Southern Craft Restaurant & Bar — Restaurant in Parkersburg

Every trip to Ohio University to see our daughter means we get to visit this amazing restaurant! It has a high end menu without the high end price and the service is absolutely on point, from the moment you are greeted by a friendly server to the second you walk out the door saying goodbye and see you again!. Don't be put off by the unassuming location, on a strip mall outside of Parkersburg, this is top quality and worth the drive. I ordered a Pimms cup (I am a Brit and honestly struggle to get a good one), but this time I was not disappointed! This bartender knows his drinks. Even the lemonade was homemade, not too sweet and was demolished by our older kids. Our table ordered the Ahi Tuna Tower - this is delicious, and shareable for 3 (unless you are my husband then 2!), the salmon dip, this had a smoky taste that took it to another level, way more than the bread provided, but don't worry, there is more bread if you need, this restaurant is attentive! I had the lobster bisque, the chunks of lobster is sweet and the sherry top mixed in makes this even more delectable. For our mains, the Filet Oscar was cooked to perfection with the tastiest sweet crab topping. I tried the brandy cream sauce and thought I had gone to heaven. The 30 day black angus steak was demolished by our son, but what got me was the pool of garlic butter in the smooth mashed potato, that looked scrumptious. Certainly not for the weightwatcher diet follower, but on a night off, go get it! The shrimp and grits has a deep flavor and this restaurant is know for their creole cooking, so this certainly reflected that. The knockout dish for the night though, I am pleased to say was mine! The special of Halibut on a bed of pea puree and mash. Our wonderful server was Caitie and she mentioned that it had not been ordered yet that evening. I knew that the chef here cooks fish perfectly, so go for it. Smart move. I don't know if the pea puree puts people off, but big mistake! This dish was off the charts. Halibut can be a tough fish to cook, very dense and easily overcooked, but yet again Louis knocked it out of the park and the pea puree was delicious. I am not ashamed to say I cleaned that plate! we were all stuffed but took the s'mores bread pudding to go and had a few mouthfuls before putting the lid on and heading back to the hotel to collapse with a very happy stomach! I would add that the cost of this meal was cheaper than a meal we had a few days earlier for 3 people, without dessert! Whether this is special occasion, a night out with the family or just a casual night out for dinner, make a drive out to this small independent restaurant. Take it from someone who eats out regularly from hole in the walls to Michelin star, this place deserves a Bib Gourmand. Apologies for the poor pictures, the steak got started and of course the...

We had a god awful experience here. Wont be returning. They said 20 min wait. We stood outside in the cold for 35 mins. After that they finally sat us down.. Out of all draft beer, out of mountain dew, out of some foods. Our waitress sat us down and it was our first time eating here. We were expecting a southern environment with some good southern food. It seemed like a fancy place with over the top souther food. Menu items were super expensive. We got seated and our waitress got our drink orders. My friend wanted a margarita and had asked what kinds they had. The waitress said "I don't know.. we have it on the rocks? I'm not old enough to drink but the margaritas on the rocks are good.. oh I'm not supposed to tell you that because I'm not old enough to drink." We kind of chuckled thinking she was just being funny but it became apparent to us she was kind of being rude and came off as being a smart alic. (Can't say the word I need to on a Google review but you get the idea) we then decided to order an appetizer while we over looked the menu and told her to come back when we were done. We got our appetizer and our drinks. We hadn't been checked on 1 time. So long in fact that our drinks were empty. Empty for so long that our ice had started to melt and we were drinking the water from it. Our appetizer and drinks had been finished for over 30 minutes. We arrived around 7:30. We didn't leave until 8:45-8:50. 35 mins of which were spent waiting for a table. 30 other minutes of waiting for our waitress. The rest was ordering our app eating and drinking. Our waitress was up front dining around and laughing. She made eye contact a few times with my friend. Yet still didn't come over to check on us. Walked past our table several times. Not a word yet glanced at us. Someone from our party then waived her down and asked for our check. She said oh my God. Oh my God I'm such a terrible person. Oh my God I'm so sorry. We didn't say anything. She got the card from us. Walked up front. Came back 5 mins later and said you're not paying for anything tonight. I'm so sorry. Which was the right call considering we were sitting there for so long with nothing to drink or eat for so long. None of us said anything and proceeded to walk out the door and went to Las agaves and was seated, served, ate, drank and left in less than 30 minutes. All with a smile on their faces. I wouldn't even think about giving this place another chance after all of that... the only plus side to this was the nachos. They were...

With the difference in quality between a home cooked meal and eating out at an all-time spread, Southern Craft is as close to receiving the level of care you get when preparing your own meal for loved ones.

You truly can tell that everything is literally “crafted” there. You don’t get that kind of depth at a chain restaurant.

As of now they don’t take reservations, which was a little scary with how small the floor space is (a short bar and less than ten tables). However I was really surprised that the wait was less than 30 minutes and I can wholeheartedly say it was well worth it. The limited base ensures that you get next level care from the wait staff, in the concise menu ensures that you get the quality that I’ve already boasted about. I did forget to take a picture of the menu but you can find it easily on their Facebook page.

Having this level of southern authenticity in Parkersburg West Virginia is some thing that I didn’t think I would get to see. From the rue in the gumbo, to the blackened chicken in the Cajun Alfredo, this food is packed with southern flavor. “Make sure you save room for the bread pudding!” The waiter said as he delivered our cocktails. He wasn’t over exaggerating! The bread pudding was the best I’ve had since Gordon Ramsay’s in Las Vegas….topped with a dollop of homemade whipped cream!

Wether you have the privilege of living near this family owned business, or you’re just passing through the area, this is well worth your time.

Ps, as a K-12 art teacher, I really appreciated the cool art throughout the...