Southern 11

Good food, american atmosphere and style. Good service, nice décor. The food isn’t completely authentic, however it does taste good! Would definitely visit again.

First time at Southern 11 for a last minute dinner after the cinema (8pm on sunday). I wasn’t impressed; the quality and portion sizes were poor. Had the 2 meat plate (£12.95) short rib (small /​over cooked) and chicken (this was good but small) + cornbread (£3) (stale /​tasteless). Large diet coke (£3.50) = smaller but more expensive than a pint of beer. If pushed I might give it another go; but wouldn’t currently recommend it.

So I went to southern 11 with a friend I have never personaly eaten there but they have had cocktail so thought we would try it.
Staff where friendly and I loved the beer taps with meat cleavers and other kitchen utensils on them.
The bear was a awesome feature as I love bears.
I found the lack of WiFi a problem and this is a negative for me as I need access to my emails for work.
We was seated and listed a number of things they did not have.
I went for the
Starters taco tasting thing
Mains 3 meats/​ribs
Dessert churrios
the starter was poor and wouldn’t even consider a sharing starter.
The main course was confusing as they put all 3 meats in a pile meaning all the flavours merged and for me this was a dissapointment the chips where over cooked or just been sat there.
Dessert churrios where undercooked but still tasty and just the right amount.
I feel like s11 does not have a usp as it seems to be doing the same as so many other restaurants and I personaly think they will be left behind s11 is more suited to northern quarter than spinning fields.
One last thing what is a bug bear for me why does everything get served in a tray or a cup I am a man I want to eat of a plate.
Putting chips in a camping mug then churrios in a camping mug is not original it’s boring and old hat along with serving my food in a baking tray.
Try something new

Southern Eleven has to be one of my favourite restaurants in Manchester. So much so that I decided to celebrate my birthday there with a group of 15 friends and family.
I’d visited S11 several times before that birthday and I’ve been back many times since. I can honestly say it’s one of the only restaurants that I’ve visited (a LOT) and never had a bad experience.
I’ve tasted quite a few things from their menu now; battered pickle spears, Hickory smoked ribs, and mouth watering Mac’n’Cheese. In fact, I’d say the Mac’n’Cheese is one of the best I’ve ever tasted, perhaps on par with that from Byron Burger (more on this place later).
My favourite dish though has got to be the BBQ Pulled Pork. It’s where restaurant owner James Hitchen first started when he learnt the tricks of the trade in Tennessee in 2009 and for me, it’s the Crown Jewel of Southern Eleven. I order it EVERY time I go. That, and Sausage Links to start.
S11 really is a meat lovers haven, and if you’re feeling particularly hungry and somewhat daring, you can take part in their Manchester Vs Food challenge. You will be presented with a mountain of finger licking, heart stopping, drool worthy food, and if you eat it all you eat for FREE!
The drinks in Southern Eleven are almost as good as the food, my personal favourite is the Violet Flight Cocktail. It used to be served on a board with all the ingredients in separate shot glasses, a martini glass and a cocktail shaker, so you could ‘shake your own’. More recently I’ve been though and the drink came ready-​made. I do hope this was a one-​off as I’d hate to see them lose the fun factor. Violet Flight tastes like Parma Violet sweets, which I’ve found are a bit like marmite– — you either love them or hate them. I love them, and love this cocktail. So much so that I asked Santa for a bottle of Violet Liquor this Christmas so that I can learn to make my own at home!
If you were a first timer at Southern Eleven I’d recommend the following for 2 people to share:
Starter:
Lil’Sausage Links
Battered Pickle Spears
Main Course:
Sliders (Smoked brisket & Lil’ beef burgers)
1 Meat/​ribs (BBQ Pulled Pork & Hickory smoked ribs)
Side:
Jalapeño orn bread
Mac’n’Cheese
Sweet potato fries
If you have any space left. Desert:
Churros donut sticks
I’m off to find some food now, this post had made my belly rumble.
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I hadn’t been to S11 previously, so didn’t know what it looked like before the recent refurb. I was told it was ‘sleeker’ and more Spinningfields-​esque (if that’s even a thing), whereas now, as others have commented, it looks like they’ve tried to bring the Northern Quarter south.
On the whole, I personally liked what I saw, with the wood, metal and neon signs. It’s a straight-​forward rectangular restaurant with plenty of seating. Those cubicle monkeys in the offices nearby will feel quite at home I’m sure.
Our group of 10 were seated on a large table on the back wall — we’d booked well in advance (there’s a £5 per person deposit on groups of six or more by the way) — but there were hardly any other diners in there at 7pm so we probably could have just turned up.
The menu is a meat-lover’s dream it seemed — meat plates, burgers, brisket, pulled pork. The ‘usual suspects’ these days. The one thing that screamed out at me to try, thanks to a couple of recommendations from friends, were the Battered Pickle Spears with a selection of house sauces. These became, unexpectedly, the highlight of the entire dining experience here. Absolutely delicious (and this is from someone who always removed the gherkins from burgers — no longer!).
For mains I went for the Meat Beast burger which had BBQ pulled pork, beef brisket, pulled chicken and tomato salsa. For nearly £12 I was expecting a monster, but when it arrived it looked like a candidate for breaching the Trades Description Act. I was expecting to struggle but it was consumed in next to no time and I was still hungry.
So on to the desserts, surely they should be good. The selection included American stalwarts such as pecan pie, chocolate brownie and waffle cones. I ordered my favourite: NY cheesecake with cherry pie topping. What arrived tasted like it had just been defrosted from an Iceland supermarket: cheap and not worth half the £5 per slice price tag.
A disappointing evening meal all-​in-​all, even with a 20% Spinningfields discount card. Unless they up their game I won’t be coming again in a hurry.

Thanks to Michael B, ten Unilocalers came to this well organised event in a Christmassy Thursday night and I had a great time.
We waited a few minutes at the bar and we all headed to our table when everybody was here.
I picked up the battered pickle spears considering we were having a meat night and I believed the pickle will balance out the grease. Also I am getting particularly into pickles recently and I used to take all the pickles out in my burgers. I enjoyed the fried pickle spears very much. Its wrapped in the hot batter bread and deep dried. The sour juicy pickle balanced out the thick batter bread and it brought a sensational taste when you dipped it into the house made sauces.
About the main course, there are major meaty options available. I went for the meat plate with two meat options including Memphis style baby back and beef brisket. They are served with fries, slaw and BBQ sauces. The main was alright and I enjoyed the baby back and the fries. The beef brisket and the slaw were a bit under expectation. I couldn’t even finish my main course so I gave dessert a pass.
About the venue, I don’t particularly fond of this style but I do think it suits the food they served and the atmosphere they try to create here. It is a relaxed and chill-​out place for someone who really likes meat and American food.

I still can’t quite believe that, after all my glowing reviews and numerous trips for anniversaries and graduation, Southern 11 has slipped to simply being A-​OK.
Delayed by the recent refurb, we descended on S11, ready to try out the new menu and take in the new surroundings. The interior is okay; I personally preferred the more polished look, as it now feels like it would fit more with the NQ crowd than in Spinningfields. I did enjoy a quick photo with Hercules the bear but, again, this is a gimmick that jars somewhat with the area.
Obviously an avid meat lover, the menu looks amazing — ribs, burgers, sandwiches, chilli, meat plates. I would usually say «Please don’t come here and order a salad» but perhaps you would be better off…
Josh and I shared the starter taco tray, then I went for the chilli and he had the chicken BLT burger. As others have pointed out, these tacos are minuscule, and I could have scoffed the entire tray as a starter to myself. The bleu cheese on the chicken was disappointingly more mayonnaise-​y than cheese-​y and, although I enjoyed the others, they barely touched the sides.
My chilli was good, with a nice kick, and I like the jalapeño cornbread adding to the spice. The portion was decent, but felt like it was missing something… more bread? Rice maybe? Fries? Whatever it was, it wasn’t there. I had good — good — feedback on the burger, but again not amazing.
I’m not sure why you’ve lost it Southern 11, but please get it back. We’ll miss you otherwise.

Last week was the first time I’d been to Southern11 since their refurbishment. I liked the old look and on one hand I can see why they felt they needed to rejuvenate the look but it’s a bit «samey».
Cocktail menu has changed considerably, they have basically simplified it which you can take as a positive or a negative, I didn’t have a issue with some of their old gimmick cocktails though, and actually quite liked the one that was served with blue cheese.
I used to be a regular here when it first opened but hadn’t been there for a number of months, maybe over a year since last week. My opinion is it has been left behind by Reds and that I’d usually opt to go there over Southern11. With that being said, this place does offer good value, I had the beef brisket sandwich with fries for under a tenner, £8.50 I think, plenty of meat and tasty too. It must be noted the brisket isn’t in the same league as what Fire & Salt produce when they do their street food events, by far the best brisket in Manchester.
My girlfriend had half a portion of ribs and brisket which again presented good value at £12.50ish. Others were taking advantage of the all you can eat ribs and chicken with a bottle of beer for about £15 which again is good value for pretty decent food which is what I had the last time I was there.
If you’re in Spinningfields and want half decent quality and good value you won’t go wrong with Southern11.

Southern 11 has been a fixture in Spinningfields for quite some time, and it’s east to see why.
The last time that I went was so very long ago, and there have been a few changes to the menu since then. From what I remembered, there were a number of your more traditional dishes, slices of Americana like cornbread and sliders. The focus seems to have shifted too burgers now, and I can honestly say, having tasted one of them that this isn’t a bad thing.
I *really* enjoyed the Dirty Swine — a piggy concoction that lives up to both the name and the description. This beast treats you to not one, not two, but three of the finest Pig Products known to man. Nestled perfectly in a Brioche bun sits Pulled pork, Bacon and Pork Belly — all lovingly coated, nay, drenched in beautiful BBQ sauce.
On the side, fries, simple, but delicious to be accompanied by a great selection of BBQ sauces on the table. My top tip would be the Cherry BBQ. Sweeter than a standard BBQ sauce, with some extra hints of fruitiness underneath that just lifts it to the next level; brilliant!
Lastly, but by absolutely no stretch leastly, lives the beer selection. There’s a limited, but great selection of craft beers, including the jewel in the crown, the Southern 11 brew; their own beer! Two pints later, this hoppy, tasty brew had won me well and truly over.
If you’re in the mood for BBQ, don’t feel that the only option is Reds (although this is a great option), get along to Southern 11, you’re bound to find something that you like.

I was really looking forward to this meal after a couple of people advised it was better food than Red’s True BBQ, but sadly left feeling a little underwhelmed.
The starters were ok. My chicken wings were tasty and a big enough portion, although the blue cheese dressing lacked any real blue-​cheesiness! I was pretty offended by the tacos put down next to me though and was tempted to send them back on behalf of my fellow diner and insist that half of them must have fallen off the plate. Two of the smallest tacos I have ever seen, and much the same price as the other starters — complete inconsistency!
For the main I went for the Meat Beast (chicken, pulled pork and brisket), and it’s the first time I think chicken has ever been my favourite meat. It was moist and tender, but also stood out because the brisket was a bit tough. A nice enough burger overall, but the fries were a bit of a disappointment.
From there it got worse. The desert menu looks tempting enough, but the reviews of the baked NY cheesecake were pretty poor, and my chocolate brownie was a dried up chunk of blandness with the worst rocky-​road ice cream I’d ever had dumped on top. Definitely should have stopped after 2 courses.
To make it worse, I found the service falling a little short as well. Our waitress, I’m sure, is a nice enough human being, but clearly couldn’t be arsed (or hadn’t been trained) in making the customer happy.
Twice she collected my drinks glass without asking if I wanted another. There was no effort to up-​sell me on sides with my burger, despite me making it clear I wanted something a little more than shop-​bought fries. She could have had an extra £5−6 out of me by offering sweet potato fries as an upgrade, or getting me a side of mac-​n-​cheese. The final nail in her customer service coffin was when I asked about desert, and specifically about getting a different flavour ice-​cream. She said it was impossible, so I waited eagerly to see just how intertwined it would be with the brownie that meant it couldn’t possibly be switched.
Obviously when the brownie came, the ice-​cream had simply been dumped unceremoniously on top and could, of course, quite easily have been changed.
Half-​assed food and half-​assed service means I’m not rushing back in a hurry.

Gotta say that I have really mixed feelings about our trip to S11 — on the one hand it was a great night out with friends and felt really comfortable and chilled in there — but on the other hand it’s gone from being a lovely little restaurant with a bit of an edge to being a place that looks like it’s just following the pack…
It seems to have had a hipster facelift but what concerns me is that we’ll soon be heading towards a world where every single corner will have a burger/​bbq joint on it and all originality will be stripped away from any other businesses that don’t follow trends.
The nachos to share were nice enough, mac and cheese with pork was tasty (but needed me to order a side of fries to make it a filling meal) — and the beer selection was pretty poor to be honest. On tap it was dull and boring — the bottles were paint by numbers craft, ok great that you’ve had a revamp but Goose Island was cool about 3 years ago — come on guys, the beers are in important way to compliment your food.
Overall a nice night but nothing is massively screaming at me to go back and pay £30 (£26 with current Yellow card deal) for 2 beers, half a starter and a main.

Prior to the refurb I had been to Southern 11 only once, in my pre-​Yelping days (actually on my very first night in Manchester) and it soon became a distant memory. All except for the nachos. That fateful night my dining partner and I ordered the nachos along with a few other starters to share and a main each with fries. The portion was HUGE. Like, don’t know what to do with all this food huge. So I suppose we could have not eaten every last scrap of nacho in order to leave room for everything else — but they were too damn tasty. So we ate every last nacho and then idly picked at everything else, making for a rather disjointed experience all in all.
So when I returned over a year later, after the restaurant has had a hipster fix-​up and apparently changed the menu (though I recognised a number of items from its previous incarnation) my beady little eyes locked onto the nachos. I knew I wanted them but was umming and ahhing about whether to eat a starter… Well, you know I ate those nachos. And they were great! Everything that I want from a plate of nachos really — your tastes may vary, as I find this is a dish more than others is one that everyone has quite different ideas about.
For my main I went for the Dirty Swine, which I think should be renamed the Triple Pig. Pulled pork, smoked pork belly, smoked bacon, with American cheese and jalapeños in a bun. Although I’m not too shy about spice I felt there were just too many jalapeños and they didn’t add a lot to the flavour so I scraped most of them off. Some gherkins, pickled cabbage or even coleslaw would have been much more welcome. The American cheese was delightfully gooey for the first half and then seemed to congeal into its original form. The meat was all delicious and cooked well, and and the bun was bursting at the seams. At £8.95 with fries (good; nothing to write home about) it’s a pretty good value meal as well.
I swerved dessert as I was also bursting at the seams and because nothing was jumping out at me, as is my standard experience with dessert menus.
To drink throughout the meal I had a few pints of the Southern 11 Brew which was a fairly inoffensive lager which served the purpose of something to wash my food down with. To be honest I practically downed my first point as I was thirsty from the gym — of course drinking beer to replenish after exercise is very healthy and wise, shut up.
Service was attentive and friendly, although our waitress seemed overly concerned about messing up our order. The bill was very reasonable and one of our party was able to use a Spinningfields card which got us 20% off overall. I paid £20 including tip for two courses and two drinks — not bad at all.
I’d be happy to come back here with friends or even with family — I would say with colleagues but I’m not sure they’ll do much to suit my vegan co-​worker!

I like the new interior design and the revamped Southern 11 atmosphere. The customer service was great, no complaints!
I just can’t decide if the food is up there. As much as I would love to give this place a 5 star for everything else, the food still lacks behind. I have been to American restaurants in the US and I always felt heavy and unhealthy at the end of my meals because the food was obnoxiously delicious and over the top. Southern 11 still feels like they are playing it safe in terms of the food.
Make sure you guys present your Spinningfields yellow card for 20% off!
Special offers on Tuesday: Buffet of ribs/​chicken and just one bottle of beer.

This review is first visit after they had a refurb (about a month ago) and changed menu:
As well as a new décor (which is gone for a sort of hipster feel, exposed bricks, «graffiti»), they also changed the menu. They no longer do steaks which is a shame. They did one of my favourite rib eye steaks — I have said before «pound for pound» its probably the best.
Anyway, I was heard with fellow Unilocalers and we were all looking forwarding to the meal. I went for the Popcorn chicken and blue cheese tacos for starters and then the Meat Beast burger for main.
When the tacos arrived, I was shocked at how small they were! Or rather the total amount. I know proper tacos are fairly small in size — although these seemed a bit smaller to what I have had in the past. However, there were just 2 tacos on the plate. I could have eaten each one in a couple bites easily. Not what I expected for £3.95.
If you compare the other starters, a couple people got some nachos to share which was £9.95. Someone got some chicken wings for £4.95 which looked a reasonable portion size. And even the Battered Pickle Spears were a fairly decent size portion (for a starter).
Anyway, on to the main which was the Meat Beast (BBQ pulled pork, beef brisket, pulled chicken & tomato salsa on a toasted brioche bun) which came with fries. The bun was actually pretty tasty and enjoyed it overall. The fries were just standard fries — nothing special. Southern 11 (before refurb) used to do fries which had more to them — they were parmesan truffle fries.
To go with the meal, there are 6 different sauces on the table. There was mayo, ketchup, hot, BBQ, BBQ Mustard and Cherry Bourbon.
I don’t really need to explain mayo or the ketchup. BBQ tasted as expected. BBQ mustard was an interesting one which even now not sure if I like — I like BBQ, I like mustard but just unsure. The hot sauce is very hot — a slow burner. Although the heat goes fairly quickly. The Cherry Bourbon sauce was my favourite — bit of heat, sweetness and slightly BBQ-​y. Mmmm.
A few of us had a dessert but from what I heard they were «OK». I was thinking about maybe going for the Gooey chocolate brownie. It said on the menu it came with Rocky road ice cream. I asked if it was possible to change to vanilla ice cream but was told no.
Someone ordered it and when it came it looked just like a brownie and a scoop of Rocky road ice cream on top with some chocolate sauce. Surely they could have just scooped a different type of ice cream on it??!
If you do go, check out the Spinningfields Yellow Card deals as there may be a deal on. Currently there is a 20% off food deal.

Right people, firstly if you are around the Spinningfields area. This is your place for a really reasonable priced tasty and sometimes healthy lunch. Chicken cob salad is the best value for money and the tastiest salad in town. £5.95 with a drink to take out or eat in, even cheaper if you have a Spinningfields yellow card.
This place is a grown up Red’s true b’que with a much more chilled out vibe. They have recently just had a refurb so pop along and try the new menu.
If you want to eat healthy or go crazy and stuff your face with good quality meat then this is your place.

I was initially going to go to Gaucho to try their burger but they weren’t open this Saturday afternoon so having deliberated for a few minutes as to where to go we decided to try Southern Eleven, having previously tried their newer competitor (Reds) a few weeks earlier
Southern tasting platter — 18 hour smoked — pulled pork, beef brisket, pork belly ribs & skinny fries — I didn’t order this to specifically compare to what I had at Reds (Pulled Pork and Brisket combo). The pork ribs were tasty, although a little tough. The pulled pork wasn’t a patch on Reds as it had limited flavour (although the choices of sauces they offer did help this). The brisket was far better than Reds though — more flavour and more tender. Pulled Pork 5/​10, Ribs 6/​10, Brisket 8/​10, Sauces ⁸⁄₁₀

DAMN I COULD EAT A HORSE, was probably my first thought upon reading the delicious menu at Southern Eleven again. I have been coming here since living in Manchester, but somehow I just didn´t manage to pop in the last year and a half or so. Having spent some time in Florida and the southern states of the US, reading the menu reminded me so much of being there: Hickory Smoked Wings, Pulled Pork, Southern Chicken Dinner, Ribs, Ceasar and Cobb Salad, Mac´n´Cheese and the traditional Cole Slaw. Just writing this down makes me hungry again and the only thing missing that would scream SOUTH is grits (although I doubt anyone would actually order this in a restaurant).
I´ve ordered a non-​alcoholic diva cocktail at 3,95, which was light and refreshing, the sort of drink you fancy on a summer´s day on the pool, before heading to the beaches. The other half had a Samuel Adams, one of my dad´s favourites in the states.
For food I had the lil´burgers again, as I remembered them to be delicious, but in the end I was almost I bit gutted I didn´t go for my boyfriends choice of the BBQ slider collection with 3 mini burger style BBQ delicacies. The meat was cooked to the point, paired up with some cheese and some crispy fresh onion, tomato and lettuce. For the bun they chose a squishy but sturdy enough brioche, that wasn´t too sweet. To spice things up we had the option of six different sauces, coming in a little tray of plastic bottles.
If I had to criticise one thing about the overall dining experience it would be the presentation of the sauces: Given the classy and elegant design of the place and the thoughtful presentation of high quality food, placing a tray of plastic bottles on the table just does´t match up. I would have preferred having a choice upon ordering and then being served the sauces in a small pot to share.
Service was excellent on the day so we decided to prolong our stay by a cheeky dessert we shared. The cake was homemade and again not too sweet and light in texture, but to stick with the southern US appeal it could have been a bit bigger tho.
On a downside they could´t tell me where they source their meat, which is a key issue I have when eating out but the amenities of this place are just tipping my judgement to a very positive review. Food quality is fantastic, the menu full of my Florida favorites, service was super friendly and quick and the location just absolutely stunning. The interior design is unmet in Manchester and if you wanna go to a classy place to enjoy some truly delicious US food at an incredible value for money this is your place to go.

BBQ food and restauranting don’t always go together. It’s so easy to take the fast food approach of daggy greasy décor and pile up the food, but Southern Eleven goes for at least an attempt at some decorum. Okay, they stop one step short of serving food on plates (wooden boards here) but baby steps! You can even bring your parents here if you like, it has proper seats a a fancy backwall!
Every time I’m here I go for the tasting platter. It’s all you could ever need. A bit of pulled pork, brisket and ribs. Why choose anything else? And all the bits are cooked to perfection. The pulled pork is smoky but delicately sauced (no overpowering BBQ sauce to smother the pork!), the brisket is tender, and the truffle chips are amazing.
…and that one dish is all I can review, because it’s the only thing I’ve ever had here, and I’ve been a fair few times. When I can’t bear to order anything else, you know that’s a good sign.
I don’t know how much more praise I can pile on this restaurant, other than to say: Best BBQ in town (sorry Reds, but it’s true).

We went for the all you can eat chicken and ribs with sides and a beer for £15 on a Tuesday. Nice venue and great idea, it’s table service and they just keep bringing you trays of food !
The chicken was well cooked — BBQ thigh pieces that were juicy and flavoursome. The ribs — great if you get the mid of thick end part of the rack as well cooked and juicy — ribs from the smaller end of the rack — not so much. As there was less meat on these bones they had really dried out during the cooking process. Not so great.
You also get spicy BBQ beans and coleslaw as sides — these were really good. It looked like homemade slaw which can be hit and miss, but this was really good from here !
To go with your chicken, you get a bunch of table sauces — hot BBQ, cherry bourbon, BBQ, mustard, ketchup and mayo– this was awesome.
A red peroni beer was included in the deal, although they do also have a great drinks menu too.
I’m not sure if I would go back personally but my other half absolutely loved it ! It’s a good deal for the amount of meat you get to eat — definitely a good one for those with larger appetites !

Randomly walked in to escape the rain, not the kind of place I’d usually choose as there’s so much meat on the menu and not a fan. However I’ve found my new favourite food– the deep fried pickle spears are heaven. Chicken burger was also delicious.
Atmosphere and service great, give it a go!