News These Are the 50 Best Southern Restaurants in America, According to OpenTable Did your fave make the list? By Caitlin Petreycik Caitlin Petreycik Caitlin Petreycik is a New York-based editor and writer who has worked in digital media for nearly a decade. She has covered food and dining, pop culture, news, beauty, fashion, and design for Food & Wine, Travel + Leisure, Epicurious, Southern Living, New York Magazine, and Departures, among others.Experience: Caitlin began as a fashion assistant at New York Magazine, where she wrote articles and interviewed designers for The Cut. She worked as a lifestyle blogger for DKNY Times, which won "Best Blog" at the 2011 Fashion 2.0 Awards. As an assistant editor of Fashion News at InStyle, she broke news stories that were picked up by outlets like New York Magazine, The Huffington Post, and People. Caitlin has held writing and editing positions at Condé Nast, Hearst, and Vox working for Sweet, Glamour, Racked New York, and Seventeen. She served as Interim Deputy Digital Editor at Food & Wine.Education: Caitlin attended Fordham University, where she graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Communications. Food & Wine's Editorial Guidelines Updated on July 31, 2018 Share Tweet Pin Email Photo: Courtesy of Yardbird Los Angeles OpenTable just released its annual list of the 50 best Southern restaurants in the country. Notice that they specified "the country" and not "the South"—that's because a handful of the spots are actually in the Northeast (New York City's The Boil Waverly and Buffalo's Toutant), the Midwest (Maple Tree Inn in Blue Island, Illinois), and the West Coast (Yardbird Southern Table & Bar, which has outposts in L.A. and Vegas), proving that perfectly-fried catfish knows no geographical bounds. That's not to say the South isn't heavily represented! 44 of the 50 dining spots are below the Mason-Dixon line. Unsurprisingly, New Orleans scored the most nods with eight restaurants on the list (including James Beard finalist Kelly Fields' Willa Jean, and Restaurant R'evolution, known for its drumstick-size, crab-stuffed frog legs), while Nashville and Birmingham tied for second place with three picks each. The folks at OpenTable chose the restaurants by combing through reviews of 27,000 spots in the "Southern" cuisine category from all 50 states, collected between June 1, 2017 and May 31, 2018. From there, they analyzed each restaurant's overall food rating. Take a look at all 50, below, to see if your favorite spot made the cut (or just find some new places to add to your "must try" list). Abel Brown: Augusta, Georgia Acadiana: Washington, D.C. Acre: Auburn, Alabama Alligator Soul: Savannah, Georgia Anson: Charleston, South Carolina Antebellum: Flowery Branch, Georgia Atchafalaya Restaurant: New Orleans, Louisiana The Boil Waverly: New York, New York Boucherie: New Orleans, Louisiana Brennan's of Houston: Houston, Texas Cafe Dupont: Birmingham, Alabama Carrollton Market: New Orleans, Louisiana Circa 1886: Charleston, South Carolina Cured: San Antonio, Texas Cypress Restaurant: Tallahassee, Florida Distilled at The Sire Hotel: Lexington, Kentucky Dogwood Southern Table & Bar: Charlotte, North Carolina Fixe: Austin, Texas High Street Caffe & Vudu Lounge: West Chester, Pennsylvania Highball & Harvest: Orlando, Florida Highlands Bar & Grill: Birmingham, Alabama Hot and Hot Fish Club: Birmingham, Alabama Ida Claire: Addison, Texas Kitchen Notes - Omni Nashville: Nashville, Tennessee The King's Kitchen: Charlotte, North Carolina Langdon's Restaurant: Mount Pleasant, South Carolina Madison's: Highlands, North Carolina Mandolin: Raleigh, North Carolina Maple Tree Inn: Blue Island, Illinois Merrick Inn: Lexington, Kentucky Midtown Cafe: Nashville, Tennessee Mozelle's Fresh Southern Bistro: Winston-Salem, North Carolina Mr. B's Bistro: New Orleans, Louisiana Muriel's Jackson Square: New Orleans, Louisiana The Olde Pink House Restaurant: Savannah, Georgia Preserved Restaurant: St. Augustine, Florida Rapscallion: Dallas, Texas Restaurant IRON: Pensacola, Florida Restaurant R'evolution: New Orleans, Louisiana Restaurant Rebirth: New Orleans, Louisiana Root & Bone: New York, New York RT's Restaurant: Alexandria, Virginia Rx Restaurant: Wilmington, North Carolina South City Kitchen: Multiple locations State of Grace: Houston, Texas Stella's Bistro - Simpsonville: Simpsonville, South Carolina Toutant: Buffalo, New York Urban Grub: Nashville, Tennessee Willa Jean: New Orleans, Louisiana Yardbird Southern Table & Bar: Multiple locations Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! Other Submit