Highest-rated Southern restaurants in Knoxville by diners
Highest-rated Southern restaurants in Knoxville 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 Knoxville 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 Knoxville 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.
#15. O'Charley's Restaurant & Bar
- Rating: 3.0/5 (62 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 8077 Kingston Pike Knoxville, Tennessee
- Categories: American, Burgers, Southern
- Read more on Yelp
#14. O'Charley's Restaurant & Bar
- Rating: 3.2/5 (47 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 3050 South Mall Road Knoxville, Tennessee
- Categories: American, Burgers, Southern
- Read more on Yelp
#13. Marble City Kitchen And Firefly
- Rating: 3.3/5 (38 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 501 West Main St. Knoxville, Tennessee
- Categories: Southern, Beer Bar
- Read more on Yelp
#12. Amber Restaurant
- Rating: 3.5/5 (38 reviews)
- Price level: $
- Address: 6715 Maynardville Pike Knoxville, Tennessee
- Categories: Breakfast & Brunch, Sandwiches, Southern
- Read more on Yelp
#11. Corner 16
- Rating: 3.6/5 (69 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 9637 Kroger Park Drive Knoxville, Tennessee
- Categories: Southern, Comfort Food, Sandwiches
- Read more on Yelp
#10. Horn of Plenty
- Rating: 3.7/5 (58 reviews)
- Price level: $
- Address: 9132 Middlebrook Pike Knoxville, Tennessee
- Categories: Fruits & Veggies, Building Supplies, Southern
- Read more on Yelp
#9. Corner 16
- Rating: 3.8/5 (310 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 1640 Bob Kirby Road Knoxville, Tennessee
- Categories: Southern, Comfort Food, Burgers
- Read more on Yelp
#8. Tupelo Honey Southern Kitchen & Bar
- Rating: 4.0/5 (1457 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 1 Market Sq Knoxville, Tennessee
- Categories: New American, Southern, Breakfast & Brunch
- Read more on Yelp
#7. Fire Smoke
- Rating: 4.1/5 (30 reviews)
- Address: 9405 South Northshore Drive Ste 103 Knoxville, Tennessee
- Categories: Steakhouses, Southern, Smokehouse
- Read more on Yelp
#6. Myrtle's Chicken + Beer
- Rating: 4.2/5 (460 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 13 Market Square Knoxville, Tennessee
- Categories: Southern, American, Chicken Wings
- Read more on Yelp
#5. Farmacy
- Rating: 4.3/5 (530 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 5018 Kingston Pike Knoxville, Tennessee
- Categories: Southern, Breakfast & Brunch, Comfort Food
- Read more on Yelp
#4. J C Holdway
- Rating: 4.4/5 (240 reviews)
- Price level: $$$
- Address: 501 Union Ave. Knoxville, Tennessee
- Categories: New American, Southern, Bars
- Read more on Yelp
#3. Gus's World Famous Fried Chicken - Lovell Road
- Rating: 4.5/5 (99 reviews)
- Address: 126 Lovell Road Knoxville, Tennessee
- Categories: Chicken Shop, Southern, Chicken Wings
- Read more on Yelp
#2. Jackie's Dream
- Rating: 4.5/5 (285 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 1008 East Woodland Ave. Knoxville, Tennessee
- Categories: Soul Food, Chicken Shop, Southern
- Read more on Yelp
#1. Gus's World Famous Fried Chicken
- Rating: 4.5/5 (532 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 3101 Sutherland Ave. Knoxville, Tennessee
- Categories: Chicken Shop, Southern, Comfort Food
- Read more on Yelp
