Highest-rated Southern restaurants in Tuscaloosa by diners

Written by:
June 18, 2024
Mohamed-Kareem Mohamed // Shutterstock

Highest-rated Southern restaurants in Tuscaloosa 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 Tuscaloosa 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 Tuscaloosa 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.

#12. Full Moon BBQ

- Rating: 3.3/5 (113 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 1434 McFarland Blvd. East Tuscaloosa, Alabama
- Categories: Barbecue, Southern, American
- Read more on Yelp

#11. Side by Side Kitchen & Cocktails

- Rating: 3.4/5 (157 reviews)
- Price level: $$$
- Address: 2410 University Blvd. Tuscaloosa, Alabama
- Categories: French, Southern
- Read more on Yelp

#10. Jim 'N Nick's Bar-B-Q

- Rating: 3.7/5 (192 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 305 21st Ave. Tuscaloosa, Alabama
- Categories: Barbecue, Southern, Sandwiches
- Read more on Yelp

#9. Waysider Restaurant

- Rating: 3.7/5 (120 reviews)
- Price level: $
- Address: 1512 Greensboro Ave. Tuscaloosa, Alabama
- Categories: Southern, Breakfast & Brunch, American
- Read more on Yelp

#8. Wright's Restaurant

- Rating: 3.7/5 (30 reviews)
- Price level: $
- Address: 3750 University Blvd. East Tuscaloosa, Alabama
- Categories: Southern, New American
- Read more on Yelp

#7. Glory Bound Gyro Co- Tuscaloosa

- Rating: 4.0/5 (173 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 1301 University Blvd. Tuscaloosa, Alabama
- Categories: Southern, Desserts, Mediterranean
- Read more on Yelp

#6. Half Shell Oyster House

- Rating: 4.1/5 (321 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 2325 University Blvd. Tuscaloosa, Alabama
- Categories: Seafood, Southern, Cajun/Creole
- Read more on Yelp

#5. Southern Ale House

- Rating: 4.2/5 (177 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 1530 Mcfarland Blvd. North Tuscaloosa, Alabama
- Categories: Southern
- Read more on Yelp

#4. River

- Rating: 4.3/5 (300 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 1650 Jack Warner Pkwy Northeast Unit 1005 Tuscaloosa, Alabama
- Categories: Southern, Bars, Venues & Event Spaces
- Read more on Yelp

#3. City Cafe

- Rating: 4.3/5 (167 reviews)
- Price level: $
- Address: 408 Main Ave. Northport, Alabama
- Categories: American, Southern
- Read more on Yelp

#2. Urban Cookhouse

- Rating: 4.4/5 (125 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 1490 Northbank Pkwy Ste 110 Tuscaloosa, Alabama
- Categories: Southern, American, Wraps
- Read more on Yelp

#1. King's Kitchen

- Rating: 4.6/5 (35 reviews)
- Address: 501 Hargrove Road East Tuscaloosa, Alabama
- Categories: Southern, Desserts, Steakhouses
- Read more on Yelp

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