Southbound — Restaurant in Charleston

I had high hopes for Southbound, the new restaurant in a restored Charleston home on Cannon Street. Upon arrival, we were greeted by a long line out the front door, which was not our expected warm welcome. The concept of dining on a porch swing sounded charming. Still, instead, we found ourselves awkwardly standing on a staircase and narrow veranda, listening to other diners' conversations and staring into the abyss so as not to seem intrusive.

The staff, mainly the maitre'd, seemed more interested in their Mumford and Son’s aesthetic than providing good service. We were taken upstairs to the bar, which was disappointingly generic and uncomfortably loud due to the lack of soft furnishings. I am unsure why hipsters love the half-restored barn and half-restored urban loft aesthetic so much. The absence of upholstery, window treatments, and rugs makes it so loud and cold.

The evening, it turned for the worse when a woman downstairs began moaning loudly, causing a disturbance. Despite the alarming situation, the staff ignored the increasingly alarmed guests and failed to address the issue gracefully. An ambulance arrived practically in the front yard, flashing lights into the restaurant, adding to the chaos.

Despite our reservations being 15 minutes late, there was no apology from the staff. When we inquired about the incident, the maitre'd seemed offended that we had even asked.

This was no surprise as our drinks were served by one of the two least friendly bartenders I've ever encountered. Their lack of warmth and hospitality was palpable, and it certainly didn't help to enhance the overall experience. There was a beautiful book of cocktails sitting on the bar where we were waiting. They couldn’t be asked to hand them to us, of course. It was a good thing they had the books, as when I asked the bartender which drink to order, he seemed annoyed. With that arrogance, I thought I was in for a masterful cocktail. Nope. The drink was sour, the texture was off-putting, and the overall experience was disappointing. If you're looking for a well-crafted espresso martini served with a smile, I'd suggest looking elsewhere. The espresso martini itself was a disaster. I suppose the standard two or three coffee beans recipe was too pedestrian, so they roughly ground coffee beans and shook them on top of the foam. Instead of a smooth, velvety cocktail, I was served a gritty concoction more akin to a mouthful of glass shards than a delightful beverage. It was clear that the mixologist was trying too hard to be clever, but the result was far from impressive. Once the veil of the emperor's new clothes starts to wear off, you know you have been deceived by all gimmicks and no heart or authenticity.

Southbound may have the appearance of a friendly neighborhood fine dining establishment, but it falls short in practice. The staff, primarily transplants from New York and DC, lack the Southern hospitality that should be a cornerstone of their service. Otherwise, it comes off as entirely inauthentic.

In short, if you're looking for a Brooklyn hipster pizzeria masquerading as Southern fine dining, Southbound might be for you. But if you're after genuine Southern hospitality presented by actual Southerners (not yankee transplants) and a pleasant dining experience, I'd suggest looking elsewhere, because it's Charleston and you can kick a can in any direction and hit an amazing authentic Southern dining experience that will blow your skirt up — due to carpetbagging and New Jersey...

Folks, buckle up for this love letter of a review. For those that want a quick run down: this is my new favorite restaurant in Charleston. Decadent. Incredible service. The details- I will never get over the details. You won't regret going. 5 star experience with a genuine and approachable staff. For those that was the nitty gritty: SERVICE: I am beyond impressed. From the moment you check in with Luca, the friendliest, best dressed guy ever, you are treated like the guest of honor. You are addressed by name and Luca takes a moment to chat with you and genuinely get to know you before taking you on a tour of the wood-fire kitchen. The guests in front of us were celebrating anniversaries and birthdays and were greeted with LONG STEM ROSES and/or glasses of champagne. I cannot make this up. Once you are seated, your water glass never gets below half full, your napkin is always folded, every staff member is polite but truly kind and genuine when they stop by your table. There is no hustle and bustle yet the efficiency is out of this world. Our waiter Steven (Stephen?) was so patient, attentive, and helpful with menu navigation- I will request to be in his section in the future. I asked Luca about the playlist and his response was "I'll email it to you, we have your email on file." By far the best dining/service experience I have ever had. FOOD & DRINKS: Decadent. Great portions. I want to take a moment to say that this is a splurge dinner, but I appreciated how the starters and a la carte sides are shareable, so truly worth every penny. The ribeye was cooked to perfection. The scallops melted in your mouth. The carrots will live in my head rent free for the foreseeable future. One thing that really impressed me was that while waiting to use the restroom, the head chef took time to chat with me about the meal and even where I am from. He was so humble and approachable and I appreciated the conversation. The old fashioned I had was something dreams are made of: strong yet balanced. ATMOSPHERE: You know you are at an elevated restaurant but its without the stuffiness. You feel relaxed with low lighting and warm wood tones throughout. They captured the true Charleston charm with string lights and gas lanterns everywhere but the fire and warmth inside makes you feel cozy and completely at ease. And the best part: you don't have to yell. This Restaurant is somewhere I will be bringing my parents, which should tell you a lot considering my Dad will walk out of a place if its too loud. The music is relaxing and at a low level. Fans are scattered throughout but also very quiet.

Cons: literally the only con is that the bathroom is single stall and you have to wait but that is typical of Charleston. BUT, let me tell you, the bathroom is superb. Like I took a video of it superb. Beautifully decorated, clean and supplied with all the things you would ever need.

Tips: Sit on the porch swing for an intimate, lovely experience. Sit inside at the bar for more of a show/up-beat spot.

Overall: This is an upscale restaurant with incredible food that has somehow managed to perfectly execute attention to detail while making you feel right at home. I will return. Again and again until I show up and our waiter says, "The usual?" meaning that life altering...

This place has been on my list for some time now so I was very excited to finally be able to come. My friend and I made a reso last minute and were able to get a dinner reservation on a Tuesday night. The restaurant itself has a lot of character being that it was once a house so it has unique decor and felt very warm. We got greeted and quickly sat on the other side of the restaurant outdoors and it was a beautiful day out. It’s not a very big restaurant, maybe 6-8 bar chairs right in front of their open kitchen. It is impressive to see that they work out of that very small kitchen and can fit 3 people back there.

Our server came over and since it was our first time, my friend asked him if there were things that were a “must get or can’t miss” and his response was “not really.” It made us chuckle because it either implied that everything is a good choice or nothing really stood out so we found that to be an interesting response as he made no recommendations following that.

We found the wine menu to be more interesting than their cocktail list. There wasn’t really anything unique but more so a lot of just “classic cocktails” you would see on other drink menus. I just expected a bit more variety and creativity from this section.

We settled on food and ordered a few apps to share. Arugula salad - it is exactly what you expect. I appreciate that it was fresh, strawberries are in season so that was good and it was a nice salad. Spanish Octopus- I didn’t find this dish to have much flavor, especially any pertaining to it being “Spanish” and I would’ve liked more citrus of acidity to enhance this dish. Coconut jasmine rice- some may like their rice super soft and mush but I found this to be way overcooked. It was fragrant and had good flavor but just too mushy for my liking. Braised pork cheek - This dish was the best one by far from the others. It has the most flavor and was tender. I still wanted to give it a 4/5 rating because I could appreciate the fresh and clean ingredients used but I just wanted more flavor overall.

Personally I enjoyed the atmosphere more than anything and it was a bit of an underwhelming food experience for what I was hoping for and our service was fine but nothing memorable. I would be interested in trying some of their entree dishes...