Bayou Eats | TIMEZ KITCHEN AND KOCKTAIL

Article by Starla Gatson
Styling by Maré Brennan 
Photography by Kelly Moore Clark

The Timez menu is diverse enough to accommodate a variety of tastes and includes dishes like the Old Timez Cheeseburger, chicken tenders and wings, chef and spring salads, grilled salmon, and fried catfish. Besides an impressive lunch and dinner menu, Timez Kitchen and Kocktails also has an extensive drink menu complete with plenty of signature drinks.

Breshatta Davis likes to say she went from the bar to the state bar. Since graduating from the Southern University Law Center and passing the Louisiana State Bar Exam in 2019, Davis has been an attorney, splitting her time between her two law firms in Monroe and Baton Rouge, respectively. She also leads Future Lawyer Academy, a nonprofit focused on mentoring students who aspire to legal careers. 

Before beginning her legal career, Davis could most often be found mixing and serving drinks. Years of working as a bartender helped the Monroe native pay her way through law school. Beyond that, it sparked a love for the service industry within her, and that passion for serving guests quality food and drink is the very foundation on which she has built Timez Kitchen and Kocktail.

Timez opened at 1207 Desiard Street in March 2026, but the idea of restaurateurship existed in Davis’s mind long before then. 

“I always wanted to have a sports bar,” Davis says, explaining her vision for a space tailored to women, complete with pink barstools and purse hooks. “I bartended and worked at Olive Garden and Red Lobster, while I was in high school. In college, I worked at a couple of hotels, so I’ve always been in the service industry, and I’ve always loved it. It’s something I had a heart for, a heart for people and a heart to have those conversations at the bar.”

When Davis returned to Monroe upon graduating law school, she noticed a gap in her hometown’s restaurant market that shifted her sports bar dreams.

“I always longed for that good soul food,” she explains. “There used to be Granny’s, Catfish Cabin, Hollywood Snack Bar, Big Momma’s, but they all shut down. I was getting the southern comfort food in a lot of other places [I traveled], but a lot of the restaurants that served it in Monroe were shutting down.” 

Davis believes people should give back to the communities that raised them. When she saw the hole that these now-defunct soul food kitchens left behind, she was determined to fill it. And she knew just who to call upon to help. 

“[My mom] had been a cook at Lakeshore Elementary,” Davis says. “She worked there for over 20 years, and a lot of the kids that went there loved Ms. Glenda’s cooking.” 

Davis’s mother, who had only recently retired, picked up an apron and followed her daughter back into the kitchen. The duo, along with a small group of hired cooks, family members, and close friends, got to work setting a menu. According to Davis, the group used dishes they already enjoyed — Olive Garden pastas, LongHorn Steakhouse lamb chops, fried chicken, and fried fish, for instance — as reference points. Then, they began creating their own versions of these meals, tailoring them to their unique palates and preferences. Davis says they also drew inspiration from recipes passed down through her and her friends’ families.

“We prepared the food with those family recipes, and then we voted on a favorite and taught all the cooks that particular recipe,” she remembers. 

Finally, Davis and her team landed on a menu she was pleased with. That wasn’t easy, she says with a laugh, adding, “I didn’t let anything on the menu, until it passed my test. I have very high standards.” 

With her stamp of approval on the dishes, there was only one thing left to do: open for business. The community responded to Timez quickly, and business picked up so fast that Davis had to open up a patio space to accommodate more patrons. From 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. and 5:00 to 9:30 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday and noon to 7:00 p.m. Sunday, guests settle into a booth inside or claim a table outside to enjoy the dishes Davis, her mother, and the rest of the Timez Kitchen crew have concocted. 

The Timez menu is diverse enough to accommodate a variety of tastes and includes dishes like the Old Timez Cheeseburger, chicken tenders and wings, chef and spring salads, grilled salmon, and fried catfish. The Lamb Chop Lollipops are also a fan-favorite, Davis says, adding that, though she loves everything she serves, they’re her top pick. 

“I truly believe we have the best lamb chops in the state,” she declares. “There’s a nice sauce with them, but the dish can stand alone. They’re just good.” 

The side dish selection, a soul food-lover’s delight, is where the family recipes come in. Classic comforting dishes like macaroni and cheese, mustard greens, candied yams, black-eyed peas, fried okra, cornbread, and hush puppies make up this menu. Each is made by Davis’s mother, who functions as the Timez kitchen manager. Regardless of what you order, Davis assures that her mother and the rest of the kitchen staff cook it the same way: “With love, that extra ingredient you can’t buy in stores.” 

Besides an impressive lunch and dinner menu, Timez Kitchen and Kocktails also has an extensive drink menu complete with plenty of signature drinks — a given, considering the establishment’s name. Vodka enthusiasts can round out their meal with a Time Keeper — with vodka, coffee liqueur, Irish cream, and espresso. It’s Timez’s take on the classic espresso martini — or an Overtime Moscow Mule. Bourbon fans might enjoy a Timeless Old Fashion, which blends bourbon with bitters and simple syrup, or a Golden Hour, a mixture of bourbon, honey syrup, bitters, and lemon juice. 

Davis says she’s proud of each food and drink item her restaurant offers, declaring, “I truly love them all.” She’s equally as pleased with the atmosphere she has created within Timez. Marbled white tabletops, gold accents, and black tables, chairs, and shelves give the space a clean, upscale feel that, according to Davis, patrons often compliment. She notes that her guests are often particularly struck by the clock wall — “I have about 40 clocks on one wall,” Davis explains — and the greenery-covered patio swing. 

Elements like these, plus the decor pieces she personally sourced from places like T.J. Maxx and Ross, show just how much energy Davis put into Timez’s interior design. She wanted her restaurant to look nice, she says, not just for aesthetic purposes but to make sure it could serve each of her guests well. The choices she’s made, including thoughtful decor and a dress code — no revealing clothing, no garments displaying obscenities, and no sleepwear — aim to ensure every guest’s comfort and keep Timez family-friendly. Judging by the wide range of customers she and her staff have hosted, Davis’s effort has paid off. 

“People are deciding to spend their birthdays with us, people have proposed with us, they’ve had their anniversaries with us,” she says. “I had one group bring their grandma to celebrate her 97th birthday with us. I love that all kinds of people are experiencing some of life’s best moments inside of Timez.” 

Her hope is that they continue coming back and spread the word about what her restaurant has to offer so that new faces begin to come through the doors, too. She says she’s noticed that people in Ouachita Parish like to stick to what’s familiar and encourages them to branch out and try something new in their community. 

“Things like BayouLife and Discover Monroe-West Monroe help people discover little treasures that they may not have even known were in Monroe,” she says. And, she adds, there are plenty of little treasures to be discovered. “It’s such a growing town, and I’m excited we’re all doing our part to bring life to it.”