Highest-rated Southern restaurants in Jacksonville 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 茅touff茅e, 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鈥攐kra, sorghum (an ancient grain), and black-eyed peas鈥攂ecame a part of the cuisine through the forced labor of enslaved people; French cooking methods, like braising and saut茅ing, 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, compiled a list of the highest-rated Southern restaurants in the Jacksonville area using data from 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 Jacksonville 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.

1 / 20

#20. Jenkins Quality Barbecue - Downtown

- Rating: 3.0/5 (102 reviews)
- Price level: $
- Address: 830 North Pearl St. Jacksonville, Florida
- Categories: Barbecue, Southern, Sandwiches
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2 / 20

#19. Bono's Pit Bar-B-Q

- Rating: 3.2/5 (67 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 9820 San Jose Blvd. Jacksonville, Florida
- Categories: Barbecue, Southern
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3 / 20

#18. Country Cabin

- Rating: 3.3/5 (71 reviews)
- Price level: $
- Address: 4434 Blanding Blvd. Jacksonville, Florida
- Categories: Diners, Southern, Breakfast & Brunch
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4 / 20

#17. Bono's Pit Bar-B-Q

- Rating: 3.3/5 (71 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 4907 Beach Blvd. Jacksonville, Florida
- Categories: Barbecue, Southern
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5 / 20

#16. Indulgence Southern Bistro

- Rating: 3.6/5 (60 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 315 West Forsythe St. Jacksonville, Florida
- Categories: Southern, Bars, Seafood
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6 / 20

#15. 4 Rivers Smokehouse

- Rating: 3.8/5 (328 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 220 Park Ave. Orange Park, Florida
- Categories: Barbecue, Smokehouse, Southern
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7 / 20

#14. Mojo Bar-B-Que

- Rating: 3.9/5 (235 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 1607 University Blvd. West Jacksonville, Florida
- Categories: Barbecue, Southern
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8 / 20

#13. The Southern Grill

- Rating: 4.0/5 (321 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 800 Flagler Ave. Jacksonville, Florida
- Categories: Mediterranean, Southern, Barbecue
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9 / 20

#12. Bold Birds Nashville Hot Chicken

- Rating: 4.1/5 (224 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 1173 Edgewood Ave. South Jacksonville, Florida
- Categories: Chicken Shop, Southern, American
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10 / 20

#11. Murray Hillbilly

- Rating: 4.2/5 (171 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 1044 Edgewood Ave. South Jacksonville, Florida
- Categories: American, Southern
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11 / 20

#10. MOJO no.4 Urban BBQ Whiskey Bar

- Rating: 4.2/5 (289 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 3572 St. Johns Ave. Ste 1 Jacksonville, Florida
- Categories: Barbecue, Cocktail Bars, Southern
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12 / 20

#9. The Potter's House Soul Food Bistro

- Rating: 4.2/5 (526 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 9400 Atlantic Blvd. Jacksonville, Florida
- Categories: Southern, Soul Food
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13 / 20

#8. Soul Food Bistro

- Rating: 4.2/5 (271 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 5310 Lenox Ave. Jacksonville, Florida
- Categories: Soul Food, Southern, Comfort Food
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14 / 20

#7. Shut Em Down Authentic Southern Restaurant

- Rating: 4.3/5 (348 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 6315 San Juan Ave. Jacksonville, Florida
- Categories: Southern, Soul Food, Comfort Food
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15 / 20

#6. Lewey's Seafood and Wings

- Rating: 4.4/5 (23 reviews)
- Address: 6510 Normandy Blvd. Jacksonville, Florida
- Categories: Southern, Seafood, Chicken Wings
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16 / 20

#5. Grumpy's Restaurant

- Rating: 4.4/5 (676 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 834 Kingsley Ave. Orange Park, Florida
- Categories: Breakfast & Brunch, American, Southern
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17 / 20

#4. Sweet Mama's Southern Homestyle Cookin

- Rating: 4.4/5 (134 reviews)
- Address: 1527 Cesery Blvd. Jacksonville, Florida
- Categories: Southern, Soul Food
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18 / 20

#3. Twisting Roots

- Rating: 4.6/5 (54 reviews)
- Price level: $
- Address: 2021 Saint Augustine Road Ste 8 Jacksonville, Florida
- Categories: Food Trucks, Southern, Sandwiches
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19 / 20

#2. Starvin Like Marvin

- Rating: 4.7/5 (39 reviews)
- Address: 311 West Ashley St. Jacksonville, Florida
- Categories: Seafood, Soul Food, Southern
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20 / 20

#1. Shut Em Down Authentic Southern Restaurant

- Rating: 5.0/5 (21 reviews)
- Address: 5002 Kerle St. Jacksonville, Florida
- Categories: Southern, Chicken Wings, Sandwiches
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