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Highest-rated Southern restaurants in Detroit 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 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 Detroit 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 near you.
Note: The photos in this article are stock images and do not necessarily depict the specific restaurants listed or the dishes they serve.
#9. Tin Roof
- Rating: 2.5/5 (102 reviews)
- Address: 47 East Adams Ave. Detroit, Michigan
- Categories: music venues, southern, pubs
- Read more on Yelp
#8. Louisiana Creole Gumbo
- Rating: 2.7/5 (24 reviews)
- Price level: $
- Address: 13505 West Seven Mile Road Detroit, Michigan
- Categories: cajun/creole, southern, soul food
- Read more on Yelp
#7. Urban Soul
- Rating: 2.8/5 (133 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 1535 East Lafayette St. Detroit, Michigan
- Categories: southern
- Read more on Yelp
#6. Louisiana Creole Gumbo
- Rating: 3.1/5 (105 reviews)
- Price level: $
- Address: 2051 Gratiot Ave. Detroit, Michigan
- Categories: cajun/creole, southern, seafood
- Read more on Yelp
#5. Kuzzos Chicken & Waffles
- Rating: 3.2/5 (771 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 19345 Livernois Ave. Detroit, Michigan
- Categories: southern, waffles, chicken shop
- Read more on Yelp
#4. Bunny Bunny
- Rating: 4.0/5 (65 reviews)
- Address: 1454 Gratiot Ave. Detroit, Michigan
- Categories: chinese, southern, indian
- Read more on Yelp
#3. The Eagle Detroit
- Rating: 4.2/5 (83 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 3461 Woodward Ave. Detroit, Michigan
- Categories: southern, american
- Read more on Yelp
#2. Moore Soulfood
- Rating: 4.3/5 (20 reviews)
- Address: 3005 South Fort St. Detroit, Michigan
- Categories: soul food, southern, seafood
- Read more on Yelp
#1. T-Mo's BBQ Pit
- Rating: 4.6/5 (14 reviews)
- Address: 7401 West Mcnichols Detroit, Michigan
- Categories: smokehouse, barbeque, southern
- 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.