Birmingham guide
The best Southern & soul food in Birmingham
Birmingham has 16 standout Southern & soul food worth your time — these are the ones locals actually send people to, ranked by how well-loved each spot is and checked by hand. Johnny's Restaurant, Niki's West and Hot and Hot Fish Club lead the list. No chains, nobody pays to rank.
Johnny's Restaurant
Greek-and-three & keftedes. Timothy Hontzas's meat-and-three, with Greek dishes alongside the Southern ones. Lunch line moves fast.
Niki's West
Cafeteria-line meat-and-three. Cafeteria line by the Farmers Market. Pick your meat, pick your sides, find a seat. People have been eating here for decades.
Hot and Hot Fish Club
The summer tomato salad. Chris and Idie Hastings have run it since 1995. It's at Pepper Place now. Sit at the counter if you can.
Michelin RecommendedJames Beard Best Chef: South · Chris Hastings
Saw's Soul Kitchen
Pork & greens over cheese grits. Small, always-busy Avondale spot. White sauce barbecue with soul food sides.
Yo' Mama's
Chicken & waffles. Family-run soul food downtown. Chicken and waffles is the order. Lines at lunch on weekdays.
Eagle's Restaurant
Friday catfish & meat-and-three. Black-owned soul food kitchen open since 1951. Eater sent visitors here in 2026, and Sunday lines go out the door.
Green Acres Cafe
Whole fried chicken wings. The Gratton family's fried chicken counter, on Fourth Avenue North since 1990 and in Birmingham since 1950. Order the wings.
DG
A menu that changes daily. Daniel Briggs's restaurant in Mountain Brook Village, open since 2000 as Daniel George and renamed DG for its 25th year. Lunch on weekdays, dinner Monday through Saturday.
Eugene's Hot Chicken
Hot chicken, pick your heat. Hot chicken north of the city center: pick the style and how hot, then the sides. Bham Now put it on its 25 best restaurants in Birmingham in 2026.
Fife's Restaurant
Southern breakfast & meat-and-three. Breakfast and meat-and-three in the Fourth Avenue district since 1956.
Ted's Restaurant
Greek-Southern meat-and-three. Meat-and-three near UAB since 1973, run by Tasos and Beba Touloupis since 2000. Meatloaf and greens next to souvlakia. Weekday lunch, Saturday breakfast.
Miss Astrid's Tavern
Southern plates & weekend brunch. Cahaba Heights tavern, open since December 2024 in the old Fig Tree Cafe space and named for a co-owner's late mother. It won best food at Viva Vestavia in 2025.
FoodBar
Southern plates off Alabama farms. Chef George McMillian's place in The Heights Village. The menu leans on Alabama farms.
Johin'na
Collard green gyoza. Japanese-Southern restaurant and lounge on Second Avenue North, open since August 2025: collard green gyoza, sweet-tea soy. Brunch on Sundays.
Dyron's Lowcountry
Shrimp & grits. Lowcountry food in Crestline. She-crab soup, shrimp and grits, and a small bar upstairs.
The Rougaroux
Gumbo and po'boys. Cajun and Creole food in Mountain Brook Village, in the old Sneaky Pete's building. The original is in Forest Park.
Good to know
What is the best Southern & soul food in Birmingham?
Johnny's Restaurant — greek-and-three & keftedes. Niki's West and Hot and Hot Fish Club round out the top of the list. Every place is locally owned and checked by hand.
How many Southern & soul food are on this list?
16, all locally owned and ranked by how well-loved they are. None of them paid to be included.
Which have a Michelin or James Beard honor?
Hot and Hot Fish Club.