Highest-rated Southern restaurants in New Orleans 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 New Orleans 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 New Orleans 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.

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#30. House of Blues Restaurant & Bar

- Rating: 4.1/5 (207 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 225 Decatur St. New Orleans, Louisiana
- Categories: Southern, Bars, Music Venues
- Read more on Yelp

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#29. Mosquito Supper Club

- Rating: 4.1/5 (84 reviews)
- Price level: $$$
- Address: 3824 Dryades St. New Orleans, Louisiana
- Categories: Southern
- Read more on Yelp

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#28. Sylvain

- Rating: 4.1/5 (1354 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 625 Chartres St. New Orleans, Louisiana
- Categories: Southern, Cocktail Bars
- Read more on Yelp

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#27. High Hat Cafe

- Rating: 4.2/5 (693 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 4500 Freret St. New Orleans, Louisiana
- Categories: Southern, Soul Food, Burgers
- Read more on Yelp

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#26. Yakamein House

- Rating: 4.2/5 (61 reviews)
- Address: 2800 Tulane Ave. New Orleans, Louisiana
- Categories: Southern
- Read more on Yelp

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#25. Ye Olde College Inn

- Rating: 4.2/5 (281 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 3000 South Carrollton Ave. New Orleans, Louisiana
- Categories: Southern, Cajun/Creole, New American
- Read more on Yelp

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#24. Gris-Gris

- Rating: 4.2/5 (931 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 1800 Magazine St. New Orleans, Louisiana
- Categories: Cajun/Creole, Southern
- Read more on Yelp

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#23. Lula Restaurant Distillery

- Rating: 4.2/5 (954 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 1532 St. Charles Ave. New Orleans, Louisiana
- Categories: Southern, Cajun/Creole, Distilleries
- Read more on Yelp

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#22. Trenasse

- Rating: 4.2/5 (1378 reviews)
- Price level: $$$
- Address: 444 St. Charles Ave. Ste 100 Intercontinental Hotel New Orleans, Louisiana
- Categories: Wine Bars, Seafood, Southern
- Read more on Yelp

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#21. Cochon

- Rating: 4.2/5 (5316 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 930 Tchoupitoulas St. New Orleans, Louisiana
- Categories: Cajun/Creole, Southern, Cocktail Bars
- Read more on Yelp

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#20. Big EZ Seafood

- Rating: 4.2/5 (419 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 1632 Lafayette St. Gretna, Louisiana
- Categories: Seafood, Southern
- Read more on Yelp

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#19. Galliano Restaurant

- Rating: 4.2/5 (892 reviews)
- Price level: $$$
- Address: 200 Julia St. New Orleans, Louisiana
- Categories: Southern, Cajun/Creole
- Read more on Yelp

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#18. Willa Jean

- Rating: 4.3/5 (2571 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 611 O'Keefe Ave. New Orleans, Louisiana
- Categories: Bakeries, Breakfast & Brunch, Southern
- Read more on Yelp

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#17. Walker's Southern Style BBQ

- Rating: 4.3/5 (72 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 10828 Hayne Blvd. New Orleans, Louisiana
- Categories: Barbecue, Southern
- Read more on Yelp

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#16. Boucherie

- Rating: 4.3/5 (635 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 8115 Jeannette St. New Orleans, Louisiana
- Categories: Barbecue, Southern
- Read more on Yelp

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#15. Baronne Bistro

- Rating: 4.3/5 (75 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 616 Baronne St. New Orleans, Louisiana
- Categories: Sandwiches, Southern, Cajun/Creole
- Read more on Yelp

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#14. Gallier Restaurant & Oyster Bar

- Rating: 4.3/5 (1773 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 129 Carondelet St. New Orleans, Louisiana
- Categories: Seafood, Cajun/Creole, Southern
- Read more on Yelp

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#13. The Joint

- Rating: 4.4/5 (1502 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 701 Mazant St. New Orleans, Louisiana
- Categories: Barbecue, Southern, Sandwiches
- Read more on Yelp

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#12. Cafe Sbisa

- Rating: 4.4/5 (697 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 1011 Decatur St. New Orleans, Louisiana
- Categories: Southern, Cajun/Creole, Seafood
- Read more on Yelp

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#11. Hot Stuff

- Rating: 4.4/5 (43 reviews)
- Address: 7507 Maple St. New Orleans, Louisiana
- Categories: Southern, Chicken Wings
- Read more on Yelp

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#10. Cafe Reconcile

- Rating: 4.4/5 (191 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 1631 Oretha C Haley Blvd. New Orleans, Louisiana
- Categories: Cajun/Creole, Southern, Community Service/Non-Profit
- Read more on Yelp

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#9. Gus's World Famous Fried Chicken

- Rating: 4.5/5 (932 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 308 South Diamond St. New Orleans, Louisiana
- Categories: Chicken Shop, Southern, Comfort Food
- Read more on Yelp

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#8. Hobnobber Cafe

- Rating: 4.5/5 (45 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 5928 West Metairie Ave. Metairie, Louisiana
- Categories: Southern, Cajun/Creole
- Read more on Yelp

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#7. Segnette Landing

- Rating: 4.5/5 (91 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 450 Laroussini St. Westwego, Louisiana
- Categories: Cajun/Creole, Southern
- Read more on Yelp

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#6. 8 Fresh Food Assassin Restaurant & Lounge

- Rating: 4.5/5 (42 reviews)
- Address: 1900 North Claiborne Ave. New Orleans, Louisiana
- Categories: Soul Food, Southern
- Read more on Yelp

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#5. Leo's Caboose

- Rating: 4.5/5 (32 reviews)
- Price level: $
- Address: 1523 Aline St. New Orleans, Louisiana
- Categories: Southern
- Read more on Yelp

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#4. Brigtsen's Restaurant

- Rating: 4.5/5 (472 reviews)
- Price level: $$$
- Address: 723 Dante St. New Orleans, Louisiana
- Categories: Cajun/Creole, Southern
- Read more on Yelp

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#3. Chapter IV

- Rating: 4.6/5 (140 reviews)
- Address: 1301 Gravier St. New Orleans, Louisiana
- Categories: Southern
- Read more on Yelp

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#2. 3 Southern Girls

- Rating: 4.6/5 (45 reviews)
- Address: 4402 Jefferson Hwy New Orleans, Louisiana
- Categories: Soul Food, Seafood, Southern
- Read more on Yelp

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#1. Bonafried

- Rating: 4.8/5 (40 reviews)
- Price level: $
- Address: New Orleans, Louisiana
- Categories: Food Trucks, Southern, Caterers
- Read more on Yelp