JEM Social - Cocktails + Kitchen — Restaurant in Myrtle Beach

This was a bit of a mixed bag. Let’s start with the cons and move onto the pros. It’s always nice to end on a positive note!

Cons: it was very cold in there. The area has been having a bit of a unprecedented snowfall and unprecedented cold weather, so I understood and expected that some places may be a little chilly. In fact, at home, we were having a hard time keeping up with the heat, that’s why we went out to go someplace warmer, so we were a little disappointed by how cold it was in the restaurant. I really think they could’ve cranked the heat, and made things a lot more cozy.

The second con was a couple of smokers who would come in and out, and make things cold, but also make things a little smoky smelling when they opened the door. That’s a function of them having a backyard porch. Not much the restaurant could do about that.

On to the pros. The mussels were very good. I enjoyed the sauce a great deal. But it only came with two pieces of bread for dipping, and they were small. I asked for extra bread, and was charged two dollars. This is not unreasonable, it was nice bread, but I think that either the bread should’ve been larger to begin with or they should’ve served it with more than two slices. Frankly, sometimes mussels are all about dipping the bread! The shishito peppers were good. These are popping up all over the place, and I also make them at home. They did not come with any sort of dipping sauce, which is a bit unusual, because Shishito peppers on their own are good, but they need a little something. Our server was nice enough to get us some lemon or Yuzu flavored sauce. That made the difference, and they should have some sort of dipping sauce added to them. I have never been to a restaurant that doesn’t serve them with something, from a peanut sauce to a sweet chili to some sort of miso dressing. But the pro is that the server was able to find some sauce for us.

Both a pro and con: the cocktails. The list was excellent, and it included things that I also make it home like Naked and Famous. It was great to see absinthe on the menu and chartreuse, and they made a corpse reviver for me even though it was not on the menu. I saw that they had all the ingredients for it, and so the bartender was able to make that for me. And it was an excellent version of the drink. In fact, all of the drinks were really well balanced. That’s the pro. The con is that they seemed to be small portions. Where we are from in Asheville North Carolina, the cocktail game is strong, and we are accustomed to smaller portions and a more expensive cocktail menu, but this is the beach! We come here for drinks that pack a bit of a punch, no pun intended. And, again, although these were really well balanced, it would be nice if they had a little bit less ice, and a little bit more booze. It’s just sort of a beach aesthetic to have boozy drinks.

Also a pro and con: the Gorgonzola waffle fries. They were very good, but it would’ve been nice to have more toppings, or rather, more widely distributed toppings. There were spots that were covered in Gorgonzola and then there were spots that had no toppings at all. So perhaps tossing them? So that you have more of an even distribution?

Finally, the “social hour” specials included included two or three dollars off of select menu items, but in the past they were a bit more generous than that, with some appetizer items being in a much more affordable range. It would be nice if their social hour included some eight or nine dollar appetizers like many of the other social hours do, rather than just a couple of bucks off...

I’ve been here several times with my friends. Unfortunately the staff did not live up to expectations. We were enjoying casual d to the rinks and light snack slightly over priced. However, while our waitress was polite, another staff member (bald, tatted, muscular, and apparently arrogant with his tats and facial hair) was exceptionally rude to my friend while here. My friend asked a simple question to the server mentioned here. He was exceptionally rude in answering the question, then I observed him make jokes behind the bar with his staff colleagues. It’s a shame the staff was so disrespectful. I wanted to continue liking this place in Myrtle. I could tolerate the over priced drinks and food. But the disrespect was intolerable.

Update: I left the original portion of this review while at the establishment. I don’t often leave reviews. It’s only at the extreme ends of the spectrum, I either love a place a lot or I was extremely… EXTREMELY… disappointed. The aforementioned server came over to our table to verbally defend himself and his behavior while we were here. I could not believe such a disappointing occurrence would happen. And for the record… HE WAS NOT OUR SERVER!!! His defense was it was “funny and his brand of humor” but my friend who was disrespected… has been here is a regular and has spent at least 4 figured collectively at this establishment. I’m flabbergasted to say the least. Sheer befuddlement and...

From Pizza Hut to Paradise: A Cocktail Pilgrimage”

Once upon a time, there was a sad, disheveled Pizza Hut. Its walls echoed with faint memories of stuffed crusts and questionable salad bars. But then—like a phoenix rising from mozzarella ashes—JEM Social Kitchen + Bar was born. And dear reader, it is nothing short of a tiki-meets-Asian-flair, bourbon-soaked fever dream.

Now, let us raise a glass (expertly poured, of course) to Adrianna, the sorceress of spirits, the empress of elixirs, the mixology maestro. Her creations are not just drinks—they’re liquid narratives. The Hemingway Daiquiri was poetry with a lime twist, the Pain Killer was exactly what the name promised (and then some), and the Lava Flow—oh my!—was less a cocktail and more a tropical vacation in a glass, complete with imaginary steel drum music playing in the background.

Though we didn’t partake in the food this time, the drinks alone were so spectacular that we can only assume the kitchen works similar sorcery. If the cocktails are any indication, then the menu must read like a Michelin-starred fairy tale.

Final Verdict: What was once a tired Pizza Hut is now a cocktail cathedral. If Hemingway, a tiki god, and a bourbon barrel had a baby, it would be JEM. And Adrianna would be the one rocking it gently to sleep—with a perfectly balanced...