Southern Soigne — Restaurant in Jackson

TLRD: a very hit-or-miss experience that is not worth the price at this point

My husband and I were SO looking forward to coming to this restaurant as a celebration of being married for a week. Unfortunately, we were severely disappointed. Don’t overlook the poor reviews given to this place—they definitely had truth to them. We gave Southern Soigne the benefit of the doubt and were unfortunately burned by it.

The atmosphere cannot be blamed on the restaurant itself since it’s part time an art gallery, but there are ways to make due with what you have. Using what sounded like a speaker to play a spotify playlist that sounds more like it could be played at Walmart…not the right move. Even if this restaurant is just starting, there’s no reason why you can’t play something that helps make the atmosphere seem a bit more upscale. There was little decoration on the table, though the silverware was nice.

The wait staff was the best part of the experience. Margie was a doll, and we enjoyed our interactions with her more than that with the chef.

We paid $165 each for a 10-12 course chef’s tasting dinner. We were only served 6 courses, though the quality of the food (and the flat affect of the chef) didn’t have us asking for the rest of them. When you read Chef Golden’s accolades online, you’d expect something other than mostly chicken for the dishes. Course one had chicken skin, course two was a drumstick, course three was a flat wing with venison stuffed inside of it, and course four was lamb and (you guessed it) chicken sausage. I wouldn’t mind paying $60 per person to have this much chicken in a meal, but there is no way that our meal was worth even half of what we paid, especially when the fourth course was vegetables, and the fifth course was an orange and grapefruit salad—definitely not pricey ingredients to constitute charging such a large amount per person.

Was the food good? Sure. Was it something to write home about? Not really, though that could be blamed on the fact that so much of it was chicken (which I believe you can only elevate so much). I would value the six courses that we were served to be worth $50 per person at the most, not $165. For that amount of money, I’d expect to eat dishes with more choice ingredients than chicken.

The portions are smaller, but this is to be expected with a tasting menu containing many courses. Don’t walk in with the intentions of leaving with a fully belly, even if you do get all the courses that you pay for.

Overall, there need to be some drastic improvements made before we risk wasting our money again (but odds are, we won’t be returning.) Don’t be deceived by the online sample menu like we were! This was an absolute waste of...

This was a disappointing experience and such a shame because the chef is talented. Four of us paid for the 3 course menu ($60 each and $20 corkage) which is advertised as full sized portions. I am a light eater and have literally never left a restaurant hungry, until tonight. I know measurements bc i love to cook. We were served 2 Tablespoons of petite sliced cucumbers and cherry tomatoes. Delicious but 2 level tablespoons. 3 ounces of wagu beef. Absolutely delicious but appetizer sized so we thought the next course would be the entree. No- it was 1/4 cup of banana pudding. Literally, the entire meal fit in a single cup. There were long periods between courses which the chef said was to allow customers time to really relax. Would have loved that as the venue is a historic home with artwork but that concept won’t work if you do not provide a regular size portion. Every photo on the website shows far more food than we were served. Again-the food is delicious so maybe it just needs some management help. I hope it gets assistance bc this could be such a...

Chef Zac presented a phenomenal display of culinary excellence. We had a wonderful time enjoying oyster chowder, chicken confit with sweet potato bread, cabbage shrimp sausage, and personal blueberry cobblers. My descriptions do not do this food justice. I enjoy that every dish is presented and then Chef Zac provides a description of the ingredients and how he went about preparing the dish.

The restaurant is in a historic building which is decorated with local art pieces. The food is a work of art also. Dinner here is an enjoyable experience for foodies but has a flare of southern comfort. Prior to dinner I would check with Chef Zac as he will make wine recommendations for the courses.

I have brought friends and family here for the past two years and they all comment that this is a hidden gem in Mississippi.

Also check out the episode of True South on SEC network where they did an episode on Jackson that includes Chef Zac.

I highly recommend a dinner here for a culinary...