Cheryl's Global Soul — Black-Owned Brooklyn

Cheryl Smith, owner of Cheryl’s Global Soul, was constantly nudged by her Jamaican mother to learn how to cook. “I was like, ‘Are you teaching my brothers too?’” she says of her defiant younger self. But when she moved to Brooklyn at age 19, broke and hungry, it was time.

“Once I started cooking I realized it’s a very intuitive thing for me,” says Cheryl, who built a reputation for amazing dinner parties before starting a small catering business and going on to cook at some of the city’s finest restaurants. Her chops even landed her a Food Network show, Melting Pot, from 2001 to 2002 and stints on the channel’s other programs throughout the early aughts.

In 2006 she took a leap of faith to open Cheryl’s Global Soul in Prospect Heights. “It was a little daunting because the failure rate in restaurants is super high,” says Cheryl, who’s going strong 12 years later. “I love that I prayed for this, and it’s become this great meeting place for so many wonderful and creative people.”

Cheryl says the concept of her restaurant is often misinterpreted. “When people see the name, they immediately think soul food, like it’s Black American soul food or Caribbean soul food,” she says. “But every culture has its soul food. What it means is food that feeds the soul, that makes you feel centered and satisfied.” Accordingly, her menu of local ingredients incorporates comforting world flavors: Thai coconut curry mussels, for example, Moroccan vegetable stew and bulgogi-marinated rib eye steak. “Then again,” she continues, “Breakfast here is just straight-up great eggs.”

“When people see the name, they immediately think soul food, like it’s Black American soul food or Caribbean soul food. But every culture has its soul food. What it means is food that feeds the soul, that makes you feel centered and satisfied.”

We had Cheryl’s legendary breakfast on a recent visit, including some of the BEST pancakes in Brooklyn, served with blueberry compote and Chantilly cream; a brightly flavored dish of huevos rancheros; and a cured-smoked salmon platter piled with capers, crisp veggies, avocado and boiled egg. Pro-tip: get the prix fixe brunch for coffee or tea, plus a Bloody Mary or mimosa, with your entree.

Cozy and quaint, the interior of Cheryl’s Global Soul is lined with planks of raw wood and exposed white brick “In the islands a lot of people, when they get married, they build a little house with four walls,” says Cheryl. “As the family grows, they’ll add another room onto that, so an exterior wall becomes an interior wall. The wood reminded me of those old homes up in the country in the islands of Jamaica.”

Warming up the dining room are strings of colorful lights and, “for good fortitude,” a vintage painting of a happy elephant. “I wanted a comfortable neighborhood spot where there’s always a conversation sparked up,” Cheryl says. “Even if you’re dining alone, you’ll never feel alone in this space.”