My wife and I loved Southie. The food was phenomenal and service was great. We found this place thanks to Yelp. The reviews and photos did not steer us wrong. We were looking for a good lunch spot in the Rockridge / North Oakland area and this place turned out to be perfect. I recommend it.Southie opened in January 2011. It's owned and run by the same folks who own Wood Tavern next door. The name of the restaurant, "Southie," is a reference to South Boston (I remember it from The Departed). The business doesn't describe its cuisine in any particular way. The internet consensus is "East Coast" and "sandwiches." My visit here was complete when a customer with a strong Boston accent struck up a conversation with me before we left.My wife and I visited around 12:30pm on an ordinary Tuesday. This is a small place and it was mostly full when we arrived. The only seating options for us were the two-top in the back and two seats, which had just opened up, at the four-seat window counter. We chose the latter.At lunchtime, it was bustling. Southie has an open kitchen with a wraparound bar that can seat 8, maybe 10. I counted five two-tops against the wall and a small table in the back, so I guesstimate the dining room and bar can seat about 27 people total. It's cozy. I don't recommend this place for groups. If dining in, the setup is best for parties of one or two. The atmosphere is casual. We ended up speaking with the couple sitting next to us at the storefront window.If you're not familiar with the neighborhood (Rockridge), Southie is situated on College Avenue, a street that's lined with restaurants, cafes, bakeries, markets, and boutique shops. We enjoyed people-watching while eating, looking out onto the busy sidewalks and street.Southie serves breakfast from 9am-1pm, Tuesday-Sunday. They serve lunch, Tuesday-Sunday and dinner, Tuesday-Saturday. There's no dinner on Sunday and they're closed all day on Monday. We ordered off the lunch menu which had eight lunch dishes ($12-18 each), eight sandwiches ($15-23 each), and two desserts ($8 and $12). The lunch dishes were things like soups, salads, and wings. Think comfort food.Here's what we had:Southie Lunchables:* Creamy Mushroom Soup ($12) - creme fraiche, chives* Steamed P.E.I. Mussels ($18) - chorizo, Fresno chile, leeks, fennel, basil, shellfish broth, toasties* Wild Arugula Salad ($13) - persimmon, pomegranate seeds, pistachios, fennel, Grana Padano, lemon-pistachio vinaigretteSandwiches:* Spicy Hog sandwich ($16) - pulled pork, Southie slaw, pickled jalapeno, lime aioli, Acme bunEverything was outstanding. All around, excellent flavor and fresh, terrific-quality ingredients.I love cream of mushroom soup and the "Creamy Mushroom Soup" was Southie's take on it. It was indeed creamy and really comforting, packed with umami. When it comes to classic cream of mushroom soup, I don't think it gets much better than this.The Steamed P.E.I. Mussels were fantastic, among the best we've had anywhere (and we've had a lot of mussels in this style). All aspects of this dish were superb, from the quality of the mussels to the perfectly toasted slices of baguette. The tasty broth wasn't too heavy, which I appreciated.The Wild Arugula Salad tasted garden-fresh and the portion size was generous. The salad components were well-balanced. My favorite parts were the silky, sweet, and ripe persimmon and the delicate, finely-shaved Grana Padano cheese; buttery and mildly salty.The Spicy Hog sandwich was delectable. Just a very satisfying, well-made sandwich. It was sizable with a good amount of tender, moist, and flavorful pulled pork, fresh, clean-tasting green slaw, and a subtly tangy aioli which tied it all together. The Acme bun was appetizingly soft and suited the sandwich well. Even the side of potato chips, not mentioned on the menu, was great. I want to say they were housemade, but I don't recall. Regardless, they reminded me of Cape Cod chips because they were extra crunchy and not too greasy.The hostess was also our server. She was friendly and did a nice job. While sitting at the window, we noticed the manager made several trips between Southie and Wood Tavern next door.
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"I've been coming to Southie since it opened, both because the food is pleasing and because the staff is wonderful, especially Javier. They are always happy to turn any sandwich into a salad or switch the bread to another option on the menu. I visit every week because it's a guaranteed good time!"
"Great food, fast service, good fit take out or dining in, this has become a regular spot for us. Love it! Could use some music or something, it tends to be a little quiet"
