Southie

Went here on Fluke and we absolutely had a BALL!!!One of my NEW FAVORITE PLACES TO GO NOW!!!- we were greeted immediately when walking in very very nice calm and cool atmosphere and everyone seemed to be locals- although we weren't we were still greeted as one!!! Javier was one to help us and he is just AMAZING - he has vibe!!!! I love you Javier!!!FOOD WAS AMAZING - we ordered the poached eggs and hash, and also the French toast with eggs and bacon!!! We loved everything and we left no crumbs on our plates. We also had drinks ; Pinot Blanche and the Cava Conca Del Rui Anoia Brut Rose - our favorite was the Rose and we are a little tipsy!!!! I had an amazing time and also went on our very FIRST DATE here so this place will forever have my heart!!!THANK YOU JAVIER!!! You will see us soon!

I love a good hearty meatball so when I saw Southie serving their famous "The Balls" sandwich, try saying that without giggling... "I'll have an order of the balls!", I knew I had to make a visit.The Balls - Large and in charge. I'm glad I brought this home to eat cuz my tiny hands were not able to hold this massive sandwich and eating is was definitely a challenge. Got me looking like a troubled toddler refusing her dinner. Meatballs flying everywhere, sauce splattered on the walls, crying kid *raises hand*. Anyway, by the time I got home, the bread was somewhat soggy probably from all the steam, making it useless as a base. I ate it deconstructed style so basically just had 3 giant meatballs for lunch.Overall, kinda pricey for 3 giants meatballs and chips. Glad a crossed it off my list but I will be sticking with other balls.

Absolute amazing experience here! Came for a friend's birthday dinner and the server went above and beyond! We ordered a bottle of Prosecco and although we had finished our bottle, he came around several times to pour some extra for us and eventually even came by with champagne! He was super friendly and welcoming. Really made the experience.Food here is also awesome! We got the brussel sprouts to share--very well cooked and not bitter at all. We also shared the shrimp ceviche--this was okay, nothing special to note. But the star of the show was the steak I got. It was hearty and delicious. I loved that it came with a spicy mix of chilis on top--it really pulled it together. Only downside it was slightly too chewy, but flavor was on point.In terms of seating, it seems to be limited so just FYI. 4.5/5 stars. Would come again!

Everything I tried so far on their dinner menu has been delicious and made with good ingredients. The chef, Javier created a menu with dishes that all seem to have a good flavor profile and harmonious mix. After speaking to the waitress, I discovered this restaurant is a sister restaurant to Wood Tavern (another fantastic restaurant), or at least currently owned by the same person. What I ordered: the liver pate crostini, the grilled persimmon and buratta crostini, and the seared ahi tuna salad. Liver pate had a mousse pate texture and the brandied cherries on top rounded out the flavor and texture nicely. The grilled persimmon and burrata cheese crostini was delicious! It also included chiffonade basil slivers, chopped pistachio nuts, pomegranate seeds, and frise salad on top - which gave it a really fantastic mix of flavors and textures in every bite. The seared ahi tuna salad was also exceptionally good, with multilayered flavors mixed together in a very complimentary way. It had grilled fennel, thin slices of garlic cloves, avocado, corn, green beans, pickled sweet peppers, perfectly seared ahi tuna slices on a bed of mixed greens - all tossed in a savory calabrian chile vinaigrette.Prices are on par with the type of venue this is for the dishes they serve, and the portion sizes are robust. Wish I had room for more, to try some other menu items! Will definitely be back the next time I am in the neighborhood.

I came here for dinner with my boyfriend on a Saturday evening ~6:30PM and we were seated right away. I've always walked by this place and today we gave it a try! The inside is a bit small with some bar and table seating available. Most of the tables are 2 seaters. From almost every seat in the restaurant you can see the chefs making the food and I really enjoyed that. The service throughout was very friendly and attentive. To start, we had the rock cod ceviche. The ceviche is served on top of a tostada and in one order there are 2 tostadas. Overall, I thought that the rock cod was a bit chewy but it tasted good. The taste of the fish was balanced out by the freshness of the vegetables. For my entree I had the flat iron steak. The steak itself was cooked very well and I enjoyed the chimichurri sauce with it. However, that is where my praise for the dish ends. I was left confused by the rest of the dish because of the excessive amount of oil on the plate. There was olive oil on the arugula salad, the potatoes were tossed with some butter sauce, and the cauliflower puree was swimming in oil. The food looked like an island surrounded by oil. The texture of the cauliflower puree was good but the taste of it couldn't really shine because of the oil. My boyfriend had the balls and polenta. I tried his entree and I liked how the meatballs tasted. They were moist and went well with the sauce. The polenta was standard polenta, nothing to phone home about.For dessert, we shared a plum ricotta cake. The plum flavor didn't come through as much as I would've liked. The ricotta topping with the crumble was good. The cake itself was a little dry.Overall, the service was very nice and the food was ok. There were some elements of each dish that were good but as a whole each dish fell a little flat.

Definitely one of the more gourmet sandwich options available in Oakland (price point reflects that), but Southie's food meets these lofty expectations. With a beautiful bay window open to the street and ample tables reaching into the back of the restaurant, Southie is a wonderfully inviting spot with a seasonally rotating menu. We ordered our two sandwiches to go and waited around 20 minutes for our food.Spicy Hog - pork was juicy and flavorful with a spice level that was just tolerable (we had no water in the car) and finished well with the lime aioli.Fennel Seared Ahi Tuna Banh Mi - originally had my doubts because I am sort of a banh mi purist, but the server convinced me to try it out. I've never been much of a hard boiled egg guy mostly because of the dry and pasty feeling of the yolks, but this sandwich changed my mind. The sauce melded the taste and texture of the tuna and egg together in a way I don't think I ever considered possible, creating this unbelievably umami profile that avoided the typical soy sauce-associated mistake of being far too salty. Paired the freshness from the vegetables, Southie's ahi banh mi just might have entered my sandwich HOF. Definitely make the trip!

We came here in a rush and ordered mussels and a salad. The mussels had one mussel that didn't open, so they canceled the order. They asked if we wanted anything else but since we were short on time we said 'no'.How surprised we were when our entire order including ahi tuna and coffee was comped! They just did it to be kind. We didn't even have cash for tip but they were still so nice to us. I appreciate that they're looking out for their customer's health and we will back for those delicious mussels!

Food was good. Service good. Just not exceptional. But definitely worth a visit. Small place and you can watch the kitchen.

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!

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.