
Highest-rated Southern restaurants in Detroit by diners
Highest-rated Southern restaurants in Detroit 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 Detroit 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 Detroit 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.
#10. Louisiana Creole Gumbo
- Rating: 2.6/5 (26 reviews)
- Price level: $
- Address: 13505 West Seven Mile Road Detroit, Michigan
- Categories: Cajun/Creole, Southern, Soul Food
- Read more on Yelp
#9. Tin Roof
- Rating: 2.6/5 (112 reviews)
- Address: 47 East Adams Ave. Detroit, Michigan
- Categories: Music Venues, Southern, Pubs
- Read more on Yelp
#8. Mookey's Beans & Greens
- Rating: 2.6/5 (69 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 26076 Greenfield Road Oak Park, Michigan
- Categories: Southern, Desserts, Sandwiches
- Read more on Yelp
#7. Urban Soul
- Rating: 2.8/5 (143 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 1535 East Lafayette St. Detroit, Michigan
- Categories: Southern
- Read more on Yelp
#6. Louisiana Creole Gumbo
- Rating: 3.1/5 (113 reviews)
- Price level: $
- Address: 2051 Gratiot Ave. Detroit, Michigan
- Categories: Cajun/Creole, Southern, Seafood
- Read more on Yelp
#5. Kuzzos Chicken & Waffles
- Rating: 3.1/5 (815 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 19345 Livernois Ave. Detroit, Michigan
- Categories: Southern, Waffles, Chicken Shop
- Read more on Yelp
#4. Gus's World Famous Fried Chicken
- Rating: 3.9/5 (344 reviews)
- Price level: $
- Address: 4101 3rd St. Detroit, Michigan
- Categories: Chicken Shop, Southern, Comfort Food
- Read more on Yelp
#3. The Eagle Detroit
- Rating: 4.2/5 (125 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 3461 Woodward Ave. Detroit, Michigan
- Categories: Southern, American
- Read more on Yelp
#2. Moore Soulfood
- Rating: 4.2/5 (26 reviews)
- Address: 3005 South Fort St. Detroit, Michigan
- Categories: Soul Food, Southern, Seafood
- Read more on Yelp
#1. T-Mo's BBQ Pit
- Rating: 4.3/5 (20 reviews)
- Address: 7401 West Mcnichols Detroit, Michigan
- Categories: Smokehouse, Barbecue, Southern
- Read more on Yelp