Southern Chicago
Gee Riley · 255 Google reviewsSouthern Chicago — solid, no-fuss food in South Loop. Contemporary look with thoughtful details. Strong bar program alongside the food. "Their fried chicken is perfectly seasoned and crispy" — Jazmin Garcia
What 995 diners keep saying
What 995 diners keep saying
verbatim, from Google
“Celebrated my sister's birthday and everything was perfect 💯 We had brunch and the food was amazingly delicious. I had the shrimp and grits, with a side of pancakes. The bartender snapped on the drinks! 👍. Customer service was phenomenal. The owner and general manager provided the highest hospitality and the huge golden mirror in the back allowed us to take perfect photos. We will continue to support this restaurant. #blackowned”
“It was a great experience. I went here for my birthday dinner. Service, food, and atmosphere were amazing. The drinks were okay. The Langston was the best one in my opinion. Would definitely return.”
“The food is amazing here. I loved everything except for the deviled eggs. The staff were friendly. My only hang up is the no sandals rule. It was close to 100 degrees when we went and we were forced to sit at the bar.”
“I had the pleasure of dining at Southern Chicago last Saturday after attending a graduation ceremony, and I can’t say enough good things about this restaurant. From the moment we walked in, the atmosphere was welcoming, and the service was attentive and friendly. We started with the sliders, which were absolutely delicious, along with the fried green tomatoes topped with lump crab meat—both appetizers were seasoned perfectly and packed with flavor. Everything arrived fresh and beautifully presented. For my entrée, I ordered the roasted chicken with vegetables, and it was outstanding. The chicken was tender, juicy, and perfectly seasoned, while the vegetables were cooked just right. Every bite was flavorful and satisfying. You can tell the owner takes pride in delivering an exceptional dining experience. The food, presentation, service, and overall ambiance were all 10 out of 10. It’s always a pleasure to support a Black-owned business that consistently delivers quality. I highly recommend Southern Chicago for anyone looking for amazing food, excellent service, and a memorable dining experience. I’ll definitely be back!”
“Emil was our bartender listen yall he put a twist on them drinks they were good strong but tasty you could taste both the goodness and the liquor but it didn’t over power the taste which was fye”
“Emil was soooo cold on the drinks!!! The best and most attentive Bartender and did his thing on our drinks!”
“An exceptional dining experience from start to finish. The flavours were smooth, rich, and beautifully balanced- each dish melting effortlessly on the palate without feeling heavy or overdone. The ambience is equally refined: chic, understated, and thoughtfully designed, creating the perfect backdrop for a relaxed yet elevated meal. Easily a must-visit spot if you’re in the area. Pardon, the picture I took doesn’t do justice to the dishes.”
“My first time here was this past Saturday and let me say, I have reservations to go back again tomorrow (Tuesday) lol. The food was absolutely delicious. We ordered the deviled eggs, fried green tomatoes, crab cake, oyster rockerfella, ribeye steak, lobster Mac and cheese and The Brussels sprouts. We loved everything except the lobster Mac and cheese. It had a watery texture that we weren’t a big fan of. When the waitress wrapped up our food we informed her we didn’t want to take the lobster Mac and cheese with us and naturally she asked why… we told her and she was able to take it off the bill. She was an amazing waitress I wish I would have gotten her name!!!! I’m looking forward to going back to try more items off the menu. The ambiance is beautiful, service was great and I liked our seating. Oh and the cornbread skillet is BOMB!!!!”
“If I could give this restaurant MORE stars I would!!! I found this BEAUTIFUL establishment doing a quick google search. I needed somewhere to take my sister for a belated birthday dinner and I also wanted it to be a black owned spot. But finding a place the day after Valentine’s Day was toughhhh. Southern Chicago had availability though and I’m sooo thankful. However, when we got there, as we checked in, the hostess apologized for an issue they were having in their kitchen. She warned us that our food could take maybe more than an hour to come out and asked if we still wanted to dine. I was a little sad but asked was the food worth waiting for and the way her and her coworker nodded YES, I was compelled to believe them! My sister and I figured we would be drinking and catching up with one another anyway and time always flies when that happens. We were seated immediately. Our server Milexi came to our table in what felt like a good enough time for us to “ooh and ahh” over the menu and decide what we wanted. She apologized again for the issue and explained that this wasn’t a usual night and we assured her that we understood. We placed our order (we ordered so much 😩😅) and our oysters came out first. We didn’t wait long at all! Maybe 7 minutes later they were on our table hot and fresh. When I tell you it was the most delicious flavors I’ve ever had and I’ve had some gooood oysters. Our cornbread came next and omg another star dish!! We joked that if this was a “bad night” we HAVE to come back for the redemption night because everything for us was 20/10!!! From the initial transparency, the delicious food (I can’t stress enough how good everything is), the impeccable service (Milexi is the absolute BEST), the ATMOSPHERE (the jams were JAMMING since we walked through the DOOR), annnnd the drinks were delicious, creative and skkrrooonng. I can’t WAIT to go back!!! I got the chicken (amazing in that sauce) with Mac n cheese and brocollini and sis got the salmon (salmon was the most flavorful and super juicy) which came with the best potatoes and we also had fried calamari with the cornbread and oyster Rockefeller for appys. Dang, when I type it all out like that it’s a lot LOL. But I would get it alllll again!!!! If you are thinking about this place, GO!! Soooooo worth it!!!! Truly the most delicious food I’ve had in Chicago and I am a Chicagoan. Not the suburb kind of Chicagoan either. And I love to try new restaurants in this city and this one isn’t new favorite! Hope you enjoy as well….”
“This restaurant is a 10 out of 10 definitely recommend. It was the perfect Valentine's Day gift. The food and ambience was amazing. Only advice I can give is that to place you entre at the same time you place appetizers or drinks and your wait will be a lot shorter. Thanks for providing an awesome experience.”
“Went for a lunch reservation on Valentine’s Day. Our server was Myles who was very nice and had great recommendations. We did wait for over an hour to get our food. Spoke to the manager who was very nice, apologized for the wait and explained they had lots of call offs. The manager was extremely accommodating comping our drinks and dessert and discounting the rest. The food was absolutely delicious. We loved every bite.”
“Such a great dinner out. The ambiance is beautiful with gorgeous light fixtures, velvet chairs and white table cloths - very upscale. Everything we ordered was a hit: Chive biscuits, maple fried chicken, collards, lobster mac and cheese, cocktails. We will absolutely be back to try some of the other items that looked great on the menu.”
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