Southern Fresh — Restaurant in Safety Harbor

Excellent food, service and vibe.

I've been anxious to visit Southern Fresh since it opened, but having moved from Tampa to Virginia just as it was about to open, I had to wait. My dad, my sister, my dog and I enjoyed an amazing dinner on the deck a few nights ago. We've been talking about it ever since.

We started with the soups - chicken noodle and BLT. Both were excellent, but the unique BLT soup was the star of the show. A rich herbed tomato broth with shredded romaine and crisp bacon. I could have eaten nothing else and been well satisfied.

We ordered three entrees which we ate family-style. We had to have the much-touted signature fried chicken. It did not disappoint - crispy skin without heavy breading, hot and juicy inside. We left nothing but the bare bones on the plate. Being swine-loving Southerners, we had to have the roast pork. Wow. A Southwestern dry rub, hardwood coals, and a foil-wrapped slow finish in the oven rendered sweet, succulent slabs of perfectly seasoned pork that made barbecue sauce irrelevant. We also tried that night's special, blackened redfish. It was perfectly cooked, with just the right amount of Cajun spice, and complemented by a fresh tomato salsa and saffron rice.

The sides were equally delicious - fresh, (not overly-) tender collard greens with a hint of vinegar, fluffy mashed potatoes, Southern-style green beans and roasted vegetable medley all hit the spot.

The salads looked wonderful, but we'll have to try them (and the salmon) on our next visit.

Our server, Riannon, was wonderful. She brought our dog a bowl of water right away (and fawned over him throughout our visit), made sure we had an ice-cold beer as soon as we wanted it, and was the perfect blend of charming, attentive and unobtrusive. We loved her.

The live music, courtesy of the talented and engaging TJ Weger (I hope I got his name right) and the blazing fire pit, provided the perfect kick-back atmosphere.

We will definitely make Southern Fresh a tradition we enjoy whenever we are anywhere near the Tampa area. Highly, heartily...

I arrived around 6:35 on a Sunday evening. I ordered meatloaf that was supposed to come with a brown gravy. At 7:40 p.m. the waiter comes out and tells me that they are out of the brown gravy. I told him just bring some ketchup or some barbecue sauce. Really it took you an hour to tell me this. I ordered a picture of sangria it was completely filled with ice so probably I got a half a picture for 32 dollars. Complete rip off there. I know the place was noted for their fried Chicken so I ordered a thigh and a leg. The price for those two pieces, what appeared to be pigeon being served to me. Was $10. Another rip off. I think my pinky finger on my left hand has more meat on it than that bony chicken leg. As you can see in the picture the meatloaf was one piece and a half, maybe 3 to 4 teaspoons of mashed potatoes and an adequate amount of green beans, all for a measly price of $22. Another rip off. I won't be going back,I've heard good things about this restaurant, but I didn't see one. Luckily I had a $30 coupon that I bought off a Clipp. At the end of two meatloaf dinners and a pitcher of sangria it came to $65. My tip to the waiter was find another place to work, because this place might not be around too long after I post my review. Friend of mine ordered the collard greens they were decent and very edible with a good flavor. That's the only good thing I have to say about the place. The sangria was a nice flavorful drink, not much fruit in it but it did have a...

Very good food and service, I always find it odd when you walk into a restaurant that is empty and they ask you if you have a reservation and act like they might not fit you in. When we walked in 1 table outside had people and one inside. Don't pretend that you have that many reservations that you might have to turn us away. Even when we left inside still had a table or 2 and outside had a ton of tables. Anyway. The menu is very small so if you're a very picky eater you might want to look over the menu first. I had heard great things about the fried chicken so I already knew that was what I was getting. My coworker ordered a salmon salad. The server also told us about a smoked wing special. We decided to split that. The wings came out and were absolutely amazing. Crispy, smoky, and great flavor. We both agreed we could have made a meal out of them. The food came out after a little and looked GREAT. I have to say the chicken was not as good as i expected. I have had very similar chicken before that people also raved about that I also felt the same about it was good and juicy but not the flavor I want out of fried chicken. I think this is more my personal preference rather than anything the restaurant did wrong. The salmon salad was fantastic with a large piece of salmon and a salad with all kinds of interesting extras. Overall a very nice meal in a cool restaurant. Would return if...