Highest-rated Southern restaurants in Orlando by diners
Highest-rated Southern restaurants in Orlando 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 Orlando 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 Orlando 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.
#18. The Licking Orlando
- Rating: 2.9/5 (88 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 1117 Florida Mall Ave. Orlando, Florida
- Categories: Soul Food, Southern, Chicken Wings
- Read more on Yelp
#17. Maryland Fried Chicken of Union Park
- Rating: 3.2/5 (82 reviews)
- Price level: $
- Address: 9710 East Colonial Drive Orlando, Florida
- Categories: Soul Food, Southern, fast food
- Read more on Yelp
#16. Cask & Larder
- Rating: 3.6/5 (597 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 1 Jeff Fuqua Blvd. Gates 100-129 Orlando, Florida
- Categories: Southern, Bars, New American
- Read more on Yelp
#15. Ole Red Orlando
- Rating: 3.6/5 (354 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 8417 International Drive Orlando, Florida
- Categories: Southern, Bars, Music Venues
- Read more on Yelp
#14. Bubba Gump Shrimp
- Rating: 3.7/5 (1339 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 6000 Universal Blvd. Ste 735 Orlando, Florida
- Categories: Seafood, Southern, Cajun/Creole
- Read more on Yelp
#13. Nikki's Place Southern Cuisine
- Rating: 3.9/5 (273 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 742 Carter St. Orlando, Florida
- Categories: Southern, Soul Food, Comfort Food
- Read more on Yelp
#12. 4 Rivers Smokehouse
- Rating: 4.0/5 (509 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 11764 University Blvd. Orlando, Florida
- Categories: Barbecue, Southern, Smokehouse
- Read more on Yelp
#11. Sharon's Homestyle Cookin'
- Rating: 4.0/5 (73 reviews)
- Price level: $
- Address: 5667 South Orange Ave. Pine Castle, Florida
- Categories: Southern, American, Diners
- Read more on Yelp
#10. Eat N Wash
- Rating: 4.1/5 (38 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 1723 South Rio Grande Ave. Orlando, Florida
- Categories: Southern, Seafood, Soul Food
- Read more on Yelp
#9. Cask & Larder - Terminal C
- Rating: 4.1/5 (27 reviews)
- Address: 9202 Jeff Fuqua Blvd. Orlando International Airport Orlando, Florida
- Categories: Bars, New American, Southern
- Read more on Yelp
#8. Soco Thornton Park
- Rating: 4.2/5 (743 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 629 East Central Blvd. Orlando, Florida
- Categories: Southern, New American, Cocktail Bars
- Read more on Yelp
#7. The Pinery
- Rating: 4.4/5 (288 reviews)
- Price level: $$$
- Address: 295 Northeast Ivanhoe Blvd. Ste A Orlando, Florida
- Categories: American, Southern, Cocktail Bars
- Read more on Yelp
#6. Highball & Harvest
- Rating: 4.4/5 (522 reviews)
- Price level: $$$
- Address: 4012 Central Florida Pkwy Orlando, Florida
- Categories: New American, Bars, Southern
- Read more on Yelp
#5. Pig Floyd's Urban Barbakoa
- Rating: 4.4/5 (2445 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 1326 North Mills Ave. Orlando, Florida
- Categories: Barbecue, Latin American, Southern
- Read more on Yelp
#4. P & D Soulfood Kitchen
- Rating: 4.4/5 (161 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 927 South Goldwyn Ave. Ste 120 Orlando, Florida
- Categories: Soul Food, Southern
- Read more on Yelp
#3. Runabout Brewing
- Rating: 4.5/5 (25 reviews)
- Address: 4721 South Orange Ave. Orlando, Florida
- Categories: Brewpubs, Southern, Cocktail Bars
- Read more on Yelp
#2. The Hen & Hog
- Rating: 4.6/5 (109 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 221 West Fairbanks Ave. Winter Park, Florida
- Categories: Bars, Breakfast & Brunch, Southern
- Read more on Yelp
#1. Smokey Jay's BBQ
- Rating: 4.7/5 (31 reviews)
- Address: 9318 East Colonial Drive Ste A-9 Orlando, Florida
- Categories: Southern, Barbecue
- Read more on Yelp
