The Southern Cafe and Music Hall

Love this place for a music venue! I’ve been here a few times now for different functions ranging from shows to a holiday party for work and have really enjoyed it. It’s a cool spot located off the side street on the downtown mall near the Water street parking garage.
When you enter the place you’re immediately in the restaurant/​bar area where you can order drinks and food. I haven’t ordered food from here yet but it looked promising. The drinks were pretty affordable especially when there are specials. This place is essentially a lounge that then leads into the main stage area that is behind the double doors to the right of the bar. The stage section what I’d describe as an intimate setting with dark interior, café seating in the back, and depending on the function, seating on the floor space before the stage.
The last time I was here we saw Bronze Radio Return and even though it was packed, we still felt like we could comfortably see the performers and hear the music clearly through the sound system. Afterword, the band had a table set up by the doors in which they met with people and sold merch. Everything felt really low key, accessible, and non-​pretentious. We definitely liked how chill everyone was.
Additionally, the holiday party I came to was another really unique function since the lounge area allowed for congregating and drinking and the stage area had a karaōke system set up. I’d definitely recommend checking this venue out if you’re looking for something fun and unconventional on the downtown mall!

This place is awesome! We attended the holiday open house where we saw four awesome performances. All were top notch musicians. The first was Red solo of” Red and the Romantics” who sang a set of soulful and sometimes humorous originals accompanied by steel guitar. The second was a jazz duo, female vocalist and piano player who were mesmerizing! The third act was a bluegrass string band who were foot stompin amazing and surprised the audience with their rendition of a Rolling Stones tune. The fourth was a solid rock trio called the Dead Professionals (?) I am really mad at myself for not remembering all the names because they were all worth following! I hope I get to go to the Southern again some time! Check it out!
The only reason i didn’t give it a 5 star is because it is under ground and the interior is not decorated much but who cares when you are totally enjoying the music!

My husband and I stumbled into this cool hotspot today and got to eat some delicious food AND hear some awesome blues music too! The Central VA Blues Society had its Blues Challenge 2015 today so we heard a great mix of artists and enjoyed every minute of it! The venue was just right for this type of event and people were dancing and truly enjoying themselves! The Southern had a wide variety of beers for our delight and the Chicken Club sandwich was good in a melt-​in-​your-​mouth kind of way! Yum yum! My hubs had the Just Goat w It sandwich and he barely saved a bite for me to try! Staff was friendly and overall we enjoyed our experience here.

Nice little intimate venue. Would benefit greatly from changing saturated red and blue gel In the modest lighting to bastard amber and lavender. Better for small spaces. Otherwise super cute and efficient performance space with decent selection. :). Happy time.

You won’t find many music venues that can offer both an excellent selection of live music AND delicious food. They’ve changed up their menu and have done a phenomenal job of vamping it up. The potato skins were a great app for our large group. Cooked to the perfect temp and leaving the skins to not be tough but also not soggy. I also couldn’t get enough of the onion dip — the perfect combo of flavors that leaves you wanting to order 2 more portions of it — it’s seriously THAT GOOD.
Now to the good stuff, the sandwiches. I tried both the «Jam Session» and «Gouda Moon Rye-​sing.» Let’s start off with the Jam Session — I’m a big fan of brie so I was kinda already sold on the sandwich before I even tried it. The mixture of the brie with the apple and raspberry jam was like listening to an unreleased Dead song — pure joy.
The «Gouda Moon Rye-​sing» was just as enjoyable. I’m also a huge fan of gouda. Ok, so maybe I’m just a fan of cheese in general. I was a bit hesitant about the onion jam paired with gouda and spinach but boy, I shouldn’t have been. It was incredible and to top it off, the rye bread made it perfect.
Beware of the «Fancy Grahams,» as they may cause utter euphoria.
Overall this place is great for dinner or even after you’ve had a few drinks and need a lil’ snack. With a great late-​nite option, it’s going to be my first choice for delicious food while also staying on the mall. Nice work!

Note: This review is for a Saturday evening 8PM music show. Other days and times may provide a very different experience.
The Southern is a bit «basement divey».
We didn’t eat the food, it may be good. I have no idea how the reviewer that said he had a party of eight was able to review the food like he did. I never saw a spot where eight people could sit and eat together. Perhaps they clear the floor space out for the herds of people that come for the show.
We were very glad we ate before coming for the show; it would not have been a pleasant atmosphere for dinner. If you are a college student that doesn’t mind eating standing up, or doesn’t mind the chaos of people gathering around a bar with no stools to compete for drinks and then standing around in groups drinking like a house party even if you had found a seat or table… then this is the place is for you.
The place is set up like you would imagine for a college town, herding people in to a common lounge space that had a bit of a funky smell, then a wristband admission process in to the stage area/​room. The bar is very basic and chaotic, much like many music venues and college town bars. Again, to be clear, we were there for a music show, the atmosphere may be very different at other times.
When they say «Seated» at the time of ticket purchase for a music show, you need to know that if you don’t get there early you may not get a seat, even if you have advance purchased your ticket. It is general admission and they either sold more tickets than seats in advance or they allow as many people up to capacity that show up without pre-​purchasing tickets to get in to the show. It is NOT a controlled seating number environment. The only reason I agreed to take my wife to the show was it was listed as «seated»…we did find seats… barely… but the venue was packed with standing patrons you had to negotiate through to get to the bar or bathroom… like a college house party or a standing general admission show.
The concert hall area where the stage is, is not exceptional. Large building columns block many views… a very «underground-​ish» feel to the place. We found a spot to the far left (facing) of the stage where we had a fair view, but there is a staff door nearby that the staff kept constantly going in and out. It apparently doesn’t occur to them to lower the lights on the other side of that door during the show, so there was a constant flood of light as the staff incessantly moved back and forth… for what? I have no idea… they weren’t serving food or drinks.
The sound system was adequate and we did generally enjoy the show, but we may not be back. We are grown-​ups and perhaps we need to stick to more mature venues… if we can find them. I’m sure this place is very acceptable for the younger college-​age crowd.
We came here for the local talent. Apparently the owners of the Southern are very in tune with the local music scene. We give kudos for that and we were there for this reason in the first place.

These guys are doing everything right.
They’re just off the mall, and almost subterranean. You enter via a brick patio, and it feels like a cool, secret cave.
They’re a true local establishment, featuring locally-​sourced ingredients for their excellent menu (I had the BBQ slider last night, and it was perfect), and local art on the walls. Great beer list at reasonable prices, too.
The best part is the music. They have a small stage in the back with live music every night of the week, often with no cover charge. The sound system is great, and there’s not really a bad spot in the house. You can stand/​sit/​dance with ease. If you’re in the area to visit, make this a stop and see whoever is playing. If you’re living here, make this a regular spot to see local and touring artists.