Chef Blythes Southern Bistro

Reviews 4

PH

Philip Tedone

Updated Review 10/16: I came here once a little over a year ago (when they opened) and was not impressed and decided to give them more time. One year later, I am back in town and decide to give it another try. If possible, it was even worse. Anything "made-from-scratch" is 50/50 not. I am not a chef, but I have eaten enough frozen french fries and boxed mac-n-cheese to know what is and what is not "from scratch." The service was no better than the last attempt. Once again, we informed the waiter that we were not happy, and once again no manager came. It seemed that one year did nothing. I would write another detailed description, but upon viewing other complaints where the chef merely argues with the reviewer, and the manager failing to care to come to our table, the chef seems to not care about improving and is satisfied with the sub-par reviews. No more chances here. Original Review 9/2015: This place has potential: great area, decor, menu selection, etc. But they have a ways to go before I make it a regular stop. Took my mother here for Sunday Brunch, and was quite disappointed. The restaurant was maybe half full, but we had to wait quite a while just to be sat, despite several employees hanging out in an empty bar area. After being sat, it took another twelve minutes for a server to greet us (after waiting to be sat, I did keep time for everything else). The server who did finally come to help us was pleasant, but seemed rushed and a tad anxious-- probably due to too many tables. I say that because despite the numerous employees in black polos I saw in the restaurant (including the practically empty bar) only three servers were actually serving tables. Another might occasionally refill a drink or drop off a plate, but it was pretty much just those three. After ordering, it took 31 minutes for "The Basic" and the brunch burger to be brought to us. The presentation was nice, but the taste was not quite. The burgers ciabatta bun was cold and not toasted, there was only a dab of the Cajun remoulade, and the meat itself was lacking any sort of seasoning: bland as could be. And the potatoes served with the burger looked great, but were cold. I am sure the 31 minutes had something to do with that. My mothers dish was no better. The over-easy eggs already had the yolk broken, thus mixing with her cold potatoes and the biscuit that she had to ask for was cold and hard; almost stale. Several times we saw the sous chef and the executive chef (Blythe) herself talking to tables around us, but neither ever came to ours. Even when we told the waiter that we were not happy with the food, no one came to ask us why. Being a new restaurant, I would hope that the chefs would want such criticism to keep people coming back. Overall, we were quite disappointed, as this place seems nice, but did not deliver at all and I will more than likely not be coming back.

KR

Kristen Velez

Let me start by saying that we have been here several times. I think that the idea is good and the food has the potential to be great. However, it seems to have gotten worse and worse, in general, each time we have gone. We went there last Thursday and it was bad from the minute we walked in. The hostess was unfriendly (not rude, just not as friendly as the hostess for a small "southern" restaurant should be). The waitress was not friendly either. She never told us her name and everything took forever. They were out of kids menus (they are just paper copies so how I am not really sure) and my kids were sad they didnt get to color like they usually do here. The tea was disgusting so we switched it out. Then, we never got refills the whole time we were there. My husband asked for a medium rare burger... it was very well done. I asked for no onions... there were onions all over my po-boy. My daughter asked for shrimp on the side, not in her salad... didnt happen. All of the hot food was cold. The mac n cheese had yucky dried cheese on it. When we asked for the cold, almost burned burger to be taken away, it was but she seemed annoyed. We never saw a manager, no one came and apologized. As we were leaving, I mean literally heading out the door, the waitress said the manager was going to come out "in a minute". We stood there with 3 kids waiting. We waited at least 5 minutes, and no one came. So disappointing to us, given we like to support local businesses and live right around the corner. We wont be back and we wont recommend anymore (we have recommended to many people, by the way). Chef Blythe needs to tighten the reigns or her business is going to fail. Hopefully not, but well see!

CH

Charlotte McCall

I ordered a fried shrimp po-boy and fried squash with sweet tea, and maple bread pudding for dessert. I grew up in Louisiana, so Im always VERY PICKY about my fried shrimp po-boys. This one was served hot, open-faced, and the shrimp were nice sized and perfectly cooked, with the tails already off (which I appreciate in a shrimp po-boy). I loved the use of Romaine lettuce instead of iceberg!! The sauce was the exact balance of creamy and spicy that I like. The bread was just a hoagie roll. The perfect po-boy would be served on one of those French bread frog rolls from southern Louisiana, with a really crusty exterior and soft interior, but those are hard to find around here. The fried squash was more interesting than french fries, and was served piping hot (almost burned my mouth). The sweet tea was half-and-half and served with plenty of ice in a mason jar. Reeeeeally refreshing. I asked for lemons and got a bowl with four slices immediately. My waiter was perfect. He even sang a song to someone in the restaurant. The other waiter helped out and they worked as a team, very smoothly. Now, for the real perfection, I ordered the maple bread pudding, which they claimed was the best bread pudding around. I have eaten some mighty fine bread pudding around here (Chef Point, and FnG Eats both make some delicious bread pudding), but I have to admit that this version was very creamy, served warm, and the buttery maple sauce was sublime. I couldnt eat it all and took home the other half to my hubby, who also loved it as a leftover that night. I will be going back to get the fried chicken, and Id also like to try their Taco Tuesday with the one dollar tacos and margaritas.

MA

Mark Moore

Saturday night just after 5PM. The restaurant was empty except for a few at the bar. This was a BIG clue we missed. Ordered fried green tomatoes as an appetizer. The dipping sauce was good but the presentation was poor. A plastic cup in the center of the plate with five small tomato slices. They were OK but Cotton Patch does a better job. I ordered the fried shrimp PoBoy with french fries. The shrimp were heavily battered and only four on what looked like a hot dog bun that was loaded up with lettuce, red onion, and tomato. Couldnt pick it up to eat it as the bun fell apart. I picked the breading off the shrimp and ate a few fries. I think Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen makes a better Po-Boy! The fries were just chunks of crinkle cut potato tossed on the plate. My wife ordered the sweet tea grilled chicken with collard greens and mashed potato. Greens and potato were edible but couldnt say the same for the chicken. I tried a bite of the chicken and spit it out. The chicken was overcooked and had a mealy texture. Not good at all. The waiter was a zombie but did ask how the food tasted and acknowledged that we didnt eat the majority of our meal. When the bill came the sweet tea grilled chicken was removed and we paid only for the appetizer and my PoBoy. The waiter didnt say anything and a manager never came to the table. Oh well. Wont go back to try them again.