Highest-rated Southern restaurants in Portland, Oregon by diners

Written by:
May 13, 2025
Mohamed-Kareem Mohamed // Shutterstock

Highest-rated Southern restaurants in Portland, Oregon 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 Portland 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 Portland 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.

1 / 16
Delta Cafe

#16. Delta Cafe

- Rating: 3.2/5 (649 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 4607 Southeast Woodstock Blvd. Portland, Oregon
- Categories: Southern, Breakfast & Brunch, Bars
- Read more on Yelp

2 / 16
Ezell's Famous Chicken

#15. Ezell's Famous Chicken

- Rating: 3.4/5 (344 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 10218 Southwest Washington Square Road Tigard, Oregon
- Categories: Southern, Comfort Food, Chicken Shop
- Read more on Yelp

3 / 16
The Fixin' To

#14. The Fixin' To

- Rating: 3.5/5 (137 reviews)
- Price level: $
- Address: 8218 North Lombard Portland, Oregon
- Categories: Southern, Breakfast & Brunch, Music Venues
- Read more on Yelp

4 / 16
Eat: An Oyster Bar

#13. Eat: An Oyster Bar

- Rating: 3.6/5 (578 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 3808 North Williams Ave. Ste 122 Portland, Oregon
- Categories: Cajun/Creole, Southern, Seafood
- Read more on Yelp

5 / 16
Miss Delta

#12. Miss Delta

- Rating: 3.7/5 (1055 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 3950 North Mississippi Ave. Portland, Oregon
- Categories: Southern, Cajun/Creole, Soul Food
- Read more on Yelp

6 / 16
Screen Door - PDX

#11. Screen Door - PDX

- Rating: 3.8/5 (90 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 7000 Northeast Airport Way Terminal B Portland International Airport Terminal Portland, Oregon
- Categories: Southern
- Read more on Yelp

7 / 16
Pine State Biscuits

#10. Pine State Biscuits

- Rating: 4.1/5 (323 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 1717 Northwest 23rd Ave. Portland, Oregon
- Categories: Breakfast & Brunch, Southern, Sandwiches
- Read more on Yelp

8 / 16
Matt & Memere's

#9. Matt & Memere's

- Rating: 4.1/5 (66 reviews)
- Price level: $
- Address: 9320 Southeast Woodstock Blvd. Portland, Oregon
- Categories: Southern, Cajun/Creole, Food Trucks
- Read more on Yelp

9 / 16
Pine State Biscuits

#8. Pine State Biscuits

- Rating: 4.2/5 (790 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 125 Northeast Schuyler St. Portland, Oregon
- Categories: Breakfast & Brunch, Southern, Sandwiches
- Read more on Yelp

10 / 16
Pine State Biscuits

#7. Pine State Biscuits

- Rating: 4.3/5 (1408 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 1100 Southeast Division St. Ste 100 Portland, Oregon
- Categories: Breakfast & Brunch, Southern, Sandwiches
- Read more on Yelp

11 / 16
Pine State Biscuits

#6. Pine State Biscuits

- Rating: 4.3/5 (4217 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 2204 Northeast Alberta St. Portland, Oregon
- Categories: Southern, Breakfast & Brunch, Sandwiches
- Read more on Yelp

12 / 16
Screen Door Eastside

#5. Screen Door Eastside

- Rating: 4.4/5 (8867 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 2337 East Burnside St. Portland, Oregon
- Categories: Southern, Cajun/Creole, Breakfast & Brunch
- Read more on Yelp

13 / 16
Grits N' Gravy

#4. Grits N' Gravy

- Rating: 4.5/5 (548 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 215 Southwest 6th Ave. Portland, Oregon
- Categories: Southern, Breakfast & Brunch, Cajun/Creole
- Read more on Yelp

14 / 16
Screen Door Pearl District

#3. Screen Door Pearl District

- Rating: 4.5/5 (1107 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 1131 Northwest Couch St. Portland, Oregon
- Categories: Southern, Breakfast & Brunch, Cajun/Creole
- Read more on Yelp

15 / 16
Road Runner Barbeque

#2. Road Runner Barbeque

- Rating: 4.5/5 (171 reviews)
- Price level: $
- Address: 5205 Southeast Foster Road Portland, Oregon
- Categories: Barbecue, Food Trucks, Southern
- Read more on Yelp

16 / 16
Dirty Lettuce

#1. Dirty Lettuce

- Rating: 4.8/5 (155 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 4727 Northeast Fremont St. Portland, Oregon
- Categories: Vegan, Southern
- Read more on Yelp

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