
Highest-rated Southern restaurants in Milwaukee by diners
Highest-rated Southern restaurants in Milwaukee 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 Milwaukee 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 Milwaukee 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. Palomino Bar
- Rating: 3.5/5 (411 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 2491 South Superior St. Milwaukee, Wisconsin
- Categories: Southern, New American, Cocktail Bars
- Read more on Yelp
#9. Lowcountry Milwaukee
- Rating: 3.8/5 (57 reviews)
- Address: 1114 North Water St. Milwaukee, Wisconsin
- Categories: Seafood, Southern, Cajun/Creole
- Read more on Yelp
#8. Crawdaddy's on Greenfield
- Rating: 3.8/5 (222 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 9427 West Greenfield Ave. West Allis, Wisconsin
- Categories: Southern, Cajun/Creole, Seafood
- Read more on Yelp
#7. Nino's Southern Sides
- Rating: 3.8/5 (124 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 4475 North Oakland Ave. Shorewood, Wisconsin
- Categories: Southern
- Read more on Yelp
#6. Doc's Commerce Smokehouse
- Rating: 4.0/5 (417 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 754 North Vel R Phillips Ave. Milwaukee, Wisconsin
- Categories: Barbecue, Southern
- Read more on Yelp
#5. Pats Ribs Place - Milwaukee
- Rating: 4.1/5 (25 reviews)
- Address: 400 North Water St. The Milwaukee Public Market Milwaukee, Wisconsin
- Categories: Barbecue, Southern
- Read more on Yelp
#4. Daddys Soul Food Grille
- Rating: 4.1/5 (130 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 754 North 27th St. Milwaukee, Wisconsin
- Categories: Soul Food, American, Southern
- Read more on Yelp
#3. Plate Pleasures Eatery
- Rating: 4.1/5 (20 reviews)
- Address: 2330 North 124th St. Wauwatosa, Wisconsin
- Categories: Southern
- Read more on Yelp
#2. Tupelo Honey Southern Kitchen & Bar
- Rating: 4.1/5 (532 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 511 North Broadway Ste 100 Milwaukee, Wisconsin
- Categories: Southern, Breakfast & Brunch, New American
- Read more on Yelp
#1. Maxie's
- Rating: 4.2/5 (907 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 6732 West Fairview Ave. Milwaukee, Wisconsin
- Categories: Southern, Barbecue, Seafood
- Read more on Yelp