South Kitchen + Bar — Restaurant in Athens-Clarke County Unified Government

Ok I have a new favorite restaurant... for more than a few reasons. If you don’t want to read the whole review about how great this place is from top to bottom I’ll put the TLDR right here. Big party 10/10 Best brunch 10/10 Without a doubt best service HANDS DOWN 11/10 Beautiful building 10/10 Ambiance 10/10.

Ok so on to the meat. I scheduled for a party of 10 for my mom’s 76th birthday party. She had other plans and invited over 30 people. When we arrived at the time we were supposed to be there there were already 15 people outside. Crap. I go inside and explain to the hostess that we have screwed up the logistics of the rest of their brunch. Indy was an angel. She said no worries. What do you mean no worries??? We are going to have 10-15 MORE people. To say they were accommodating is an understatement. My mom is in a wheelchair and there were steps. I let Indy know because my mom and the rest of her guests were stil outside. Queen Indy again says no worries. I’ll bring you to the elevator in the back. Whaaaaat??? As she walks us back she begins to tell us the history of the building and is just so friendly. Even asked if I needed her to PUSH MY MOM. WHAAAAT??? She could not possibly be any sweeter.

So we get off the elevator and she tells us that there will be a short wait while they prepare the table for the extra guests. Of course that’s no problem. Our server Emily shows us to the table and it’s gorgeous. sigh people are still showing up 😖. Mom is happy as a clam. So glad to see all her friends. I’m stressed because HOW MANY MORE PEOPLE ARE COMING? Guess what Indy said? No worries, we can just add an extra table. Can you?!?!? Sure of course, we can also add these 2 high tops for extra guests. CAN YOU?!?! Suffice it to say brunch was amazing. Emily worked these tables or 30+ Picky eaters made me feel like she HAS to have ownership in the establishment. How else could she be any more perfect. Food came right out. HUGE portions. I don’t think anyone could finish. My mom had shrimp and grits. I never order that for myself when I go out because it’s always kind of basic. NOTHING about this place is basic. When we got home I ate her leftovers. Yep. All of them. The shrimp were huge and they had GREENS on them. WHAAAAT?!?! So we all know that the hardest part for a waitress is when a large party wants separate checks. Not for Emily. She’s bringing out Togo containers, checks, change and topping off drinks like she had a clone. I’ve never EVER been this impressed. A superstar. Mom wanted to sit and talk to her friends because we moved from the area so she doesn’t see her friends and family as much and at no time did we feel rushed. Rockstar Indy checked on me in particular at least 5 times.

In essence I want to open a restaurant and steal her and Emily away to come work for me. I will patronize South Kitchen and Bar every time I...

Great restaurant/pub. Good food, creative drinks. Nice upscale atmosphere.

Nestled among the more commonplace watering holes of Athens, this one stands out. Primarily because of the architecture, excellent service, and creative drink menu. But secondly because it feels more refined than some of the other - drink until you drop spots....

The indoor seating area is not huge, but does have adequate seating. There's also a fairly substantial outdoor seating area. The stained glass windows and arches make for a more polished feel. Not ostentatious, but just a little bit nicer.

They have all the standard drink combos and beer selections including a fairly significant local selection. But they also have a small specialty drink menu which I sampled.

We had a couple of appetizers, and they were both delicious. We had tater tots and fried green tomatoes. The pimento cheese looked enticing and based on other reviews would probably be on our list for the next visit!

The food was rich and hot. It is a little bit on the salty side but it's fried and in the south so what do you expect? High blood pressure is practically genetic down here! And yes I was born and raised here. We have eaten dinner here in the past and it was good. I need to come back and review it.

The service was friendly and excellent from the hostess at the door to the young lady that took care of us during our visit. Attentive but not overbearing! Just right.

Parking is typical for downtown Athens either you win the lottery and get street parking or park in one of the decks and take a nice stroll.

This is a great place for a date night, or casual evening out for an old married couple.... That'd be us. But for the younger crowd, this is a nice place for a small group gathering that allows for conversation versus yelling.

I would definitely...

The atmosphere is great and the server was very nice and attentive.

I just had the Bar Burger because someone was treating me to dinner and I noticed the menu was more expensive than what's posted here, so I didn't want to overdo it.

The duck fat tater tots were perfectly fried and tasted good. The piniento cheese, too, although I wasn't a fan of the wasa bread (or whatever it was) that came with it. The burger was pretty good, but it all fell out of the potato roll, which got very soggy very fast (I got it cooked medium, so maybe that was why).

My main problem was that I asked for mayo to go with my burger and they plopped down a thing of HELLMANN'S on the table. I realize Hellman's has a bit of a cult following, but many people do not like it at all, especially considering that it is actually a DRESSING, not exactly mayonnaise, and, imho, too weird and sweet-tasting to go on a burger. Especially if a place is called SOUTH, you'd think they'd have Duke's or at least a bland, middle-of-the-road alternative. And I didn't want to appear dissatisfied because I was someone's guest, so I wasn't able to ask what was up with that. So... Although the aioli was really good with the fries, the burger was fair to middling and the "mayo" absolutely unacceptable (to me, at least).

That being said, the shrimp and grits look divine and whenever I sell a kidney or something, I'll be happy to go back and pay $23...