#28. The Vault
- Rating: 4.0/5 (112 reviews)
- Price level: $$$
- Address: 3120 Donald Lee Hollowell Pkwy Northwest Atlanta, Georgia
- Categories: Breakfast & Brunch, Southern, Cocktail Bars
- Read more on Yelp

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 Atlanta 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 Atlanta 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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- Rating: 4.0/5 (112 reviews)
- Price level: $$$
- Address: 3120 Donald Lee Hollowell Pkwy Northwest Atlanta, Georgia
- Categories: Breakfast & Brunch, Southern, Cocktail Bars
- Read more on Yelp
- Rating: 4.0/5 (898 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 1530 Dekalb Ave. Atlanta, Georgia
- Categories: Breakfast & Brunch, Southern, New American
- Read more on Yelp
- Rating: 4.1/5 (1867 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 231 Peachtree St. Northeast Ste A-05 Atlanta, Georgia
- Categories: Southern, Chicken Shop, Comfort Food
- Read more on Yelp
- Rating: 4.1/5 (1259 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 465 North Highland Ave. Northeast Atlanta, Georgia
- Categories: American, Breakfast & Brunch, Southern
- Read more on Yelp
- Rating: 4.1/5 (45 reviews)
- Address: 1340 West Peachtree St. Northwest Atlanta, Georgia
- Categories: American, Southern
- Read more on Yelp
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- Rating: 4.1/5 (147 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 711 10th St. Northwest Atlanta, Georgia
- Categories: Southern, Chicken Wings, Chicken Shop
- Read more on Yelp
- Rating: 4.1/5 (742 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 1675 Cumberland Pkwy Southeast Ste 401 Smyrna, Georgia
- Categories: Southern, Breakfast & Brunch, Wine Bars
- Read more on Yelp
- Rating: 4.1/5 (356 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 1441 Dresden Drive Northeast Atlanta, Georgia
- Categories: Southern
- Read more on Yelp
- Rating: 4.2/5 (424 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 124 North Avondale Road Avondale Estates, Georgia
- Categories: Southern, Breakfast & Brunch
- Read more on Yelp
- Rating: 4.2/5 (327 reviews)
- Price level: $$$
- Address: 4400 Ashford Dunwoody Road Northeast Ste 3030 Dunwoody, Georgia
- Categories: Comfort Food, Southern, Cocktail Bars
- Read more on Yelp
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- Rating: 4.2/5 (31 reviews)
- Address: 2541 Gresham Road South East Atlanta, Georgia
- Categories: Southern
- Read more on Yelp
- Rating: 4.2/5 (1563 reviews)
- Price level: $$$
- Address: 924 Garrett St. Ste C Atlanta, Georgia
- Categories: New American, Southern, Bars
- Read more on Yelp
- Rating: 4.2/5 (342 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 3781 Presidential Pkwy Ste 306 Atlanta, Georgia
- Categories: Southern, American, Pizza
- Read more on Yelp
- Rating: 4.3/5 (1158 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 3350 Peachtree Road Northeast Ste 175 Atlanta, Georgia
- Categories: Southern
- Read more on Yelp
- Rating: 4.3/5 (360 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 933 Peachtree St. Northeast Ste 951 Atlanta, Georgia
- Categories: Korean, Southern
- Read more on Yelp
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- Rating: 4.3/5 (93 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 120 Ottley Drive Northeast Atlanta, Georgia
- Categories: Barbecue, Southern
- Read more on Yelp
- Rating: 4.3/5 (320 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 5090 Peachtree Blvd. Ste D-100 Chamblee, Georgia
- Categories: New American, Southern, Seafood
- Read more on Yelp
- Rating: 4.4/5 (139 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 4403 Northside Pkwy Northwest Ste 150 Atlanta, Georgia
- Categories: American, Cocktail Bars, Southern
- Read more on Yelp
- Rating: 4.4/5 (205 reviews)
- Price level: $
- Address: 125 Clairemont Ave. Ste 160 Decatur, Georgia
- Categories: Sandwiches, Chicken Shop, Southern
- Read more on Yelp
- Rating: 4.4/5 (842 reviews)
- Price level: $$$
- Address: 3009 Buford Hwy Northeast Atlanta, Georgia
- Categories: Southern, Bars, Seafood
- Read more on Yelp
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- Rating: 4.4/5 (3469 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 1144 Crescent Ave. Northeast Atlanta, Georgia
- Categories: Southern
- Read more on Yelp
- Rating: 4.4/5 (2434 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 4225 Roswell Road Northeast Atlanta, Georgia
- Categories: Breakfast & Brunch, Southern, New American
- Read more on Yelp
- Rating: 4.4/5 (109 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 1235 Chattahoochee Ave. Ste 34 Atlanta, Georgia
- Categories: Soul Food, Southern, Chicken Shop
- Read more on Yelp
- Rating: 4.4/5 (58 reviews)
- Price level: $$$
- Address: 72 Georgia Ave. Southeast Ste 100 Atlanta, Georgia
- Categories: Southern, Wine Bars, Cocktail Bars
- Read more on Yelp
- Rating: 4.4/5 (1688 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 968 Memorial Drive Southeast Atlanta, Georgia
- Categories: Diners, Breakfast & Brunch, Southern
- Read more on Yelp
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- Rating: 4.5/5 (20 reviews)
- Price level: $
- Address: 3030 Amwiler Road Atlanta, Georgia
- Categories: Southern
- Read more on Yelp
- Rating: 4.5/5 (7744 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 249 Ivan Allen Jr Blvd. Atlanta, Georgia
- Categories: Southern, Breakfast & Brunch, American
- Read more on Yelp
- Rating: 4.5/5 (153 reviews)
- Price level: $$$$
- Address: 1043 Ponce De Leon Ave. Northeast Atlanta, Georgia
- Categories: New American, Southern
- Read more on Yelp