Re-cess Southern Gastro-Pub

I’ve lived in Gainesville for a few months and have been very anxious to try what identifies as a southern gastro-​pub.
I can say overall, it did not disappoint. The hostess seemed incapable of cracking a smile as we walked in, and that theme held for the night as I could not help but trying to debunk this myth. I started with a Southern Resurrection which was by far one of the most unique drinks I’ve consumed in a while, coming from someone with a taste for Manhattans. I would recommend this drink to anyone who goes there, because slim chances that you will find anything like it anywhere else.
The fried green tomato appetizer was outstanding, given the portion size of three tomatoes, the taste made up for it. The consistency was just right, keeping their crispness while being topped with two very complimentary sauces. The goat cheese added the creaminess it needed and left nothing else to be desired.
Adam, the gentleman who took care of us did an impeccable job. He did not leave room for the anxiousness you may get when you are awaiting something. I was having trouble deciding between the Pim Burger & Shrimp and Grits. He did deliver the unfortunate news of the absence of grits for the evening, which was not an ideal situation for ordering shrimp & grits as a main course. He suggested mashed potatoes as a replacement which seemed to be a well educated suggestion, considering the consistency of the meal.
The shrimp and (now) mashed potatoes were served with pickled red onions, Brussel sprouts & pork belly. The different flavors of the meal blended together very nicely, and the portion size did not leave much to be desired. I had a Tennessee Jack-​Ass with my meal, which was exactly what you would expect for a cucumber based drink. I enjoyed the overall atmosphere and experience of Re-​cess and will definitely be returning to try more of their unique dishes!

Fish tacos were fabulous and flavorful! That’s all I need to say about that. Waitstaff was fairly attentive to a large party. Owner is very friendly and came and greeted our party.

Place has a great atmosphere but it took me ten minutes just to get a drink ordered and another 15 at the end of the night just to cash out my check. Service was friendly but I think they suffer from a lack of staff or organization when it comes to their servers.

Decent local pub with friendly staff and warm environment. Menu is limiting for a vegetarian but the husband said the shrimp and grits were awesome. Work race back but will give it a second go around sometime soon.

I am very sad to have to give Recess a one star rating. I am a long-​time customer and this has been a place that I have frequented many times over the last several years and have recommended to many friends and taken clients and customers for great meals. I just had the worst experience in service I have ever had while dining there for lunch today. I was with a group of co-​workers, a party of 7 and we arrived at the time that the restaurant opened today at 11:30am. We were one of two groups who were there and were seated pretty quickly. Our server first asked if it would be one check and we explained that three of the bills would be together and the rest separate and she took our drink order. It took her 15 minutes to bring our drinks back to the table at which time she asked if we wanted an appetizer and we told her we just wanted to order and placed out orders. At this time, the restaurant was slowly filling up but still wasn’t too busy. 30 minutes later we started to wonder where our food was and could see other tables that had arrived after us and had even ordered after us begin receiving their food. The restaurant was full by that time. Around 12:25 we were able to catch our server and ask her about our food and explained that we had been there for almost an hour. She said that she «had put our order in as soon as she took it «and told us that they got very busy and our food should be coming soon. She visited again 10 minutes later and told us again that our food should be coming. We needed to be back at the office by 1:00 for a meeting and our food arrived at about 5 minutes later. When it did, we immediately asked her to get our checks. The food, although still tasty as usual, had some problems. The salads were over-​dressed, the french fries were cold, my hamburger was overdone. No one ever followed up to ask us how the food was. No one ever apologized once for the food taking so long. No one ever even came back and re-​filled the water. It took about another 15 minutes for the server to come back with the checks and she had not combined the three that needed to be together and hadn’t even brought two of the checks to the table. She collected the credit cards of the other two and said she would be back. Ten minutes later, my co-​worker went looking to speak to the manager. This was the first time we had complained after all of this. The owner came to our table and asked us if we knew that they had gotten very busy very quickly? We told him that while it had gotten busy, it wasn’t busy when we got there at 11:30. He asked us, «What would you like me to do?» To be honest, I think we were all shocked that was his response. He didn’t apologize and didn’t bother to find out what had actually happened at our table — taking the excuse that had been fed to him by his staff that they had gotten slammed when it was obvious to me that our server had dragged her feet in providing us service and possibly had forgotten to turn in our food ticket when she took it. All he offered to do was get our checks to us quickly and walked away. He came back and said that the problem was that they had run out of paper in the machine and said that he understood that we had our checks but had then asked them to be combined. We explained to him that we had indicated the need prior to our orders ever having been taken, and that not all of our checks had even ever been delivered, and that the server had two of the credit cards for processing in her possession for 15 minutes already and had not returned with them. He asked us again, «What would you like for me to do?» and then walked away. We never saw him again. Our server finally came back with the combined bill, but not the credit cards that had been processed. Then when two of us let her know that we still didn’t have our checks, my co-​worker said that she thought that our meal should be comped and the server told us that the owner would not allow that. Then the server came back with my check and rather than hand me my check, she reached for my credit card (since I had been holding for quite some time waiting to pay my bill). I told her I wanted to see my bill first, and it wasn’t even the right bill. She had to leave and come back with the right bill for me and my co-​worker. She then processed our payments. We weren’t offered anything — not a comp, not a discount, not even an apology from anyone about the deplorable service we had received. All told, it took us an hour and 40 minutes to get our food, eat and pay our checks. Sadly, only 10 minutes of that time was spent actually eating and an hour and half of it was spent waiting.
I won’t ever be back, won’t take customers or vendors here and will no longer recommend this place to anyone I know.

Even with 2 parties going on, the service was excellent and the food delicious! We brought some friends for their first visit. They loved the atmosphere and the food too! I always get the salmon with the lemon cream sauce, which comes with roasted red potatoes and roasted broccoli. I know I already said this, but it was delicious!

I used to be a big fan of this establishment but it has gone down hill, quick. And look for no sympathy from the resident drunk/​GM/​Chris. Out of burgers at 9pm on a Friday. It happens. And has the last 3 times we’ve been. We voiced concern and it was brought to the managers attention. His response to our server was it’s 9pm on a Friday, what did they expect? If it was the first time, I wouldn’t care but not as a repeat customer. Save your time and money and go elsewhere. And if you go, tell Chris I tried to warn you.

Good beer selection. Nice hopping atmosphere. Sat at the bar as usual for my solo journeys. Friendly staff. Did find it funny how they were talking about a group that came toward closing and just wanted drinks at a table. Seemed displeased.
Had the shrimp and grits. Came with some pork belly instead of sausage. Whoa. Fantastic, wonderfully smoky and delicious! Shrimp were average, 5 pieces I think and medium sized, maybe 31−35s, nothing large for sure. Grits were decent and the sauce the dish came with was okay. A bit runny/​brothy for a shrimp and grit plate. That pork belly though. Man, worth it. Would definitely come again to try some other dishes.
Wait for the dish however was definitely excessive. Wasn’t busy at all when I plopped down and it took probably 25 min.

Great fresh food. Tasty! Grits were somewhat cold and clumpy last time. I had the Recess pita which was great. My friend had The Pim which had on it «bacon Jam». I’m trying something new today but I’m sure it will be just as delectable! On another note our server brought our check ten minutes BEFORE we received our food… and said «No rush». Ummm… okay

Recess needs to be on your culinary radar asap if you are living on the north side OTP.
I stumbled upon this place while strolling around the old town of Gainesville, as it sits just off of the main square. Walking in, you catch the immediate vibe of the old bar meets the new age, and I knew that I had struck pay dirt. The interior was classy but still had the pub feel, with a long bar, old brick walls, and a narrow and deep shell.
The service was PERFECT right from the beginning; the smile and genuineness of the hostess propelled us right into the hands of a fantastic and well rounded server that went to the nth degree to give us a perfect experience. These folks are well trained, and it shows!
Holding true to the Gastropub experience, I went for the fried pickles and homemade potato chips with blue cheese… they were excellent! They definitely did these old bar standards with a new twist, so don’t be afraid of hitting the standard fare.
For my main course, I gave the fish tacos a try, and they were fresh, full of flavor, and just the right size. I could eat this dish every day for a week, but I’m looking forward to giving their other dishes a shot.
A couple of parting notes– they do take reservations, the parking is free, and they do have live music occasionally I’ve heard.
Definitely will be a regular at Recess!

Didn’t feel like eating at any of the numerous pizza places in Gainesville. Luckily we stumbled upon this quaint gastro pub. With live music, an outdoor seating area and a simple menu, this place was a great date night location.
The only real complaint, is that the side dish of fried green tomatoes, was only two slices. A bit stingy, no? Plus they are really good, so that just makes it worse.
If your on your way to the Georgia mountains, this is definitely worth checking out.

First time going for a long over due date night and we were highly impressed! Our server was friendly and courteous and did a wonderful job! The crabcakes were out of this world and the chocolate crème butler was a perfect finish to dinner! I can’t wait to go back. The prices were great. My only complaint is that it is very loud… oh and the décor is really cool.

I had hoped this would be a truly good gastropub but I was disappointed. The pan roasted chicken breast over potatoes, artichokes and goat cheese was a flavorful dish but the chicken was rubbery and overcooked. Had the chicken been properly cooked it would have been an excellent meal. The crème brûlée was nicely done, but the cheesecake is of the whipped variety — not NY style — and was far too sweet. The location is good, the interior is attractive, and the staff were pleasant and attentive.

Recess is a great restaurant just off the square in downtown Gainesville. The only reason I am not giving this restaurant 5 stars is because occasionally my food has come out cold and has had to be sent back. With that being said the servers are always on top of it and make sure it gets handled quickly. This is a fun place to go on Friday nights as they have live music that starts around 9. It’s nice to sit around after dinner and have a few drinks listening to the music. For an appetizer you have got to try the Ahi Tuna… Always prefect and the sauces are great My favorite things on the menu are the scallops Anthony and the crab cakes, but if your in the mood for a burger the blue burger is out of this world! (I don’t think my boyfriend has ever ordered anything else… lol). They have a nice wine and beer list as well as a full liquor bar. I’m sure whatever you are wanting to drink they have available.
Overall this is a nice dinner spot… The staff is friendly, the food is good, and the atmosphere is fun and laid back!

I got the chicken special for an entrée and fried pickles for an app.
The presentation was great and the ambiance added a nice touch. Our waitress was very pleasant, but not the most knowledgeable on their menu. The chicken special came with asparagus over a bed of grits. This part was great. I am a grit eating machine and really enjoyed the asparagus addition. The chicken, however, was far from the highlight. Both the breading and the meat were very tough. I’m not totally sure if it was overcooked or just bad ingredients. It had pretty solid flavor, but I couldn’t get over how tough the entrée was.
Overall, it wasn’t a bad experience. I would go back, but I’m definitely going to order something different.

I grew up in hall county, and it’s about time they opened a more «ITP,» type of place. I would describe myself as an Atlantan Foodie… I love nice places and fancy meals. Most recently lived in the city, so I am accustomed to 100 places to dine within a 15 mile radius. This place wasn’t bad. Great appetizers, from hummus to goat cheese. I LOVED the crab cakes entrée. However advice to the kitchen… When food leaves the service bar, it needs to be HOT and steaming. I did have to send back my entrée to have it heated, but it wasn’t a huge issue.
Great old fashioned manhattan– Maybe just educate your servers more. I shouldn’t have to ask what the specials are. And maybe more bartenders on the weekends. Once I am seated, I expect a cocktail within the first 10 minutes.
Food is good– older crowd, and lots of familiar faces, but that’s not a bad thing.

Very disappointed tonight by Recess… this was my second time here and I was really looking forward to it. Unfortunately after we were sat at our table, we were ignored for about 5 minutes. A server finally stopped and asked if we would like drinks while we looked at the menu. We actually could have ordered at this point, but were not given the option. We ordered drinks and watched (for another 5 minutes) the server go back and forth to other tables several times, but he never brought us our drinks. He never even acknowledged us again, even though the tables are very close together in this restaurant. I mean we were kinda hard to miss.
At this point I thought, why are we here? Waited a couple more minutes and then decided to leave… sad part is I doubt they even realized we left. The only reason I am giving them 2 stars is because of my experience on my first visit which I would have rated 4 stars. This visit I would give them 0, so I split the difference at 2.

I saw a gastropub in Gainesville and thought oh really do people up here know what a gastropub is. I called up some friends and off we went to check it out. The owners of recess met my expectations and have a delightful mix of food and drinks. We had several appetizers and all were devoured. The homemade hummus stood out along with the homemade chips with bleu cheese.
I had the filet and let me tell you it was one of the best filets I have had in awhile. Totally worth the 22 bucks.
The drinks were amazing. A perfect mix and not one of those places that over pours. My favorite was the bellinitini. The Recess martini and blueberry hill were good as well.
I will be back and can’t wait to sample more goodies. Check them out for good food and drinks.

This location was quite cozy. It is conveniently located near the Square (somewhat off to the side street – not directly on the Square itself) in downtown Gainesville. The price range was decent – not too cheap nor expensive. Some of the appetizer proportions could have been a bite more generous. The salmon tostadas were good with 4 pieces for each member of my party. The tomato appetizer was okay. I personally did not like it because I do not like raw, green tomatoes. Some other members of my party did like it though. It’s a preference thing. If you like tomatoes, you will likely enjoy this dish.
I had the fish tacos. I must say they do have a reputation at this location. They were two decently loaded tacos, and they were delish. This comes with a side order, of which I choose the sweet potato fries. This is a great choice as it is healthier than its regular potato cousin. Plus, there was a dash of cinnamon (?) on the fries that gave it a unique flavor. The fries came out on a regular sized plate which I shared with my party. Everyone seemed to love it.
As for the desserts, they were delicious. We first had the tiramisu. It was good, but a bit soggy at the bottom. I would say this was okay, but I would recommend getting the cheesecake. You can mostly definitely just buy one item and share. Trust me, you get full really fast without evening knowing it, especially with drink orders.
Our waitress was very engaging, helpful, and possessed an abundance of patience since our party was somewhat needy. :) Well, one person from our party was needy. The overall atmosphere was relaxing. There were people gathered around the bar having side conversations. The scene is not fancy or anything like fine dining but «could» have the potential to become one.

Every once in a while, I have a Unilocal WTF moment. You know, where you go to a place that’s 4 or 5 stars on Unilocal and you’re wondering… what is everyone else seeing that I’m not?
And probably 15 minutes into our meal at Recess I was thinking… really Unilocal?WTF.
We were on our way to Hiawassee for a weekend and I thought, surely Gainesville has some cool local places to check out. After exiting the highway, we found the downtown square area. At 7pm on a Friday night, it was a complete ghostown. In fact, when we walked up to Recess, we wondered… is it even still open? That’s how dead the area was.
But we opened the door and sure enough, the place was crammed full of people. Harried waiters shuffled past us as we tried to get the attention of the clearly stressed-​out hostess, who was setting up a bunch of tables for a large group.
Although we didn’t have to wait for a table, we waited (and waited) for anyone to speak to us. My boyfriend and I gave each other the «…should we leave while we still can?» look. Finally a waiter speed-​walking past noticed we didn’t have any drinks, and started laughing like a maniac. He yanked the girl who was supposed to be our server over to our table and said «She’ll take care of you right away!», although the girl looked in no way amused by this statement. She finally rolled her eyes and agreed to take us on because we were all ready to order.
(Side note — we were provided different menus. My boyfriend’s menu and my menu had different items and prices. Very weird.)
For an appetizer, we ordered the house made chips with blue cheese crumbles. What we got a few short minutes later, was house made chips with blue cheese crumbles and probably 1 cup’s worth of blue cheese dressing, straight from Hidden Valley (see photo!). Seriously, it was disgusting. Had we not been starving I absolutely would have sent it back.
While we waited for dinner we noticed a band setting up for live music, and our table happened to be right next to the 6 or so speakers they were setting up (and they kept bringing in MORE speakers! Why!!!) We asked for the check when our food was delivered, and I’m glad we did.
We were also curious and intrigued by the seemingly regular customers of Recess. A large table of about 20 near us broke out into screams and cheers when one member of their party took a normal-​sized shot. That was a little bizarre. Then, we started hearing banging noises and upon further inspecition we discovered that many tables had children under the age of 8 or so at their table. Mind you, these tables are right next to a full bar and many people were drinking heavily. Just a weird scene.
For dinner I had shrimp & grits while my boyfriend ordered a flatbread. My shrimp and sausage were delivered on skewers atop my grits. Great presentation, but how the heck am I supposed to eat this? There was no extra room on the skewers for me to hold while pulling the meat off. Overall my entrée was the highlight and it wasn’t even all that spectacular. My boyfriend’s flatbread earned an enthusiastic «meh».
I’m glad we stopped in to a local spot, but I wouldn’t recommend this place to any of my friends. I think they’re going for the city vibe, but the customers, service, and food are small-​town. We weren’t impressed.