Highest-rated Southern restaurants in Chicago by diners

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

Southern dishes are a vital part of American cuisine, from hush puppies 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 Chicago using data from Yelp. Data is as of June 11, 2024. 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 10 reviews were considered. In an effort to highlight independent restaurants and local chains, restaurants with more than five locations nationally, based on the Yelp data, were not included.

Read on to find the perfect spot to get a taste of the South in Chicago.

#27. Pine Street Kitchen

- Rating: 2.8/5 (12 reviews) - Address: 401 North Michigan Ave. Equitable Building Chicago, Illinois - Categories: sandwiches, southern - Read more on Yelp

#26. Kitchen + Kocktails Chicago

- Rating: 3.2/5 (670 reviews) - Price level: $$$ - Address: 444 North Wabash Ave. Chicago, Illinois - Categories: southern, comfort food, cocktail bars - Read more on Yelp

#25. Chicago's Home Of Chicken & Waffles

- Rating: 3.3/5 (926 reviews) - Price level: $$ - Address: 3947 South King Drive Chicago, Illinois - Categories: breakfast & brunch, southern, waffles - Read more on Yelp

#24. Macarthur's Restaurant

- Rating: 3.5/5 (242 reviews) - Price level: $ - Address: 5412 West Madison St. Chicago, Illinois - Categories: southern, soul food - Read more on Yelp

#23. Lillie's Q

- Rating: 3.5/5 (1057 reviews) - Price level: $$ - Address: 417 North Ashland Ave. Chicago, Illinois - Categories: barbeque, southern - Read more on Yelp

#22. Ina Mae Tavern & Packaged Goods

- Rating: 3.5/5 (486 reviews) - Price level: $$ - Address: 1415 North Wood St. Chicago, Illinois - Categories: southern, beverage store, breakfast & brunch - Read more on Yelp

#21. Bourbon On Division

- Rating: 3.7/5 (53 reviews) - Price level: $$ - Address: 2050 West Division St. Chicago, Illinois - Categories: southern, whiskey bars - Read more on Yelp

#20. Big Jones

- Rating: 3.7/5 (1746 reviews) - Price level: $$ - Address: 5347 North Clark St. Chicago, Illinois - Categories: southern, breakfast & brunch, bars - Read more on Yelp

#19. Gold Coast Social

- Rating: 3.8/5 (52 reviews) - Address: 7 West Divison St. Chicago, Illinois - Categories: southern, american, cocktail bars - Read more on Yelp

#18. Two Fish Crab Shack

- Rating: 3.8/5 (450 reviews) - Price level: $$ - Address: 641 East 47th St. Chicago, Illinois - Categories: seafood, southern - Read more on Yelp

#17. The Budlong Southern Chicken

- Rating: 3.8/5 (393 reviews) - Price level: $$ - Address: 1008 West Armitage Chicago, Illinois - Categories: southern, chicken shop, comfort food - Read more on Yelp

#16. Dawn AM Eatery

- Rating: 3.9/5 (47 reviews) - Address: 1642 East 56th St. Chicago, Illinois - Categories: southern, breakfast & brunch, cocktail bars - Read more on Yelp

#15. Wishbone

- Rating: 3.9/5 (1027 reviews) - Price level: $$ - Address: 161 North Jefferson St. Chicago, Illinois - Categories: breakfast & brunch, southern, bars - Read more on Yelp

#14. Feed

- Rating: 3.9/5 (637 reviews) - Price level: $ - Address: 2803 West Chicago Ave. Chicago, Illinois - Categories: southern, breakfast & brunch, diners - Read more on Yelp

#13. The Budlong Southern Chicken - Lincoln Square

- Rating: 3.9/5 (237 reviews) - Price level: $$ - Address: 4619 North Western Ave. Chicago, Illinois - Categories: southern, chicken shop, comfort food - Read more on Yelp

#12. Southern Twang

- Rating: 4.0/5 (20 reviews) - Address: 3517 North Spaulding Ave. Chicago, Illinois - Categories: food delivery services, southern, seafood - Read more on Yelp

#11. Chef Art Smith's Reunion

- Rating: 4.0/5 (148 reviews) - Price level: $$ - Address: 700 East Grand Ave. Ste 131 Chicago, Illinois - Categories: american, southern, chicken shop - Read more on Yelp

#10. Roost Chicken & Biscuits

- Rating: 4.0/5 (395 reviews) - Price level: $$ - Address: 455 North Milwaukee Ave. Chicago, Illinois - Categories: southern - Read more on Yelp

#9. Sweet Maple Cafe

- Rating: 4.0/5 (932 reviews) - Price level: $$ - Address: 1339 West Taylor St. Chicago, Illinois - Categories: american, southern, breakfast & brunch - Read more on Yelp

#8. Luella's Southern Kitchen

- Rating: 4.2/5 (977 reviews) - Price level: $$ - Address: 4609 North Lincoln Ave. Chicago, Illinois - Categories: southern, breakfast & brunch, chicken shop - Read more on Yelp

#7. The Delta

- Rating: 4.2/5 (476 reviews) - Price level: $$ - Address: 1745 West North Ave. Chicago, Illinois - Categories: southern, cocktail bars, breakfast & brunch - Read more on Yelp

#6. Cleo's Southern Cuisine

- Rating: 4.2/5 (153 reviews) - Price level: $$ - Address: 4248 South Cottage Grove Chicago, Illinois - Categories: southern, personal chefs, caterers - Read more on Yelp

#5. Dove's Luncheonette

- Rating: 4.2/5 (761 reviews) - Price level: $$ - Address: 1545 North Damen Ave. Chicago, Illinois - Categories: southern, tex-mex, breakfast & brunch - Read more on Yelp

#4. Cleo's Southern Cuisine

Rating: 4.4/5 (34 reviews) - Address: 192 North Wells St. Chicago, Illinois - Categories: southern - Read more on Yelp

#3. Virtue Restaurant

Rating: 4.5/5 (948 reviews) - Price level: $$$ - Address: 1462 East 53rd St. Chicago, Illinois - Categories: southern, american - Read more on Yelp

#2. Boxcar Betty's

- Rating: 4.5/5 (113 reviews) - Price level: $ - Address: 500 West Madison St. Chicago, Illinois - Categories: southern, fast food, chicken shop - Read more on Yelp

#1. Lizzy J Cafe

- Rating: 4.6/5 (13 reviews) - Address: 916 West Fulton Market Chicago, Illinois - Categories: breakfast & brunch, southern, coffee & tea - Read more on Yelp

This story features data reporting by Karim Noorani, writing by Rasha Aly, and is part of a series utilizing data automation across 143 metros.