STAFF REVIEW

Back when I first started hitting Southside bars, one of my favorite places to stop was Jack's on 18th. A few years later it was sold and then became Bar Southside. It slowly but surely started to suck. The dark interior and black paint didn't really match the rest of the bar, and pulling out the pool tables to make room for dancing left backroom empty most of the week. Now that the place is under new ownership - it's changed back into the fun and friendly type of bar that it should be. It's cleaned up, a lot, and even the bathrooms are seriously improved. The biggest change? They even serve food now with a kitchen open from 5:00PM until late into the night. My first surprise when walking into St. Jame's was encountering a bartender that greeted me before I took my seat, served my drink quickly, and then asked me to test a new shot he had just invented. Now I don't normally drink the hard stuff, but it was fee so I sucked down my shot, and was blown away when I tasted something like cookie dough ice cream. One of the things I always rate a bar on is if they are staffed well enough... even a great bartender can only get so many drinks if the bar is croweded. Well during my two visits to St. James I met 3 managers, the owner, and 5 different bartenders. You will get excellent service here without a doubt. The interior has been completely cleaned and in many cases repainted in brighter colors. The womens room (they made sure to show me) was bright, clean, and very well maintained. In fact everything in this bar is clean - the bar top, the booths, the bar stools. I couldn't find dust anywhere. This place is the kind of place you go to with friends to hang out. You may or may not find someone new to share a bed with, but you will find good people all around you and some pretty damn good prices too.