Highest-rated Southern restaurants in Columbus, Georgia by diners

Written by:
May 13, 2025
Mohamed-Kareem Mohamed // Shutterstock

Highest-rated Southern restaurants in Columbus, Georgia 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 Columbus 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 Columbus 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.

1 / 12
Country's Barbecue

#12. Country's Barbecue

- Rating: 3.0/5 (233 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 6298 Veterans Pkwy Columbus, Georgia
- Categories: Barbecue, Southern, American
- Read more on Yelp

2 / 12
Country's Barbecue

#11. Country's Barbecue

- Rating: 3.2/5 (150 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 3137 Mercury Drive Columbus, Georgia
- Categories: Barbecue, Southern, American
- Read more on Yelp

3 / 12
The Flying Biscuit Cafe

#10. The Flying Biscuit Cafe

- Rating: 3.4/5 (50 reviews)
- Address: 211 13th St. Columbus, Georgia
- Categories: Breakfast & Brunch, Sandwiches, Southern
- Read more on Yelp

4 / 12
Ed's Southern Cooking

#9. Ed's Southern Cooking

- Rating: 3.4/5 (53 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 5435 Woodruff Farm Road Milgen Plaza Columbus, Georgia
- Categories: Southern, Soul Food
- Read more on Yelp

5 / 12
Shane's Rib Shack

#8. Shane's Rib Shack

- Rating: 3.4/5 (63 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 7529 Veterans Pkwy Columbus, Georgia
- Categories: Barbecue, Southern
- Read more on Yelp

6 / 12
Cafe Le Rue

#7. Cafe Le Rue

- Rating: 3.6/5 (136 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 2523 Airport Thruway Columbus, Georgia
- Categories: Cajun/Creole, Southern, Seafood
- Read more on Yelp

7 / 12
Ezell's Catfish Cabin

#6. Ezell's Catfish Cabin

- Rating: 3.7/5 (149 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 4001 Warm Springs Road Columbus, Georgia
- Categories: Southern
- Read more on Yelp

8 / 12
Millhouse Kitchen Bar

#5. Millhouse Kitchen Bar

- Rating: 3.7/5 (59 reviews)
- Address: 1801 1st Ave. Columbus, Georgia
- Categories: Southern, Bars
- Read more on Yelp

9 / 12
Wicked Hen Restaurant

#4. Wicked Hen Restaurant

- Rating: 4.0/5 (216 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 1350 13th St. Columbus, Georgia
- Categories: Southern, New American, Bars
- Read more on Yelp

10 / 12
Netta's Southern Flava

#3. Netta's Southern Flava

- Rating: 4.2/5 (53 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 2401 Whittlesey Road Columbus, Georgia
- Categories: Southern, American
- Read more on Yelp

11 / 12
Minnie's Uptown Restaurant

#2. Minnie's Uptown Restaurant

- Rating: 4.3/5 (205 reviews)
- Price level: $
- Address: 104 8th St. Columbus, Georgia
- Categories: Soul Food, Southern
- Read more on Yelp

12 / 12
11th and Bay Southern Table

#1. 11th and Bay Southern Table

- Rating: 4.4/5 (543 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 1050 Bay Ave. Columbus, Georgia
- Categories: Southern, Beer Bar, Cocktail Bars
- Read more on Yelp

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