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Highest-rated Southern restaurants in Lexington by diners

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Mohamed-Kareem Mohamed // Shutterstock
Mohamed-Kareem Mohamed // Shutterstock
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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 Lexington 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 Lexington 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.

You may also like: Highest-rated Tex-Mex restaurants in Lexington by diners

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#18. Joella's Hot Chicken - Hamburg

- Rating: 3.2/5 (72 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 2305 Sir Barton Way Lexington, Kentucky
- Categories: Southern, Chicken Shop, Chicken Wings
- Read more on Yelp

2 / 18

#17. Local Taco

- Rating: 3.5/5 (48 reviews)
- Address: 1916 Pavilion Way Lexington, Kentucky
- Categories: Tex-Mex, Southern
- Read more on Yelp

3 / 18

#16. 33 Staves

- Rating: 3.8/5 (51 reviews)
- Address: 4174 Rowan Lexington, Kentucky
- Categories: Southern, Bars, New American
- Read more on Yelp

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#15. Fiddletree Kitchen & Bar

- Rating: 3.8/5 (41 reviews)
- Address: 444 Parkway Drive Lexington, Kentucky
- Categories: New American, Southern, Cocktail Bars
- Read more on Yelp

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#13. Lockbox

- Rating: 3.9/5 (204 reviews)
- Price level: $$$
- Address: 167 West Main St. Lexington, Kentucky
- Categories: Southern
- Read more on Yelp

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#12. Grimes's

- Rating: 4.0/5 (108 reviews)
- Address: 4248 Saron Drive Lexington, Kentucky
- Categories: Southern, fast food, Chicken Shop
- Read more on Yelp

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#11. Joella's Hot Chicken - Lexington

- Rating: 4.0/5 (513 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 101 Cochran Road Lexington, Kentucky
- Categories: Chicken Wings, Southern
- Read more on Yelp

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#10. The Local Taco - Lexington

- Rating: 4.0/5 (485 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 315 South Limestone Lexington, Kentucky
- Categories: Southern, Tex-Mex
- Read more on Yelp

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#8. J Render's Southern Table & Bar

- Rating: 4.1/5 (275 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 3191 Beaumont Centre Cir Lexington, Kentucky
- Categories: Southern, Bars
- Read more on Yelp

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#7. Stella's Kentucky Deli

- Rating: 4.1/5 (426 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 143 Jefferson St. Lexington, Kentucky
- Categories: Delis, Breakfast & Brunch, Southern
- Read more on Yelp

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#6. Distilled On Jefferson

- Rating: 4.2/5 (141 reviews)
- Price level: $$$
- Address: 157 Jefferson St. Lexington, Kentucky
- Categories: Southern, Bars
- Read more on Yelp

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#5. Josanne's Homestyle Kitchen

- Rating: 4.2/5 (81 reviews)
- Address: 3449 Buckhorn Drive Ste 100 Lexington, Kentucky
- Categories: Southern, Soul Food
- Read more on Yelp

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#3. Gus's World Famous Fried Chicken

- Rating: 4.3/5 (241 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 321 East Vine St. Lexington, Kentucky
- Categories: Southern, Chicken Shop, Comfort Food
- Read more on Yelp

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#2. Mi Mi's Southern Style Cooking

- Rating: 4.4/5 (168 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 126 East New Circle Road Lexington, Kentucky
- Categories: Soul Food, Southern
- Read more on Yelp

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#1. Salt & Vinegar at Public House

- Rating: 4.4/5 (39 reviews)
- Address: 102 West Vine St. Lexington, Kentucky
- Categories: German, Southern, American
- Read more on Yelp

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