South Village Grille — Restaurant in Columbus

Wow, pre-COVID this was one of our favorite places in Columbus. For awhile we went for weekend brunch almost every week. Their cocktail selection was always top-notch and the food was excellent. Every. Time. We had our favorite waitresses and bartenders and would regularly chat with one of the owners and she was so nice. We loved bringing our business there.

I don't know what's changed now, but almost everything is different. It's almost like they changed ownership... I don't know maybe they did. Most likely it's a new chef. People still rave in reviews about their dinners so I'll give that a shot again, but the brunch was not even in the same strata that it used to be. I'm hoping it was just an off day, but honestly if this had been my first experience there I wouldn't ever return.

The drink menu is more limited and less adventurous. The staff isn't as welcoming or friendly. We went on Saturday morning 8/7/21 when they opened and were the second people in the restaurant and we sat at the bar. The bartender was polite. We ordered two rounds of drinks and then ordered breakfast of avocado toast and the egg breakfast, just as other diners were arriving.

45 minutes later, our breakfasts were served. My three eggs, potatoes and toast, which is a $14 breakfast, arrived cold. Everything was cold. The bread was a plain slice of white bread, thick-cut and barely toasted, and when I asked for butter it was rock-hard and cold as well. My three eggs were probably only 1-1/2 eggs, which is fine because I didn't eat them anyway. They were also cold and the cheese slice that had been laid across them wasn't melted at all. Not everything was bad though, the 1/4 cup of potatoes (probably $0.25 worth?) were delicious even though they were cold. However, each of the items was just... plain. All the food here used to be elevated and cooked perfectly and uniquely spiced and served. These weren't noteworthy in the slightest.

Neither was the avocado toast, which is also a really simple meal, but in this case it was so simple it was just 1/4 mashed avocado with no seasoning, on the same super-thick, barely toasted plain bread. The eggs were cold but nicely seasoned. It was fine. It wasn't elevated enough to warrant the price, which their food used to be.

The bartender tried to make it right, despite rolling his eyes at us. I wasn't wanting to be the person that caused us to sit there for another 45 mins, so I opted to have it removed from the bill instead of remade. We still left a generous tip and I hope he (the bartender) ends up having a better day.

I hate writing this review. I loved that restaurant. I loved it so much that I may give it another chance one day. But now, in a mid- COVID world, prices are higher and people can't go out as much. Expectations aren't higher, but I have to be more selective now that I can't go out as much. This place used to be amazing.

But the next time I'm thinking about a place to go for brunch, I won't consider South Village Grill again. I will remember that after $80 of mediocre cocktails and attitude from the bartender, I had to go home and make myself breakfast. ...

I want to start off by saying the food i good and our server was fantastic. HOWEVER, my friends and I had a pretty horrible experience at South Village Grill last night. We were seated in the second dining room and it was just us and another party of about 9 people. We were enjoying our time, having drinks but the volume of the other group got to an extreme level throughout our meal - they were scream-singing Mulan songs and actually high pitched screaming for what sounded like no reason. I am all for having a great time but my friends and I couldn’t hear each other from across the table so we asked the server about it. She mentioned there had already been complaints and she was so sorry but there was nothing else she could do. Of course, not her problem as they weren’t her table and it’s managements responsibility to take care of this. So we asked to speak with them and when the manager came over it was like talking to a second grader. He told us he had already told them to keep it down and they didn’t listen to him and when we were speaking to him he actually leaned in and said “sorry I couldn’t hear you, what was that??”. You can’t make up the irony. We already has boxes and the check coming but he offered to move us to a different table but by then it was too little too late. His incompetency throughout the entire conversation was laughable and our brain cells started to stop working as he has spoke. Overall, we would order takeout from here again as the food was good but likely won’t dine in again as I’m not sure if I’m ready to help the manager look for his balls for a...

It must have been an off day for South Village, but I had bad service at the bar, and the food was hard and overcooked. That said, the table wait staff was very friendly.

I sat at the bar and waited ten minutes before receiving so much as a drinks list. This occurred before the dinner rush, with two other patrons at the bar who had already been served, and less than a half-full house otherwise. Side conversations were had between bartenders and other employees in the meantime. To be fair, it seemed like the bartenders were making drinks or otherwise busying themselves the entire time. However, when a friend of mine later sat down and called out to one of the bartenders for a specific drink, they received it immediately. Perhaps the era of polite midwesterning is over for Columbus, and I shouldn't feel bashful to loudly insist that I be served as soon as I sit. Perhaps the utility of a pointed finger and loud voice are now preferred over expectant eye contact.

The jalapeño biscuits were not biscuits, but flavored rocks. While I felt very manly - much like the hulk - to crack one into pieces with my bare hands, it was not the experience I expected, nor very pleasant to try eating.

We ordered a medium rare steak that came well done, and quite tough. One dish overcooked is a minor problem, multiple is a pattern.

Given the plethora of good reviews here, as well as my friends' recommendations, I'm open to considering that I simply had a uniquely...