Highest-rated Southern restaurants in Winston-Salem by diners

Written by:
June 18, 2024
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Highest-rated Southern restaurants in Winston-Salem 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 Winston-Salem 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.

#8. Butcher & Bull

- Rating: 3.4/5 (65 reviews)
- Price level: $$$
- Address: 425 North Cherry St. Winston-Salem, North Carolina
- Categories: steakhouses, seafood, southern
- Read more on Yelp

#7. Earl's

- Rating: 3.4/5 (248 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 121 West 9th St. Winston-Salem, North Carolina
- Categories: american, southern, whiskey bars
- Read more on Yelp

#6. Prime Tyme Soul Cafe

- Rating: 3.7/5 (69 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 2730 University Pkwy Winston-Salem, North Carolina
- Categories: southern
- Read more on Yelp

#5. Simply Soul

- Rating: 3.7/5 (32 reviews)
- Price level: $
- Address: 4339 South Main St. Winston-Salem, North Carolina
- Categories: southern, soul food
- Read more on Yelp

#4. Spring House Restaurant, Kitchen & Bar

- Rating: 3.9/5 (205 reviews)
- Price level: $$$
- Address: 450 North Spring St. Winston-Salem, North Carolina
- Categories: new american, southern
- Read more on Yelp

#3. Mama Zoe Michael's

- Rating: 4.0/5 (216 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 2859 Reynolda Road Winston-Salem, North Carolina
- Categories: southern, breakfast & brunch, american
- Read more on Yelp

#2. Taste of the Triad

- Rating: 4.2/5 (37 reviews)
- Address: 4320 Old Walkertown Road Winston-Salem, North Carolina
- Categories: southern, american
- Read more on Yelp

#1. Sweet Potatoes

- Rating: 4.3/5 (882 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 607 North Trade St. Northwest Winston-Salem, North Carolina
- Categories: southern, soul food
- 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.

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