The Best Southern Restaurants In New York City
New York City may be Yankee territory, but it is home to some of the best Southern cooking in the country. While Southern food can now be found throughout the city, the heart of soul food remains Harlem. That's no coincidence. During the 1910s and the decades that followed, Black Americans moving to New York City from the South moved into Harlem in increasing numbers. The neighborhood became the hub of the city's vibrant Black culture.
Most American schoolchildren have heard about the Harlem Renaissance of Black writers and artists, but alongside the novels and records, there were always restaurants serving recipes from back home. Today, Harlem is heavily gentrified like much of the city, but it's still the place to go for delicious fried chicken and waffles, candied yams, collard greens, and other Southern classics.
From decades-old establishments sticking to tradition to newer restaurants bringing innovative ingredients and techniques to those traditions, New York City remains a true Southern dining destination.
1. Miss Mamie's Spoonbread Too
Harlem's Miss Mamie's Spoonbread Too cutesy name signals it could be nothing but an establishment dedicated to traditional Southern cooking. The protein-heavy entrees menu features North Carolina-style barbecue ribs, baked turkey wings, Louisiana catfish, Southern fried or smothered chicken, and Mamie Jean's Renown BBQ Chicken. There's even jerk chicken in homage to the Jamaican community in Harlem.
Each entrée comes with bread and butter and a choice of two sides. And when it comes to sides, you're spoiled for choice. Of course, you got macaroni and cheese, candied yams, collard greens, Hop' John (sometimes spelled Hoppin' John, a classic Southern dish with black-eyed peas, rice, and pork), and mashed potatoes. Desserts here are made in-house, and the peach cobbler comes particularly recommended.
Miss Mamie's Spoonbread Too is more than a restaurant. Founded by former model Norma Jean Darden, it is considered one of Harlem's more renowned Southern dining establishments and was once visited by former President Bill Clinton to discuss support for minority-owned businesses.
(212) 865-6744
366 W 110th St, New York, NY 10025
2. Melba's
Another Harlem establishment that is widely beloved is Melba's, named after its owner and Harlemite Melba Wilson. Situated in the heart of Harlem at the intersection of Frederick Douglass Boulevard and W 114th St, Melba's has been celebrated for its warm and inviting atmosphere alongside great Southern cooking.
A signature dish here is the chicken and eggnog waffle with dark and white meat wings served with strawberry butter and maple syrup. Chef Melba Wilson appeared on the Food Network's "Throwdown! with Bobby Flay," where she made this very dish and beat Flay in the cooking competition. No wonder Flay called her the "Queen Bee" of chicken and waffles. Other praised dishes include the hamburger sliders with cheddar cheese and Melba's smoky-sweet burger sauce.
Its popularity has led Melba's to expand beyond its original Harlem location and open kiosks at New York's Grand Central Station and New Jersey's Prudential sports arena.
(212) 864-7777
300 W 114th St, New York, NY 10026
3. Pies 'n' Thighs
This Southern establishment is located in Brooklyn's trendy Williamsburg, and was featured on an episode of the Food Network "Diners, Drive-ins and Dives" titled "Decadent Dishes" for good reason. Show host Guy Fieri went all-in on the fried chicken and waffles, spicy pulled pork sandwich and even a house-made donut.
Although a newcomer to the city's pantheon of Southern restaurants, Pies 'n' Thighs — founded in 2006 by Sarah Sanneh and Carolyn Bane, who were both working at the same diner — is quickly becoming a well-regarded institution. Pies 'n' Thighs's apple pie has been spotlighted by a number of food publications and its fried chicken is often highlighted as some of the best in New York.
Beyond its great Southern cooking, Pies 'n' Thighs is a community-focused establishment. With the help of customers and grants, the restaurant donated over 15,000 meals to frontline healthcare workers and struggling families during the COVID-19 pandemic.
(347) 529-6090
166 S 4th St, Brooklyn, NY 11211
4. Cadence
Located in lower Manhattan's East Village, Cadence serves classic Southern dishes that are 100% vegan. Executive Chef Haley Duren eschews alternative meats and cooks only with seasonal vegetables.
Her vegan twist means that the Nashville hot sandwich here comes with roasted pickles, slaw, and Nashville hot oil between two buttermilk waffles. The Cajun grits are made with fried banana blossom, blackened okra, and sage butter. And the banana pudding is made with coconut cream rather than dairy. Some of the dishes come with a Southwestern spin, as well: There's the cowboy caviar toast with blackened butter, black-eyed pea hummus, and cactus jam.
The Michelin Guide has called the waffles blasphemously good. Condé Nast has listed Cadence as one of the best vegan restaurants in New York City, and in 2013, the restaurant was nominated twice for the James Beard award, which is akin to the Academy Awards for chefs.
(833) 328-4588
111 E 7th St, New York, NY 10009
5. Charles Country Pan Fried Chicken
Charles Country Pan Fried Chicken was started by North Carolina-born Charles Gabriel, who moved to the big city at 17 and worked in restaurants until he decided to start cooking in his apartment and serving Harlemites in front of his stoop. Charles eventually graduated to a food truck before he opened his first restaurant. Today, Charles Country Pan Fried Chicken has two locations in Harlem and a third on the Upper West Side.
As the name says, the fried chicken here is fried in a cast-iron skillet rather than fried in a pressure cooker. The chicken — pan-fried, barbecue, and smothered — come in plates with two sides and cornbread and combos, or they can be ordered a la carte. The menu lists wings, drumsticks, thighs, and breast, but what you find depends on what's available in the moment.
The chicken and meat —Charles also serves turkey wings and pulled pork — has been praised as tender, and the cornbread has been called so moist it could be cake, although the macaroni and cheese has been called dry. The white and red patterned picnic table cloth adds a nice old school touch that reinforces the casual vibe at Charles's.
(929) 613-0247
340 W 145th St., New York, NY 10039
6. Hometown Bar-B-Que
This Brooklyn barbecue joint proves that you can find delicious Southern-style brisket in the Big Apple. Hometown Bar-B-Que's first location opened in the southern Brooklyn neighborhood of Red Hook about a decade ago. Chef Billy Durney prepares barbecue staples from brisket and spare ribs to sides of macaroni and cheese and collard greens, all prepared and served in a rustic setting. For dessert, you have classics banana cream pudding and Key Lime pie.
The New York City twist is the homage Durney pays to the borough's diversity, one of the most multilingual places in the country. Here you can find sticky ribs prepared Korean-style with scallions, cashews, garlic, and fried shallots.
There's also Vietnamese hot wings coated with toasted sesame seeds and scallions and served alongside cilantro ranch. The Mexican-inspired plates include brisket tacos with queso and the Oaxaca chicken marinated in chipotle sauce and served with pickled red onions and tomatillo salsa. There's a reason this place has been called one of the best barbecue spots in the city.
(347) 294-4644
454 Van Brunt St, Brooklyn, NY 11231
7. Sylvia's
No list of New York City's Southern dining establishments could fail to mention Harlem's legendary Sylvia's, which has been run by the Woods family for six decades. Sylvia's history as a soul food restaurant embodies Harlem's emergence as a Mecca for Black Americans leaving the South and migrating to the rest of the country. Many of those migrants brought with them traditional Southern recipes, such as fried chicken. Many of these recipes are, of course, rooted in African cuisine. The restaurant's namesake was herself a product of that migration. Sylvia Woods was born in 1926 in Hemingway, South Carolina, and settled with her husband Herbert in Harlem in the 1940s.
Every New York City mayor going back to John Lindsay (1966–1973) has eaten here along with a host of celebrities — Muhammad Ali and Diana Ross — and countless politicians looking for the support from Harlem's influential African-American leaders. Before his presidential run, Barack Obama had lunch here, too.
But while Sylvia's might get a lot of attention for being a political right-of-passage, people still come here for the food as well. Famous dishes here include the chicken and waffles — or "waffle supper" and common at many Southern establishments in the city — and the barbecue pork ribs.
(212) 996-0660
328 Malcolm X Blvd, New York, NY 10027
8. Red Rooster
If you've ever seen the Food Network's "Chopped," then you probably know Marcus Samuelsson. The James Beard award-winning chef, who also presided over the White House kitchen at President Barack Obama's first state dinner, is a regular judge on the cooking competition show. On the show, Samuelsson judges meals prepared by others, but you can judge his cooking at his Red Rooster.
Red Rooster is famous for its fried chicken drumsticks, thighs, and breasts that can be ordered individually and come with hot honey. But this is Harlem, and you can still order the fried chicken and waffles. Samuelsson does not go with a chicken breast, however, but a leg (white meat costs extra) that is served with maple hot sauce and pickles. Red Rooster does offer a gluten-free menu with fried catfish, shrimp and grits, sweet potato coconut soup, but, alas, not fried chicken.
The New York Times has awarded Red Rooster two out of four stars — and offered effusive praise for the lively and inclusive atmosphere curated by Sameulsson's warm embrace of his customers — while others have called the fried chicken a bit on the dry side.
(212) 792-9001
310 Lenox Ave, New York, NY 10027
9. Cornbread
Cornbread is fast-casual soul food that sources all of its ingredients from local shops and farmers. This is not your typical fast-food fried chicken, even if some of them are pretty good. Naturally, they have plenty of cornbread that can be ordered as two, six, or twelve pieces, and every meal comes with cornbread. You can opt for fried chicken, baked chicken, fried fish, or an oxtail meal. Meals come with one or two sides, which include baked macaroni and cheese, yams, potato salad, and yellow rice.
The fried chicken has been praised for being crispy on the outside and juicy and tender on the inside. The macaroni and cheese has been called velvety, and the Southern Twang tea is described as the perfect complement to a delicious meal.
On Yelp, nearly 500 customer reviews give Cornbread 4.1 out of 5 stars. Both the cornbread and the customer service come in for a lot of praise. While nearly 6,000 customer reviews on Google give it a nearly perfect score of 4.8. Cornbread has expanded beyond its original Brooklyn location to three newer locations in New Jersey.
(718) 493-7685
409 Eastern Pkwy, Brooklyn, NY 11216
10. Amy Ruth's
Carl S. Redding opened this NYC restaurant back in 1998 on Harlem's 116th St in honor of his grandmother Amy Ruth, a native Alabamian. Serving Southern comfort food, the menu items here are named after famous Black Americans (whether they ate there or not). There's the President Barack Obama chicken — fried, smothered, baked, or barbecued — and The Michelle Obama fried whiting fish.
The chicken (fried or smothered) and waffles here (The Rev. Al Sharpton) are on TripAdvisor's top 10 for New York City. But there's more than just chicken paired with waffles, but an entire waffle menu. Waffles can be ordered with fried shrimp (Jennifer Holliday), salmon croquettes (Anthony Kaleem), fried chicken wings (Tommy Tomita), and fried catch (Rev. Thomas Johnson), among other options.
In 2014, Amy Ruth's opened a second location in Lower Manhattan. David Mekles told Forbes the expansion was meant to serve customers looking for "great value" and added, "We're known for our large portion." You can always take home and reheat the macaroni and cheese.
(212) 280-8779
113 W 116th St, New York, NY 10026
11. SpaHa Soul and Bone Broth
SpaHa Soul and Bone Broth in Spanish Harlem has only four small dining tables, so reservations are advised (it's also a cash-only restaurant), but the few seats — along with the chalkboard menu — give it a cozy, homey feel. The California-raised Chef Artist Thornton cooks up organic Southern cuisine inspired by his grandmother. In her honor, the menu features Grandma Lizbeth's salmon cakes and collard greens.
As a young man struggling to get by in Mexico City, Thornton cooked for his friends, and it is this atmosphere of camaraderie that he's sought to recreate at SpaHa. Thornton greets the guests and patrons at separate tables mingle.
This Black and LGBT-owned restaurant serves a buttermilk fried chicken with white gravy poured on top and rice, collard greens, and candied yams as sides — a dish dubbed "the Betty" for the neighbor who inspired it. The pork chop here comes with cornbread stuffing and a side of berry compote.
Alongside classic dishes, SpaHa also serves what it calls soul fusion. There's pork chop and grits in a Mexican poblano sauce and coconut curry with fresh vegetables. SpaHa is also famous for its poultry and beef bone marrow broths — which has numerous health benefits.
spaha-soul-and-bone-broth.res-menu.com
(347) 463-7387
2294 2nd Ave, New York, NY 10035