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| - Big fan of Beckett's Table so was expecting the same high level of service, atmosphere, food quality, wine list, etc.
We dined there on a Saturday night - two couples and a fifth wheel. Our reservation still showed for 4 at the restaurant, which was unfortunate. I'm chocking this up to OpenTable - and it could be why I'm seeing fewer of my favorite haunts use OT for their reservation system. Not holding that against Southern Rail.
The place was P.A.C.K.E.D.!!! Everywhere you looked - bodies. It was a very noisy place, not very good for group or intimate conversations. We often found ourselves yelling at our dinner companions.
The decor was beautiful... along with the rustic charm were splashes of opulence and beauty - including the ginormous arrangement of flowers right behind us. It was breathtakingingly beautiful and fresh. Much as I loved looking at the arrangement, sadly, it's scent interfered with the taste and smell of my dinner. It was gorgeous - I'd hate to see the restaurant stop providing their guests with such an amazing thing of beauty - but in the end, its smell did interfere with my food experience.
Our waiter was great - quick, attentive, did a great job explaining the specials and offering suggestions.
Where my issue is, is with the food. I just feel that it didn't measure up to its sister restaurant. It lacked the WOW factor that Beckett's Table had. I left there satiated, but not astonished - as I did with Beckett's.
I had the chicken with biscuit dumplings. It was simply "ok". My husband and one of our companions both had the ribs, which were pretty good - the sauce was very obviously scratch made and had some robust, complex flavors to it - not like most bbq sauces. This stuff was high brow, for sure. The other couple tried the prix fixe menu (it was restaurant week afterall) and loved what they had - the FGTs were amazing, according to them. We all enjoyed the deserts. We all liked the food - don't get me wrong... it was simply missing that WOW that Beckett's Table has.
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