George's Restaurant

Someone from this business manages this listing.

326 reviews

#83 of 669 Restaurants in Southampton££ - £££, Mediterranean, Greek, Vegetarian friendly

+44 23 8022 3749+ Add website

Hours

Sun

12:00 - 14:0018:00 - 21:30

Wed

11:30 - 14:0018:00 - 22:00

Thu

11:30 - 14:0018:00 - 22:00

Fri

11:30 - 14:0018:00 - 22:30

Sat

11:30 - 14:0018:00 - 22:30

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Ratings and reviews

4.5

326 reviews

#83 of 669 Restaurants in Southampton

RATINGS

Food

Service

Value

Atmosphere

Details

Someone from this business manages this listing.

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CUISINES

Mediterranean, Greek

Special Diets

Vegetarian friendly, Vegan options, Gluten free options

Meals

Lunch, Dinner, After-hours

features

Location and contact

1 St Michaels Square, Southampton England

+44 23 8022 3749

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Does this restaurant offer free wifi?

Yes

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Details

Manage this business?

CUISINES

Mediterranean, Greek

Special Diets

Vegetarian friendly, Vegan options, Gluten free options

Meals

Lunch, Dinner, After-hours

FEATURES

Reservations, Seating, Highchairs Available, Wheelchair Accessible, Serves Alcohol, Full Bar, Table Service

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4.5

326 reviews

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211

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FoodieFrank

Southampton118 contributions

Late Night Family Dinner

Aug 2020 • family

Late Night Family Dinner What can I say about this amazing restaurant, there are not enough superlatives to describe how happy we were, hence they get a 5/5. First up corona safety advice, this was brilliant. They have a one way traffic system in and out of the restaurant. A notice outside which they ask you to read before seating. There is a traffic light system in place for the toilets, so you only get up when the toilet is free, so you don’t bump into anyone hanging around waiting. Plus there are hand sanitisers all over the place. Staff are wearing face shields and tables are well distanced. Service was brilliant, kids were engaged, food order and table service delivery was extremely prompt. The best bit was the kids got their food early and could start eating, which means less waiting and moaning while we had starters. A varied menu with lots for adults and kids to choose from. All our food was extremely yummy and recommended, and well priced. Starters, mains and desserts all enjoyed. Roughly £15 per head which is great. Staff were friendly, courteous and informative. For a family of 4 it was great value for money and I cant believe I have never been here before. Definitely recommend George’s to everyone even if you have some picky eaters, there’s something for everyone here.

Written 16 August 2020

This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Rick M

Southampton82 contributions

Dinner

Feb 2020 • family

Me my wife son and two friends went to this restaurant, went mid week so it wasn't busy. Straight away drinks were ordered and promptly arrived with a smile, all ordered main meals together and they all arrived together, the food was piping hot very well presented and portion wise huge, between us we had pork, chicken, pasta and 2 steaks with add ons. Was well topped up with drinks no problem. The food was delicious and very filling some taken away in a doggy bag, that good. Will definitely be returning without a doubt.

Written 12 February 2020

sameoldscene

Southampton91 contributions

Worth the visit.

Oct 2020 • none

Tbh, I was a little disappointed when a friend of ours decided to pick this place for his 50th birthday for a table of 6, but, being his birthday, it was of course, his choice of venue. Very pleasantly surprised. A really comfortable evening and well managed, what with all the Covid going on. Staff worked very hard to keep people distanced, wearing masks whilst going around the restaurant to the toilet or cigarette break outside. Food was delicious, well presented and came out together. I had the mussels/garlic bread to start and fillet steak cooked rare with Stilton sauce for main and finished off with a Brandy coffee. All was really good and reasonably priced. It’s a massive improvement from when I was last here around 3 years ago. Highly recommended.

Written 10 October 2020

Jenny B

Southampton20 contributions

Husband birthday meal

Jul 2021 • family

Food was lovely as always but service was unfortunately slow meaning not all meals arrived at the same time. The bill arrived and a service charge was applied which we felt was too high so paid half to which the waitress became very rude and aggressive. Unprofessional behaviour for a restaurant.

Written 16 July 2021

GeorgesManagement

Hi Jenny, We are glad you enjoyed your food, however we do apologise that you felt our staff acted unprofessionally during your visit to our restaurant. Your booking was for 14 people, and as stated on the menu we do have a mandatory service charge for larger parties. This of course is taken off the bill if at any point you felt the service wasn’t up to scratch. The service charge for your table was £12. When you told your server your table wasn’t paying the service charge, your server asked if there was anything wrong with the service to which you replied “no, there was nothing wrong we just don’t want to pay it.” After your server tried to explain that it is a non discretionary service charge in which you are obligated to pay as contracted by the terms on the menu you replied that you “never pay service wherever you go and they always take it off without question” You then decided to leave without paying the full amount of your bill without any reasoning. Your server was not aggressive, just rather upset and frustrated as she thought she had given you excellent service, during a very busy shift. We are surprised you felt the service was slow as we praise ourselves on efficient service and always try to ensure all meals, even with large parties, are delivered at the same time, which in this case was true apart from one meal which we apologised for and offered a complimentary drink for which the guest was very grateful. We can only recommend that in future you ask for the service charge not be added onto your bill before you order, so we can give you the appropriate service during a busy period. Thanks for your time, The George’s Team

Written 20 August 2021

This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

Karen & Phil Walsh

Marsascala416 contributions

What a Joke!

Oct 2021 • none

Where do I start on this disastrous visit? First of all as someone who has travelled extensively to both Greece & Cyprus this was the oddest Greek menu I’ve ever seen. No stuffed vine leaves, no filo pastry pies etc, just a bland everyday menu with a bit of lip service paid to Greek cuisine. In the end being a vegetarian, (normally catered for by Greek cuisine) I opted for cheese garlic bread followed by Spanish Omelette & Fries. The starter was passable but whatever I was served it certainly wasn’t an omelette. Barely warm, it was a a dry mix of some sort of potato bake. I left most of it but my husband finished it off as he couldn’t finish his own dish of Mushroom stroganoff as it was too disgusting, covered in some sort of yellow liquid made cold because the (chef) plonked a load of coleslaw on it. It seems everything comes with coleslaw! Half way through eating our meals were made even cooler when the staff decided to open all the doors and cause a draught, apparently for our safety, although my 81 year old father who sat there shivering didn’t think so. The restaurant was clearly understaffed, which meant it was quite late by the time we’d finished eating, due to lack of service. They asked if we would like any more drinks and my brother said maybe in a minute. To which we were told the bar closed at 10pm! The message was clear, we’ve kept you waiting all evening, served you rubbish food and now we want you to leave...so we did! As we were paying the bill we noticed people being turned away at the door. First time I’ve gone to a restaurant in a busy city that closes at 10pm on any evening let alone a Friday....odd way to run a business. My family years ago used to frequent that restaurant. It once had a good reputation. They won’t be doing so again!

Written 23 October 2021

GeorgesManagement

Thank you for taking the time to review us. Although we are proud of our Greek Cypriot heritage, we do not promote ourselves as a Greek restaurant (in fact we started as a spaghetti house!), as we serve both English and Cypriot cuisine, however we do try to bring as much of a Greek atmosphere as we can. We pride ourselves on our large menu with a wide variety of foods to cater for all our customers, which includes our vegan Dolmathes (stuffed vine leaves) that are so popular we have them on our menu three times; as a starter, main and as part of our Greek meze and had you asked your server she would have been more than happy to point out all our vegetarian Greek options on our menu. We don’t however serve any Greek savoury pastries as these are traditionally a snack rather than a restaurant dish. We can only apologise that you didn’t like your food, however there was no indication given during the evening that anything was wrong, so we are a little taken aback by this. Our omelettes are all made fresh to order, but if you weren’t keen on the potatoes in a Spanish omelette, perhaps you could have chosen our Greek omelette which is another vegetarian option. As for the mushroom stroganoff it was not bought to your servers attention, even when asked, that it was “disgusting” so we can not offer a comment other than that the fresh cream sauce when cooked with mushrooms may add a slight yellow tint to the dish. Our homemade Greek salad which is served with most of our dishes is made from white cabbage so can easily be mistaken for coleslaw, however it is an authentic Cypriot accompaniment and is a favourite amongst most of our customers to the point where we have many customers who regularly take extra home! Throughout the evening when we are very busy, especially when we are fully booked as we were on the evening you came in, we sporadically open our doors to ventilate the restaurant as recommended by government guidelines. Once you told your server that you felt cold she immediately closed the doors and we opened our other door on the other side of the restaurant, so we could continue to keep our customers safe. Unfortunately during this time everyone in hospitality is understaffed, but we try our best to not let this affect our service and Friday night ran very smoothly. As you were booked at 19:45 (although some of your party arrived earlier) you had aperitifs, starters, mains and desserts followed by an additional bottle of wine all before 10pm, which we feel is more than accommodating for a 2 hour sitting. As it had been a while since you had finished your meal your server asked if you wanted anything else and your brother responded by saying “maybe later”, to which your server let you know we were doing last orders. At this point your table became inordinately annoyed at our closing time, so instead of taking up the offer for more drinks you decided to leave, even though your sever let you know you were welcome to stay and have another round. At no point before this did you show any sign of dissatisfaction other than when you’d ask for the door to be closed. We are very surprised reading your review that you were having such an awful time, as you’ve stated you wanted to stay later which would indicate that you were enjoying your time at our restaurant, so we are still trying to understand why you wanted to continue your evening with us if it was so terrible. Although you feel 10pm is far too early to be closing on a Friday, this is stated on our opening times. We start our evening service at 5:30 to accommodate our usual family based customers and after a very busy night, it had quietened down, as all evenings do, therefore naturally headed towards closing. The advantage of us being an independent family ran restaurant is we can decide the way we run our own restaurant and as we have been in the industry for over 80 years we have a good understanding of our clientele and arrange our hours accordingly. The only customers we recall turning away were before 9pm and because we were fully booked, however I think you’d find it hard to find any restaurant in Southampton who allow customers to arrive to dine after 10pm. Once again we apologise to you for your “disastrous visit” and for our “odd way of running a business”, however had most of these issues been raised to us we would have done our upmost to rectify what we could and can only hope in future you let any restaurant know your concerns rather than waiting to go home to write a very upsetting review completely out of the blue.

Written 26 October 2021

This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

Stewart C

Chatham1110 contributions

Enjoyable Greek experience.

Sept 2020 • none

We visited George's Restaurant in Southampton for a Greek meal on a Sunday evening. We had pre booked the restaurant though when we arrived it was not busy. On arrival we were met by a member of staff and after sanitising our hands shown to our table. There was also a QR sign in for the NHS Covid 19 app. The interior of the restaurant is bright and clean and the tables were well-spaced and a one way system was in place for customers. Our waitress (wearing a face mask), took our drinks and food orders from the fairly comprehensive menu, we had already decided to have the Meze dish and this consist of a series of smaller dishes similar to a Spanish Tapas. Each successive communal dish was served to the table and our party could choose what to eat and how much. Be warned that there is a good amount of food served with these meals and as the evening went on and the dishes kept arriving we began to ‘struggle’ towards the end! All of the food was very well prepared and cooked and very tasty and this is a great way to experience a wide range of Greek dishes if you are either unfamiliar with these or like some variety with your meals. Payment was by contactless card and was made at the main bar. A very enjoyable meal at George's Restaurant, the food and staff were both excellent and made for a very enjoyable evening meal experience.

Written 5 October 2020

Teresa B

1 contribution

Very disappointing

Mar 2022 • none

Arranged a family reunion night for 10 of us paid 100 pound deposit for the table. Before leaving home my daughter did a test and it showed positive. I phoned the restaurant straight away to advise that it would only now be 7 of us as She couldn't bring her two children. There were still empty tables. The food was very disappointing. My brother had to send back his sirloin steak because he just couldn't eat it he swapped it for a fillet but ended up eating alone as we had all finished. I had the chicken fillet with pepper sauce the chicken was dry and stringy and the sauce tasteless. When were presented with the bill the server advised she deducted our 70 pounds deposit I explained we had paid 100 she said she was charging for the 3 no shows. I explained my daughter had tested positive and couldn't come and was told they could have sold the table space. In these times when there was empty tables all evening and people are doing the right thing to keep others safe I think that was very mean of them. Won't be returning.

Written 6 March 2022

Elizabeth H

Southampton2 contributions

Marvellous Meze

Oct 2020 • couples

Me and my partner had the Meze for 2 on Sunday and it was fantastic! I’ve been going to George’s for years and have had many different dishes on the menu, but I’ve never tried the full Meze, so decided to give it a go. Such a good variety of dishes; hot and cold, vegan and meat, all with great flavour. The portions of each dish were perfect; a little bit of everything which left us full to the brim! Can definitely recommend, but go with an empty stomach! Service was brilliant from the lovely waitress Karen, who was very attentive and explained each part of the Meze to us. The COVID procedures they have in place are on point; distanced tables, staff wearing masks, loads of hand sanitising points and a traffic light system in place to use the facilities. Very impressed overall and can’t wait to return.

Written 12 October 2020

Matt G

Southampton29 contributions

If you’re 13 minutes late you lose your booking !!

Oct 2022 • family

To say I’m absolutely fuming with George’s Restarunt is an understatement !! We’ve been using this place for over 20 years as have most of the family. If there is an occasion George’s was the go to place … we were going so often at one point that when my wife was Pregnant one time they even done her take away of her favourite starter … but now I guess they don’t want the business. This weekend was supposed to be a special weekend for my youngest son. Back when he was younger he’d sit in there and eat the kids meatballs which were bigger than his head. Now he’s older and this was his delayed birthday weekend, and his first weekend home from the army in a long time. HIS choice of venue was to eat a George’s restaurant. I booked the table online for 18:30. I had a phone call from the restaurant to confirm our booking on the day, I even phoned them back to confirm the birthday part of it so logic says we were going to be there. Due to my sons train arriving late We arrived 13 minutes late to the restaurant to be told we could no longer have our table. What the hell !! The place was t busy and how does 13 minutes make a difference?? It’s a shame time moves on and the younger staff have no idea what loyalty means or even basic customer service for that matter. It’s a shame because the whole family have many many years of good memories here and now I have no desire to return to a place that doesn’t want my business. I’ll also be talking the rest of the family into finding a different venue for all future family events. Maybe George’s will continue as they have for a long time or maybe it’ll be run into the ground and disappear along with the original values this place held

Written 9 October 2022

Paul T

St Dominick3 contributions

Fantastic food and warm welcome.

Jan 2022 • couples

I don’t often take the time to write reviews but we had an outstanding meal at George’s. Hadn’t been here before but the food was lovely and the owners and staff were superb and very friendly. As restaurant owners ourselves it’s great to find somewhere that cares about their food and service. Hope to be back soon.

Written 14 January 2022

sameoldscene

Southampton91 contributions

Dinner with Friends

Nov 2021 • friends

A really great evening here with a few friends. Great communication from Harriet with booking etc. We haven’t been here for a good couple of years, but a really enjoyable evening had by all 6 of us…Food was delicious, cooked spot on and well presented and all served with a smile. We can’t wait to return again soon.

Written 20 November 2021

CHK

1 contribution

Special Occasion

Apr 2022 • none

We attended a wedding lunch held at George's after the ceremony in Southampton Registry Office, and could not have asked for a better venue. The staff were incredibly warm and welcoming, and nothing was too much trouble. Harriet was a star, working both behind the scenes and during service to ensure that everything ran smoothly; the bride and groom had a really special lunch, and all the guests were really well looked after. To end the meal. Harriet even arranged a special song to be played so the entire table could stand up and dance - what a great way to send off the happy couple! Exceptional service combined with a delicious meal and a fantastic atmosphere - thank you to all at George's for making this such a happy day that none of us will forget.

Written 26 April 2022

Ness2020

3 contributions

Fantastic Greek restaurant

Oct 2020 • couples

We were visiting Southampton for the weekend, and wanted to eat out on the Saturday evening. We read the reviews for George’s restaurant, and as we love Greek food we booked a table in advance. We arrived and all of the necessary precautions were in place. The tables were spaced well apart. The staff were very friendly. We chose individual dishes from the menu, and all of the courses were delicious. We certainly want to go back again soon, and we already know that next time we will order the meze. Highly recommend George’s Restaurant!

Written 9 October 2020

Jenny H

Southampton53 contributions

Traditional restaurant

Aug 2020 • none

Had an eat out to help out meal here today. Portions are enormous and the food is very filling so go hungry! I enjoyed the moussaka and the Greek dips to start, we might go for the meze next time because the spaghetti bolognese was big and a meze would have offered more of a variety of tastes in smaller portions. It is a good old-fashioned Greek/British style restaurant, with friendly service. Lots of safety protocols in place which made us feel reassured. We like to support local businesses, however we do tend to go the The Real Greek for a variety of smaller lighter dishes rather than a blow-out, although the draw of the moussaka here is always a factor!

Written 26 August 2020

BigSeany

17 contributions

Superb as its always been

May 2022 • family

Went for a last minute lunch today. The spaghetti bolgnese I have been eating there for 35 years was just perfect, wife had a giant old school cooked breakfast which fully hit the spot with some of the classic George's chips. Lovely service attentive, polite and unintrusive. Bill was twenty sheets for enough food to feed probably three people, but we made a dent in it! Still my go to comfort food place and all these years on would recommend to anyone. Southampton's premier old school Greek place and will fight anyone who tells me otherwise. Thanks guys.

Written 25 May 2022

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GEORGE'S RESTAURANT, Southampton - Updated 2024 Restaurant Reviews, Menu & Prices - Tripadvisor