18 South — Restaurant in Ocala

We made reservations at 18 South for Valentine's Day so we could have a memorable and quality dinner. This restaurant stood out to us from the photos and descriptions online, especially as I was given the impression that it would be fine dining where semi-formal wear was appropriate. We wanted a place where we could dress nicely and connect over dinner with a nice atmosphere.

Upon walking into the building and turning the corner, you are greeted with a hallway that leads to an elevator. There stood the hostess and three young women, and the hostess simply asked us if we had a reservation. We said yes, and she nodded her head in response, looked me up and down, and resumed waiting for the elevator. Zero communication or welcoming into the restaurant, and I immediately felt uncomfortable and unwelcome. When the elevator door opened, I wasn't even sure if we were supposed to follow them in or wait until she took care of seating the people in front of us. Without a word being spoken and simply being looked at expectantly, we huddled inside.

The door opens on the other side, and the women find seats at the bar while the hostess goes over to talk to someone.

Once again, nothing is said to us, and we awkwardly wait by the elevator door to be seated since we had made reservations online and requested a table in advance by the piano if possible.

Eventually, she comes back over to guide us to a seat, and lo and behold, it is a 2-person, high-top table across from the bar and not even two feet from the elevator. I wore a dress and heels since the website said business casual at minimum, and it was a very awkward spot to get up into and sit at. In view, there are several open tables by the piano, and so we ask if it is possible to move tables closer. Or anywhere with lower-height chairs. The waiter, Austin, promptly said that they were booked and unavailable. I assume and understand that perhaps those tables are reserved for parties of 2+ and move on. While we are sitting there, I watch only two women get seated right by the piano at the table, so I am not sure why we were unable to be moved at this point.

We got started with distilled water, and upon looking at the menu, it is missing multiple options that I saw online. I had hoped to order the small charcuterie board and did not see it on the menu whatsoever. I recall that the menu online said to ask or allow time for it to be prepared. So, I ask the waiter, Austin, if it is possible. He immediately acts like it is an impossible task but says that he will ask the kitchen. He walks away, and although I cannot say for certain, since the kitchen is wide open, I watched, and it did not look like he asked the staff. Within only seconds, he comes back and says that it's not possible. Okay, no worries. In the meantime, I asked to get started with the "housemade focaccia bread." At this point, the menu is lacking options that drew us in in the first place, the available steak options looked mediocre, each exchange with staff so far has been unpleasant, and we are ready to pivot and find another restaurant last minute. When the bread does come out, it tastes doughy and unpleasant, and the goat cheese & compound butter are surprisingly flavorless. When Austin comes back, we politely let him know that we would like to get the tab as we do not see any options that stand out. He acknowledges solemnly and heads off to get it. He hands the tab, I say thank you, and he responds with "Yeah." I could not get out of this restaurant fast enough.

Having been to other fine-dining establishments, such as Bacán and even Stirrups in Ocala, I can say this restaurant has no place in calling itself a "premium lounge." It was not an elegant experience by any means, and I was, quite frankly, shocked at how cold the staff was. Austin especially was unfriendly and discourteous. If you are looking to have a special and classy dinner with your loved one, this is not the place for you. I would not recommend this restaurant and would advise walking past it to go to any of the other...

I made reservations for Valentine’s Day and shortly after arriving, we were “greeted” by the hostess. She never greeted us or said much of anything, only openly looked my partner up and down in what felt like a judgmental way, even though she was not only dressed in accordance to the dress code listed, but we were dressed above and beyond most other patrons. Nevertheless, we were eager to continue the night and were sat by a lovely lady who I truly wish I could have caught her name to give her a good review, but overall she was very nice. Our waiter, Austin however, was not. He seemed rather unprofessional and felt very unwelcoming. He seemed to be very casual, and felt unenthusiastic about being there on Valentine’s Day, which I can’t blame him for entirely, but it did make the experience much less enjoyable.

The appetizer we shared before leaving was fine, nothing very special. A focaccia bread that felt very gummy rather than chewy, although the goat cheese and herb butter were nice. We did not get to try the actual entrees because they have a different menu than what is on their website, which had felt much more appealing. The tablet based menus really made the experience feel chintzy and childish, which is a shame because the rest of the table was nicely appointed. My partner asked if it was possible to still get the charcuterie board since they had shown it as available when checking their website, but was quickly met with a rather indifferent “Due to us being very busy tonight, I will have to ask the kitchen,” although when Austin walked back, I’m not sure he actually even asked. I may have missed it but it seemed as if he walked back, circled around, and came back to tell us it was unavailable. At that point we realized this place just wasn’t going to work, so we asked him for the bill, to which we got another unprofessional and indifferent response. After that, we paid our bill for the mediocre focaccia and left.

We went less than a block away and saw Mark’s Prime Steakhouse, which I worried wouldn’t feel as high class. But they surpassed our expectations and our previous experience at 18 South in all categories. The hostess directly chatted with us in a friendly way, gave my partner a rose from behind the counter, and told us that the treatment we received at 18 South didn’t surprise her. Our waiter, Ray, was lovely, attentive, and took wonderful care of our table.

Overall, I do not recommend this place at all and won’t be back. Please walk half a block to Mark’s Prime Steakhouse if you care about being treated...

Service was great - our server and their assistant/busser were attentive, and kind. They did get busy though so once our food came out it was hard to get more than a word or two out before they were off again.

Atmosphere gets a 1 for me - not sure what the aesthetic is that they are going for but we were sat at a high top up against a wall across from the bar. The restaurant was pretty empty and we had a reservation. The chairs spin and I couldn't keep myself straight. There were chunks of paint missing from the wall where the chairs kept hitting. My husband and I are smaller humans and it still felt like we had no room. Once a few more tables came in, guests and servers were constantly running by and I had people brush against my chair several times. It felt open and awkward and also like too small of a space all at once, like being in a hallway. The menus are also all on iPads with photos that are hard to see. I think it was a bit odd seeing photos of bottled soda on the menu at a raw bar of this caliber.

We did not see a manager once, and I'm used to at least a table touch at restaurants of this price point.

We skipped appetizers because they were out of a few things (i.e. charcuterie board) which was fine. My bone in filet was supposed to be medium and 12 oz but could not have been more than 8oz, and only the edge was medium with the rest being medium rare and definitely rare on the other side. It came out with singed herbs as a garnish which were extremely overpowering to my senses. The lobster mac and cheese was good but very small for a shareable side. I also was hoping to get Oscar topping for my steak but it was not on the menu like it is on the website. We got the fudge cake which was also good and probably ended up being the bulk of our meal. I felt it was fairly priced at 15 since it was a big piece and very rich. It was also nice of our waiter to take off a percentage for my husband's lobster tail - I guess the kitchen noticed it was a bit smaller than advertised at 9oz

Overall won't be back unfortunately. I think we would've had a much different experience as a larger party or being sat in the actual dining area. And I probably should've stuck with raw bar instead of steak - but really the whole experience was rather uncomfortable and confusing. I felt like I was in the way being sat where we were. Not something I expect when spending $100+ per person. Maybe we just aren't the right clientele for this...