Southland Whiskey Kitchen

Service and atmosphere were good. Food was just OK.
Out of five people at my table with five different dishes, only one was pretty satisfied with their food. That was the pulled pork. I tried it and it had good flavor. The brisket was dry. The fried chicken was okay, but not special and slightly overdone. The coleslaw was unanimously agreed to be just bad. Never had anything like it. It was yellow and taste like bananas. Overall, it’s a fine place to eat, but you probably won’t find great BBQ here.

So so. Pulled pork is dry, and the mac and cheese needs more cream and cheese. Otherwise good food. If you’re a Texan like myself, do not rely on this as BBQ:

We’ve been here at least a few times, because we love the location and environment and we fell in love with the Brisket Chili, it was the best! Well, recently they no longer serve Brisket Chili anymore :(The Smokestack sandwich was very meaty and delicious. The BBQ Ribs and Beef Briskets were okay, a little on the dry side and not too flavorful… not the best. The mac & cheese was good. Coleslaw was too overbearing for me, too much Dijon or mustard in the sauce. Overall the place is fun, trendy, and has nice cozy atmosphere. Can’t say that if I’ll be craving for BBQ, that this will be my top choice anymore. Brisket Chili needs to come back on the menu!

First off, this place looks awesome and has a great atmosphere. Cowboy/​western vibes without being hokey. It is in a popular, cute area of town, but we managed to walk right in and get a table on a Saturday night!
I didn’t try any drinks, but am excited to in the future because the they have a nice selection.
The food is excellent. I am picky when it comes to BBQ sauce, but I loved SWK’s. The pulled pork was cooked perfectly. The sausage had a nice kick. The mac’n’cheese and cheddar grit sides were both delicious as well. Prices aren’t bad at all (Especially considering the area they are in.) and they give large portions.
Definitely worth a visit and I can’t wait to come back!

So delicious! I had the spare ribs with Mac n cheese and potato salad. The staff is extremely nice and the drinks weren’t bad! The only criticism id give is that the potato salad was a little bland but everything else was delicious!

I’ve been here a couple of times, one for food and others for drinks.
The first was for food and all in all the was pretty good for a southern style menu.
We actually ended up sharing a platter because it was a large amount of food, as well as ordering a couple of cocktails. all of which were pretty good. It wasn’t the best southern comfort food in portland, as i’ve had much better at smaller/​more hole in the wall places, but for being a restaurant owned by a much bigger group, they did good. They offer plenty of whiskey… obviously and their cocktails was decent for sure. It’s a little more spendy than I would hope to be paying for.
The second time we came, we sat outside (matador was full and only seats tables of two outside at the same? lame). so we made our way over here. We ended up just drinking. Our server was very sweet as she went out of her way to bring our dogs bowls of water and ice cubes as it was very hot outside that day. She kept coming back even though we were kind of slacking in the ordering food department so we just stuck with drinks.
50 $ for 2 rounds of drinks for 5 people wasn’t too terrible (just wine and beer) so I couldn’t complain about the prices at this point.

This is a review for their food. Tried their fried chicken and brisket once. The brisket was pretty good but everything was mediocre to below average. Apparently they recently redid their menu and added new side dishes. The ones I tried were very disappointing (potato gratin, coleslaw, potato salad, macaroni and cheese).
The location is good though, and they seem to have a good whiskey selection. May come back here for drinks in the future but probably not for food.

Pros: great atmosphere, great whiskey selection
Cons: The last time I came here, we had some amazing fried mac and cheese as an appetizer — We came back today and it’s gone! Please bring this back, it’s a real draw! My friends and I were very disappointed to learn it wasn’t avaliable :(

The atmosphere is very hipster cowboy. Lots of cute servers in plaid and jeans, dark, wood er’ethang. They have a good selection of whiskeys and a few types of flights depending on how much you want to spend. There are a few beers on tap and the old fashioned is decent with a nice square cube.
I ordered the catfish po’boy which was ok. Very dry and bland, not really worth it in my opinion. It came with a nice serving of fries which helped even me out.
All in all a decent establishment. Dont expect anything over the top or amazing, theres alot of seating if you have a large group.

My husband and I have been here twice now. It’s a great atmosphere inside, I love how they keep the lights dim. The food has been great both times. I had the ribs the first time we went and brisket the second. My husband had the fried chicken and BBQ chicken the second time. We both loved our meals so much. The staff has been nothing but friendly and that drinks were really good as well. We will definitely be back.

We arrived for a late lunch, so the emptiness of the place is surely not representative of the liveliness that will occur later during happy hour and beyond. I was impressed immediately with the wonderful paper napkins and the sturdy cutlery. DH said that he could use the napkins to change the oil in our car.
The recorded background was tastefully selected and easy to listen to. A sample of the gumbo was brought forward, as requested. It was too hot for my tastes, but DH liked it. So instead, I chose the beef brisket with cole slaw and corn bread. DH had fried chicken with mashed potatoes and gravy and cole slaw — he raved about how good it was. Likewise, the taste of the brisket was devine. Not since I tasted Calvados and ice cream in Normandy have I been so suprised by a taste: the spread for the biscuits is a butter/​honey/​whiskey blend. Yum! There was even a suprise in the bathroom where an old-​style Boraxo powdered hand soap dispenser was in use.
Our waiter offered to box our leftover and return them to us — which he did, in a nice bag. The only negative aspect to our visit was the (almost 15 mins.) wait time for the check, due to the waiter being the bartender, waiter (‘doing everything’) too.

Great place! Lots of seating and quick service on a Sunday afternoon.
Prices were very fair and portions are big.
My guy got the burger and loved it!
I was drawn to the fried chicken meal, especially when I saw the Nashville hot option. They were cool about switching out coleslaw for collard greens at no extra charge. However, the waitress really warned me, I mean, REALLY warned me that it’s hot. Like customers complain hot, order a extra biscuit and a glass of milk hot. She said «people who say they like spicy food, complain that this is too hot». I almost changed my order, but when with it anyways. I like a challenge. She also warned it takes about 20 minutes.
Once the chicken came out, it was more temperature hot, than seasoning hot. I had to wait a bit before I could dig in. The collared greens are great, and the biscuit is huge. I liked the gravy on the mashed potatoes. HOWEVER, that chicken was not that hot.
If you think Taco Bell fire sauce is hot, you would think this is hot. If you order your pad Thai at spicy level 2 and you think your a bad ass, than you won’t like this chicken. However, if you really really like a slow burn heat, then order the chicken.

This place is located in a very hipster down. Lots of young people come to this neighbourhood. We decided to check this strip out which was recommended by the tourist info center. We were hungry and ended up coming here for happy hour. I have to say their beef brisket chilly is awesomely delicious and it melts in your mouth. The coleslaw was great. It wasn’t to watery in a way that it was tasteless. It has a good sweetness to it. The bake potatoes is yummy and seems like the restaurant made their own sour cream.
I am guessing this place is famous for their whiskey. They have aged whiskey. Their onion rings are delicious and it comes with BBQ sauce for dipping. I prefer it plain.
Overall good was really good. Service was good as well. Only thing was the table and I am not sure when was the last time they cleaned it with throughly. It was a bit sticky and especially in the center. The décor looks like a pub place.
Love the food and will be coming back

On any given Friday night during Happy Hour they are busy, but not slammed like at the Matador. So getting a table is usually easy.
Their cocktail punch is delicious and plenty for $ 6. Mint Julep is tiny and ice heavy, but that’s the norm. Chicken entrée was super tender. The size of the sampler sides is a bit small: mashed potato, rice and beans, and sausage plate were average, Brunswick Stew a bit better. Homemade potato chips were good.
Service was very friendly, very fast.

Good BBQ, amazing whiskey. One time we got a special that they had and it was beer can smoked chicken… it was perfection. Of course my husband thought that «pink» means it was not throughly cooked and the head chef came out to confirm that it is cooked to perfect (ahem, something that I already know about: P). This shows how much the chef and the restaurant care about their food!
Another time that we were here, we both ordered fried chicken. Somehow the kitchen mixed it up and thought we only ordered ONE dish. So they served half of an entrée first, before we starved to death. Then they brought out the second half right before we finished the first half… and it worked out perfectly. As an apology, it was dessert on the house. They are willing to admit their mistakes and make their customers feel good!

Went here on a date and tried two cocktails (so tasty) and the hush puppies.
My cocktail was something apricot in a tall glass (southern punch maybe?) and it was so refreshing. Light and sweet and packed a punch.
The atmosphere was a little loud and boisterous but it wasn’t so loud you couldn’t have a conversation.
We half watched the three TVs at the bar and had a nice time. I’d go back here. But it wasn’t so amazing that I’m rushing to do so. The area is pricey so this bar is that way too. A cute date spot. Maybe a little loud for conversation.

Would you like some pulled pork with your vinegar? I mean, a plate dripping so heavily with vinegar that it turns your cornbread into a soggy mess. Just awful. They should really be embarrassed to even serve something like that.
The service was not much better. Our server didn’t check on us once. We only got our drinks refilled because I was able to catch her one of the many times she walked by our table without even looking at us. I told to her that we had been waiting for 15 minutes for a simple drink refill and she explained that she was the only server on. This was 9:30 on a Saturday night. And is it so hard to stop by a table to communicate that? I would have had much more empathy had she done that.
I did add a star because the BBQ chicken is absolutely phenomenal. But other than that the quality of food and service has gone downhill. I’m sorry to have spent $ 65 and I won’t make that mistake again.

First time at the whiskey kitchen, their bourbon and whiskey offerings is extensive and impressive, but can be overwhelming for the common folk regular «whiskey sour» with well whiskey drinker like me-​so be sure to ask your server for recommendations.
Upon walking in the ambiance is casual with low lighting, but the overhead round light fixtures were not only pleasant to see but also brought in light as well as tied the room together with that Texan theme. The chevron wood patterns on the wall also was an impressive attention to detail. Great for large groups, there was a table next to us with over 15 guests, and all sat comfortable, but still wasn’t too loud for me and my date.
After looking at the menu (if you’re dieting it may be hard to resist some of the good old comfort foods this menu offers), we ordered the full order of the pulled pork which came with two sides, but ordered two additional sides a la carte on top of that. The pulled pork was good but could have had more bbq on it, the garlic mashers (extra side, $ 3) was delicious, as were the side of fries-​perfectly salty ($ 3). The baked beans had a nice smokey taste, and my date also raved about the baked mac and cheese (which I didn’t try as I’m lactose intolerant).
All in all a great first experience, I’ll be back!

This place is SO inviting! Large windows that are open, every time I’ve walked by or driven by. And there are always so many people inside!
We came in and were seated pretty quickly, I was surprised there wasn’t a wait. Our hostess was not nice. When we asked for a table and told her how many, she rolled her eyes and grabbed menus and started walking to a table. Threw the menus down onto a table and walked away without saying a word… Rude? Our waiter was MUCH nicer. Came back and checked on us several times throughout the meal.
THe food was good. Large portions. LARGE portions. Kind of pricey, but you get a lot of food. I probably won’t be back because when I ate my left overs, it was way too salty. And I had enough left overs for 2 more meals.
Their cornbread was okay, very sweet. Their biscuit was dry and cakey, not light and buttery. Their fried chicken was SO good. But SO SO salty. I had to down like 3 glasses of water with my drumstick. Catfish poboy was large and yummy too! Oh their butter they give you with the cornbread is so good. It has some sort of alcohol in it though, just a warning for those that don’t want alcohol in it.
Drinks? Great. I can’t remember what I had but it was the waiter’s recommendation and I loved it.
Will I go back? Not unless someone else wants to go. Just wasn’t my cup of tea.

Great cocktails (and obviously whiskey). Lots of TVs to watch a game and solid food.
Whiskey Smash is delicious. They do a great job with their cocktails. They also have a great late night happy hour.
Food-​wise you MUST try the fried chicken. It is delciious and if you like spice get it spicy. It’s not overwhelming, and adds a nice kick. Cornbread, biscuit and honey butter are also a good hit.
Ribs and brisket were ok but not amazing.
Never gets too crowded so it’s a good stand-​by in the neighborhood!