Offering traditional, home-style favourites from the eleven southern states, Southern Eleven promises a ‘new style’ American BBQ experience with a  contemporary twist. The menu certainly piqued my interest with tasty little numbers such as pulled pork, hickory wood smoked belly ribs and hot potatoes with ‘all the fixings’, so when my lovely friend Eileen* invited us to join her birthday lunch at this recent edition to the Spinningfield offer, my husband and I jumped at the chance.

My first thought was that Seven 11′s menu wasn’t a million miles away from that of Smoak Bar and Grill, also recently opened and promoted as a ‘new bar and grill concept’ in the former Malmaison brasserie. Indeed despite the décor being quite different (Southern Eleven looks more like a posh Nando’s), both the cocktail and food menus are uncannily similar, with Southern 11′s being slightly less ‘fancy’ and quite a lot cheaper.

We started, as all good lunches should, with cocktails.

After much debate I went for the Kentucky Kiss, a classic Kentucky derby mint julep flipped with the addition of fresh cherries and Jim Beam Red Stag bourbon. Very reasonably priced at £5.95 and delicious to boot (although perhaps slightly less ice and slightly more booze would make this even better). The others had a Modern Old Fashioned with a ‘seductive mix’ of house own spiced bourbon delivered in  a flaming blaze (£6.25), a Gin & Jazz, a ‘musical’ twist on the classic mojito with gin, limoncello, fresh apple and mint (£5.95) and the Sidewalk, a combination of brandy, apples and Southern 11’s  special smoked syrup, finished off with apple foam (also £5.95). All went down well although the Sidewalk was possibly the least well received with too much foam and not enough hard liquor. I should also mention that we had two children with us who seemed to enjoy the milkshakes as much as the grown-ups enjoyed the cocktails.

By then, of course, we were ready for food. To start I plumped for the ‘bottle cap’ deep fried jalapeños which came with two dips (soured cream and BBQ). They were nice, but nowhere near spicy enough and perhaps a little stodgy. The dips were definitely needed to offset the dryness of the dish. The husband however opted for a real winner with the lil’ sausage links. These were delicious with a lovely sticky, spicy glaze and a mere snip at just £ 3.95 for a very generous portion. One of our party went for the tortilla chips with home made guacamole and salsa which I didn’t try, but the portion was enormous and could quite easily have passed for a main course. Not bad for just over a fiver.

For my main I went for the Tender Pulled Pork - 18 hour smoked rare breed pork, with homestyle slaw and jalepeno cornbread – again with a very reasonable price tag of just £ 7.50. The pork was indeed very tender and the sauce was lovely and sweet, although the dish was a tad on the cold side. The jalepeno cornbread was a little too sweet and a little too dry for my tastes and again, not nearly spicy enough. Served with parmesan truffle fries, onion rings and bbq beans on the side (to share you understand not just for me) I found the food to be a balance between the reasonably tasty (cornbread) and the down-right delicious (onion rings). But all in all I’d consider it a success.

Around the table the others enjoyed the beef short rib, a brisket sandwich, lil’burgers and the pulled pork offering in a sandwich. There were no complaints.

I was far too full for desert but the birthday girl and the husband finished off with a Knickerbocker Glory. This was apparently tasty but the edition of pineapple and chocolate was reported to clash.

All in all I very much enjoyed Southern Eleven and feel that it makes a welcome edition to Manchester’s culinary experience. It’s not an evening joint, but somewhere to go for a reasonably priced, tasty lunch when you want something a little more upmarket than Nando’s but don’t want to break the bank. And with this offer from Manchester Confidential offering two courses and a cocktail for just £15.00 what’s to lose? Oh and the music is great, what can beat some Johnny Cash on a Saturday afternoon?

*Eileen has recently started her own foodie blog, find out what she thought about Southern Eleven here.