Highest-rated Southern restaurants in New York City by diners

Highest-rated Southern restaurants in New York City by diners

When you travel below the Mason-Dixon Line, you'll find some of the most mouthwatering, comforting cuisine in the U.S.: Southern food.

Southern dishes are a vital part of American cuisine, from hushpuppies to ham hocks and beignets to barbecue. It's impossible to define a classic Southern meal, but a solid one starts with the sharp savory flavor of pimento cheese dip, followed by the delicious crunchiness of fried chicken or a spicy Louisiana étouffée, culminating with a sugary slice of chess pie that's best washed down with a tall glass of sweet tea.

What's unique about Southern fare is that multiple ethnic and cultural groups have influenced it. Spanish staples, such as potatoes and cocoa, are in many Southern dishes; the Acadians, who traveled to Louisiana from Nova Scotia and later became Louisiana Creoles, contributed their seafood to many Southern meals; African ingredients—okra, sorghum (an ancient grain), and black-eyed peas—became a part of the cuisine through the forced labor of enslaved people; French cooking methods, like braising and sautéing, are used for many Southern recipes; and Native Americans introduced corn to Southern recipes, yielding dishes like succotash and grits.

The Southern culinary scene is an explosion of cultures. To find out where you can sample some Southern offerings, Stacker compiled a list of the highest-rated Southern restaurants in the New York City area using data from Yelp as of May 2, 2025. Businesses were selected using Yelp's ranking system, which calculates an adjusted rating value that takes into account the number of ratings as well as the rating score itself. Only restaurants with at least 20 reviews tagged as "southern" on Yelp within a 10-kilometer radius of New York City were included. As a result, some restaurants featured may serve other food items.

Read on to find the perfect spot to get a taste of the South near you.

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#30. Amy Ruth's

- Rating: 3.9/5 (3153 reviews)- Price level: $$- Address: 113 West 116th St. New York, New York- Categories: Southern, Soul Food, Sandwiches- Read more on Yelp

#29. Peaches HotHouse

- Rating: 3.9/5 (1544 reviews)- Price level: $$- Address: 415 Tompkins Ave. Brooklyn, New York- Categories: Southern, American, Bars- Read more on Yelp

#28. Sally's Southern

- Rating: 3.9/5 (186 reviews)- Price level: $$- Address: 427 Forest Ave. Staten Island, New York- Categories: Southern, Cocktail Bars- Read more on Yelp

#27. Crab Shack Seafood Boil

- Rating: 4.0/5 (43 reviews)- Address: 5525 Myrtle Ave. Queens, New York- Categories: Seafood, Southern- Read more on Yelp

#26. Patsy's Italian Restaurant

- Rating: 4.0/5 (1304 reviews)- Price level: $$$- Address: 236 West 56th St. New York, New York- Categories: Italian, Southern, Wine Bars- Read more on Yelp

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#25. Sweet Chick

- Rating: 4.0/5 (2329 reviews)- Price level: $$- Address: 164 Bedford Ave. Brooklyn, New York- Categories: Southern, Breakfast & Brunch, Chicken Shop- Read more on Yelp

#24. Bondurants

- Rating: 4.0/5 (511 reviews)- Price level: $$- Address: 303 East 85th St. New York, New York- Categories: Cocktail Bars, New American, Southern- Read more on Yelp

#23. Charlies Bar & Kitchen

- Rating: 4.0/5 (447 reviews)- Price level: $$- Address: 112 Lincoln Ave. Bronx, New York- Categories: Cocktail Bars, Southern, American- Read more on Yelp

#22. Sweet Chick

- Rating: 4.0/5 (1993 reviews)- Price level: $$- Address: 178 Ludlow St. New York, New York- Categories: Southern, Breakfast & Brunch, Chicken Shop- Read more on Yelp

#21. Jacob's Pickles

- Rating: 4.1/5 (80 reviews)- Price level: $$- Address: 421 8th Ave. New York, New York- Categories: Breakfast & Brunch, Comfort Food, Southern- Read more on Yelp

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#20. Cheri's Bedstuy

- Rating: 4.1/5 (139 reviews)- Price level: $$- Address: 216 Malcolm X Blvd. Brooklyn, New York- Categories: Southern, Seafood, Breakfast & Brunch- Read more on Yelp

#19. Cornbread Brooklyn

- Rating: 4.1/5 (449 reviews)- Price level: $$- Address: 409 Eastern Pkwy New York, New York- Categories: Soul Food, Southern- Read more on Yelp

#18. Bobwhite Counter

- Rating: 4.2/5 (31 reviews)- Price level: $$- Address: 28-17 Jackson Ave. Queens, New York- Categories: Southern- Read more on Yelp

#17. Cadence

- Rating: 4.2/5 (198 reviews)- Address: 111 East 7th St. New York, New York- Categories: Soul Food, Southern, Vegan- Read more on Yelp

#16. Jacob's Pickles

- Rating: 4.2/5 (5831 reviews)- Price level: $$$- Address: 509 Amsterdam Ave. New York, New York- Categories: Comfort Food, Southern, American- Read more on Yelp

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#15. Popina

- Rating: 4.3/5 (108 reviews)- Price level: $$- Address: 127 Columbia St. Brooklyn, New York- Categories: Southern, Italian- Read more on Yelp

#14. Bobwhite Counter

- Rating: 4.3/5 (974 reviews)- Price level: $$- Address: 94 Ave. C New York, New York- Categories: Southern, Comfort Food, American- Read more on Yelp

#13. Yankee Doodle Dandy's

- Rating: 4.3/5 (159 reviews)- Price level: $- Address: New York, New York- Categories: Food Trucks, Southern, New American- Read more on Yelp

#12. Flamingobaby Kitchen

- Rating: 4.3/5 (250 reviews)- Price level: $$- Address: 787 Union St. Brooklyn, New York- Categories: Caribbean, Southern, Breakfast & Brunch- Read more on Yelp

#11. Texas Star

- Rating: 4.4/5 (39 reviews)- Price level: $- Address: 741 Saint Nicholas Ave. New York, New York- Categories: Southern, Sandwiches- Read more on Yelp

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#10. Peaches Prime

- Rating: 4.4/5 (89 reviews)- Price level: $$$- Address: 590 Fulton St. Brooklyn, New York- Categories: Southern, New American, Seafood- Read more on Yelp

#9. Jacob's Pickles Time Out Market

- Rating: 4.4/5 (129 reviews)- Price level: $$- Address: 55 Water St. Brooklyn, New York- Categories: Comfort Food, Southern- Read more on Yelp

#8. Pecking House

- Rating: 4.4/5 (30 reviews)- Address: 83 Henry St. New York, New York- Categories: Chicken Shop, Chinese, Southern- Read more on Yelp

#7. Hollybrook Lane

- Rating: 4.4/5 (45 reviews)- Address: 1712 1st Ave. New York, New York- Categories: Southern, Comfort Food- Read more on Yelp

#6. Bird Dog

- Rating: 4.4/5 (293 reviews)- Address: 525 Hudson St. New York, New York- Categories: Southern, Tuscan- Read more on Yelp

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#5. C as in Charlie

- Rating: 4.5/5 (362 reviews)- Address: 5 Bleecker St. New York, New York- Categories: Korean, Tapas/Small Plates, Southern- Read more on Yelp

#4. MayRee

- Rating: 4.6/5 (98 reviews)- Address: 58 East 1st St. New York, New York- Categories: Thai, Southern, Cocktail Bars- Read more on Yelp

#3. Lowerline

- Rating: 4.6/5 (292 reviews)- Price level: $$- Address: 794 Washington Ave. Brooklyn, New York- Categories: Cajun/Creole, Seafood, Southern- Read more on Yelp

#2. Ramen By Ra

- Rating: 4.6/5 (42 reviews)- Address: 348 Bowery The Bowery Market New York, New York- Categories: Ramen, Southern, Asian Fusion- Read more on Yelp

#1. Greedy Pot

- Rating: 4.7/5 (69 reviews)- Address: 1944 Adam Clayton Powell Jr Blvd. New York, New York- Categories: Caribbean, Southern, Barbecue- Read more on Yelp