Doc Witherspoon's Soul Food Shack

The atmosphere is wonderful here, the food is beyond any place I've been. The prices are so cheap for the high quality of food. It is cooked with soul for sure! The owner and staff are friendly and the music is an amazing touch. The art work is also a beautiful touch with paintings that have so much feeling. This is my new favorite place. I am a picky eater and this food was beyond perfection. Absolutely 20 out of 10!

First time in Minnesota literally 16 hours away from my home state and i was craving something familiar. The mac & cheese was amazing , the greens were seasoned to perfection and the cornbread you could tell it didn’t come from no box. But the star of the show was the fried chicken I have never tasted a more flavorful or juicy piece of chicken in my life ! And what ever he put in that crust “ought” to be a trade secret! The food hit every tastebud i had. I also met the owner who was an amazingly humble guy. He made me feel welcome in an unfamiliar place. The restaurant decor was also something to behold beautiful art and memorabilia plastered all over the walls with great music playing. The whole restaurant was a vibe! I can’t wait to go back if i could give this place 10 stars I would!

I ordered the bucket of fried chicken to go, so it took some time to prepare. The owner was very friendly and even offered me a beverage while I was waiting; it's very nice. The restaurant was very nice and clean. The fried chicken was delicious. Less than expected seasoning on the fried chicken, but that's probably me been trained by overly seasoned KFC; it's juicy and delicious none the less.

This place has a new vibe for down town! Your going to wanna eat here every night! Fresh food real ingredients the owner is nice chill and down to earth clean dinning area with beautiful art work. A little pricey but I’d say defiantly worth it!

The food here is AMAZING - the best fried chicken I've ever had, collard greens to die for, the cornbread stuffing is perfection, everything else we had was soooo good. Not only was the food great, but the experience was like none other. The owner was so welcoming, turned on soul music for us when we dat down, and told us crazy stories about his life and about his beautiful family member portraits on the walls. This will be a new regular stop we make on our trips up north. Thanks so much!

I needed a big meal before the Grandma's race, and these guys came through! Friendly service and excellent food. I love fried chicken and if you're in Duluth, this is the place.

Tried this as something new and it was a great choice! Fried Chicken and Andouille sausage (it's like a spicy kielbasa or ring bologna for those wondering were both really good. The chicken-skin was fried too perfection. Comes with the best cornbread you will probably ever have (seriously; I bought 6 to go!). With a crazy choice of blueberry or strawberry butter! Delicious. Honestly though, the Dirty Rice style the show. I've been never had better at Restaurant. Insanely good, you could make an entire meal of just that and not be wrong.
I try to always be honest in my reviews, so I must note the few downsides: it did take a bit for our orders to come out, never the owner brought them and it was well well worth the wait. Also there were a couple items missing from our order at first. However, when brought to staff attention it was Immediately rectified and brought out.
In truth, these really just highlight how good the above was, we all make mistakes, Doc's staff deadly with it extremely well.
The beautiful ladies out front were friendly and took great care of us and the cook really knows his way around that soul food flavour.
The place has a fresh look and relaxing atmosphere. As well as being very, very clean. The hand painted at on the walls is lovely and very well done.
Despite, perhaps because of, the few hiccups, I definitely neglect Doc's earns that 5th 🌟....
I highly recommend it. I don't think you can really go wrong here.

Good home cooking in a quiet setting among locals. The catfish was sold out but the special was a tasty pork sandwich with cheese and a touch of horseradish sauce. Also ordered fried chicken- nicely prepared, crispy not greasy. The corn bead stuffing side was quite good. Really liked stepping into the attached bar to pick up pints of beer to bring back to our table. The meals were an excellent value compared to more high profile crowded establishments. We will be back next time we visit Duluth.

A great little spot. Beautiful art, nice atmosphere. Everyone is friendly, fast service. The food is BOMB. It's not quite as good as grandma's home cooking but it is definitely delicious soul food. Unmatched this far north. Not to be missed.

Literally the BEST fried chicken I've ever had (sorry, Grandma!). I make pretty good fried chicken myself, but this was beyond amazing. It took some serious willpower not to pull over and have a piece on the way home.

This was our first time ordering here, and def not the last. They were going to close up an hour early, but kept the kitchen open to complete my pick-up order, which was really kind. We also ordered collard greens (very good) dirty rice (amazing) and corn bread. The corn bread might also be the best I've ever had---but I'll have to go back a few times to make sure. ;) Also had beignets, which were good, but mine are better, Just saying!

An excellent and welcome addition to the Duluth food scene!

Such an awesome place! My girlfriend got the fried chicken with the barbecue beans and I got the fried catfish with the mac and cheese and both came with cornbread. Both of these meals were packed with flavor and were just spectacular. The owner is so kind and friendly as well. He stopped by our table to ask about the food and gave us a brief history of his restaurant. He pointed out a few pictures on the wall such as the picture of his Mother and Father working in the kitchen of their restaurant out in West Duluth during the 1960's and the picture of their original menu. The food was amazing and the hospitality was better. This place will definitely be one of my a go to spots for both lunch and dinner.

Absolutely loved it. The food was incredible. its the best fried chicken I've found this far north, definitely worth it. The vibe/atmosphere was beyond welcoming. Felt like I'd been there a million times before the first time I walked in, super cozy, low lighting, amazing music, art everywhere you look. The owner is the best. Super chill, very personable, it just feels like he wants to make your soul happy with his food, and he does. Definitely going back, definitely recommend.

Soul Mac and cornbread donut were delicious. The owner of the restaurant was very nice and helpful. This was a fun restaurant and it's a go to when I'm in Duluth!

Soooo good! Husband and I went for the first time tonight (definitely won’t be the last!) The vibe is very cool— the hand painted murals are beautiful. It’s super clean. We had fried chicken, catfish, mac & cheese, dirty rice- all were prepared and cooked perfectly. The cornbread donuts are to die for! My husband said the homemade bbq sauce was the best he’s ever had. And the catfish was the best I’ve ever had. The owner is super helpful and a good, kind man. The price is right! We are so lucky to have a restaurant like this one in our community. I’m excited to take my adult kids here when they visit.

The chicken was SO good! Bought two buckets which was a ton of hot, delicious food. The dirty rice was super tasty as were the corn bread donuts. Also- very reasonably priced. My whole family gives it two thumbs up and we will definitely be going back.

We were in town to see the Christmas lights, and saw this on Google maps. We ordered the catfish with an extra fillet cornbread dressing and mac & cheese x 2. Also the fried chicken with mac & cheese and collard greens, also sweet potato pie and beignets. All were cooked while I waited and made from scratch. Everything was fantastic tasting. This a golden gem and when we are in Duluth, we will be back. Everything we had came to about 72 dollars. The owner was great too, go here for great food.

Good food, connected to one of my favorite bars in Duluth. It's super nice to be able to grab a beer and bring it over for my dinner. The owner, Stuzz, is super friendly and definitely made us feel at home. The fried chicken, fried catfish and collard greens were perfect, and the cornbread sure wasn't bad either.

Duluth has some hidden gems and this is one of them. This is good food. She had the catfish and I had the fried chicken, we shared everything. I'm sold. Everything was incredible. I don't think I've ever had better fried chicken, the catfish was amazing, the collard greens had kick, the cornbread was out of this world...we'll be back.

Wonderful place. We had catfish, cornbread dressing, mac and cheese, dirty rice! All was excellent! We will definitely be going back. We loved hearing the story from what I assume the owner about his parents and there cooking! Thank you for a great meal!

Soul food is the perfect way to describe dinner. I enjoyed the Catfish Dinner with Mac& Cheese and the Baked beans. Great flavor with every bite. Loved the live music and the appearance by Spoon himself. Great atmosphere and great food. Will have to come back for lunch someday.