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 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 Washington, D.C. 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 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.

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#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
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#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
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#15. Kinfolk Southern Kitchen

- Rating: 3.5/5 (236 reviews)
- Price level: $$$
- Address: 685 Wharf St. Southwest Washington, Washington, D.C.
- Categories: Southern, Barbecue
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#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
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#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
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#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
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#11. Macon Bistro & Larder

- Rating: 3.8/5 (242 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 5520 Connecticut Ave. Northwest Washington, Washington, D.C.
- Categories: Southern, Bars
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#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
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#9. Moi Moi

- Rating: 3.8/5 (90 reviews)
- Address: 1627 K St. Northwest Washington, Washington, D.C.
- Categories: African, Southern, Seafood
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#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
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#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
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#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
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#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
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#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
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#3. Succotash Prime

- Rating: 4.1/5 (1404 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 915 F St. Northwest Washington, Washington, D.C.
- Categories: Southern, American, Steakhouses
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#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
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#1. Mallard

- Rating: 4.5/5 (42 reviews)
- Address: 1337 14th St. Northwest Washington, Washington, D.C.
- Categories: Southern, Bars
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