Southern Philosophy Brewing — Restaurant in Bainbridge

So let me start by saying this is meant to be informative and not ugly. The overall ambiance of Southern Philosophy is nice, it's cute nostalgic and plays on the downtown architecture very well. The food is not bad and served quickly. We had the garlic bread sticks and the Southy Pizza. Both were good especially for the food you normally get in Bainbridge. Unfortunately there ends my pros for Southern Philosophy Brewing. We entered and we're not greeted, it is a completely new establishment so we were not sure seat our selves...wait... We seated ourself no problem. Couple of the wait staff breezed passed finally one stops and says ...has anyone helped you yet....No...she brought us menus and before we could say anything she was gonna again. Finally a different waitress returns ask if we knew what drinks we would like. They do not serve tea..so two cokes and Suds Pilsner. The Pilsner was only such by name it tasted more like a watered down IPA. Infact the entire beer menu was pandering to the IPA craze. I asked what beers were on the guest tap mentioned on the menu. I was informed they do not have those. No problem .....our food arrived and after that we never saw our waiters again. Our drinks ran low I drank my beer, was never again ask if I would like anything else. Additionally the staff was not overly friendly with the exception of the fellow who brought out our pizza. So it is my hopes that this gets better, but I will give it several months before I return, although I fear if they do not correct the above mentioned problems I won't have to worry about it. In fact if not for the food and the guy who brought our pizza this would have been a 1...

On our way home from the Florida gulf coast we took a bit of a circuitous route to hit both a Georgia county seat we'd not been to and one of the few craft breweries in south Georgia. Bainbridge is an absolute gem of a town and it was a beautiful, and unusually cool, mid-May day when we visited. The Decatur county courthouse is another beautiful example of a neo-classical design from the turn of the 20th century and Southern Philosophy is an beautiful example of the melding of good food with good craft beer. Located right on the "square" of the park in the center of the town, the brewery/restaurant is in an restored store front building in the center of the block. Inside wonderful exposed brick and a long wooded bar greets you. The bartenders were extremely helpful, providing us with explanations of their beers and suggestions on what to pick for our typical two flights, starting light to heavier offerings. The beers good to very good, with their smoked porter and Legend of Nelson American IPA being my favorites. We also split their 9" Ecuason pizza (the name of which went right over my head, I confess) and it was truly wonderful. Artichokes may not seem like a natural topping for pizza, but it was quite amazing. I wish I could have spent more time here, but we still had more than 220 miles ahead of us with a few more stops to make. If you're anywhere close to Bainbridge, it's certainly worth making this part...

I went opening night right when the doors opened. I was promptly waited on and ordered a flight and the Southern Philosphy pizza with peaches and prosciutto. Their wit is spot on and makes me think of my favorite wit by Yellow Hammer. The pilsner was awesome as well, smart move to provide a lighter table beer for the masses. Im not an IPA drinker so can't comment on those. Now for the pizza.... AMAZING. It is gourmet pizza plain and simple. If you're expecting a ton of tomato sauce and garlic butter, don't. But if you like not having heartburn and lighter pizzas with lots of dimension and cool toppings, these are prime. As for service, I'm used to going to self seating brew pubs where you just get someone's attention to be served. If you were not, I could see how you could be thrown off and think it inattentive. I think they are doing just fine though. Everyone I talked to was very nice. Anyways, I loved visiting brew pubs in England where the locals gather after work for their evening pint, more for the congregation than the beer. That's what I hope Southern Philosophy turns into. A local tradition that we grow with and support in experimentation and endless fine-tuning. The atmosphere is...