
Highest-rated Southern restaurants in Hilton Head Island by diners
Highest-rated Southern restaurants in Hilton Head Island 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 Hilton Head Island 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 Hilton Head Island 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. Calhoun Street Tavern
- Rating: 3.5/5 (145 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 9 Promenade St. Ste 1201 Bluffton, South Carolina
- Categories: Sandwiches, Bars, Southern
- Read more on Yelp
#9. Jim 'N Nick's Bar-B-Q
- Rating: 3.9/5 (451 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 872 Fording Island Road Bluffton, South Carolina
- Categories: Barbecue, Southern, Sandwiches
- Read more on Yelp
#8. Harbour Town Bakery & Cafe
- Rating: 4.0/5 (228 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 140 Lighthouse Road Hilton Head Island, South Carolina
- Categories: Breakfast & Brunch, Bakeries, Southern
- Read more on Yelp
#7. Nectar
- Rating: 4.2/5 (683 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 841 William Hilton Pkwy Unit A Hilton Head Island, South Carolina
- Categories: Breakfast & Brunch, American, Southern
- Read more on Yelp
#6. Nectar Farm Kitchen Old Town
- Rating: 4.2/5 (234 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 207 Bluffton Road Bluffton, South Carolina
- Categories: Southern, Breakfast & Brunch, American
- Read more on Yelp
#5. Annie O's Kitchen
- Rating: 4.2/5 (281 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 11 Target Road Hilton Head Island, South Carolina
- Categories: Southern, American
- Read more on Yelp
#4. Southern Coney and Breakfast
- Rating: 4.3/5 (511 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 70 Pope Ave. Ste J Hilton Head Island, South Carolina
- Categories: Breakfast & Brunch, Southern, American
- Read more on Yelp
#3. A Lowcountry Backyard
- Rating: 4.4/5 (2551 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 32 Palmetto Bay Road Hilton Head Island, South Carolina
- Categories: Southern, Seafood, American
- Read more on Yelp
#2. Bad Biscuit
- Rating: 4.4/5 (506 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 1 North Forest Beach Drive Unit B2 Coligny Plaza Hilton Head Island, South Carolina
- Categories: Southern, Breakfast & Brunch, Soup
- Read more on Yelp
#1. Roy's Place Cafe & Catering
- Rating: 5.0/5 (25 reviews)
- Price level: $
- Address: 33 Office Park Road Ste 33C Hilton Head Island, South Carolina
- Categories: Caterers, Southern
- Read more on Yelp