Highest-rated Southern restaurants in Newark by diners
Highest-rated Southern restaurants in Newark 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 Newark 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 Newark 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.
#16. The Juke Joint Soul House
- Rating: 2.8/5 (246 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 9 1st Ave. Bloomfield, New Jersey
- Categories: Chicken Wings, Soul Food, Southern
- Read more on Yelp
#15. Southern Komfort Bar & Grill
- Rating: 3.1/5 (117 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 501 Central Ave. Orange, New Jersey
- Categories: Cafes, Southern, Bars
- Read more on Yelp
#14. Crabbae - Kenilworth
- Rating: 3.2/5 (121 reviews)
- Price level: $$$
- Address: 303 South Michigan Ave. Kenilworth, New Jersey
- Categories: Seafood, Soul Food, Southern
- Read more on Yelp
#13. City Rub Smokehouse
- Rating: 3.4/5 (167 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 118 Stockton St. Newark, New Jersey
- Categories: Southern, Sports Bars, Steakhouses
- Read more on Yelp
#12. House 157
- Rating: 3.4/5 (148 reviews)
- Price level: $$$
- Address: 157 East Westfield Ave. Roselle Park, New Jersey
- Categories: Wine Bars, Cocktail Bars, Southern
- Read more on Yelp
#11. South House
- Rating: 3.5/5 (762 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 149 Newark Ave. Jersey City, New Jersey
- Categories: Southern, Cocktail Bars, Music Venues
- Read more on Yelp
#10. Mama's Southern Style BBQ
- Rating: 3.6/5 (188 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 2083 Springfield Ave. Vauxhall, New Jersey
- Categories: Barbecue, Southern
- Read more on Yelp
#9. Urban Chicken
- Rating: 3.8/5 (278 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 43 Glenridge Ave. Montclair, New Jersey
- Categories: Chicken Wings, Southern
- Read more on Yelp
#8. Blended Flavors
- Rating: 4.0/5 (245 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 628 West St. Georges Ave. Linden, New Jersey
- Categories: Southern, Caribbean, Bars
- Read more on Yelp
#7. Sweet T's Southern Eatery
- Rating: 4.0/5 (500 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 387 Bloomfield Ave. Montclair, New Jersey
- Categories: Soul Food, Southern, Sandwiches
- Read more on Yelp
#6. Lite & Soul Eatery
- Rating: 4.0/5 (49 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 64A 4th Ave. East Orange, New Jersey
- Categories: Southern, Desserts
- Read more on Yelp
#5. KB's BBQ Smokehouse
- Rating: 4.0/5 (285 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 1077 Stuyvesant Ave. Irvington, New Jersey
- Categories: Barbecue, Smokehouse, Southern
- Read more on Yelp
#4. Cornbread - Newark
- Rating: 4.0/5 (167 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 915 Broad St. Newark, New Jersey
- Categories: Southern, Soul Food
- Read more on Yelp
#3. The Weekend Spot Restaurant
- Rating: 4.3/5 (89 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 683 Springfield Ave. Newark, New Jersey
- Categories: Soul Food, Southern, Puerto Rican
- Read more on Yelp
#2. Bobwhite Counter
- Rating: 4.6/5 (253 reviews)
- Address: 150 Warren St. Jersey City, New Jersey
- Categories: Southern, Comfort Food, Caterers
- Read more on Yelp
#1. Krewe of McGinley Square
- Rating: 4.7/5 (60 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 673 Bergen Ave. Jersey City, New Jersey
- Categories: Seafood, Sandwiches, Southern
- Read more on Yelp
