We took a Columbus newbie for some old-school soul food. Here’s what we ate.
The Royal Cafe is simple and old-school. It’s about as Columbus as you can get.
At 600 11th Street, Lila Star opened the restaurant in 1964, and it is one of the oldest meat-and-three spots in the city.
Among the restaurant’s strongest claim to fame is its tie to the late model and actress Kim Porter. Kim, a Columbus native, had an on-and-off relationship with famous music producer and executive Sean “Diddy” Combs. Kim’s mother, Sarah Porter, owned the restaurant for a time. Star was Kim’s grandmother, according to Ledger-Enquirer archives.
The long, brick building and its tall yellow and blue sign sit in the shadows of the Muscogee County Jail and St. James AME Church. It’s hard to miss.
Inside, the rotating menu choices are written on chalkboards located at both ends of the dining room. If you’re dining in, the food is served in a vintage, hard plastic cafeteria tray that might give you flashbacks to elementary school decades ago.
For this Foodie Friday, we wanted to celebrate an achievement and introduce a new Columbus resident to one of the city’s classic restaurants.
I’ve now lived in Columbus for a full year, and the Ledger has a new newsroom employee: regional video producer Ashley Reese. She moved here from Hilton Head, South Carolina, and is spending a few months with us. I’d wanted to try Royal for a time now, and this was the perfect excuse.
We sat at a table to study the menu board and make our selections. I was stuck between the fried salmon — which is served as salmon patties — or the hamburger steak. So, I asked my server to help me decide.
I went with the hamburger steak. The sides were much easier to pick. I chose the mustard greens, the creamy mashed potatoes and cabbage. A fried cornbread patty and a piece of blackberry cobbler rounded out the meal.
While you’re waiting for your order, you’ll notice the crowd is a little older. Those folks have come here for generations, and when you try those mustard greens, you’ll understand why they keep coming back.
They were the best I’ve ever had. They were well-prepared and had a tinge of smokiness that came through on the first bite. You have no reason to fear watery, bland greens here.
The sides impressed all diners with the greens standing as the favorite. The yams were noteworthy but sweet. They’re almost like a dessert on their own, but I’m not complaining. The cabbage was crisp and had a light crunch to it.
The hamburger steak was about the size of my fist and sat in a pool of thin, brown gravy with a few onion slivers. The beef patty was seasoned to perfection and cooked all the way through. You could cut it with your fork, and it’s the perfect thing to dip in Royal’s smooth mashed potatoes and gravy.
Once the beef was gone, I used the fried cornbread to sop up any gravy I could.
The blackberry cobbler was the last thing I consumed, and it put the meal on another level. The tart berries paired great with the sweet cobbler crust. Reese, our Columbus newbie, couldn’t stop eating it. I took my first bite and closed my eyes in bliss.
A meat, three sides, your choice of bread, a drink and dessert will run you about $11 dollars before you leave the tip. The portions are large, and you’ll leave full.
The Royal Cafe is a Columbus classic that should be enjoyed for generations to come.
This story was originally published March 13, 2020 at 6:00 AM.