SOUTH Restaurant & Jazz Club — Restaurant in Philadelphia

Edit to Add: Clearly reading the other reviews I’m not the first person to experience this. I get keeping a desired atmosphere, but perhaps there is a better way of handling this when it’s clear enough people are having this issue to leave similar reviews.

First off, I’ll be fair….this is not a review about the quality of food or drink. This is however, a review of customer service. I’ll also be fair to myself, I’ve never left a Google review in my life but my encounter here was bad enough for me to do so for the first time.

I’ve lived in the area for about 7 years, and just have never decided to go here because I have my regular spots nearby. We just happened to be trying out a new place nearby (Honeysuckle, across the street) and decided, “you know what, let’s go” since we’re close by. We walked in, and the place was fairly empty at 9pm.

We grabbed a spot at the bar, talked to the bartender for a second and less than 2 minutes went by before we were confronted by the hostess. We were told we couldn’t be here because we did not meet the dress code.

Now mind, I was still in work clothes, a professional buttoned down shirt and dress pants…I work in an office nearby in a professional setting. My girlfriend, was in Lululemon black leggings and her typical black office dress shirt, again she works in a professional office nearby and yes it was a casual Friday for the pants. Neither of us were unkept, or “casual” looking in the sense. There were also people nearby in flip flops and cutoff shirts and jeans. It felt very singled out.

But that did not stop the front hostess from walking up to us at the front bar, mid order, and embarrassing us by saying “there is a strict no athletic clothes policy” and we could not place an order or stay. Neither of us really looked like we walked out of a gym. It was just the Lululemon pants…I guess?

We immediately walked out basically because we were given no choice. This was one of those situations where you are so caught off guard and just don’t know how to react, you just leave. I never said a word other than hello to the bartender and some light introductions and order and before I could even comprehend we were being asked to leave basically. We didn’t put up a fight, didn’t say a word, I was just so baffled…embarrassed…offended….i decided this is a place I never want to go to again.

I really am sad to have this experience because I’ve actually wanted to try this place for a while. It’s why I’ve taken the time to type all this out. I’m from the south originally, Tampa and New Orleans, and this felt like anything BUT southern hospitality.

We frequent places nearby regularly (Bar Hygee, The Divine Loraine, Ostereia, etc.) and honestly I was so disappointed by this I will never go back. I’ve been to much “fancier” places that are less judgmental to their clientele. This place seems to be pretentious for the sake of being pretentious, which is like the opposite of southern culture. I don’t know I was entirely put off by the place and its management based on the short interaction. The food could be the best in Philly and I’ll never...

My sister made reservations for a Friday night to celebrate my birthday. Arrive and seated immediately ~ the hostess' get ✨️✨️✨️✨️✨️. While seated, we did notice the table was SMALL ~ we're both 5' tall, small women, yet we felt like we were seated at a toddlers table. Once our drinks arrive, Saratoga bottled water & cocktails there was NO room for anything else. It was tight. We felt smothered & boxed in, but we said let's see how this goes.

1st issue: As we look at the menu, we notice there are sides paired with proteins that we're either allergic to or simply DON'T eat. For example: the catfish & shrimp entree is served with asparagus + cream corn + tomato okra...WELP...I don't eat any of them. I asked our server if I could simply substitute all 3 sides for mashed potatoes (which is a side they offer). His response: Unfortunately, we don't offer substitutions. My response: How would you serve that entree if I do not want the 3 sides? His response: You will get the catfish & shrimp only. My response: And you'd charge me the same price? His response: YES. Totally UNACCEPTABLE! A reputable establishment that does not offer SUBSTITUTIONS is completely absurd! My sister wanted the jerk wings which is served with rice/beans & collard greens. She does not eat either of those sides, so she too asked for a substitution. You already know what answer she received ~ NO! Now I'm beyond PISSED. For a restaurant which should be customer focused they truly MISSED THE MARK nor do they care. Had I not had my husband drop us off at the restaurant, I would have WALKED out at this point.

We decide to order the proteins and premium sides that we liked because we're starving and need some kind of nourishment! We order the mac & cornbread (of course)...Both were ✨️✨️✨️✨️✨️.

2nd issue: As the food arrives, there is NO space on the toddler table to put it. The wait staff had to take the plates back, because they too were at a lost where or how to put our food on the tiny tot table. Now our food is getting cold We asked to speak with a manager. Mr. Mike (Gen Mngr) comes & offers to help by taking the mac & cornbread which we were still eating take the candle and take the Sararoga water bottle (which we were still drinking) to make room for our dinner plates and sides. Ummm SIR DO NOT touch any of our plates with your nasty smoke smelling hands. Leave everything where it is. Bring our food out and WE will do it ourselves. As a MANAGER you should know better than to touch someone's plate with unwashed/sanitized/gloved hands, especially just coming back from a smoke break!!! They bring our food out (which is lukewarm at best now) ~ we nibble on some of it. Turkey wings were tough...and the catfish was not thoroughly cooked (thicker pieces were raw). Needless to say, not a great birthday dinner experience and I will NEVER dine there again. Funny thing is, I heard from several friends & associates that South was a great place to dine. Not so much ~ Dine at your own risk. They get 1 star because our server (despite having to relay the BS restaurant policy) +...

I visited South Restaurant for the first time yesterday. The restaurant is gorgoues and I must say it did not disappoint. When my husband and I first arrived they seemed to be a little bit unorganized, but that was because our reservations for dinner was at 7pm the same time the Jazz show starts and they were trying to seat dinner guest and show guest at the same time. The managers saw what was happening and jumped right in to help get everyone seated in a timely manner. We were welcomed by one of the managers who esorted us to our table and he was such a a gentleman that he pulled my chair out for me to be seated and made sure my husband was seated. I apologize that I didn't get his name because I love to give recognition when 5 star service is provided so often it so easy for us to complaint . Once we were seated we were greeted by our waitress Asia who had a beautiful smile and was very knowledgeable of the menu and history of the restaurant which was good to hear about. She also recommended some amazing appetizers to start with. We had the cornbread which is the star of the restaurant that I heard so much about and it didn't disappoint. We also had the delicious Fried Green Tomatoes with shrimp served with remoulade sauce and some delicious pickled red cabbage. I would definitely order both of those again. For our main dish my husband had the Sea Bass which was cooked to perfection and seasoned perfectly served with fingerling potatoes, broccolini and roasted tomatoes as garnish and I had the Hot Honey Fried Chicken, unfortunately it wasn't as good as I expected and I had to send it back for the amazing Sea Bass . Asia our amazing waitress offered to get us a fresh batch of chicken, but we decided to get another Sea Bass. Everyone from Asia to several of the managers was so attentive to our table constantly checking on us making sure everything was good. I had a delicious strawberry margarita that Asia recommended and it did not disappoint. We looked at the dessert menu,but didn't see any that caught our eyes; however, Asia did surprised us and brought us a brownie dessert as a early anniversary celebration which is next month. I must say my husband and I truly enjoyed ourselves and we will definitely be back when we are...