Southern Chicago — Restaurant in Chicago

I had the pleasure of dining at this relatively new upscale soul food spot in Chicago, and overall, it was a really enjoyable experience with a few things to consider before your visit. Cocktails:
To start, I tried one of their signature cocktails that was reminiscent of a margarita but with their own twist. While it was definitely refreshing and pleasant, the habanero flavor was a bit overpowering for my taste. If you're sensitive to spice, I’d suggest steering clear of this particular drink, as the heat lingers a bit too long due to the combination of other flavors. Appetizers:
Now onto the food. We started with the fried green tomatoes with crab meat and cornbread. Both were absolutely phenomenal. The fried green tomatoes were among the best I’ve ever had. Perfectly crispy on the outside, with a creamy, flavorful crab topping. As for the cornbread, it was a delightful surprise! It was almost cake-like in texture, sweet, and so flavorful. It seemed to have jalapeños in it, though I couldn’t taste them, which was interesting. The honey butter served on the side took it to another level. A great dish to share if you’re ordering multiple things. Main Courses:
For my main, I wasn’t in the mood for steak and wasn’t sold on the idea of paying $37 for a “half” branzino when I could get a whole one elsewhere in the city for close to the same price with a side. Instead, I crafted my own meal with the crab cakes, sautéed asparagus, and collard greens with turkey. The crab cakes were good, though not extraordinary. I appreciated that they weren’t overly breaded, which can sometimes happen at other spots. However, I’m not sure I’d order them again. The asparagus was a bit more cooked than I like and not very flavorful, but if you enjoy them softer on the very dark green side, you’ll love this. Just keep in mind it’s a $12-$14 side dish. The collard greens were flavorful, and the turkey added a nice touch. I was really happy with them. Desserts:
We tried two desserts: Peach Cobbler – This is a deconstructed version of the classic, served with brown butter ice cream. If you’re a fan of more crust than filling in your peach cobbler, you might not love this, but the ice cream was a perfect pairing and the flavor was on point. Key Lime Pie – I enjoyed this, though I’m not sure it tasted like true Key Lime pie. It had great flavor, but I’ve had more authentic versions. Still, it was a solid dessert. The dessert portions were large enough to share, so keep that in mind when ordering. We didn’t finish either dessert, but it was a nice way to cap off the meal. Parking:
There is valet parking available for $17, which is super convenient and definitely worth it when you’re looking for a stress-free experience, especially in a busy area of the city. Overall Thoughts:
This place is definitely worth a visit. The ambiance was great, and our server, John, really elevated the experience with top-notch service. He was attentive, personable, knowledgeable the menu and observant. The same is true for those who cleared plates as we dined. While I’m not typically someone who gravitates toward soul food when dining out, this restaurant brought something fresh and upscale to the genre. I’d say it’s perfect for a special night out or a casual dinner...

You got to be suspicious of a restaurant that greets their guests with armed security. This should tell you all you need to know about the crowd this place is drawing in...its sort of laughable that these guys think they are running an upscale business.

So, once you get by the bouncer (doesn't this ridiculousness make you want to laugh already?!), walking in, one immediately wonders: Is this place all style and no substance? The décor seems more about making a photo op than creating warmth — the cavernous space feels cold and impersonal, despite the chandelier drama. The lofty ceilings and dark palette make conversation feel forced rather than intimate. It might be fine in a different neighborhood, with a different clientele, but in the South Loop, with the prospect of gangsters being seated nearby, its a completely absurd charade.

The place was a little busy, (particularly for a new, second rate restaurant), which caused our reservation to get shuffled and delayed about 20 mins, a scenario one would not expect from a restaurant claiming fine dining status. Even the hosts seemed unsure of seating flow, leaving several parties waiting awkwardly in the entry. The question looms: Do they have proper coordination behind the scenes? Having met one of the owners/partners, who struck me as 'flighty', it's no wonder this place is a pathetic mess-- complete incompetence starts at the top.

As we waited, I had the opportunity to take note that during dinner hours, at least while we were there, noise levels amplify the disconnect between ambiance and annoyance. The bar’s hum bleeds loudly into dining wings, undercutting any sense of calm.

It only continued to get worse, as the hostess was less than apologetic by the time we were seated and the server's attitude hovering somewhere between disinterested and rude. The pacing of the meal was wildly out of sync. Appetizers lingered then rushed into entrees.

The food, average at best, mediocre a generous compliment. The seafood apps, including the crab cake, crispy calamari and garlic prawns were something more akin to what you might expect from Arthur Treacher's of JJ's down the block, overcooked and tasteless is probably the best descriptor....for entrees among us we got lamb, rib-eye, fried chicken and salmon. Nobody was surprised that that the fried chicken scored the highest...watch out Popeyes, you got some competition! The salmon was as dried up as bait on a dock, while both lamb and rib-eye were underwhelming....even after the medium-rare ribeye was sent back after initially coming out only to be mistaken for shoe leather.

Southern Chicago might be considered 'aspirational' for an area of the city which is missing fine dining, but for anyone who is used to dining at Hugos, Gibsons, Gilt, Bavette's, STK, Maple & Ash, Le Colonial or any other of Chicago's treasures (hell, let;s throw Portillo's into the mix for that matter), you will be sorely disappointed. It may be fine for folks who have never been exposed to average or upscale dining, or for those with extremely low expectations....but for the rest of us who have standards exceeding Red Lobster, you will neither feel welcomed, satisfied or ever want to...

My girlfriend and I were genuinely excited to try Southern Chicago . it’s beautifully designed, located right around the corner from our home, and the energy from the outside looking in was everything we hoped for. A luxury vibe, stylish ambiance, and a dining room full of my beautiful Black folks dressed to the nines. It felt like it was going to be a great night.

But what happened next was deeply disappointing.

We arrived for a walk-in around 6:55 PM and were told it would be a 30–45 minute wait. That was understandable we were happy to wait. But it quickly became clear that something was very wrong with the operation. Even guests with actual reservations were stuck in limbo, many waiting just as long, if not longer. As we waited over an hour to be seated, we noticed that food wasn’t coming out of the kitchen only drinks, and even those were slow.

To the manager who offered champagne to guests waiting - thank you. That was a classy gesture in the midst of chaos.

We were finally seated at 8 PM and ordered everything at once, per the server’s recommendation, to avoid further delays. Our drinks didn’t arrive until 8:40. Our food or rather, part of it didn’t come until 9:30. The rest of our meal didn’t show up until nearly 10 PM. At that point, we weren’t even hungry anymore just tired and frustrated.

To make matters worse, the food wasn’t worth the wait.The menus were dirty with grease and dried up water , My burger was bland, visually unappealing, and underwhelming in every way. Honestly, Wendy’s would’ve done a better job. My girlfriend’s pasta was flavorful, but clearly sat under a heat lamp for too long the sauce had thickened into a paste by the time it hit the table.

The service team? Completely overwhelmed. We could hear servers talking about being yelled at by the kitchen, and you could tell they were doing everything in their power to keep the experience afloat. It looked like some servers were even taking each others orders just to get something out. It was chaotic and sad to witness.

What upset me most was watching the owner and executive chef walking around the dining room greeting guests while the entire operation was crashing behind them. That was not leadership. With the kitchen drowning and the staff barely keeping it together, it was hard to watch the two people who should’ve been helping…

We even saw a table of 15–20 women get to-go boxes after waiting two hours for their food.

We spent $170 on a night that felt more like a test of patience than a celebration.

I say this with love and genuine hope: this restaurant has so much potential. The concept is powerful. The aesthetic is beautiful. The community wants this place to succeed. But what we experienced tonight was unacceptable. If there’s any hope of surviving in Chicago’s restaurant scene especially with such high expectations the leadership needs to fix the internal chaos immediately.

I want to come back. I want to root for this place. But something has to...