The Southerner - Bar & grill in Cape Girardeau - 3359 Percy Dr, USA

Wanted to find something with local food while I was in Missouri, and we pick this place strictly from its name thinking we were going to get some down home southern food. We were pleasantly surprised to walk in and find a pretty upscale restaurant instead of a small town diner that we thought we were going to get. The waitress was absolutely fantastic and had great recommendations, one of which I took her up on, and it was one of the best meals I've had in a long time.( Get the pork chop.) The gouda mac and cheese alone is worth stopping here, but I urge you to try anything else on the menu... I think you'll be hard pressed to find something you don't like. I'm already looking forward to my next trip to Missouri just so we can come back here!

There's plenty of parking. We tried to go on my husband's birthday, but we had 7 people in our party. This was a Saturday too so very busy. Unfortunately, the wait exceeded 45 minutes so we did go somewhere else that evening. I debated earlier in the week calling to make a reservation, but never did. Next time we have 4 or more people I'll call ahead! My husband and I went the following Friday evening. No wait. Polite and warm greeting from the hostess. We were seated at a high top table. Our waitress, Sofia, was absolutely wonderful. She's very personable, attentive and recommendations were great! She brought a palate cleanser plate- pickled onions, squash and butter bread pickles. The food? Phenomenal. Pricey, but worth it. I ordered fried green tomatoes and crab cakes. My husband had the Not Your Mama's Meatloaf. We ordered starters of brussel sprouts, Mawmaw's hush puppies and gouda Mac & Cheese. Good portion sizes and had plenty of leftovers to take home. I had 2 drinks- Tickle Me Pink Martini and The Bee Sting. I'd go back legit just for this drinks! My husband had the Basil Hayden Old Fashioned Southerner, which again super good. The restaurant is very small so a bit cramped. That's our only downfall we noted. Overall, great experience. We'll definitely be dining here again.

I waited to be seated for about 7 minutes. We are all experiencing shortages so that wasn't a big deal. I sat at the bar and was immediately greeted. I ordered a mimosa and water. The drink was over 'orange juiced' but price point was great. I ordered the Dirty Cajun fries and they were ok. Generous pieces of bacon and filling. The fries were a bit undercooked which made them soggy but overall good.

Visiting from the OC for a church conference and was treated to this gem. Friendly staff, nice atmosphere, but the food was center stage. The charcuterie board, the cornbread, the Not Your Mama's Meatloaf was ridiculously superb, along with the garlic mashed potatoes and the bacon green beans. Slightly jealous that my friends get to eat it whenever they want.. Heck I'd take it from a baby's mouth! Kidding, but it's so good and I'll go back for more.

For me, this place has been hit or miss with service. Sitting at a table by myself I usually have pretty good service. The few times I have sat at the bar not so good. The deviled eggs are a must. The fried pickles have a light batter so there is tons of flavor and not a lot of grease, their salad is pretty good but their dressings are homemade so they can be hit or miss on flavor vs heavy oil. I really enjoyed the chicken tacos. I do like the selection of homemade soups that change frequently.

We were traveling through and the menu looked good so we stopped. We were seated right away and our server was attentive through dinner. Those pickles! They brought a plate of pickles-onion, squash, zucchini, cucumbers and peppers that were really good. . I had the meatloaf with green beans and was able to sub Brussels sprouts for the potatoes. The green beans were the haricots verts and had a lot of bacon and just a slight spicy kick. The Brussels sprouts were braised and savory. The meat loaf was pretty good. It comes with a ketchup sauce already on it not mentioned on the menu. I would probably ask for that on the side next time. It came with a bread plate that had a piece of cornbread which reminded me of hot water cornbread that I have had. It isn’t sweet and so good. The other bread on the plate had cheese in it and a crumbly texture. It reminded me of a light cornbread but the server told me it was based on a type of a biscuit. My partner had the hamburger and fries which he enjoyed. We will definitely come back and try some other things on the menu as we travel through this area quite a bit.

Great food in a relaxed atmosphere. Our waitress was friendly and checked on us frequently.

Nice restaurant with some items that were a new twist for us. The deviled eggs prepared 3 ways were an interesting take on this dish and the flavors were vibrant and worked well together. The steaks were very good, on par with a steakhouse. Conveniently located within the Drury Inn Plaza hotel it was an enjoyable dining experience.