys !

i love the fact that they greet you with respect & are very pleasant ppl and usually i cook my own soul food for these very reasons #1 the oxtails are tender but kind of bland some were seasoned & some was bland #2the mac & cheese taste like sour cream with salt &pepper but it was cheesey #3the yams was not sweet at all but i kind of knew before i taste them due to the color to orange & the fish would be sooo much better if they would season it better & use some cornmeal with a little seasoning in it that would have taste soooo much better i soent $70 & my husband & daughter was so mad after a few bites in the garbage the food went but their banana pudding is delicioussssss!!i would recommend & the crab legs my friend ordered was mediocre i had to make my garlic butter sauce for her to enjoy them overall very clean establishment & hospitality is great but the cook has to go & take cooking lessons no disrespect but i won't be back!!!!sb:my 12 yr old daughter was soooo mad she said howww you mess up the mac&cheese ma & fried fish she was dissapointed smh never again eat at your own risk ppl!!!