Southport & Irving

I went here last Saturday for brunch and had a great experience. The atmosphere was great and our service was excellent. I saw a few reviews about less than stellar service and fortunately for us that was not what we expereienced. Our waiter was very attentive and friendly. The food was delicious (granted I got a pretty basic ham and cheese croissant so not sure I can really give them a full five stars) and I definitely would love to go back to try more items on the menu.

I am not going to lie I was disappointed with Southport and Irving. I just moved four blocks away from the spot and was hoping it would be my new "go to" for brunch with it's $10 all you can drink bloody mary offering and diverse menu, after trying it out I would have to say that's not the case.

Upon entering I realized I used the wrong door. The whole front section was totally abandoned when I walked in and there was no one there to greet people, apparently there is a second door from outside that leads to the hostess stand. I would highly recommend the management consider locking the first door if no one is going to be manning it. One of my friends and a woman from another party waited there for five minutes before deciding to have a look around. No bueno.

We had a large group of eight for brunch, nothing unmanageable. Unfortunately our waiter was distant, somewhat rude and made awkward comments throughout most of the meal. The most troubling was when one of my friends voiced her displeasure that the brunch menu online was very different than the one we were presented with. He made a crass comment and was very unapologetic. So rude in my opinion! It's 2013 people, your online menu is extremely important!

Any way onto the food. I personally tried the bbq pulled pork sandwich and house fries. It was good but not great. The fries were too salty in my opinion (and that's saying a lot because I love me some salt!). I tried a friend's sweet potato fries which were not only salty but somewhat soggy as well, very disappointing. Everyone else seemed to think their dishes were fine but nothing special. One critique in particular was of the duck hash, it was duck with potatoes, no hash to be found!

All around I'd say Southport and Irving has a lot of potential. The ambiance is warm and relaxing, just the kind of place I'd want to spend a weekend morning; however, the so so waitstaff and the mediocre food will keep me from coming back anytime soon.

Went here for a Sunday brunch with friends. The first thing you notice is that the place has a great atmosphere with a lot of charm. The second thing you might notice is the somewhat unique menu. My friends and I read through it and were immediately intrigued -- we saw duck hash and an assortment of interesting "bennies".

Unfortunately, creativity is kind of the only good thing going on with the menu. The food is bland for the most part and the potatoes were way over salted, almost inedible. I wanted to love the food, but instead I found myself feeling underwhelmed and disappointed.

Awesome things:
- They take reservations for weekend brunch. (If you have ever tried to coordinate any
group brunches, you may have noticed it can be challenging to find a place that takes reservations.)
- They offer bottomless mimosas for $10! I've been to a lot of brunch places and this is by far the best "bottomless" deal I've ever seen.

Overall it was just "ok", but with the right group I would gladly go back to experiemce the charm and bottomless mimosas!