Highest-rated Southern Restaurants in Tampa by Diners

Mohamed-Kareem Mohamed // Shutterstock

Highest-rated Southern restaurants in Tampa 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 étouffée, 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—okra, sorghum (an ancient grain), and black-eyed peas—became a part of the cuisine through the forced labor of enslaved people; French cooking methods, like braising and sautéing, 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 Tampa 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 Tampa 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.

You may also like: Highest-rated Asian restaurants in Tampa by diners

#15. Lepley's Kitchen Lounge

- Rating: 3.3/5 (117 reviews)
- Address: 6310 North Florida Ave. Tampa, Florida
- Categories: Southern, Sports Bars, Caribbean
-

#14. Hank's Catfish & BBQ

- Rating: 3.6/5 (293 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 8546 North Dale Mabry Hwy Tampa, Florida
- Categories: Southern, Barbecue
-

#13. Avenue Blu

- Rating: 3.6/5 (26 reviews)
- Address: 122 South Howard Ave. Tampa Bay, Florida
- Categories: Southern, Caribbean
-

#12. 4 Rivers Smokehouse

- Rating: 3.7/5 (440 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 623 South Macdill Ave. Tampa Bay, Florida
- Categories: Barbecue, Smokehouse, Southern
-

#11. Mama's Soul Food Restaurant

- Rating: 3.7/5 (190 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 3701 East Drive M L K Jr Blvd. Tampa, Florida
- Categories: Southern, Soul Food, Seafood
-

You may also like: Highest-paying jobs in Tampa that don't require a college degree

#10. Florida Cracker Fish Company

- Rating: 3.8/5 (197 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 7604 Ehrlich Road Tampa, Florida
- Categories: Seafood, Southern, Whiskey Bars
-

#9. 4 Rivers Smokehouse

- Rating: 3.9/5 (689 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 14330 North Dale Mabry Hwy Tampa, Florida
- Categories: Barbecue, Smokehouse, Southern
-

#8. Steelbach

- Rating: 4.1/5 (1166 reviews)
- Price level: $$$
- Address: 1902 North Ola Ave. Tampa, Florida
- Categories: New American, Steakhouses, Southern
-

#7. 7th + Grove

- Rating: 4.2/5 (648 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 1930 East 7th Ave. Tampa, Florida
- Categories: Southern, Lounges, Breakfast & Brunch
-

#6. Noble Crust

- Rating: 4.3/5 (844 reviews)
- Price level: $$
- Address: 11618 North Dale Mabry Hwy Tampa, Florida
- Categories: Southern, Italian, Breakfast & Brunch
-

You may also like: Highest-rated restaurants for tacos in the Tampa area by diners