The owner was super friendly when he visited our table. Â 4 of us had a casual dinner that was yummy. Â Food was not unique but well done. Â Had a great beer list and locals were friendly. Â I would visit again for a pizza and salad. Â The service staff lacked speed and overall concern, but again we'd go back. Â Fun atmosphere for a casual place.
Review Source:Southwind has taken a nose dive! Â Service is lousy - an hour to get served! Â Â And only half the tables occupied. Â Food - nothing special. Â In 6 months, from the best in Mathews to just another mediocre place. Â We have been long time customers, very disappointed, and likely will never go back....
Review Source:Kind of like the 'where everyone knows your name' place, with music! Great food, friendly and everyone does seem to know everyone! I was in town visiting and making new friends and my first time to Southwind was also a jam night. My friends joined in and played cello and guitar while some of the other jammers played mandolin, bass fiddle, and, if you can imagine it, a shiny red toy piano! Fabulous!
Mathews, Va. reminds me 'The Andy Griffith Show', small town, everyone knows everyone, everyone is smiling, friendly and happy. And, Southwind is an extension of that very thing. About an hour from Williamsburg, Va., about 1 1/2 hours from Richmond, Va. Airport.
What can I say? I am in love with Southwind Cafe, the staff, the food, the atmosphere, and love the live music, the jam session during the week....
Regarding the outdoor seating, I think there were a few tables outside but honestly, why would anyone want to do that when all the action is inside??
Ok so I want to mention the food: really good food, really good pizza, really good salads, and as for dessert...well, well, well, I can only speak for a chocolate/almond layer cake kind of thing that I shared with my friend.....and after the first bite, did not want to share!!!
We visited the cute little town of Mathews while on a beautiful motorcycle ride through the Virginia countryside. Â Based on Yelp reviews and recommendations from friends who knew the area, we decided on Southwind Cafe as our lunch destination. Â We'd been warned that it gets crowded, but we arrived between the lunch and dinner crowds so we got a table right away (there was still a healthy number of people enjoying leisurely meals). Â
What a nice place! Â The decor was clean, bright, colorful, and artsy (locally made art & crafts, I think). Â It looked like just about every piece on display was for sale. Â The single bathroom was tidy and had good lotion if you like that kind of thing. Â There was a refrigerated display case that held delicious looking desserts sold by the slice (apple, lemon, pumpkin, and key lime pies; carrot and almond cakes)...unfortunately, we didn't try any. Â There was nice bar with seating that had a good selection of wine and beers on tap.
Service was friendly and timely. Â We never felt rushed or in need of anything. Â They had a good variety of sandwiches, salads, and pizzas to keep most folks happy. Â Right off the bat, their Black bean-Sweet potato Quesadilla off their regional/seasonal menu jumped out at me, but it was really popular and had already sold out! Â Disappointing. Â Instead, we ordered two pizzas (Tangier Island and Parrot Island, I think) . Â I've posted a pic of how those came out, and they tasted as good as they looked. Â The crust was crispy and chewy, and had fresh toppings that packed a lot of flavor. Â They both had good topping to crust ratios. Â We cleaned our plates.
We will definitely make Southwind Cafe a regular stop when we're riding out that way. Â If Mathews is not a usual destination for you, FYI...the small pedestrian area around the cafe has other restaurants, coffee shops, galleries, and boutique/antique/other stores that make for a good day trip.
PS Â I see up above where it says Southwind Cafe is not wheelchair accessible. Â There were stairs leading up into the front of the cafe, but there was a gentleman in a wheelchair dining inside when we came in, so perhaps there's a wheelchair accessible ramp somewhere on the premises?
Our family are regulars when we are in Mathews. Â Definitely the best restaurant in Mathews and as good as any restaurant in the DC area as far as I am concerned. Â The pizzas are excellent and they have a great selection of microbrews. Â Their specials are also very good. Â The staff is very courteous and you feel like you are eating with family when you are there. Â Ned and Dia have gone out of their way to run an excellent restaurant. Â As one other reviewer said you do sometimes feel like you should be helping them clean up. Â We find it hard to go to any other restaurant in Mathews and always seem to end up here.
If you come after 6pm expect to wait as it is generally packed every night. Â It is after all the best restaurant in town.
This is for my money the best place to eat in Mathews, and the crowds show it. If you want to eat in on a weekend you should probably come early. Last time I ate here at 6 pm on a Saturday and had to wait about a half hour for a table (which is sort of longer than you'd expect for this area).
The food, though, is worth it. I've eaten here several times and gotten several different pizzas. They have all been delicious. Last time I created my own pizza with pesto, feta, and spinach. The one thing you must do is order a side of the buttermilk parmesan dressing and dip your crust in it. Either that or get it on a salad (the house salad is big enough to split). It is the very best thing in the world, I think.
Pizza and beer in a small town setting? Â I'm there!
The pizza was really good and the restaurant does a great job delivering small town ambiance. Â After our meal, I would expect to see this establishment highlighted in the likes of a Southern Living magazine. Â My girlfriend also told me that most of their ingredients are locally grown...not sure if that is true but that is pretty rare to find these days. Â
Highly recommended as a pit stop for anyone taking a day drive in the Mathews area.
These guys make some of the best pizza I've ever had. Â The restaurant is run by a really nice couple, I think their names are Ned and Dia. Â I normally don't advocate hanging out at a business until they close but many times that my friends and I go here we unintentionally do just that. Â Ned and Dia are just so nice, fun and accommodating that you feel like family. Â It's to the point that when they clean up I feel like I should help move the chairs and I've only been here a handful of times!
They make their own pizza and the little rolls that some of the sandwiches come on. Â The specials are always really inventive. Â I can't think of anything I've ever had here that I didn't like or thought mediocre. Â The pizza dough is just a tad sweet and that really makes it for some reason. Â The pizzas are also named after islands around Virginia and that's really cute. Â
Reasonable prices, desserts are handmade locally by a friend of theirs (SO TASTY), great beer and wine selection. Â Beers on tap and in bottles and some local foods and tkotches on sale in the restaurant. Â You can order take-out.
They sometimes keep odd hours so I'd call ahead just to make sure but definitely go if you're able.
My wife and I are staying in the area for a few days, and had dinner here on a Thursday night. Â It has a great country, small-town cafe feel, and the service was great and very friendly.
My wife and I each had a side salad, which used fresh romaine lettuce rather than boring iceberg lettuce. We were quite pleased with the homemade dressings: she had their buttermilk parmesan and I had the balsamic vinagrette. Â Both dressings are fantastic! Â
My wife had a  special: scallops wrapped in prosciutto with some parmesan on top, with a side of homemade mashed potatoes. Excellent food, but the scallops could have done without the parmesan; the ham and cheese are both on the saltier side, and together they make the scallops a little too salty.  I had the Parrot Island pizza: bbq chix with gouda, fresh garlic, and onions. It was delicious, but it could have used less gouda cheese I think.
We took our dessert to go, a slice of chocolate cake and a slice of carrot cake. Â Both are fantastic! Â Very tasty, and exactly what you think a homemade cake should be.
Overall, this place has solid food and great service. It has an appropriately unsophisticated atmosphere (we also bought Girl Scout cookies on our way out), and it fits perfectly with the locality. Â The prices are also great.
This little restaurant has been my favorite for many years. Â The pizzas are to die for and the salads are great also. Â My husband also recommends their sandwiches. Â It's been a few years since we were there for dinner but when we did, you should always order at least a cup of soup. Â The lobster bisque is truly wonderful. Â The dinners were too but it's been too long ago to remember specific dishes. Â We'd like to try to go when they have music but haven't made that yet. Â Highly recommended.
Review Source:This little gem is a find in this tiny town so far from civilization!
The specialty pizzas are delicious. Â Our favorites are the Hogg Island or the Gwynn's Island. Almost all of their soups are to die for. Â We especially like the cream of asperagus and the cream of brocoli.
We like the atmosphere and weekend music--which almost makes you feel like you've been transported to somewhere that is far from this tiny sometimes backwards town. The staff is very good (you go to the counter to order and the staff brings the food out to you.) Â They have a great selection of microbrewed beers and wines. Â Its a quirky, arty, culteral oasis in what can sometimes be a wasteland of culteral opportunities. Â The only drawback is that they usually are only open on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays.
Upstairs they sell goods imported from many cultures and countries.
The only way they could improve this is to put it somewhere where you actually WANT to visit other than Mathews, to stay open more often and later, and to expand their space and have a sidewalk cafe.
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