The Midtowner — Restaurant in Hattiesburg

Went here with my husband, mother in law, and kids today on my lunch break. Our waitress couldn’t have cared less. She started out bringing us our drinks and telling us she didn’t know which tea was sweet and which was unsweet. No big right? It happens sometimes.I should have known then. I waited tables throughout college and there are ways to differentiate between beverages. She could have simply put a straw in one cup to be able to tell the difference. After sitting there for 45 minutes of my hour lunch break with not one refill of our beverages, it became painfully obvious I wasn’t going to be able to eat so I requested mine to be boxed up so I could go back to work... hungry. Another waiter (who is the ONLY reason I gave 2 stars instead of 1) intervened and had the manager get my food boxed up. The original waitress brings my food out and I check it only to realize it’s missing half the items it’s supposed to come with. At this point I’m aggravated and hungry, my kids are hungry and crying, and I’m quite frankly over it. I just told them to keep it bc I have to go and can’t eat it. The nice gentleman who got the manager to box my food, once again, fixed my order while our waitress ignored us and he insisted that I take my order free of charge. After I left my husband called to say he and my mother in law and kids were leaving because they still hadn’t gotten their food and the waitress never came back to check on them. I understand being busy and being in the weeds, but that waitress didn’t do a darn thing to even show she was trying. I like their food as it is usually very good, and the guy who helped me was the best at customer service I have seen in a while, but an hour ticket time and a waitress who honestly just didn’t seem to GAF has made me husband declare to never return. That whole situation put a terrible taste in our mouths and it was my Mother in laws first time there and she left with no food, a bad experience, and no desire to ever return. It was embarrassing and angering. They need to promote the guy that helped me and get more help for busy times because that...

Was ok but I was a little disappointed. Service was bare minimum attentive. Didn't have a fork in my packet and I tried to ask for one but the waitress who dropped our food kinda just dropped and ran all I got out was can I get a....and she was gone. There's no customer need anticipation either Ive worked in food service and was taught a good server thinks about what a customer might need and no one there did. I mean come one we had corn bread and biscuits and now one thought they might need some butter? I never really knew who my server was in all the chaos and kinda just popped in and out. It was very impersonal and made it hard to flag anyone down to ask for something. The food was disappointing as well For one we were under the impression it was a brunch joint and that we would be able to have some breakfast items Nope, no breakfast past 11 and after the wait we couldn't get any. I had the fried chicken which was ok the breast and the wing was a little dry but the soon was nice and crispy and all of it. Had the mashed potatoes, mac and cheese, and fruit for sides. The fruit was really fresh and delicious but the other sides were sub-par. Mashed potatoes were just mashed potatoes. There was no gravy no butter just a really small scoop of mashed potatoes that had the taste and texture of instant mashed potatoes. The mac and cheese honestly I could probably get better tasting and a more creamy and cheese from a box of craft thick and creamy mac and cheese. Plus I could make better mac and cheese. So essentially the food I got was exactly like I went to a KFC and got chicken, mashed potatoes and mac and cheese. Would I go there again? Not for lunch but maybe only to try the breakfast. Really disappointed considering its a St. John...

I'll start by saying that my expectations were apparently set to high, since this was one of RSJ's ventures. The outside looks great and the inside is just cool, though the bar could stand to be bigger. Our wait to get a table was entirely too long for a restaurant of this type. Service was good with the food being just average overall. Entree wise, I liked the meat loaf my mother ordered, but she didn't, the 1/2 of chicken(wing, leg, thigh, breast) my step-dad got on his fried chicken plate not only looked good but was good(not exceptional as), my country fried steak was a real piece of meat that was overcooked, tough, and not as large a portion as I was expecting. In regards to the sides, the best one was the corn, the worst was the rice as it was not done and too hard to eat, the broccoli casserole did not look like it had any broccoli in it, but it did have a unique but good flavor, the mashed taters would have passed for instant, and the collards were OK, though I would have appreciated a vinegar style pepper sauce for them as opposed to Tabasco & Louisiana Style. Something that I was expecting to be awesome was really disappointing, and that was the Cathead Biscuit, as they were either under-cooked or intentionally doughy on the inside. The highlight of the meal came at the end, in the form of a large slice of Pecan Pie that dad pecans stacked on top of pecans layered on it, and a really good cup of coffee... I will be returning to give the Midtowner another try, in hopes of this just being a bad day for the kitchen staff, and if nothing else, I will be a regular for the...