Southside Restaurant, Commack

Yes, I almost steered clear of this place due to a bad review I read online, but I decided I had to try it since I love the Lindenhurst location. I agree that it isn't the smoothest operation: you order your hot food and soda at the front register and pay, and then order your alcoholic beverages and raw food at the bar and pay. To make things worse, the hot food comes in separate pickups and it's a little annoying to get buzzed when you're in the middle of appetizers. The whole process is easier if you bring cash otherwise you'll be ringing up a lot of separate credit card bills. If you can get past that (which is similar to the Lindenhurst location), then you'll enjoy the food. The food is very good and the prices are very reasonable. Since you pick up all your food, you only have to leave a few dollars for tip for the staff that picks up your trays from the table. The soda is from a soda fountain - low overhead! The steamers and raw oysters were great and I went for the signature 1.5 lb twin lobsters with my wife. I would definitely recommend it for a good seafood meal. My suggestion would be to bring cash and if you have the time, order each course when you are done with the previous course - it comes out pretty fast. The restaurant looks new and clean and it is family friendly.

I went there for lunch over the weekend in your commack location. I have seen any ads for this restaurant and wanted to give it a try. I feel it was hit or miss. Your menu says your shrimp cocktail is jumbo. There was nothing jumbo about it. It was little shrimp stuffed into a tiny bowl and it wasn't cleaned very well. The veins were hanging out of it. I could forgive that if it was served with real cocktail sauce. Those Kraft packets of cocktail sauce are disgusting, so I ate the shrimp with no cocktail sauce. We also ordered mussels for app, and fish and chipe and chilean seabass for entrees. When we picked up our orders the mussels were with the entress and the mussels were cold. I think the order taker should have known well enough to serve the mussels first. And I figure they were cold because of her oversight to alert us that they were ready before our entrees were ready. The order taker seemed busy with doing side work rather than makeing sure each order is done right. The restaurant at that point was not busy...so maybe more attention could have been paid to the customers and still get side work done. The mussels were decicious though and so were our entress. The portion size is generous and delicious but it gets killed by the packaged tar tar sauce. The restaurant is nice and clean...so is the bathroom. But Like I said it is a hit or miss. If the kinks get worked out, I think it would be a great for me, my family and friends to become regulars. I would like to see it get better since next time we would like to try the blue crab.

I also was not planninng on going after I saw a review after they first opened up, but then saw a new one a week or so ago in the islander and wish that I never listened to the first one, the food was excellent and the service was great alittle confusing the first time there but have been back 4 times in the last week and a half and always start off with some fresh clams on the half shell.. The post on the chopped baked clams they are chopped... Try the whole baked clams they are great whole and in the shell... Talking about southside just got me hungry and think i'm gonna go there for dinner...

I will only go back if they have full waitress service. I go out to eat and relax, not stand around with a vibrating devise. This concept may work on the Southshore but not on the Northshore. The food is just OK. Avoid the mashed potatoes, they taste like something that is artificially created. What's the deal with the aluminum clam shells? I guess they buy the clams in the big can. It would be nice to have fresh clams in your stuffed clams. As for there fresh fish market, it's the best around.