Great Southern Cafe — Restaurant in Santa Rosa Beach

The food...outstanding. Our table service...outstanding. Only issue we had was the attitude and non professional behavior of the hostess team. We made online reservations as suggested and possibly required...(once onsite there was a reservation only sign that I did not see as a requirement on the website). I suggest making online reservations as it is a very quick and easy process that will secure seating.

We arrived early in anticipation of parking issues. It can be difficult to find a spot in season. This is a very busy touristy area. We checked in at the hostess stand and were told they did not seat between 10 and 11. This was to insure a smooth transition between breakfast and lunch. Completely understood, but didnt expect the off putting attitude and eye rolls of the hostess team conveying the policy. Netherless, despite the poor first impression, we waited patiently and were seated at 11:10 for an 11:00 reservation. The hostess again did not smile as she escorted us to our table nor thank us for patiently waiting. However, our experience and service quickly elevated as we were greeted by a dynamic, very professional and smiles for miles serving team. We received outstanding, attentive and very personable service from that point forward.

The seating was comfortable. (We sat in an outdoor tented area that was cooled by huge industrial fans).

The food was outstanding. My compliments to the chef who not only prepared delicious foods, but clearly put great thought into offering a diverse, very fresh and flavorful meal.

Online menu available. $$ can be pricey, but...

There are several places to eat within a few hundred yards of each other in this town. The Great Southern Cafe was just one of the options. On their menu was a Chicken Muffuletta, a fusion of 2 of my favorite sandwiches. So I had to give it a go.

The concept of this dish is spot on. Try this - you won't be disappointed. The Po Boy had fresh shrimp on the sandwich, and not over-seasoned. My compliments to the crew in the kitchen.

The star of this experience was not the food by itself. Shantika, who was our server, absolutely made this a special occasion. We've all been there - "Hello, my name is __ and I'll be your server - what would you like to drink?" Shantika took a different approach. First, she thanked us for coming in to restaurant, and asked how our day was. Refreshing to say the least. She explained the menu items as she presented the menu to us, and and then asked about drinks. The experience started off great, and ended the same way. She did not offer drinks to go - she simply brought them out. It was in the 90's outside and sunny. It had dawned on me that my wife and I discussed asking for them, and though she did not acknowledge it, she must have heard us while she was attending the adjoining table.

We may never see each other again, but IF you are in the area and in search of a really nice experience, stop by and ask for her. I'm fairly certain that she is not the only star in this establishment, but if you have the chance, it's worth...

When we arrived, we were rudely greeted by the hostess to a message of “We are fully booked and the top of the wait list has been waiting for 75 minutes for a table! We go by reservation only so you should get a reservation next time.”

We were confused by this comment as we could see at least a dozen open tables and no line of people waiting to be seated. Annoyed, we retreated to the car to figure out somewhere else to go. Before leaving, we decided to see if we could book a reservation online or if they truly were “fully booked.”

At 6:35pm it allowed us to book a reservation for 7:00pm (25 minutes later — not 75 minutes). When we went to check in for our reservation, we went to the other hostess and were immediately seated. The original hostess gave a side-eyed look as we were seated.

(We are assuming that she chose to not seat us initially because we have a 3 and 6 year old.)

The food was excellent, but the service by our server was very mediocre. She would disappear for 10-15 minutes at a time and only refilled drinks if we specifically asked (after flagging her down). She also took a very long time just to place our order in the first place.

Overall: great food, but very lousy service.

If the rude hostess feeds you a lie about being “fully booked” just make a reservation online and you can get seated. I would recommend the management do some coaching with the hostesses as this type of behavior is going to drive away customers (it surely...