1 / 17
#17. Langston Bar & Grille
- Rating: 2.6/5 (234 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 1831 Benning Road Northeast Washington, Washington, D.C.
- Categories: Southern, American, Sports Bars
- Read more on Yelp
Highest-rated Southern restaurants in Washington, D.C. 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 Washington, D.C. 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 Washington, D.C. 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.
You may also like: Lowest-paying jobs in Washington, D.C.
2 / 17
#16. Miss Toya's Southern Kitchen
- Rating: 3.3/5 (86 reviews)
- Address: 3216 Pennsylvania Ave. Southeast Washington, Washington, D.C.
- Categories: Cocktail Bars, Southern, Cajun/Creole
- Read more on Yelp
3 / 17
#15. Kinfolk Southern Kitchen
- Rating: 3.5/5 (236 reviews)
- Price level: $$$
- Address: 685 Wharf St. Southwest Washington, Washington, D.C.
- Categories: Southern, Barbecue
- Read more on Yelp
4 / 17
#14. Addie Love's Soul Food Cafe
- Rating: 3.6/5 (80 reviews)
- Address: 410 61st St. Northeast Washington, Washington, D.C.
- Categories: Southern, Soul Food
- Read more on Yelp
5 / 17
#13. Georgia Brown's
- Rating: 3.6/5 (2049 reviews)
- Price level: $$$
- Address: 950 15th St. Northwest Washington, Washington, D.C.
- Categories: Southern, Soul Food, Bars
- Read more on Yelp
You may also like: Biggest sources of immigrants to Washington, D.C.
6 / 17
#12. Kitchen + Kocktails
- Rating: 3.6/5 (619 reviews)
- Price level: $$$$
- Address: 1300 I St. Northwest Washington, Washington, D.C.
- Categories: Southern, Breakfast & Brunch, Cocktail Bars
- Read more on Yelp
7 / 17
#11. Macon Bistro & Larder
- Rating: 3.8/5 (242 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 5520 Connecticut Ave. Northwest Washington, Washington, D.C.
- Categories: Southern, Bars
- Read more on Yelp
8 / 17
#10. Yardbird
- Rating: 3.8/5 (772 reviews)
- Price level: $$$
- Address: 901 New York Ave. Northwest Washington, Washington, D.C.
- Categories: New American, Cocktail Bars, Southern
- Read more on Yelp
9 / 17
#9. Moi Moi
- Rating: 3.8/5 (90 reviews)
- Address: 1627 K St. Northwest Washington, Washington, D.C.
- Categories: African, Southern, Seafood
- Read more on Yelp
10 / 17
#8. The Players Lounge
- Rating: 3.9/5 (62 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 2737 Martin Luther King Jr Ave. Southeast Washington, Washington, D.C.
- Categories: Dive Bars, Southern, Soul Food
- Read more on Yelp
You may also like: Countries to which Washington, D.C. exports the most goods
11 / 17
#7. Henry's Soul Cafe
- Rating: 3.9/5 (275 reviews)
- Price level: $
- Address: 1704 U St. Northwest Washington, Washington, D.C.
- Categories: Southern, Soul Food
- Read more on Yelp
12 / 17
#6. The Hitching Post Restaurant
- Rating: 4.0/5 (370 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 200 Upshur St. Northwest Washington, Washington, D.C.
- Categories: Southern, Soul Food, Tapas/Small Plates
- Read more on Yelp
13 / 17
#5. Andrene's Soul Food & Caribbean Cafe
- Rating: 4.0/5 (339 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 308 Kennedy St. Northwest Washington, Washington, D.C.
- Categories: Caribbean, Southern, Soul Food
- Read more on Yelp
14 / 17
#4. Kitchen Savages
- Rating: 4.0/5 (191 reviews)
- Address: Kitchen Savages 1211 Good Hope Road Southeast Washington, Washington, D.C.
- Categories: Cajun/Creole, Seafood, Southern
- Read more on Yelp
15 / 17
#3. Succotash Prime
- Rating: 4.1/5 (1404 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 915 F St. Northwest Washington, Washington, D.C.
- Categories: Southern, American, Steakhouses
- Read more on Yelp
You may also like: Highest-rated pizza restaurants in the Washington, D.C. area by diners
16 / 17
#2. Hen Quarter Prime
- Rating: 4.4/5 (91 reviews)
- Price level: $$$$
- Address: 2121 First St. Southwest Washington, Washington, D.C.
- Categories: Southern, Bars, Seafood
- Read more on Yelp
17 / 17
#1. Mallard
- Rating: 4.5/5 (42 reviews)
- Address: 1337 14th St. Northwest Washington, Washington, D.C.
- Categories: Southern, Bars
- Read more on Yelp
