Tupelo Honey Southern Kitchen & Bar — Restaurant in Myrtle Beach

This was the weirdest (not “good weird”) dining experience I’ve ever had. While scrolling through some Myrtle Beach tourism posts, I saw a recommendation for Tupelo Honey’s Happy Hour. We had a rest day built into our MB trip and thought happy hour sounded like a fun early dinner option. We arrived a few minutes after 4pm (HH starts at 4pm), were seated promptly in a pretty empty restaurant. We were given the regular menus and a drink menu — no happy hour menu. When our waiter arrived at the table I asked about the advertised happy hour menu. He gave me the weirdest look and said “happy hour?” (definitely as a question, not a statement). Just as he said this, a different server walked past him and slipped him a menu. Our waiter reluctantly gave us the menu. When our waiter returned to take our order he acted even more disinterested than before. We ordered a kid’s HH sweet potato pancake…for our KID, to which he rudely replied “from the kid’s menu?”. Then my husband ordered the HH chicken and waffles (only original are part of the HH menu) and the waiter kept asking him “which type”…I’m assuming he (waiter) was trying to get us to order from the regular menu? We also ordered the pork main dish, the fried green tomatoes and some sides. The second we ordered, the waiter snatched the HH menu and left. As we waited for our food we watched as other customers started coming in — nobody else was told about the HH menu (or provided one) either. It was such a strange vibe and it honestly felt like the waiter was both annoyed and even mad that we asked about/ordered from the HH menu. It was uncomfortable and awkward. I’d never go back based on that alone. Worst part? Our food was mediocre at best. NOTHING had flavor! The fried green tomatoes were fried very well (not greasy) but they tasted like nothing? No seasoning in the panko breading, no salt. The grits and coulis that came with them were a weird texture and also flavorless. My kiddo liked the sweet potato pancake and my husband said the chicken and waffles were standard. My pork was super dry (all of the sauce was caramelized/evaporated to nothing) on one side and pure fat on the other side. I didn’t even eat it. The mac and cheese was ok, flavorless and nothing special. My kiddo ordered a side of potatoes but the waiter brought her mac and cheese and because the atmosphere was already so strange we didn’t ask for it to be corrected. Finally, we received the bill and the kid’s HH item and all of the sides were charged at the regular menu price — NOT the HH price. We spent over $70 for two adults and a kid on happy hour with NO ALCOHOL or desserts! At this point we were so irritated by the entire experience we paid and left. It felt so shady and dishonest and made us very uncomfortable…to the point where we snapped a photo of our credit card bill in case of any fraudulent charges/ behavior by the waiter. I’d definitely skip Tupelo Honey in MB…there are so many...

I stopped in this cute restaurant for Easter brunch and was very pleasantly surprised! While the current star rating is 4.5, I would certainly expect it to be higher based on the friendliness of the staff, attentiveness of service and speed of my mixed drink, and wonderful flavors of the meal I chose!

I got the Tupelo's Shrimp & Grits (gluten free) - what an amazing explosion of taste! The goat cheese grits melded with the Gulf shrimp and chorizo, pepperonata, and Creole sauce was such a wonderful experience - hats off to the chef! The order did take a bit to come out, But Easter was definitely a busy afternoon, so it was not unexpected.

I also ordered a Blueberry Lavender Mimosa, made with blueberry puree and lavender lemonade, which was served immediately and so yummy! And it lasted through my meal as well as after - not a small serving even though I ordered the regular size! I'm a bit of a lightweight these days, and the regular was more than enough for me.

The atmosphere is nice and family friendly - very crisp and clean, perhaps a bit chic with old window panes dividing the bar from the main seating area. They also have a neat array of belts and spools criscrossing the ceiling throughout, turning what look like antique fan parts/blades - very unique!

The restaurant also offers many payment options, including online via a QR code when you receive your bill, and they accept Apple and Google pay, Venmo, as well as credit cards. This option also allows guests to split the check as necessary. No waiting on multiple server trips, so fast checkout for those inclined. Note that this option does add a $0.25 contactless fee, likely charged by the Up & Go service provider they use.

Restrooms had a beachy vibe and were clean despite the rush.

The area around the restaurant has many cute local and chain stores, perfect to walk off a great meal afterward!

Overall, So very happy with this experience and really enjoyed my time at this restaurant. Would highly recommend and hope to come...

I had pretty high hopes for Tupelo Honey. The reviews on Open Table where I made my reservation were Exceptional. Yelp gave it 4 out of 5 stars. I was a little apprehensive though when there were a ton of reservation spots available same night. I attributed that to we were eating rather early and this really is not a tourist spot as it is located in the Market Common which serves many of the residents nearby.

First some bright spots. Pleasant welcome, no wait, socially distant tables and adequate safety measures appear to be in place. One minor complaint. Our table was so sticky, the paper menu ripped trying to pick it up. I asked the waitress to have it wiped down but she told me it was due to the sanitizer they were using and if the wiped it down again it would likely be as sticky. The table may have been clean, but it sure didn't feel that way.

Service - Excellent. Bright, welcoming, seemed genuinely happy to have us there. Orders taken promptly and food came out quickly.

So why only 3 starts. Well - lets talk about the food. One of my absolute pet peeves is for my food to come out hot. While our fried tomatoes were nice and hot, my buttermilk fried chicken was not and frankly neither were the sides. I think friend chicken in a southern restaurant should be without question hot and juicy. Portions were kind of just adequate, but we are trying to cut down so this was probably a good thing.

Bottom line - I think this restaurant must thrive on breakfast and brunch items as when you think of southern, you think of biscuits. I'd be willing to give it another try for their brunch menu.

Final word - make sure drinks from the bar are stirred so you don't have all water on the top and some alcohol...