Highest-rated Southern restaurants in Dallas 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 Dallas 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 Dallas 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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#28. Elm Street Cask & Kitchen

- Rating: 3.3/5 (138 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 1525 Elm St. Dallas, Texas
- Categories: Southern, Breakfast & Brunch, Bars
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#27. Hardeman's Bar-B-Que & Soul-Food

- Rating: 3.4/5 (25 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 6931 Scyene Road Dallas, Texas
- Categories: Barbecue, Soul Food, Southern
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#26. Catfish Connection

- Rating: 3.4/5 (163 reviews)
- Price level: $
- Address: 2464 West Kiest Blvd. Dallas, Texas
- Categories: Seafood, Southern
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#25. Flying Fish

- Rating: 3.5/5 (296 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 5100 Belt Line Road Ste 740 Dallas, Texas
- Categories: Seafood, Cajun/Creole, Southern
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#24. Cowboy Chicken

- Rating: 3.6/5 (386 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 5315 Greenville Ave. Ste 125 Dallas, Texas
- Categories: American, Chicken Shop, Southern
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#23. Kitchen + Kocktails by Kevin Kelley - Dallas

- Rating: 3.6/5 (1604 reviews)
- Price level: $$$
- Address: 1933 Elm St. Dallas, Texas
- Categories: Southern, Comfort Food
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#22. Tasty Tails

- Rating: 3.6/5 (271 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 4950 Beltline Road Ste 190A Dallas, Texas
- Categories: Seafood, Cajun/Creole, Southern
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#21. Norma's Cafe

- Rating: 3.6/5 (406 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 9100 North Central Expy Ste 151 Dallas, Texas
- Categories: American, Breakfast & Brunch, Southern
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#20. Jonathon's Diner

- Rating: 3.6/5 (289 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 1619 North Beckley Ave. Dallas, Texas
- Categories: New American, Southern
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#19. JD's BBQ and Grill

- Rating: 3.7/5 (44 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 311 West Jefferson Blvd. Dallas, Texas
- Categories: Barbecue, Southern
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#18. Chicken House

- Rating: 3.9/5 (117 reviews)
- Price level: $
- Address: 909 North Fitzhugh Ave. Dallas, Texas
- Categories: Comfort Food, Southern
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#17. Flying Fish

- Rating: 3.9/5 (267 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 6126 Luther Lane Preston Center Dallas, Texas
- Categories: Seafood, Cajun/Creole, Southern
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#16. Hamilton's Restaurant & Cocktail Lounge

- Rating: 3.9/5 (34 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 1011 South Akard St. Dallas, Texas
- Categories: Bars, Southern
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#15. Flying Fish

- Rating: 4.0/5 (333 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 1838 Irving Blvd. Dallas, Texas
- Categories: Seafood, Cajun/Creole, Southern
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#14. Yardbird

- Rating: 4.0/5 (927 reviews)
- Price level: $$$
- Address: 2121 North Pearl St. Ste 170 Dallas, Texas
- Categories: Southern, Cocktail Bars, New American
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#13. The Porch

- Rating: 4.1/5 (1743 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 2912 North Henderson Ave. Dallas, Texas
- Categories: Southern, New American, Sandwiches
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#12. Hattie B's Hot Chicken

- Rating: 4.1/5 (71 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 3827 Lemmon Ave. Dallas, Texas
- Categories: Chicken Wings, Sandwiches, Southern
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#11. Southern Classic Daiquiri Factory

- Rating: 4.1/5 (197 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 3030 Ross Ave. Dallas, Texas
- Categories: Cajun/Creole, Southern
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#10. Norma's Cafe

- Rating: 4.1/5 (637 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 1123 West Davis St. Dallas, Texas
- Categories: Southern, American, Diners
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#9. Babe's Chicken Dinner House

- Rating: 4.1/5 (1226 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 1006 West Main St. Carrollton, Texas
- Categories: Southern, American, Desserts
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#8. Bucky Moonshine's

- Rating: 4.1/5 (642 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 2912 Elm St. Dallas, Texas
- Categories: Cajun/Creole, Southern, Cocktail Bars
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#7. Celebration

- Rating: 4.2/5 (738 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 4503 West Lovers Lane Dallas, Texas
- Categories: American, Southern, Desserts
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#6. Ida Claire

- Rating: 4.2/5 (3503 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 5001 Belt Line Road Addison, Texas
- Categories: Southern, Breakfast & Brunch
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#5. Palmer's Hot Chicken

- Rating: 4.2/5 (393 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 6465 East Mockingbird Lane Ste 316 Dallas, Texas
- Categories: Southern, Comfort Food, Food Trucks
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#4. JGs Old Fashioned Hamburgers

- Rating: 4.2/5 (351 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 12101 North Greenville Ave. Ste 109 Dallas, Texas
- Categories: Burgers, American, Southern
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#3. Pecan Lodge

- Rating: 4.3/5 (6864 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 2702 Main St. Dallas, Texas
- Categories: Sandwiches, Barbecue, Southern
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#2. Pete's Cafe

- Rating: 4.4/5 (488 reviews)
- Price level: $
- Address: 3610 Belt Line Road Farmers Branch, Texas
- Categories: Southern, American, Breakfast & Brunch
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#1. Roots Southern Table

- Rating: 4.5/5 (574 reviews)
- Price level: $$$
- Address: 13050 Bee St. Farmers Branch, Texas
- Categories: Southern, Salad, Cocktail Bars
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