Southside Smokehouse & Grille — Restaurant in South Carolina

Our first time at this establishment. Let me say the service was excellent and the wait staff friendly. This was the best part of the experience. (Thus 2 stars instead of 1) I purchased their Chefs Special Burger with fried green tomatoes and pimento cheese. At $14.00, I expected a fresh burger patty instead I got a paper thin frozen recooked patty. The patty was perfectly round and the meat a blanched grey with no juice or taste at all.( I owned restaurants in the past and know frozen) Frozen Burgers from the local supermarket tastes better. The burger arrived with the toppings thrown on and all on one side. The cheese was so melted there was a pile on the plate and not the burger. Cooks must of been in a hurry and there were only 2 other customers eating while we were there. Got 8 piece wings for 12.50. Since wings are now cut in 2 pieces when served, 4 complete wings cost $12.50. (My fault I should of asked before ordering). Then there was the Taco Salad my wife tried. I have never seen a taco salad with pickled purple cabbage on most of it. The taco chips were cold and stale out of a bagged product. The amount of meat and cheese on it was a laughing matter. Looked like a table spoon thrown to the side of the chips. In all fairness though the drink from the bar was good as was our waitress.

To the owner. You do not need to respond to this. We are grown up and could of complained while we were there but the waitress was nice and really tried and I did not want to burden her with this. The end matter is you have a right to run your business your way just as we have the right to voice our opinion. We will not be back to your restaurant which is a real shame for us as it could of been awesome.

This comments are after I read the owners rebuttal.

Thank you to owner for the rebuttal. You responded as anticipated. You are correct nachos not tacos, sorry about the mind slip. Cheese melted off product due to over cooking. I stand by my burger patty and took responsibility for the wings (My bad for ordering them). I do not argue 1/2 wings are served by many. Review not meant to attack but to help put you up on your A game. I apologize if you felt offended. But get a grip , money is tight for all and everyone is looking for value in their purchases. There was not value in our meal at your establishment. When I spend over 50.00 at a restaurant I anticipate feeling good when leaving.

It also eluded you that I took responsibility for not bitchin and moaning while at your establishment. Trying to save server embarrassment as she was so nice. Instead of a defensive rebuttal why don't you invite unhappy guests back to meet with you to discuss instead of being nasty in your rebuttal. Best of luck with your business. I will be sure to spread the word about your excellent service and...

I've been waiting to try this place for a few months now and let me tell you, it did not disappoint!! Our food was phenomenonal and our server Sarah was very knowledgeable and ready with recommendations. While we looked over the menu and specials, it was hard to decide on one certain dish to try because everything sounded so flavorful and delicious! My husband opted for a classic burger, with a fried green tomato added. He said it was one of the best burgers he's tried in town! I finally decided on the pulled pork platter and 2 sides. My sides were baked beans and collard greens. I've lived half my life in NC, and half in SC and trust me when I say there's definitely a difference in their BBQ! Finding a truly tasty vinegar based sauce (the way it's "supposed to be") has been a big challenge for me. I won't eat BBQ from anywhere else now simply because they got the sauce right!!!! The pork was perfectly smoked, not dry, packed with its own flavor and served with a basket of their own signature sauces. They take the time to walk you through the flavors and even their own favorite combinations! Mine was served with their Lexington dip on the side and at first, I thought it was going to be the overly vinegar flavored sauce I've come to expect in SC, but it was not at all that!! It was close to NC, but needed a little more, so I decided to pair it with one of their other sauces and BINGO!!!!!! The thinner sauce I chose soaked perfectly into my enormous brioche bun and even though this was my winning combo, I still tried the rest of the sauces and honestly any of them would've been amazing on my sandwich! The baked beans were made from scratch and very unique, with a smoky flavor and combination of beans, not overly sugary and not only were the collards REAL collars greens (not turnip greens some places try to pass off as collards) they were thick cut, not all stalks and jam packed with flavor!!! Staff were all extremely friendly and service was prompt and attentive to details and special requests. Please be sure to make a reservation if you're going on the weekend, this place is a hidden gem and worth...

Ordered $100 worth of food today April 27th 2019. Was told they are busy and to give them 30min. I give them 40min, show up food not ready to pickup. The bartender girl has a bad attitude and her nails are disgusting!she should not be touching people's food!The food finally comes out and I wanna just get it and GTFO there. Get to the car to find out 3 orders of fries are missing LOL. Go back in , have to wait for the fries and get told off NOT to sit where I was bc someone is sitting there. Go to bar, take a seat in empty spot and the bartender monster nails girl tells me not to sit there that it's taken LoL. Finally get the missing food and leave. Get home, to find out more food was missing. Anyways the food was great despite the experience. Attroucious service would be a compliment to them. If you DO NOT value your time, and want to be served by the long dirty nails girl then you will have a great time at this joint.

REPLY TO OWNER: If you are in the food and beverage industry, your NAILS must be cut short and kept clean because bacteria grows under them. I am thinking about mixing drinks, grabbing limes etc with those nails. They teach you this in culinary school... :) Also instead of playing musical chairs your staff could have told us were to sit and wait maybe offer us a beverage and not make rude comments and eye rolling. You shouldn't make the customer feel like they inconvenienced you for making a to go order. Would have preffered to be told upfront that you all were busy, and most likely can't fill to go orders properly. Ohh and we never got our beans and slaw! But I am not worried...