Southern Kitchen — Restaurant in Richmond

First and last visit. We were seated at the bar area high seats which was fine, however we were seated directly under a fan that was clearly on the highest speed it could go. We were freezing but we dealt with it, at first. The first waitress was okay, young girl who seemed somewhat distracted or new but she wasn’t the worst. She asked us what drinks we wanted and I ordered a lemonade. She brought it to the table and I took a sip, it was HOT, full of ice but still hot which is weird. I asked to switch to sprite, the sprite tasted like tonic water I alert the waitress and she gives me sprite out of a can -_-. She takes our food orders around 3pm, brings us cornbread and then comes back 40 minutes later to tell us she’s leaving soon because of shift change and her words, “yeah it’s shift change and I’m pretty much about to leave”. She then comes back around apologizing for the wait which at this point an hour had gone by without getting our food. (It wasn’t even a packed house) they had more employees than patrons and they come by taking your small plates that they think you’re done with. We asked to be moved to the table behind us so the waitress walks away and comes back to tell us we could move to the two empty bar seats so we did. The bartender (rude girl with short blonde hair) rudely says “so y’all just decided to move to the bar” I wanted to scream on her so bad but I kept it together and said no it’s cold over there and the waitress moved us. Now we are at a bar, and this bartender not once asked us if we needed or wanted anything! Guess she was under the impression that we already paid the waitress who was going off the clock so she pretty much acted like we weren’t there. Her loss because we wanted drinks. Our food came out after we had paid the bill and were moved to the bar because remember the waitress left. No handoff no nothing. The oysters were over cooked, Mac and cheese was not good at all, fries nasty, cabbage was sweet, Milo’s tea taste better than the sweet tea they offer there. No one checked on us. We were on our own! Once we were done eating, we asked the bartender for two boxes and she looked us in the face and did not say a word. It again took everything in me not to go off on her. I walked over to the manager and asked her for two boxes since her employee did not acknowledge us when asked. Funny enough once she saw me walk to the manager she all of a sudden walks and grabs two containers, but nothing to put our sides in. I wanted to snatch them out of her hands so bad. Just unprofessional. I couldn’t even adjust the tip because they take gratuity out no matter the size of your party. A special thank you to Amber for grabbing us bags, containers for our sides and listening to us explain our experience. She offered us cake to take with us but we declined because we came to support a black business not take from it. I wish we had her start to finish, our experience would’ve been better. Fire the bartender or send her back to training to learn the basics of Customer service. I drove 1.5 hours for terrible service and mediocre food I could’ve gotten in Hampton. This place came highly recommended but never again will I put myself through what I went...

First of all, CONGRATULATIONS ON THE BIG MOVE. I love the amount of space in the new location and it’s absolutely beautiful. I’ve been a huge fan of Southern Kitchen since it first opened in Jackson Ward and have always held it in the highest regard as one of my favorite soul food spots in the city (outside of the legendary Croaker’s Spot). Naturally, while visiting my family for the holidays, I was excited to stop by the new location and show my support for a restaurant that has consistently delivered amazing experiences in the past. Unfortunately, this visit fell far short of the high standards I’ve come to expect, and I left feeling disappointed.

From the start, my experience felt off. I was almost seated at a dirty table, though it was quickly addressed and I was moved to a booth that still wasn’t thoroughly cleaned. While not a dealbreaker, it set a poor tone for the rest of the meal. That said, our server, Josh (I hope I remembered his name correctly!), was absolutely fantastic—attentive, warm, and professional. This review in no way reflects his service, which was the highlight of the visit.

I started with my favorites; Shane’s strawberry lemonade and the Southern Rolls. The drink was as delightful as I remembered, and the rolls, while served cold this time, were still enjoyable since they’re very hard to eat when piping hot and I’m an eater yall LOL. However, the main course is where things went downhill.

For dinner, I ordered catfish with mac and cheese and yams, dishes that I’ve always loved here. Unfortunately, the catfish tasted off, almost as though it wasn’t fresh, and even hot sauce couldn’t salvage it. The mac and cheese was served cold, with an unappealing puddle of oil at the bottom, and the yams were so overly sweet that I could barely eat more than a few bites. For the first time in all my visits, I found myself unable to finish anything on my plate. Out of respect, I asked for a box, but in the end, I just couldn’t bring myself to take the food with me.

On top of the food, the overall presentation left much to be desired. The silverware was dirty, wrapped in paper napkins, which didn’t match the level of quality I’ve come to expect. All in all, the check came to $120….a price I wouldn’t mind paying if the experience matched the cost. Unfortunately, this wasn’t the case.

I left the restaurant both hungry and disheartened. My biggest takeaway from this experience is a deep sadness at what seems to be a decline in the Richmond dining scene. Southern Kitchen has always been a place I could count on for incredible food and atmosphere, and I sincerely hope this was just an off day rather than a sign of broader issues. I will be back for round 2 at the...

Update: 2024

I went to a Christmas dinner here with my non profit and were excited for the opportunity to try the new location at Stony Point out. We were seated right away on a Wednesday night at 630. Our server was great, she made sure I was comfortable while waiting for the whole party to arrive and explained what was on the menu. I started with a sweet tea, and we ordered cornbread as an appetizer. It was the perfect little starter before our meal came. For my entree, I chose blackened catfish, collard greens and Mac n cheese. Everything was really delicious. Collards were perfect, Mac was a smidge salty at the bottom, but overall it was great, and blackened fish was perfectly cooked. I do recommend this place, but have to warn that they are pricey. The good news is the food was good so that helped us get past the cost. I would absolutely go back again and I recommend it for some good southern food.

This was my first time at this location and there was alot I liked, regardless of a few kinks in my visit. I came with a party of 4. We walked over from Marshall str. The wait was 45 mins. But we waited. Our server was nice, but I think she dropped the ball, either her or the kitchen, I'm not sure. Drinks came out first, my sweet tea was deliciously sweet and enough to give me diabetes but worth it. We ordered our entrees, I chose catfish, mac n chz and collards. While we waited for it, they brought out these piping hot burn-my-fingers cornbread. It was buttery and tasty, but literally scalding hot. The catfish was cooked nicely, and mac n chz was good as well, my only small complaint was the greens were a lil bland and had too much juice in the lil bowl. Now.. here's where the issue came in... the food came out for 3 of us... but nothing for the 4th person. She was forced to sit and watch us eat. The server while apologetic couldnt explain why 3 of us ordered the same fish but one plate never came. One of us ladies went to ask what was going on and within another 25 mins the plate came however it was too late to eat it with the group. She had to get a box and never got to eat her food. She was only partially ($12) comped for her meal when she was super inconvenienced. We were all disappointed and just left. I dont want to let this be my final view so I plan to go back again to see if my next experience is deserving of a...