The fried catfish at the Gritz Cafe is so good I’d walk through fire for it…but only if owner Trina Jiles is on hand to put out the flames. At age 22, Trina became the very first black female firefighter in Clark County and the second in the state of Nevada. Not one to stand pat while breaking barriers, Trina also became the county’s first Black female arson investigator. When she retired from putting out fires, she decided the only flames she wanted to play with were those from a kitchen. After 21 years of public service, she retired in 2017 to focus full-time on Gritz Cafe, the Southern-style eatery she founded in 2008 in the Historic Westside
The aptly named restaurant reflects the personality and energy of its founder. Although Trina wasn’t available on the day of our inaugural visit, we gleaned from the 2025 episode of Somebody Feed Phil that she’s friendly and welcoming…just like her staff. During that episode, Phil started the day with former teen idol cum Vegas entertainer Donny Osmond. Phil and Donny sampled sweet potato chicken waffles, catfish, butter pecan waffles, grits, and peach cobbler, raving about every item they shared. Trina was obviously very proud of her restaurant–and it shows from all the plaques, certificates and newspaper clippings on the wall.
Since its launch in 2028, the Las Vegas Review-Journal has named Gritz Café to its prestigious Top 100 Restaurants list multiple times, including in 2024, 2025, and 2026. Voters have repeatedly honored the restaurant in the annual Best of Las Vegas awards, including wins in 2022, 2024, and 2025. In 2025, it took home titles for both Soul Food and Chicken & Waffles. In 2024, The Las Vegas Urban Chamber of Commerce presented Gritz Cafe with the Chairman Award in recognition of its lasting impact, resilience, and service to the local community. The cafe has served as a nationally noted cultural and political gathering hub. It has hosted such major figures as former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton during her 2016 presidential campaign, as well as entertainers like hip-hop artist Warren G. Walls are festooned with colorful black art, including paintings of Malcolm X.
The recipes at Gritz Café in Las Vegas are family heirlooms rooted in Louisiana’s culinary traditions. The Historic Westside restaurant draws heavily from the Great Migration—a period when many Black families moved from Louisiana towns like Tallulah to Las Vegas, bringing their home cooking with them. NOTE: The Great Migration is very well documented in The Warmth of Other Suns by Isabel Wilkerson. It is an oustanding book. The Gritz menu honors traditional Southern soul food—a cuisine born from enslaved people using skill and seasoning to transform basic ingredients and scraps into rich, comforting dishes.
Although the menu is four pages long, our server told us most diners don’t get past the first section of the menu. Fittingly it’s titled “Gritz Favorites” and it lists such fabulous favorites as catfish and waffles, chicken and waffles and maybe the perfect Soul Food plate ever: The Holy Trinity (Three Wings or Catfish Filets, Collard Greens, Candied Yams, Mac & Cheese, and Cornbread). When I asked our server how a restaurant so tiny could have such a huge reputation, she told me I’d have my answer when I finished lunch. True enough. Gritz is probably the best Soul Food restaurant we’ve visited in Las Vegas.
Though I pride myself on the diversity of my restaurant orders, whenever we visit a Soul Food restaurant I will always order catfish. That stems from having lived for eight years in Mississippi, the number one producer of farm-raised catfish in the United States. Mississippi catfish is the best in the country, by far. The three golden fried catfish and waffle plate (served with gritz or potatoes or two eggs) at Gritz was every bit as good as the best catfish we had in the Magnolia State. Each of the three filets is coated in a very light and crispy golden breading. That cornmeal and flour coating allows the natural flavor of the fish to shine through with savory Southern seasoning. It’s absolutely outstanding! So is the sweet potato waffle with just a little bit of syrup.
My love for catfish is well eclipsed by my Kim’s love of fried chicken. Though she has an avian appetite compared with mine, she polished off her entire order of three crispy fried chicken and waffles (served with gritz or potatoes or two eggs). The chicken’s classic Southern-style preparation features a light, golden-brown crust with a pronounced, satisfying crunch that isn’t heavy or greasy. Fried to order, each full wing has a delicate, crisp exterior and a remarkably juicy, tender interior. It’s well-seasoned with a traditional Southern spice blend that highlights the poultry without being overly salty. My Kim generously shared just enough of her chicken for me to appreciate just how good Gritz prepares it.
Gritz offers only three desserts: sweet potato pie, buttery peach cobbler and lemon cake. It wouldn’t be a Soul Food meal without sweet potato pie. Sweet potato pie is far more than a seasonal dessert in the American South. It is a deep symbol of history, resilience, family heritage, and cultural identity, particularly within Black Southern and soul food traditions. For enslaved Africans, the sweet, starchy root vegetable served as a familiar substitute for the tropical yams of their homeland. Gritz’ version is a smooth, traditional style of sweet potato pie with a rich, homestyle flavor. It’s packaged for take-out, not that it would ever have made it to our car.
Even if it may mean not having my beloved catfish plate next time we visit Gritz, next time we’ve got to try the restaurant’s namesake dish. Gritz serves grits entrees with various proteins: crispy bacon (pork or turkey), juicy hotlink, shrimp (fried or grilled), sausage (pork or turkey) as well as wings or catfish. There will definitely be a next time!
Gritz Cafe
1911 Stella Lake Street
Las Vegas, Nevada
(702) 255-4748
Website | Facebook Page
LATEST VISIT: 9 November 2026
# OF VISITS: 1
RATING: N/R
COST: $$$
BEST BET: Fried Catfish Plate, Sweet Potato Waffle, Fried Chicken, Waffle, House Potatoes, Sweet Potato Pie
REVIEW #1564