Nothing beats the comfort of soul food. Here are the best restaurants celebrating the African-American tradition, where many of the recipes have been passed down through generations. Expect the likes of collard greens, beans, cornmeal in many forms, along with crispy catfish, pork and tender fried chicken. The term “soul food” first appeared in the 1960s, when “soul” was a word used to describe African-American culture. It's worth checking state travel advisories, as well as individual restaurant websites, for information on opening times and any other restrictions.

It may be tiny, but the business J.W. Beverette’s Soul Food receives is huge. Its smothered pork chop, oxtails, yams, green beans, collard greens, catfish nuggets and peach cobbler attract customers from all over. The owner Teresa is also amazingly friendly and hospitable.

Despite its distance from the South, Davons’ Place House of Soul offers a serious slice of Southern comfort food, with friendly service. The crunchy catfish is heavenly and its chicken is juicy and crisp. The loaded potato comes drowned in veggies, shrimp, chicken, steak, green onions and cheese sauce. What’s more, every meal comes with a drink and slice of cake.

Sue's is bringing the soul back to Phoenix, one plate at a time. Cool spot Sue’s Soul Food Heaven is instantly identifiable by the colourful paintwork on the outside, designed by local street artists. The restaurant was created to honour the owner's late sister. Customers say its food will feed your soul – the pork ribs are meaty, the chicken is smoked perfectly, the greens are fresh and there’s a great choice of sauces and rubs. Don’t forget to try the peach cobbler too.

A welcoming atmosphere and speedy table service await those who venture into The So Full Cafe. It’s located in the Arkansas Baptist College, but is open to both students and the surrounding community. Diners' favourites include smoked oxtails, fried pork chops, collard greens and scalloped potatoes. Our advice is to get there early before all the food runs out.

Craving comfort food in California? Fixins Soul Kitchen’s 24-hour brined fried chicken, cornmeal crusted catfish, mac ‘n’ cheese and “Adult Kool-Aid” (red Kool-Aid cubes, Sprite and Ciroc vodka) will sort you out. Founded by former NBA All-Star and Mayor of Sacramento Kevin Johnson and his wife Michelle, the roomy restaurant has a sports bar vibe and staff that know how to take care of you. It has a second location in Los Angeles.

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Hole-in-the-wall joint The Blazing Chicken Shack II has a short but impressive menu. It might not look all that much from the outside, but it's what's on the inside that counts. The star items are the fried chicken wings, catfish and oxtails which come with sides such as red beans and rice, mac ‘n’ cheese and fried okra. Your food may take a bit of time, but you can be sure it will be perfectly seasoned and cooked to order.

Arrive hungry at Lilly’s Soulfood Restaurant, which has been open more than 30 years. Huge and delicious mains such as tender pork chops with gravy and honey roasted chicken come with a choice of sides that includes mac ‘n’ cheese, collard greens, black eyed peas and corn. It would be criminal not to take away a slice of pound cake for dessert.

Vegan and soul food don’t usually go in the same sentence, least of all on the same plate, but chef Abundancechild Xi-El is changing that with the menu at her restaurant, Drop Squad Kitchen. “Bacun” and waffles, “turkee” subs, lobsterless grits and mac ‘n’ cheese are served piping hot from the kitchen, and everything is cooked fresh.

If you’re dining at one of Soul Food Bistro’s two huge and homely restaurants in Jacksonville, be prepared to be served enough food to last two meals. A top choice is the slow braised oxtails with rice. The meat is so tender it falls off the bone and there's enough gravy to soak through the dish. Wash it all down with a refreshing peach tea.

Popular items at takeout joint Southern Kitchen and Grill are fried catfish, chicken wings and the six-cheese mac 'n' cheese. Punchy sides such as collard greens, baked beans, black eyed peas and green beans are cooked with smoked turkey and served in separate containers so you get a big portion. The banana pudding and chessmen cookies shouldn't be missed either.

Known by many as the best soul food on the island and run by a husband-and-wife team, Smokin’ Wings & Southern Things’ dishes are always well-seasoned and hot. If you order the catfish (baked or fried) you get a generous helping of three fillets. The rotisserie chicken is infused with spices and topped with grilled onions and red peppers. The breakfast bowl with egg, sausage, cheese and grits is also a great way to start the day.

One bite of hush puppy from Louisiana’s Soul Bayou and you’ll be transported two thousand miles from Boise to New Iberia, Louisiana, where the owner of this soul food restaurant is from. Hot, well-seasoned and rapidly prepared boudin balls, jambalaya, and catfish and shrimp po’ boys are another reason it’s the most popular spot in the busy Chow Public Market.

Flavourful food and great big portions are what you get at Kathryn’s Soul, a restaurant in Chicago French Market. Owner Kathryn Miles started cooking age 10, and after working in the corporate world for 20 years, gave it up to pursue her restaurant dreams. Customers love the shrimp and grits appetiser and meatloaf which comes with a choice of sides including creamy spinach, mac ‘n’ cheese and garlic red skin potatoes. The banana pudding is the dessert to order.

Popular spot His Place Eatery is known for its gourmet take on soul food and excellent hospitality. Chef James "Mackie" Jones has hand-crafted every recipe, dry rub and seasoning on the menu. Expect fried chicken served with red velvet waffles and cream cheese drizzle, deconstructed chicken pot pie and in-house hickory smoked meatloaf with pepper bacon and sweet and spicy sauce. Warning: the portions are huge so bring a container to take your leftovers home in. 

No-frills Vivian’s Soul Food has a reputation for being one of the best spots in Cedar Rapids. Husband-and-wife team Jerome and Briana Smallwood opened Vivian's in 2017, and named it after Jerome's mum, who taught him how to cook. Particular praise goes to its jerk chicken egg rolls, which are flavoured with fresh coriander, spring onions and Cheddar, and achieve just the right level of spiciness. The crispy fried chicken and fluffy waffles also get glowing reviews.

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From soul food favourites such as catfish nuggets, oxtails, fried okra and yams to comfort food classics including burgers and chicken strips, B.C’s Kitchen has it all. The spicy chicken wings, which have a generous amount of meat on them and lots of flavour and heat, are worth a look in. The mac ‘n’ cheese has also been described by customers as the best they have ever tasted.

Cosy, dimly-lit Shirley Mae’s Café in a quaint clay-brick building on a corner in downtown Louisville has been called the best food in the city by enthusiastic customers. And it's been serving those enthusiastic customers for more than 30 years. The joint’s specialities are pork chop (fried or smothered in gravy), meatloaf wrapped in a blanket of tomato sauce, tender barbecued ribs, buttery cabbage, hot water cornbread and peach cobbler with ice cream. Note: it's cash only, so come prepared.

Soul food fans may already be familiar with Willie Mae’s Scotch House, a family-run operation in New Orleans' historic Tremé neighbourhood which dates back to the 1950s. In 2005, owner Ms Willie Mae Seaton was presented with the James Beard Award for “America’s Classic Restaurant for the Southern Region”. It can get incredibly busy, but if you do find a seat, the fried chicken plate featuring dark and white meat has been called the best in America.

Inside The Maine Mall Food Court you’ll find a comfort food paradise that's also one of the only soul food restaurants in Maine. It offers a choice of mouthwatering mains including jerk chicken, smothered fried chicken and smothered fried pork chop. Allegedly, the collard greens are so good you can eat them without anything else. Chef and owner Martin Beavers learned to cook from his mum, and started cooking for friends out of his apartment. He now runs Soul Food Paradise with his fiancée, Hope.

This relaxed café in Baltimore's mission is to celebrate soul food and its roots in making the most of what is available. On the menu is a mixture of salads, sandwiches, burgers, wings and platters. The meaty crab cakes made with hardly any filler are one of its hottest orders, with the mac 'n' cheese tasting like it's homemade.

A gem of a restaurant run by Addie Lee and her family, Addie Lee’s Soul Food serves crispy fried chicken with almost no grease, saucy barbecued beef ribs so tender the bone slides out "like a hot knife through butter” and sides that impress. The ones to order are yams, mac 'n' cheese, collard greens and pinto beans.

People can’t stop talking about the mac ‘n’ cheese from family-run carry-out spot Detroit Soul, which was founded in 2015 by brothers Jerome Brown and Samuel Van Buren. Although it's known for serving comfort food with a healthy twist, it doesn’t compromise on flavour. The cheesy dish can compete with most people’s grandma’s version. The pork chops, catfish and fried chicken are also worth checking out. All meals come with two sides and a large cornbread muffin.

Great for the indecisive, Mama Sheila’s House of Soul has all of your favourite soul food dishes – huge crunchy chicken wings, juicy meatloaf, jerk spaghetti, collard greens with turkey, sweet yams and creamy mash – on offer buffet-style, so there’s no need to choose. What’s more, the staff are super attentive and friendly.

A neighbourhood joint that has been open for more than 35 years, Bully’s Restaurant offers some real soul food classics. You can find neck bones, pig’s feet, chitterlings (hog’s intestines), beef tips with rice, fried catfish and barbecued ribs on the menu. It seems whatever the order is, down to the mac ‘n’ cheese, lima beans, yams, cabbage, okra and fresh greens, customers are impressed.

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Soul food with a gourmet flare is what you get at Gourmet Soul, the love child of founder chef Lavinia McCoy. Dishes such as fried salmon over coco rice with Cajun cream sauce, and shrimp and grits are perfectly plated and receive rave reviews from customers. The environment is suitably swish too, featuring velvet chairs, a silver bar and cool paintings.

The most renowned Black-owned restaurant in Montana, with a mission to bring big city living to small town plates, The Sassy Biscuit Co. serves biscuit waffles, griddle cakes, dropped biscuits and “Knife and Fork Sammies” (huge, saucy sandwiches dripping in condiments and cheese). The star dish is Semper Fi, a fried egg, crispy bacon, Cheddar and aioli in a biscuit bun.

Super casual soul food takeout joint GrannyWeavs keeps it simple – it offers party wings, chicken combos, brisket, ribs, fried catfish and multiple dessert options. Customers say the meats are always cooked well, the fried chicken is next level, the catfish is outstanding, the greens great and the sweet potato pie phenomenal.

Everything is prepared to order at EllaEm’s Soul Food so expect to wait, but for those who can be patient, the rewards are great. Wow-worthy mains include slow-cooked oxtails served swimming in gravy, beef meatloaf smothered in tomato sauce, golden fried shrimp so well-seasoned it will make your mouth tingle and tender slices of grilled liver with sautéed onions.

A fun location for an evening out at a proudly gay and Black-owned business, Madear’s Southern Eatery & Bakery offers small plates and strong cocktails. Expect crab balls, catfish and slaw, burnt pig and a seriously spicy crawfish étouffée (a Cajun and Creole dish of shellfish, vegetables and tomato broth over rice). It is currently closed, but plans to reopen in February.

Want healthy comfort food? Homey restaurant Vonda’s Kitchen has an all-day breakfast menu featuring spinach and ricotta pancakes and silver dollar pancakes with berries and maple cream which customers love. Meanwhile, classic Southern dishes such as fried chicken, fried catfish and mac ‘n’ cheese are made with fresh, local, organic ingredients. The prices are great too.

If you’re a fan of chicken and waffles, there’s no better place than Frank’s Famous Chicken & Waffles which featured on Food Network's Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives. Customers love pairing its Pecan & Bacon Waffles with its perfectly seasoned fried chicken. It's not all about the chicken though: the fried catfish, fried gherkins and sweet tea and Kool-Aid mason jars are also worth a try.

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The best jerk chicken and barbecued ribs can be found at small takeout joint Taste of Heaven in Brooklyn. Customers rave about how moist the meat is and how it just slips off the bone. Dinners are served with two sides, including mac 'n' cheese and collard greens, and cornbread. While you’re there, check out the dessert options which include German chocolate cake and key lime cheesecake. Get your order to go as there are only a few small tables.

When the Morrison family moved to Charlotte, they couldn’t find soul food, so set up Nana Morrison’s Soul Food to fill the gap. Customers comment on how well-seasoned and crunchy the skin is on the fried chicken. They also compliment the sweet yams, moist cornbread, collard greens and mac ‘n’ cheese. 

The Fish and Chicken Shack serves exactly what you'd expect. From the sea there’s catfish, perch, tilapia, walleye and shrimp. Land options include chicken wings, chicken sandwiches and gizzards. The breading and seasoning receive praise from customers, along with the hush puppies.

A cornerstone in its Cincinnati neighbourhood, Rasheedah’s Cafe has been serving halal soul food to customers since 1993. From the fried chicken to the salmon croquettes and cornbread, everything is said to be phenomenal. Plus you get so much for what you pay, and it comes out quickly, even during busy times.

This is the second restaurant from the family that opened Wanda J’s Next Generation Restaurant and the now-closed Wanda J’s Soul Food Kitchen. Evelyn’s Soul Food has healthy options such as baked turkey and grilled chicken breast, as well as classic comfort food dishes such as fried chicken and fried pork chop. Looking for some veg? Okra and tomatoes is the side dish you should order.

Quality food at an affordable price is the motto at Riptz City Eats, a restaurant worth visiting for owner Ron T's famous hospitality alone. Its star dish is bone-in wings which are fried then tossed in lemon pepper sauce. All the sides are great – buttery cabbage, sweet honey cornbread, collard greens, red beans and rice and mac ‘n’ cheese. 

Set up by retired caseworker William Coleman, Mississippi Chicken Shack serves the best fried chicken around, according to satisfied customers. Choose what kind of meat you want out of leg, thigh, breast and wing, plus two musically-named side dishes. We like the sound of “Tina Turner” Mashed Potatoes with “Rolling on the River” Gravy. A piece of cornbread is thrown in for free.

Grab a table at the bar at hip and lively restaurant Kin Southern Table + Bar and you’ll be in for a good evening. Light and buttery biscuits come served with honey butter, fried green tomatoes are accompanied by buttermilk ranch and collard greens are cooked with smoked turkey. Be careful to save room for dessert – the beignets served piping hot with chocolate dip are unmissable.

You can’t miss soul food and seafood joint Hannibal’s Kitchen, thanks to the big orange building it’s located in. Inside, the walls are covered in photos of the Huger family who have run the restaurant since 1985. It’s famous for its crab and shrimp rice which is packed with protein and flavour. The pork chop with red rice is also worth a look in.

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Now-closed Southern restaurant O’ So Good is sorely missed by customers. However, the soul food chef behind it, Omar Thornton, whose cheesy shrimp plate once appeared on Food Network's Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives, can now be found at Leonardo’s Café at the Washington Pavilion. It regularly offers specials such as pork mac ‘n’ cheese, smothered chicken, collard greens and jambalaya.

It’s worth the trip to Dandgure’s Classic Southern Cooking just outside downtown Nashville – you’ll spot the mural when you’re close. Chef Dandgure “Dan” Robinson has been dishing up soul food in that spot since 1991. Known as, “that place on the corner” or simply “Dan’s”, people flock there for homely comfort food served with a smile. Make sure you’re hungry and try the meat and three sides while sipping on a refreshing glass of lemonade. And of course, save room for the excellent peach cobbler.

Husband-and-wife team Kevin and Yvonne are the brains behind barbecue and soul food joint Fowler’s Smokin Soul Food, and customers can’t get enough of them. Check out the homemade sausages, perfect pork ribs and fried catfish which is so full of flavour it doesn’t need any sauce. Out of the side dishes, the collard greens and green beans get the most praise.

We have Chef Julius’ grandma to thank for the talent at Sauce Boss Southern Kitchen. He learnt the cooking basics from her from a young age. Start with the fried green tomatoes with pickled okra and ranch dressing. Follow them up with fried chicken with maple hot sauce or the catfish. Both options come with two sides and cornbread. Customers say the portions and prices are great.

An unusual concept, Harmony’s Kitchen is a pop-up takeout joint that’s only open on Sunday. The menu is limited, but with options such as honey-glazed chicken wings with baked mac ‘n’ cheese, green beans and honey butter-glazed cornbread, what more do you need? Customers who have dined here swear they will be returning visitors.

Located in the historic Farmers Market building in the heart of Old Town Petersburg, Croaker’s Spot is a seafood and soul restaurant. It’s famous for its Eggleston Fried Fish Boat featuring golden brown fillets of fish, sautéed green peppers and onion, red potatoes, cornbread and a tomato sauce with a kick. It has another restaurant in St. Petersburg too.

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You know a place serves good soul food when it ticks boxes for its Southern visitors. At Simply Soulful, the breakfast menu is where it’s at. It offers a Big Biscuit Sandwich stuffed with egg, cheese and meat, shrimp and grits and chicken and cornbread waffles. The sweet potato pie is made following a recipe passed down generations from Elizabeth Hammond, who is fondly known as “Mama”.

Groovy interiors aren’t the only thing soul food restaurant Sumthin’ Good Soul Food possesses. It also serves excellent chunky pork butt in sweet and tangy sauce, “out-of-this-world” fried cabbage, well-seasoned collard greens and delicately sweet cornbread.

There are only good reviews about family-owned Daddy’s Soul Food & Grille. Customers comment on the friendly staff as much as the delicious food. Every day, you can get fried and baked chicken, catfish, and sides such as smoked turkey greens, sweet potatoes and baked mac ‘n’ cheese. There’s also a rotating menu with spaghetti and salmon croquettes.

The only soul food restaurant in Wyoming, Simply Soul shut down in 2018. Now the only remaining Black-owned business is Nay & Jays food truck. Here you can get your fried chicken fix, along with beef hot dogs, burgers, fries and tater tots. Customers can’t fault the service or food.

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