During my “vacation week” of my maternity leave, I’ve decided to take advantage of my free time (since Baby M could make his arrival at any time now). Lunch at The Noble South was the perfect way to do just that.

Mark and I have been wanting to try this restaurant for a while (I believe it opened early this year), but since they’re open for lunch only during the work week and dinners seemed a little pricey, we never did try it out. My mom joined me Tuesday afternoon, and I’m really glad she did.

The restaurant itself is small, but extremely bright and airy thanks to a high ceiling (with upper floors removed). The decor is farmhouse chic, I suppose, and I love the white-washed brick, wood floors, and rustic bar setup. The tables even have a butcher block look to them.

I feel like there’s a little bit of everything on the lunch menu, and I thought the pricing was very reasonable. I probably could make a meal out of the “snacks,” although I knew going in that I wanted a plate lunch.

Although everything sounded appetizing, I had a hankering for fried catfish. I was a bit disappointed to hear that they had already sold out of the squash casserole and cucumber  salad (the two sides I’d most wanted to try!), but I took our waitress’ recommendations to heart and opted for the kale salad and succotash. (Next time I want the fried okra, as it would’ve been my next choice).

I’m very glad I limited myself to two sides because they were quite large! One would’ve been sufficient, but I didn’t realize it going in.

Let me start with the catfish! It was the fluffiest fillet I’ve ever seen, and the crispy cornmeal batter was seasoned and fried perfectly, not a drop of grease in sight. I’m not sure what the dipping sauce was, but it tasted like some kind of rémoulade (I’m pretty sure there was whole grain mustard in there) and complimented the flaky fish perfectly.

The kale salad was tender, but it had a nice bite to it, as well. The parmesan added a salty touch (almost too much), and the heirloom tomatoes and vinaigrette were the perfect touch of acid.

The succotash was extremely fresh! The corn was definitely cut straight off the cob, and you could tell the mixture was cooked in a lot of butter (in a good way, not a heavy or offensive way).

As much as I loved the fish, I could have happily made a meal out of the sides (which is an option: 4 sides for $8.00).

We didn’t ask to hear dessert offerings, but I did eavesdrop on the neighboring table and heard something about a banana pudding semi-freddo (whoa!) and something with peanut butter. I guess we’ll save dessert for next time!

The only negative about the restaurant was the heat. Sure, it’s October and “technically” fall, but it was quite warm today. It didn’t bother me as there was a slight breeze coming in through the open doors, but had it been slightly warmer (like during the summer!), I would have been uncomfortable.

Hot or not, I definitely plan to return and let Mark have a taste! We may even treat ourselves to dinner, which, after experiencing the quality and freshness of the ingredients firsthand, probably is just as reasonably priced as lunch.