Poogan's Southern Kitchen — Restaurant in Summerville

Atmosphere was cute! Service was okay, our server seemed spread thin. Food: HORRIBLE. The picture looks amazing. Sweet Tea Glazed Salmon with Mashed Potatoes & Mac & Cheese. BBQ Maui Maui BBQ Gastrique, Pimento Cheese Grit Cake & Collards. The fish we both ordered was the ONLY thing hot. Our sides were COLD. There was absolutely NO flavor to the cold mashed potatoes, no salt, no butter, no seasoning at all. My mac & cheese was cold, dry and aldente, not cheesy, box mac tastes better, I love mac & cheese its hard to mess up. My salmon was hot and tasted fresh. First few bites definitely tasted the sweet tea on the salmon very good, then not much flavor but was fine, I'm new to eating fish but it was good not bad. Good size piece of salmon! Moms maui maui had no BBQ confusing. It was the only thing hot on her plate. The fish was fresh, good, just bland, not alot of seasoning at all for the good size piece of Maui Maui, but the fish tasted good not bad. The collards were cooked well, best tasting thing on her plate, not hot though. The pimento grit cake was also cold. I didn't like it when I tasted it, she said it was okay. Are there supposed to be biscuits with dinner? We never got asked or offered biscuits. When we were leaving another table said they had to ask. Do you have to ask? Confusing since we had bread plates already on the table. We could hear after our order, the two tables near, the kitchen was running out of everything. This was 5pm on a Tuesday. We didn't say anything about all the cold food because it seemed like the place was short handed. Then the bill, it was over $70 for this. Also, we had cash but decided to use the card, the server did not tell us there is s service charge for using a card, which added to the bill, when she seen us trying to decide cash or card. Just mentioning it would be nice for those who may have the option to use cash. Just wasn't an experience we were expecting. We expected flavor with southern food. They also were not busy when we got there, so not sure why we got served cold food. I appreciate the fish being hot, we didn't get sick. But its like someone plated our plates before cooking the fish, so when the very hot fish came out the sides were room temperature when we got them. If food is made without things like salt, for people who might need to watch it, some kind of heads up about little or no seasoning on things would be great, so those who can have it, dont eat unseasoned food. We don't know if this is how this restaurant always is because the mixed reviews, but spending that much money here we most likely won't be back. People rave about downtown, IDK if I'd risk another experience. Just not sure why everything was cold and unseasoned..

• Almost forgot! Yall do need to clean the booths! I just had surgery so we both sat next to each other on the booth side & food fell between us and there was sooo much DUST and food crumbs in between the booth cushions it was gross. Definitely has not been cleaned in awhile from how much was there. If we weren't sitting next to each other, probably wouldn't have seen it between us. When yall are closed & or slow, yall need to be deep cleaning in the cracks and crevices. We sat in a booth along the partition near the door for reference. I felt so bad for this experience I initially never posted a review here, but Google asked me to rate where I asked for directions and...

On Friday, March 15th, around 8:30, my family—comprising my 8-month-old son, my 16-year-old son, my husband, and myself—ventured to your establishment to celebrate my husband's birthday. It marked our inaugural visit, as we hadn't dined out in eight months, so we anticipated a memorable evening that quickly soured. Our server, Gina, if I recall correctly, greeted us warmly and promptly took our orders upon seating. I opted for calamari, a lemon drop shot, and a lavender martini, while my husband requested a Poogan's Berry lemonade as a mocktail, substituting ginger beer for Sprite. I emphasized to Gina the importance of ensuring it was prepared as a mocktail. Despite this, when our drinks arrived alongside some honey biscuits, my husband's sip revealed it contained nothing but liquor, prompting him to spit it out into his glass of water.

Concerned, I sought clarification from Gina regarding the authenticity of the mocktail, to which she falsely affirmed. Disbelieving, I pointed out the unmistakable taste of alcohol, to which she erroneously attributed to the ginger beer. Eventually, she admitted her mistake, acknowledging that she had verbally communicated the order as a mocktail but failed to input it as such. She persistently attempted to rectify the error by offering to remake the drink without liquor, citing her understanding derived from her experience with Alcoholics Anonymous. However, it became apparent that her intentions were more about salvaging her credibility after deceiving us.

Returning to my husband to confer, I brought the drink with me to prevent further tampering by Gina, who persisted in her attempts to remake it as though the incident hadn't occurred. Subsequently, she approached our table, but I requested time to finish discussing the matter with my husband before engaging with her further. At this juncture, her manager intervened following Gina's explanation, though it was evident that he didn't perceive the situation with the gravity it warranted.

After recounting the ordeal to the manager, he subtly insinuated fault onto my husband for ordering a non-alcoholic beverage that Gina had mishandled, exemplified by her misguided belief that certain ginger beers contained alcohol. Regrettably, no compensatory gestures were extended, such as a complimentary meal for our next visit, despite this being our inaugural experience at your establishment. Instead, apologies were proffered for inadvertently serving alcohol to someone who hadn't imbibed since 2015 on his birthday—a scenario that could have been avoided had our trust not been misplaced. It is disheartening that accountability was evaded, leaving us disillusioned and disinclined to revisit, despite our initial intention to patronize your...

I had Brunch at Poogan's Southern Kitchen (PSK) a few weeks ago with friends. I enjoyed it quite a bit, so last night my Wife and I went to experience the Dinner Menu.

Also worth noting: we have previously had Dinner at Poogan's Porch Downtown and the Food and Service were excellent.

Our Waitress (Caity T. on the receipt) was pleasant, attentive and double checked with the Kitchen regarding a couple of questions / requests.

Just in case anyone is wondering, I tipped her more than 20% for the Service she provided.

When we arrived just before 6:00 PM on Sunday, the upstairs area was closed and nearly half the tables on the Main Floor were empty, so it wasn't too busy. We were seated immediately.

So why only 3 Stars you ask?

I'll take the easiest part first.

I ordered Fried Chicken while my Wife ordered Country Fried Steak. Both of us felt our meals were slightly over seasoned... enough to be noticed, but not so excessive to the point we had to send our meals back.

Secondly, this is the first time I've encountered a restaurant that allowed NO SUBSTITUTIONS WHATSOEVER!

NONE! ZIP! ZILCH! NADA! NYET!

That applied to both the Meals and Sides listed with the meals.

We weren't even offered an opportunity for Substitutions with an Upcharge.

It reminded me of a "Seinfeld" Episode.

I wonder what the response would have been if I said I had a sensitivity or allergy to something specific.

Allow me remind you nearly half the tables were empty, so "it's too busy" would not have been a reasonable excuse.

Also, all the Menu Sides are priced the same @ $4.00 per. I wasn't asking for anything outrageous.

First, I was interested in the Four Piece Fried Chicken Dinner, but I prefer Dark Meat.

They would not allow me to substitute a second Leg and Thigh for the more expensive Breast and Wing.

As a result, I chose to go with the Two Piece Dinner.

Next, the menu lists Cole Slaw as the Side. I was hoping to substitute Collards and add some Whipped Potatoes.

When I was informed I couldn't substitute the Side, I wasn't going to pay extra for the ones I did want with the meal.

Caity was very apologetic and seemed surprised to learn that "No Substitutions" were allowed.

My wife and I agree there are enough options in Nexton that as long as there is a "No Substitution Policy," there is no reason for us to return to PSK for...