Highest-rated Southern restaurants in Nashville 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 Nashville 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 Nashville 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.

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#30. The Southern Steak & Oyster

- Rating: 4.1/5 (2666 reviews)
- Price level: $$$
- Address: 150 3rd Ave. South Ste 110 Nashville, Tennessee
- Categories: Southern, Breakfast & Brunch, Steakhouses
- Read more on Yelp

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#29. Edley's Bar-B-Que

- Rating: 4.1/5 (1562 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 2706 12th Ave. South Nashville, Tennessee
- Categories: Barbecue, Southern, Cocktail Bars
- Read more on Yelp

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#28. Char Restaurant

- Rating: 4.1/5 (283 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 3988 Hillsboro Pk Nashville, Tennessee
- Categories: Steakhouses, Southern, Seafood
- Read more on Yelp

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#27. 400 Degrees Hot Chicken

- Rating: 4.1/5 (118 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 3704 Clarksville Pike Nashville, Tennessee
- Categories: Chicken Wings, Southern, Food Trucks
- Read more on Yelp

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#26. Edley's Bar-B-Que

- Rating: 4.1/5 (367 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 4500 Murphy Nashville, Tennessee
- Categories: Barbecue, Southern, Cocktail Bars
- Read more on Yelp

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#25. Ed's Fish House

- Rating: 4.1/5 (69 reviews)
- Price level: $
- Address: 1801 Db Todd Jr Blvd. Nashville, Tennessee
- Categories: Southern, Seafood, Sandwiches
- Read more on Yelp

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#24. Marsh House

- Rating: 4.1/5 (475 reviews)
- Price level: $$$
- Address: 401 11th Ave. South Nashville, Tennessee
- Categories: Southern, Seafood, Cocktail Bars
- Read more on Yelp

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#23. Central Bar + Kitchen

- Rating: 4.2/5 (83 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 2555 West End Ave. Nashville, Tennessee
- Categories: American, Southern, Cocktail Bars
- Read more on Yelp

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#22. 417 Union

- Rating: 4.2/5 (1178 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 417 Union St. Nashville, Tennessee
- Categories: Breakfast & Brunch, Southern
- Read more on Yelp

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#21. Urban Grub

- Rating: 4.2/5 (1756 reviews)
- Price level: $$$
- Address: 2506 12th Ave. South Nashville, Tennessee
- Categories: Southern, Seafood, Cocktail Bars
- Read more on Yelp

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#20. Nashville Jam Café

- Rating: 4.2/5 (868 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 2806 Columbine Place Nashville, Tennessee
- Categories: Breakfast & Brunch, Southern, Barbecue
- Read more on Yelp

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#19. Biscuit Love: Gulch

- Rating: 4.2/5 (5292 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 316 11th Ave. South Nashville, Tennessee
- Categories: Southern, Breakfast & Brunch, American
- Read more on Yelp

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#18. Chauhan Ale & Masala House

- Rating: 4.2/5 (1493 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 123 12th Ave. North Nashville, Tennessee
- Categories: Indian, Southern, Bars
- Read more on Yelp

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#17. Picnic Cafe

- Rating: 4.2/5 (153 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 6000 Hwy 100 Ste 104 Nashville, Tennessee
- Categories: Sandwiches, Southern
- Read more on Yelp

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#16. Doll's Family Cafe

- Rating: 4.2/5 (50 reviews)
- Price level: $
- Address: 2501 Gallatin Ave. Ste C Nashville, Tennessee
- Categories: Southern, Soul Food, Comfort Food
- Read more on Yelp

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#15. Uncle Bud's

- Rating: 4.3/5 (439 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 2719 Old Lebanon Road Nashville, Tennessee
- Categories: Seafood, Southern
- Read more on Yelp

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#14. Barbara's Home Cookin

- Rating: 4.3/5 (158 reviews)
- Price level: $
- Address: 1232 Old Hillsboro Road Franklin, Tennessee
- Categories: American, Southern, Seafood
- Read more on Yelp

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#13. Midtown Cafe

- Rating: 4.3/5 (527 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 102 19th Ave. South Nashville, Tennessee
- Categories: Breakfast & Brunch, Southern, American
- Read more on Yelp

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#12. 5th & Taylor

- Rating: 4.3/5 (1500 reviews)
- Price level: $$$
- Address: 1411 5th Ave. North Nashville, Tennessee
- Categories: New American, Southern, Bars
- Read more on Yelp

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#11. Arnold's Country Kitchen

- Rating: 4.4/5 (1269 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 605 8th Ave. South Nashville, Tennessee
- Categories: Southern, Desserts, Comfort Food
- Read more on Yelp

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#10. Kingdom Café & Grill

- Rating: 4.4/5 (55 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 2610 Jefferson St. Nashville, Tennessee
- Categories: Southern, Sandwiches, Breakfast & Brunch
- Read more on Yelp

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#9. Country Cafe

- Rating: 4.4/5 (64 reviews)
- Price level: $
- Address: 605 Murfreesboro Pike Nashville, Tennessee
- Categories: Southern
- Read more on Yelp

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#8. Jane's Hideaway

- Rating: 4.5/5 (159 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 407 Gallatin Ave. Nashville, Tennessee
- Categories: New American, Cocktail Bars, Southern
- Read more on Yelp

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#7. Edley's Bar-B-Que

- Rating: 4.5/5 (270 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 2719 Lebanon Pike Nashville, Tennessee
- Categories: Barbecue, Southern, Cocktail Bars
- Read more on Yelp

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#6. Edley's Bar-B-Que

- Rating: 4.5/5 (157 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 6025 Nolensville Pike Nashville, Tennessee
- Categories: Barbecue, Southern, Cocktail Bars
- Read more on Yelp

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#5. The Southern V

- Rating: 4.6/5 (333 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 1200 Buchanan St. Nashville, Tennessee
- Categories: Vegan, Southern, Vegetarian
- Read more on Yelp

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#4. Gus's World Famous Fried Chicken - Nashville

- Rating: 4.6/5 (37 reviews)
- Address: 851 Dickerson Pike Nashville, Tennessee
- Categories: Chicken Shop, Chicken Wings, Southern
- Read more on Yelp

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#3. Monell's Dining & Catering

- Rating: 4.6/5 (2077 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 1235 6th Ave. North Nashville, Tennessee
- Categories: Southern, Soul Food, Breakfast & Brunch
- Read more on Yelp

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#2. Red's Hot Chicken

- Rating: 4.7/5 (223 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 115 27th Ave. North Nashville, Tennessee
- Categories: Southern, Sandwiches, Chicken Shop
- Read more on Yelp

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#1. Big Al's Deli

- Rating: 4.8/5 (517 reviews)
- Price level: $
- Address: 1828 4th Ave. North Nashville, Tennessee
- Categories: Southern, Delis, Burgers
- Read more on Yelp