Highest-rated Southern restaurants in Baltimore 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 Baltimore 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 Baltimore 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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#16. Hip Hop Fish & Chicken

- Rating: 3.4/5 (157 reviews)
- Price level: $
- Address: 6604 Ritchie Hwy Glen Burnie, Maryland
- Categories: Southern, Seafood
- Read more on Yelp

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#15. Garden & Grounds Bistro

- Rating: 3.4/5 (45 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 1407 Clarkview Road Ste 600 Baltimore, Maryland
- Categories: Breakfast & Brunch, Southern, Coffee & Tea
- Read more on Yelp

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#14. Cindy Lou's Fish House

- Rating: 3.5/5 (197 reviews)
- Address: 1215 Wills St. Baltimore, Maryland
- Categories: Southern, Seafood
- Read more on Yelp

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#13. Glo's Soul Kitchen

- Rating: 3.5/5 (20 reviews)
- Price level: $
- Address: 5656 The Alameda Baltimore, Maryland
- Categories: Soul Food, Southern, Chicken Wings
- Read more on Yelp

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#12. Southern Provisions

- Rating: 3.5/5 (133 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 3000 O'Donnell St. Baltimore, Maryland
- Categories: Southern, Whiskey Bars
- Read more on Yelp

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#11. Rock & Toss Crab House

- Rating: 3.7/5 (29 reviews)
- Address: 7927 Belair Road Ste A1 Nottingham, Maryland
- Categories: Seafood, Southern, Cajun/Creole
- Read more on Yelp

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#10. Connie's Chicken and Waffles

- Rating: 3.9/5 (75 reviews)
- Price level: $
- Address: 222 North Charles St. Baltimore, Maryland
- Categories: Waffles, Breakfast & Brunch, Southern
- Read more on Yelp

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#9. Miss Shirley's Cafe

- Rating: 3.9/5 (95 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: Bwi Airport Concourse A Baltimore, Maryland
- Categories: New American, Southern, Cocktail Bars
- Read more on Yelp

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#8. Creole Soul Restaurant

- Rating: 3.9/5 (171 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 301 West 29th St. Baltimore, Maryland
- Categories: Cajun/Creole, Soul Food, Southern
- Read more on Yelp

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#7. Next Phaze Cafe

- Rating: 3.9/5 (163 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 112 East Lexington St. Baltimore, Maryland
- Categories: Cafes, Southern, Seafood
- Read more on Yelp

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#6. Jumpin Out The Pot

- Rating: 3.9/5 (43 reviews)
- Address: 3605 West Rogers Ave. Baltimore, Maryland
- Categories: Southern, American
- Read more on Yelp

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#5. Serengeti

- Rating: 4.1/5 (42 reviews)
- Price level: $$$
- Address: 2839M Smith Ave. Baltimore, Maryland
- Categories: Southern, African, Kosher
- Read more on Yelp

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#4. Blacksauce Kitchen

- Rating: 4.4/5 (121 reviews)
- Price level: $
- Address: 401 West 29th St. Baltimore, Maryland
- Categories: Caribbean, Smokehouse, Southern
- Read more on Yelp

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#3. Connie's Chicken and Waffles

- Rating: 4.4/5 (153 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 112 North Eutaw St. Lexington Market Baltimore, Maryland
- Categories: Southern, Breakfast & Brunch, Waffles
- Read more on Yelp

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#2. Water for Chocolate

- Rating: 4.5/5 (1004 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 1841 East Lombard St. Baltimore, Maryland
- Categories: Breakfast & Brunch, Southern, Cafes
- Read more on Yelp

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#1. Charleston

- Rating: 4.5/5 (731 reviews)
- Price level: $$$$
- Address: 1000 Lancaster St. Baltimore, Maryland
- Categories: New American, Southern, French
- Read more on Yelp