Southern restaurants in Orange County

Memphis At The Santora

201 N. Broadway, Santa Ana, CA 92701

If you've ever been to the South, then you know what a po'boy is. Take a bite of this catfish po'boy sandwich, lean back in your patio chair, and close your... More »
Memphis Soul Cafe

2920 Bristol St., Costa Mesa, CA 92626

The "soul" in the title isn't misleading, but it's worth noting that the food at the mini-chain's darker, cozier, original location is as carefully thought-out as... More »
Johnny Rebs' Southern Roadhouse

2940 E. Chapman Ave., Orange, CA 92869

With plastic flamingos and a catfish wall trophy the size of a walrus, the South lives on here. Delight in the Yankee Cheese Grits and fried green... More »
The Hollywood Studio Bar & Grill

6122 Sunset Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90028

This intimate live-music bar and restaurant is tucked into the Gower Gulch mini-mall, which was once the stellar nexus of early Tinseltown... More »

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Recent Critic Reviews

DAVE LIEBERMAN writes for OC Weekly on Beachwood BBQ

Ever heard the joke about how drinking Coors Light is like having sex in a canoe? Because both are fucking close to water? It's an old, tired joke, sure, but back when Santa Ana's Mayor-for-Life Miguel Pulido was a wide-eyed innocent, 3.2 percent beer was all that was available in OC. Those days are happily going the way of the Great Park boondoggle. The craft-beer revolution, which reached...
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DAVE LIEBERMAN writes for OC Weekly on Memphis At The Santora

Behind a long bar, Jason Schiffer pours applejack, Cynar, lemon juice and simple syrup into a shaker, the labels on the bottle turned out for everyone to see. He claps a cap on the shaker, and the dining room at 320 Main in Seal Beach rings with the sound of ice on metal. Conversations pause, heads turn as 60 or so pairs of eyes swing to him.

He opens the shaker with an audible...
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SHUJI SAKAI writes for OC Weekly on Memphis At The Santora

It was another great year, food-wise, for Orange County, with the opening of new restaurants by talented youngsters putting us on the SoCal hipster map; an explosion of craft brewers, burger parlors and serious mixologists returning eaters to our Americana roots; and the Old Faithful that is our county's holes-in-the-wall never ceasing to amaze—and that's just what made it into...
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