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Ratings and reviews

RATINGS
Food
Service
Value

Details

CUISINES
American
Meals
Lunch
FEATURES
Takeout, Parking Available, Wheelchair Accessible, Accepts American Express, Accepts Mastercard, Accepts Visa, Accepts Discover, Accepts Credit Cards, Drive Thru, Gift Cards Available
Reviews (79)
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78 results
Traveller rating
58
13
4
3
0
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Time of year
LanguageEnglish
Traveller rating
58
13
4
3
0
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Reviewed 17 November 2023

Mama Reta is the queen of soul food in the part of lake charles that has a soul. You don't wanna miss eating her chicken and sausage gumbo and the fried catfish, get em both!! You can order ahead of time and go pick it...up!! Make it a party and go big, don't forget them sweet potato cookies and tea cakes! My Dad has known Reta and her mama since the 1960s and now he lives up here near me in Durham NC and we do not lose touch or stop ordering food for special occasions from Mama Reta!More

Date of visit: November 2023
Helpful?
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Reviewed 21 March 2023 via mobile

Food and service was amazing!! I've never eaten anything so good in my life! Was a whole new experience! Highly recommend Mama Reta's to everyone!

Date of visit: March 2023
Helpful?2  
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Mama Reta's Kitchen LLC, Owner at Mama Reta's Kitchen, responded to this reviewResponded 23 March 2023

Hello! Thank you for coming by Mama Reta's Kitchen! It was our pleasure to serve you the best food on this side of heaven! :-) Come back to see us again! Love, MRK

Reviewed 22 August 2022 via mobile

Food was not hot and fresh. Went by the reviews and really wanted to enjoy it. But the Mac and cheese had no taste and our chicken wasn’t fresh or hot. Tea was way to sweet we couldn’t drink it. I love soul food but...this left me wanting to try a diff soul food restaurant.More

Date of visit: August 2022
Helpful?
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Mama Reta's Kitchen LLC, Owner at Mama Reta's Kitchen, responded to this reviewResponded 20 December 2022

Hello, we are sorry your experience was not that what you expected. We always strive to serving our customers with our best. Mama Reta will always make something right if you are not happy. Please give us another try. Again, our apologies.

Reviewed 3 June 2022 via mobile

This location has CLOSED. The new location (take out only) is located at 1916 Belden Street in Lake Charles. It is right off of I -10 interstate.

Date of visit: May 2022
Helpful?1  
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Reviewed 3 March 2020

While this diner is off the beaten path, it was easy to find. Parking was somewhat of a problem as the empty lot across the street was blocked off. This is a reasonably priced meat and three. They offer a large variety of veggies. I...ordered the vegetable plate which had such large servings it could have fed two people. The mac ‘n cheese was so delicious for the first two bites until I realized it had jalapeño peppers in it and started burning my throat. The green beans were also seasoned with jalapeño pepper juice. Fried okra and yams rounded out my veggie plate. My hubby had the cheeseburger and onion rings; he loved the sweet, grilled bun and was kind enough to share an onion ring with me. It was delicious! Several servers came around asking if we wanted a slice of free cake-maybe they had made too much and were trying to offload it??? They also offer sweet potato cookies which I wanted to try, but I was too stuffed from my meal, so maybe on the next visit! Be sure to look up at what looks like a reclaimed, white-washed wooden floor. It’s beautiful!More

Date of visit: March 2020
Helpful?2  
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Reviewed 22 January 2020

We LOVE soul food especially visiting Louisiana and we chose Mama Reta's from an online list. We were NOT disappointed! Went for lunch; one had the shrimp po'boy and I went for the vegetable 4 some- fried okra, smothered cabbage, salad and red beans. Comes...with cornbread and all was delicious! Mama Reta strolls the tables and she's a delight. Clean, easy parking and in a walkable area of downtown Lake Charles.More

Date of visit: January 2020
Helpful?4  
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Reviewed 31 December 2019

Our first stop in Loiusiana was Lake Charles to have lunch with the super charming Mama Reta. Catfish, chicken & sausage gumbo, cornbread & smothered okra followed by strawberry vanilla cake (complimentary) for dessert. We got sweet potato cookies to go! It was so unbelievably...delicious! Mama Reta is highly visible and you can tell that the food is cooked with love and pride!More

Date of visit: December 2019
Helpful?1  
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Reviewed 27 October 2019 via mobile

We visited this place on a Sunday afternoon. Great place, great food, great service. Easy on and off the freeway.

Date of visit: October 2019
Helpful?1  
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Reviewed 28 August 2019 via mobile

Can’t wait to come back tomorrow! Delicious!! Meatball stew, mash, macaroni and cheese, and cake are outstanding. Staff is super friendly. This place is cute and comfortable. Wish I would have known about it sooner.

Date of visit: August 2019
Helpful?1  
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Reviewed 9 July 2019

On simple words... The best fried chicken ever! Just delicious! Accurately crunchy and juicy! Specially spiced. They offer good desserts and sides... They have a weekly lunch which varies every day but also have a complete menu available. The owner attend you personally with their...pleasant guests.More

Date of visit: June 2019
Helpful?3  
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Reviewed 27 June 2019 via mobile

My intentions were to take a pic of my meal but once I got my meal I forgot lol! The chicken was fried to perfection and the gumbo was delicious! You really get a bang for your buck. The owner came over and greeted us,...that put the icing on the cake. We will definitely visit again!More

Date of visit: June 2019
Helpful?2  
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Reviewed 26 June 2019

I wish I could give this place more than five stars! So it's not upscale cuisine five stars, but if you look at the amazing food, the great hospitality and the reasonable prices...it is truly five star worthy! We read Yelp reviews about Mama Reta's...and knew we had to give it a try on our visit to Lake Charles. We were not disappointed! Every single thing we had was delicious. I won't lie, we don't live in an area with Southern cooking...so I can't pretend to be an expert...but all I know is that this was fabulous comfort food! We started with a huge bowl of gumbo, that three of us shared. Then we had two orders of the catfish special, an order of fried wings, along with a 4 "vegetable" side meal, so that we could all share the delicious sides they have. We had so much food, and one thing was better than the other! My favorites were the fried okra and smothered cabbage, my husband loved the pepper sauce and the mustard greens and my daughter was a big fan of the gumbo and the fried wings. Our waitress was going to bring out cornbread and I think she forgot, because we never got any and it would've been nice to try, but despite that, we didn't miss it because we were stuffed!!! To top it all off, your meal comes with a slice of AMAZING cake. It seems so simple, and basic...vanilla cake with a caramel icing...but it is delicious. We loved everything. Mama Reta even made her rounds to the tables, and my husband raved to her about everything and asked her about the unique pepper sauce that we had never seen, that was out on the tables. With a big smile, she gave my husband a little gift and truly showed us what Southern hospitality is all about. We had a memorable, delicious lunch and we bet you will too!More

Date of visit: June 2019
Helpful?3  
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Reviewed 17 June 2019 via mobile

We loved the staff and food at Mama Rita’s. We were lucky to find it by accident and were spoiled by this little gem. Food was the best we’ve had on our trip! Can’t wait to try it again!

Date of visit: June 2019
Helpful?2  
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Reviewed 3 June 2019 via mobile

Limited menu. Daily specials. Great sides. Very good fried chicken with a nice crust and moist meat but not greasy. Everything we tried had a slight spicy undertone. Excellent friendly service. Undrinkable iced tea, hence the three stars.

Date of visit: June 2019
Helpful?2  
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Reviewed 29 May 2019

We took a side trip off Hwy 10 for lunch and my wife saw this place when driving through Lake Charles and we simply parked and went in for lunch. A quaint city venue with good cooking and modest prices for local cuisine. Even Mama...Reta stopped my our table as she could clearly see we were outsiders from her repeat customers. The food and service good and we'll stop again when in and about Lake Charles.More

Date of visit: May 2019
Helpful?1  
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
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MAMA RETA'S KITCHEN, Lake Charles - Restaurant Reviews, Phone Number & Photos - Tripadvisor

Frequently Asked Questions about Mama Reta's Kitchen

Yes, Mama Reta's Kitchen offers takeaway services.

Mama Reta's Kitchen is rated accordingly in the following categories by Tripadvisor travellers:
  • Food: 4.5
  • Service: 5
  • Value: 4.5