South Kitchen + Bar in Athens

The salmon had no flavor.The soda machine was broken.The Nashville hot chicken was a small fatty thigh for $ 20 along with an extremely oil filled Texas toast.The mule was delicious. As was the pimento cheese.I wouldnt recommend this place for actual food.

I came here just because of the raving reviews for the fried green tomatoes. They were decent! They were quite oversalted though. I probably wouldnt order them again, but I really liked their menu and wouldnt mind trying some other dishes. The restaurant is very nice and classy, without feeling too pretentious. Great service.

Great restaurant/pub. Good food, creative drinks. Nice upscale atmosphere.Nestled among the more commonplace watering holes of Athens, this one stands out. Primarily because of the architecture, excellent service, and creative drink menu. But secondly because it feels more refined than some of the other - drink until you drop spots....The indoor seating area is not huge, but does have adequate seating. Theres also a fairly substantial outdoor seating area.The stained glass windows and arches make for a more polished feel. Not ostentatious, but just a little bit nicer.They have all the standard drink combos and beer selections including a fairly significant local selection. But they also have a small specialty drink menu which I sampled.We had a couple of appetizers, and they were both delicious. We had tater tots and fried green tomatoes. The pimento cheese looked enticing and based on other reviews would probably be on our list for the next visit!The food was rich and hot. It is a little bit on the salty side but its fried and in the south so what do you expect? High blood pressure is practically genetic down here! And yes I was born and raised here. We have eaten dinner here in the past and it was good. I need to come back and review it.The service was friendly and excellent from the hostess at the door to the young lady that took care of us during our visit. Attentive but not overbearing! Just right.Parking is typical for downtown Athens either you win the lottery and get street parking or park in one of the decks and take a nice stroll.This is a great place for a date night, or casual evening out for an old married couple.... Thatd be us. But for the younger crowd, this is a nice place for a small group gathering that allows for conversation versus yelling.I would definitely recommend it.

High end southern fare in historic building in downtown Athens. We came for brunch on Saturday at 2pm. It has a good atmosphere, easy to chat with background music. Food profiles were good with smoke and pepper emphasized. Beer selection was good, but non mainstream. Recommended if you are in town.

I was very impressed, Great food I had the bar burger and fries with Ranch and sweet tea. It was very delicious, The service was great friendly and checked up on us the right amount of time. The only complaint was sitting at the high table with 6 of us, which made it kind of cramped. I heard they have great brunch but not down here during the weekend..🙁🙁🙁

Great food, good location, friendly staff. The brunch was fantastic and reasonably priced. Cant wait to return to try dinner.

Nice in-house ground beef burger with seasoned fries. Cooked to order and was very tasty. Staff and service were both awesome!The rooms are beautifully decorated and the old fixtures like stain glass, soaring high ceilings and chandeliers give a sophisticated ambiance.I would like to go back for an evening meal.

South Kitchen + Bar . . . one word - SCRUMPTIOUS!! Let’s start with the ambiance. Gorgeous old hotel converted into this AMAZING restaurant with condos upstairs and an event space. Most marble of any building in the state of Georgia. Now, the food. What?! SO GOOD. Bloody Mary just the right mix of spicy and tomato with okra/olive/pickle garnish. Omelet - what do they do to their eggs? Fluffy, light, to die for! Biscuits and gravy are an absolute must. Portion is big enough for the entire table to sample. Creamy and smooth gravy atop a marvelous biscuit. Grits were the best we’ve ever had. Service was impeccable. Two thumbs way up for our server, Jacob. When you’re in Athens, Georgia, this restaurant needs to be a first stop! Loved this place!!!

Southern food with a flair - I wanted everything on the menu! Duck fat tater tots were the perfect level of crispy, and the burger was one of the best Ive had in a while. Creamed corn was delicious, though less creamed and more corn than I expected. Servers were very friendly and the manager came out to check on us and cleared tables with the servers. Food came out ALL at the same time and on hot plates. 👌👌

Yummy! Lovely date day with my love. This cocktail English fruit cup was delightfully cool and fruity!

Excellent Service. I was in town for a Balloon Convention and had dinner here the 1st night.The lamb chops were delicious and the bartender helped me pair the perfect beer with my meal.Staff was great, overall a nice chill place to grab a bite and few drinks. Highly recommend.

Sometimes you have a hit, and sometimes you have a "miss".After many years of enjoying this establishment, in a fine classic Hotel, we have had a very disappointing experience on 11 Aug 2022. The "Greeter" - who is quite obviously "Trans", wearing female attire, no bra, was rude, indifferent and discourteous when we asked why we couldnt be seated - awaiting our in-laws (another couple). Individual just refused to acknowledge the question, even when asked twice 3 ft from them. Poor manners X2. To top it off, lunch - shrimp and grits - a favorite of ours here for 5+ years, was just sub-standard. Greasy, overly cooked, and proportions - we all 4 ordered the same thing - were extremely variable by plate. QC was lacking. The tater-tots also were bitter. Sauces were great! ON A POSITIVE NOTE, Lilly - our server - was just fabulous, cordial, responsive and had her A Game in high gear. We left her good tips ($24 combined). Not sure we will be back to our old haunt at this point. Its a little too LGBTQRST+++ for some of us that have a love of what made America Great, and dont want the "alt" lifestyle shoved down our throats. PRO-TIP: Your initial impression when you walk in, sets the tone for the overall experience. Whoever owns this place needs to look at their management and ask some questions. There is NO EXCUSE for indifferent rude behavior in the customer service arena, no matter what.

Absolutely fantastic food. We got the pork chop and crab cake sandwich dinners.

Beautiful atmosphere. Excellent location. Friendly staff.

This was the perfect birthday brunch for me and my friend. The drinks were spot on and the food was phenomenal. We were both first time visitors and she looking to move here to boot! Our waitress Emma was awesome! Kept a good eye on us whenever we needed something and was quick with her service. We will be coming back here in the immediate future ☺️

Food was delicious though menu was limited. Definitely recommend the duck fat fried tots and the fried green tomatoes. However not really a place to dine with kids. Service was great.

I had my sons wedding rehearsal dinner in their "Arch Room" and it was fantastic. Perfect venue for any type of dinner party. The food was delicious, from the apps, the salads, main courses and desserts, all were enjoyed by everyone. Our servers, Mary and Johan, were outstanding, they kept the drinks and food flowing. And I cant leave out Grace, she was so kind and helpful. I will always treat myself to a meal here when in town and cant recommend this place high enough!! Chefs kiss for a job well done!! Thanks!

We came in during lunch while at a conference at the nearby Classic Center. Ours was a party of ten and our server simultaneously received two other large parties in our area. The service was quick and excellent. We had Angela, and she was fantastic. Her service was better than other places I’ve been with smaller groups. The food was also delicious and the brussel sprouts are phenomenal. I highly recommend this restaurant.

Hosted my mum’s 65 birthday at South kitchen in the arch room . It was a beautiful seated event for 30 people . John ( manager was extremely responsive with all our back and forth emails . Unfortunately I couldn’t make it to the event, but my family and friends had a great time . I want to add that John took time to print out personalized menus from our selection of food. I think this speaks volumes about how personal they made this event feel . Food was absolutely delicious and drinks were great . We had a minimum spend of $2400 not including tip and tax and we definitely went overboard but it was such a great experience.

While I was only in Athens for business for a couple days, this was my favorite dinner stop. After ordering the bartenders reco - fried chicken - I was disappointed to learn that the kitchen was out. So I ordered my backup of pulled pork and a unique pulled-pork stew. They were exactly what I wanted. Next time...the chicken.

The lamb was extremely tasty, but I just felt like it was all way overpriced for what I got. To spend over $100 for one person that only included tip, one drink an appetizer, the lamb for the main course, and NO dessert is pretty ridiculous!

Excellent service.Creative well prepared menu.Fair prices.Good bar well made cocktailsNice selection of BeersFine historic buliding.Overall very very good dining experience

South Kitchen is always a family favorite and often our go to for lunch and dinners out. The tater tots and pimento cheese are obviously a must every meal! This is a great restaurant for any occasion and weve not had a bad experience yet! It is also perfect for private gatherings.

Duck fat fried tots? Say no more. I also had a blackened ribeye with a melted butter topping and flash fried spinich special. The chef recommened a medium doneness over my usual rare or med-rare choice for a steak, due to the intent for caramelization and so I went with it. So glad I did. When I tell you that each bite melted in my mouth, its an understatement. The flavor was on point and was the best steak I have had in at least 3 years. It was the special and not on the regular menu, but I hope I get the opportunity to experience it again. Kudos on the meal AND the service.

The South Kitchen and Bar served me and my wife the best shrimp and grits we have ever had, hands down. We plan to return to try more items on their menu.

Its a good place to go and eat, but the service can be hit or miss. The restaurant itself looks really nice and has a ton of history to it. They also have a great outdoors area to eat. Ive been there a few times over the last few months and Ive had amazing service, and Ive also had meh service. As far as the food, it tastes great for the most part.

Well done cocktails! Delicious food, unique menu.

What an exceptional meal. I have wanted to stop into South Kitchen for years but every time I found myself in Athens it was too late to get reservations for a large party. I was alone at dinner time though and thought maybe if I dropped in they could find space for one person alone. I was able to eat at the bar and and it was awesome.This is one of those restaurants you go to where everything you put in your mouth makes all your taste buds stand up and sing, from cocktails to entree. The service was impeccable, the environment was classy but casual.I can’t say enough nice things! You know the meal is good when you have to dig into your chicken with your hands but it’s so delicious you don’t care who sees you lick your fingers .

Great service! Even though they were very busy, everyone had a smile on their face and was happy to help. I had one of the best cocktails I’ve ever had. My server (Abbysuggested the pimento cheese and it was the best thing we ordered. All around great dining experience, I can’t wait to go back!

Disappointing. Service was okay albeit novice. The online menu, at least as far as beer is concerned is not up to date. Ordered the half chicken, slow roasted. It isn’t slow roasted. I’ve cooked better chicken at home many many times. I suspect it’s cooked sous vide so the breast was chewy and the thigh and leg tender. Anyway, the half chicken was uneven and this just okay. The okra is not edible so why put it on the plate? It’s stringy and chewy so what was the point. The mashed sweet potatoes were good but a little too sweet and didn’t work with the chicken at all. All told I paid $45 for poorly cooked chicken, okay sweet potatoes, and inedible okra… and a glass of Chardonnay that outshined the meal. Do yourself a favor and skip South Kitchen. The prices and pretentious attitude is not justified.

Spent the night in Athens Saturday, boy lemme tell you this place is amazing. Easy reservation process, seated on time, excellent server with great knowledge, but the food was absolutely fn BUSSIN. Hubs got shrimp and grits, I got the pork Chop. I knew I was in for a ride when the pink haired smiling amazon (very tall server, cool eye makeup for the GODSserving me asked for temperature on it. Medium please, maam. Arrived perfect and bone-in with, salty/sour/sweet crispy sprouts, smashed sweet potato redolent of fresh butter, peppery watercress tickled with goat cheese. Whatever magic roux on my husbands shrimp was full of sausage and trinity, then popped off with collards that expressed perfect salinity. Grits were creamy and made by someone who knows grits ABSOLUTELY DO NOT COME OUT A PACKET. 30/10. Would drive two hours to Athens again just to eat here.

My daughter took me to brunch on May 14th. We sat outside and our server was Gina. She was fantastic. She went above and beyond to make sure we were taken care of. The staff even brought a water bowl for my daughters dog Max. The food was a very good proportion and was absolutely delicious. We will most definitely be back again.

Excelente. If she was, a drink. And all the food and desserts, excellent

I wanted to try this place because the woman at the Historic Athens Welcome Center recommended it. It was jammed the day before Mother’s Day at 1 PM. Came back the next day thinking there is no way of getting in this place before they close lunch at 3 pm. Was pleasantly surprised they could fit me in. This is supposed to be southern cuisine now: On the menu was a chicken salad sandwich on a croissant and I ordered this. This was just average. The chicken was shredded which means the chicken was stewed. I didn’t taste anything special and the croissant wasn’t fresh. I would have put the croissant on the grill to toast it. I had a side of cheesy grits which was the best item I ordered but I would also expect a little shredded cheese on top - no? The biggest disappointment was the beer I ordered which came after the sandwich and was flat. I don’t know why I keep trying the beer on tap! At any rate, this place is way over rated.

Came here for a 10th anniversary dinner. The food was absolutely delicious! Staff was friendly, but our waitress didnt follow up to check if our meal was alright or if we needed refills, which was fine this time as we had our bar drinks and water. We will definitely come back.

Absolutely awesome! Smoked Trout Benny, Pimento BLT and Skillet Tots in duck fat.. changed my life. Great location and vintage vibe. A classic in The Classic City

Oh my gosh!! Where do I start???The atmosphere was so fun, and what a beautiful building! May I add the food was absolutely spectacular! I ordered chicken that came w a side of okra, and creamed sweet potatoes. The best meal Ive ever had!!Im an hour way, but the trip will be well worth it!! Our server was friendly and on point!! Thank you ❤

Great experience here! My daughter took me here for Sunday brunch - first time being here and it will not be the last! We sat at the bar - great mimosas and an excellent barkeep. Ordered food whilst at the bar and it was superb. The overall vibe of this establishment, from the employees to the patrons, was great - a must do if traveling to the Classic City of Athens.

Atmosphere is beautiful. Our server Sandra was awesome. The collard greens are very tasty. Tomato soup was delicious. The fried chicken was juicy and crispy. It was the perfect lunch spot. I will try them for dinner soon.

Tried a new place for Sunday Brunch and it was so good! Ask for Anna! She was so good and super fun. The eggs were cooked perfectly and the building is iconic and beautiful. We will definitely be back.

Great atmosphere! Good food!! Amazing server!

Our party of fours first time dining here at the recommendation of a friend while visitingAthens on a Sunday afternoon.We sat outside and I think this impacted service. Service was good, but required us to ask twice for a couple of items. I suspect that would not have been the case for inside.Staff was friendly and provided helpful suggestions on food and drinks.Food was great and portions were generous.Iron skillet Tots (Duck-fried tater tots), Sweet pecan rolls, Sauage + Gravey Skillet, Crabcake Benedict Sandwich, and Pimento-Bacon Omelette.Street parking or nearby parking garage. We parked 1 1/2 blocks away.Would definitely eat here again when I visit Athens!

Listen, we had to call the manager over to complain about how AMAZING the food is here, and why there isn’t an Atlanta location, but it’s definitely worth the trip to Athens. We started with some pretty good drinks, and ordered the Georgia hot fries skillet appetizer. I promise, they should bottle up whatever they use to season the yucca fries. There are so crispy, salty and sweet…perfectly balanced. I was so invested in these fries that I didn’t put them down when my entree arrived…but I was in for yet another surprise…the best shrimp and grits on the planet. And I don’t say that loosely. I mean, the shrimp are great, but they’re not the star. They start with perfect creamy grits, top it with some of the best collard greens I’ve had in the south (and I’m a black southern chickthat’s vinegary and seasoned well, and THEN slathers on gravy and sausage that I would eat on ANYTHING! I was in food heaven! My husband loved my dish so much that he ordered one for himself to go. He had the salmon dish that had creamed corn and it was beyond impressive. The service here is great, and parking was pretty convenient on a Tuesday night. We’re definitely traveling back here for a visit.

Food was really good. Pimento cheese was yummy. Wife got a sandwich, I got the biscuits and gravy with side of sausage, with pepper sauce and orange marmalade. Super good, however the kitchen staff screwed up and took a really long time and we ended up getting some cold food. Server made up for it made things right Id Def come back.

This amazing burger was enough to put my dining experience over the top. But when you can order a perfectly battered and crispy fried chicken breast as a side....WOW! My new favorite spot in Athens. Great food, service, drinks and the atmosphere of the iconic Georgian Hotel make this a must do when in Athens.

We had a delicious dinner to-go because unfortunately due to the weather and the fact we were traveling with our pup we couldn’t dine inside or out. I was nervous about ordering the rib eye to go but I decided to go for it and so glad I did! It was so worth it and I thoroughly enjoyed my meal and my fiancé did as well. We ordered the fried green tomatoes, goat cheese fritters, the 8oz rib eye, and shrimp and grits. All were cooked to perfection and my only regret is not being able to enjoy the ambience – next time!

Great food! Highly recommended the pimento cheese and Brussel sprouts. I got the pork but I didnt care for how sweet it was. My friend got the steak and it was fantastic.

Perfect southern brunch or dinner! The food was wonderful and they are clearly taking every reasonable precaution to provide a safe dining experience for their customers and their employees. Beautiful vibe in the heart of Athens! You need to put them on your list of places to try.

The drinks we had (a black fig mule and a cidarwere delicious and the Benny breakfast dish I received was great and my partners bar burger was great, but the service lacked at every turn. We had to wait in a crowded entry to be seated and then had to wait ten minutes before even being asked if we wanted anything. We had to wait ten minutes just for ketchup and the burger came without onions which was not asked. The food ultimately saves this review. I recommend this place purely for the food, the service is lacking plain and simple.

Really amazing food. The pork chop was out of this world good. Service was casual but attentive enough. The cocktails were interesting and well balanced. I really enjoyed this place.