Highest-rated Southern Restaurants in Austin by Diners

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Highest-rated Southern restaurants in Austin 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 Austin 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 Austin 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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#20. Shoal Creek Saloon

- Rating: 3.4/5 (516 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 909 North Lamar Blvd. Austin, Texas
- Categories: Southern, Cajun/Creole, Seafood
- Read more on Yelp

#19. Hoover's Cooking

- Rating: 3.6/5 (1053 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 2002 Manor Road Austin, Texas
- Categories: Southern, American, Comfort Food
- Read more on Yelp

#18. Ranch 616

- Rating: 3.7/5 (643 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 616 Nueces St. Austin, Texas
- Categories: American, Southern, Cocktail Bars
- Read more on Yelp

#17. Jacoby's Restaurant & Mercantile

- Rating: 3.8/5 (829 reviews)
- Price level: $$$
- Address: 3235 East Cesar Chavez St. Austin, Texas
- Categories: New American, Southern
- Read more on Yelp

#16. Olamaie

- Rating: 3.9/5 (615 reviews)
- Price level: $$$
- Address: 1610 San Antonio St. Austin, Texas
- Categories: Southern, New American, Cocktail Bars
- Read more on Yelp

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#15. Colleen's Kitchen

- Rating: 4.0/5 (661 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 1911 Aldrich St. Ste 100 Austin, Texas
- Categories: Southern, New American, Cocktail Bars
- Read more on Yelp

#14. Stella San Jac

- Rating: 4.1/5 (1085 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 310 East 5th St. Austin, Texas
- Categories: New American, Southern, Breakfast & Brunch
- Read more on Yelp

#13. The Cavalier ATX

- Rating: 4.1/5 (115 reviews)
- Price level: $
- Address: 2400 Webberville Road Ste A Austin, Texas
- Categories: Pubs, Southern, Dive Bars
- Read more on Yelp

#12. Fixe Austin's Southern House

- Rating: 4.1/5 (1023 reviews)
- Price level: $$$
- Address: 500 West 5th St. Austin, Texas
- Categories: Southern, New American, Wine Bars
- Read more on Yelp

#11. Mattie's

- Rating: 4.1/5 (429 reviews)
- Price level: $$$
- Address: 811 West Live Oak St. Green Pastures Austin, Texas
- Categories: American, Southern, Cocktail Bars
- Read more on Yelp

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#10. The Peached Tortilla

- Rating: 4.2/5 (1103 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 5520 Burnet Road Ste 100 Austin, Texas
- Categories: Asian Fusion, Southern
- Read more on Yelp

#9. Gus's World Famous Fried Chicken - Austin

- Rating: 4.3/5 (3374 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 117 San Jacinto Blvd. Austin, Texas
- Categories: Southern, Chicken Shop, Comfort Food
- Read more on Yelp

#8. Jack Allen's Kitchen

- Rating: 4.3/5 (666 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 3600 North Capital Of Texas Hwy Bldg D Austin, Texas
- Categories: Southern, American
- Read more on Yelp

#7. Huckleberry

- Rating: 4.4/5 (53 reviews)
- Address: 440 East St. Elmo Unit F Austin, Texas
- Categories: Seafood, Food Trucks, Southern
- Read more on Yelp

#6. Jack Allen's Kitchen Anderson Lane

- Rating: 4.4/5 (500 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 3010 West Anderson Lane Ste D Austin, Texas
- Categories: American, Southern, Cocktail Bars
- Read more on Yelp

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#5. Moonshine Grill

- Rating: 4.4/5 (6238 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 303 Red River St. Austin, Texas
- Categories: Southern, Breakfast & Brunch, Cocktail Bars
- Read more on Yelp

#4. Hissy Fit

- Rating: 4.4/5 (69 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 9761 Great Hills Trl Austin, Texas
- Categories: Southern, Breakfast & Brunch, Sandwiches
- Read more on Yelp

#3. Dish Society

- Rating: 4.4/5 (215 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 1900 Aldrich St. Ste 130 Austin, Texas
- Categories: Southern, New American, Breakfast & Brunch
- Read more on Yelp

#2. Terry Black's Barbecue

- Rating: 4.5/5 (7942 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 1003 Barton Springs Road Austin, Texas
- Categories: Barbecue, Sandwiches, Southern
- Read more on Yelp