The Social House

The Social House opened in March in an orange house at 1663 Howell Mill Road, on the Northwest side of the city. The wide glass windows provide lots of natural light and the wood floors and decoration give the restaurant a homey-feel. The old jazz standards playing in the background added to the atmosphere, but was a little bit loud. Although the restaurant is new, it is very popular. Arriving before 11 a.m. will help you beat the brunch crowd and get a parking space. After 11, a line quickly forms out the door. However, when I arrived, even though there were plenty of seats, myself and 2 other customers waited a long time to be seated. The hosting table near the door has the same computer that is used for entering orders. Five different wait-staff stood right in front of us to enter their orders, but no-one acknowledged that we were standing right in front of them, waiting to be seated. After about 10 minutes, someone recognized we were standing there, but then disappeared. It was very frustrating, but primarily because it felt very rude to be ignored when standing a foot away from someone who could seat us. The orders should be entered somewhere else, that way it does not feel as though the staff are being rude while they are trying to manage their tables.

The Social House calls themselves "the home of good food." You see this painted on the side of the building and also on the menus...and it's true. The food is great. The menu is comprehensive and standard breakfast items are done with a Southern twist.They offer freshly ground fair-trade coffee and keep the cups refilled (although sometimes without asking first). The fried-green tomato crepe was delicious and the fried potatoes had a lovely flavor. Stacey said her biscuit and eggs were cooked well and tasted great. In addition, the dishes were plated very nicely. The prices were easy on the budget for food that tasted gourmet and upscale.

The biggest challenge for the restaurant right now seems to be working on improving service. Although the staff was very friendly, they need to work on improving basic table maintenance. No teaspoons were provided for coffee, so I had to stir with my knife. And although they were very good about refilling the coffee cups, there was no refill on water. The bathroom was clean, but also needed a refresher on toilet paper. These may be "new restaurant" kinks that need to be worked out. The food is certainly worth tolerating the less than perfect service, just be prepared.

There was no kids menu and the tables were packed very close together (my seat was bumped twice by wait-staff moving between the tables), so did not seem like an environment that would work well for children or high-chairs. Although there is orange juice, it is not fresh-squeezed.

Because the food was excellent, but service was poor, I give the Social House 2 pancakes. It's worth going back again in a few months to see if they've improved.

Rating: 2 Out of 3 Pancakes