Southern in Phoenix

Since 1989, Baby Kay's Cajun Kitchen has been serving the Valley — more recently, the people of Dobson Ranch in Mesa — some decently authentic Cajun food. Think boudin balls, gumbo by the cup or bowl, and shrimp etouffee. The restaurant also offers regional sides like the red beans and rice, jambalaya, and dirty rice, a fiery combo of rice mixed with seasoned ground beef, spicy pork sausage, and veggies. And if you’re trying to keep it light, they’ve got an array of salads including the fried catfish salad, crab and shrimp salad, and the Lagniappe (Cajun for "a little something extra").

6 articles

Bobby C's Lounge & Grille

1140 E. Washington St. Central Phoenix

602-252-2273

Soul Food, Southern, Bars and Clubs, Music Venues, Recommended, Menu

Small, slightly upscale bar and restaurant specializing in soul food, and especially catfish. Great place to hang, and enjoy a cocktail or even just a glass of grape Kool-Aid with your catfish nuggets or smothered pork chops. There are superb desserts such as red velvet cake, banana pudding, and peach cobbler. The clientele, mostly African-American businessmen and women winding down after work with a cocktail, are often found swaying to the smooth beats of live jazz or soul artists performing at the restaurant throughout the week. Local DJs also spin R&B and Motown hits from every decade on Fridays and Saturdays. Downtown holds so many undiscovered treasures, and BC's is definitely one.

5 articles

Boston's The Gourmet Pizza

1026 S. Gilbert Rd. Gilbert

480-813-9223

American, Barbecue, Burgers, Dessert, Italian, Pizza, Soul Food, Southern, Wine Bar, Music Venues, Menu

CC's on Central

2800 N. Central Ave. Central Phoenix

602-253-9220

Soul Food, Southern, Best Of, Essentials

Don’t spend too much time trying to categorize CC’s on Central. Whether you call it Southern, Creole or soul food (or, more accurately, all three) matters a whole lot less than the fact that it tastes really, really good. Mother and son Sharon and Devan Cunningham have roots in Louisiana and Mississippi, and it shows in dishes such as the gloriously light and bright shrimp étouffée, informed by tradition but not beholden to it. The duo's beef debris — stewed until tender and rich with just a touch of sourness — is outstanding when ladled over smooth, creamy grits. Excellent renditions of breakfast basics share menu space with wild concoctions such as Hong Kong-style praline French toast spiced with cardamom and fennel. You can get some knockout fried catfish on Fridays, Devan’s bizarre and wildly delicious wings on Wednesdays and Sharon’s soul food on the first Sunday of the month, not to mention whatever they feel like featuring on any given day. But whatever you get, it’s guaranteed to be good.

1 article

Charlie D's Catfish & Chicken

1153 E. Jefferson St. Central Phoenix

Comfort Foods, Southern

1 article

Da’Bayou Creole Kitchen

313 N. Gilbert Rd., #100 Gilbert

480-704-3405

Cajun/Creole, Southern

Da’Bayou Creole Kitchen plates and bowls items like seafood and okra gumbo, gator po’boys, muffuletta, shrimp baskets, grilled redfish, and the Fish Ponchartrain entrée. The new Creole cuisine restaurant also offers a brunch menu with orders like the Voodoo Benny and the Breakfast Bread Puddin', but you should definitely be eyeing the Brunch Beignets.

3 articles

Downtown Sports Grill

3 S. 2nd St. Central Phoenix

602-307-5825

American, Burgers, Grill, New American, Soul Food, Southern, Bars and Clubs, Menu

We think baseball paraphernalia and cheap burgers when someone mentions "sports bar," but not at this fun and classy place. Dark wood paneling, leather booths, soft lighting and comfort-food menu items like grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato-basil soup make us forget every dive we've ever eaten in, whenever we visit the former Stoudemire's Downtown. Weekly dance parties blow with hip-hop tunes and celeb deejays spinning cool new mixes, but we go for the tasty potato skins and the impressive wine list. Score!

Evan's on Van Buren

1714 W. Van Buren St. Central Phoenix

602-730-2819

American, Southern

Ezekiel's Restaurant

4825 E. Warner Rd. Ahwatukee

480-785-4886

Soul Food, Southern, American, Recommended, Slideshow

Ezekiel’s Restaurant is a small, mom-and-pop restaurant in Ahwatukee that specializes in traditional, Southern-style soul food. Fried chicken is always on the menu here, and it’s excellent: crispy, craggy, and moist, delivered hot and fresh out of the fryer. Fried seafood options include a tilapia dinner, the two large filets fried in a light, sandy crust, the crispy exterior giving way to the sweet, fleshy fish inside. Most lunch and dinner options come with sides, which include collard greens, seasoned cabbage, baked beans, and a winning homemade mac ‘n' cheese.

4 articles

French Grocery

5345 N. 7th Ave. Central Phoenix

602-277-0101

Bakery, Creole, French, Soul Food, Southern, Recommended, Best Of, Slideshow

This market/café comes to the Valley courtesy of Kevin Lentz, a Phoenix transplant who grew up in the South and learned to cook in New Orleans. The restaurant's name was inspired by the small neighborhood groceries and cafés that served homemade food around where Lentz grew up. French Grocery offers a variety of baked goods and sweets including croissants, beignets, brioche, cinnamon rolls, baguettes, Southern cornbread, buttermilk biscuits, madeleines, French macarons, crème brûlée and pot de crème as well as French press coffee and espresso. Read our review.

27 articles

Grassroots Kitchen and Tap

2119 E. Camelback Rd. East Phoenix

602-368-8766

Southern, Contemporary, Menu

A kind of Houston’s-meets-neighborhood hangout, this pleasant North Scottsdale restaurant serves up American dishes put together with market vegetables, fresh meat and seafood, and ingredients like spicy tomato jam, sweet hickory sauce, and crunchy breads. Start with the creamy burrata then move on to dishes like superb broiled rainbow trout, Topher’s Braised Short Ribs, and New Orleans-inspired creations such as the shrimp po’ boy and blackened red fish. A nice listing of beer, wine, and cocktails ensure the food has good company.

10 articles

High & Rye

5310 E. High St., #100 North Phoenix

Southern, Barbecue

Hot N Juicy Crawfish

6751 N. Sunset Blvd. Glendale

623-872-2984

Seafood, Southern, Menu, Readers' Choice

This Las Vegas-based restaurant chain offers Cajun-style, super-fresh seafood at market prices. In a small bar, a pair of dining rooms, and a wide outdoor patio, diners eat shellfish by the bagful -- pounds of it, surprisingly fresh and seasoned with flavors of chili and celery salt and big notes of Cajun spice. You choose from one of four sauces and different levels of spiciness, and shellfish comes to you shell-on in plastic bags, having been doused with the high-flavor sauce and spices you chose. Chicken dishes and spicy sausage are available for folks who aren’t so sea-going.

4 articles

Karim's Cobbler Shop & Deli

333 E. Jefferson St. Central Phoenix

602-257-1801

Deli, Dessert, Soul Food, Southern, Recommended, Menu

It's a cheap thrill - we can't spend more than $8, and that for a three-piece catfish plate with jumbo slabs served moist and mild in crisp cornmeal, along with plump fries and wheat toast. There's great fried chicken, gumbo, red beans and rice, and decadent homemade fruit cobbler, too.

2 articles

LA Crab Shack

1948 W. Broadway Rd. Mesa

480-659-7922

Seafood, Southern

1 article

The Larder + The Delta

915 N. Central Ave. Central Phoenix

909-379-4816

Southern, Recommended, Slideshow

The Larder + The Delta, a Southern-inspired food stand inside downtown Phoenix’s DeSoto Central Market, puts a modern twist on comfort food dishes like Hoppin’ John and biscuits and gravy. You won’t want to miss the Buffalo-style cauliflower, which is lightly fried in a delicious blue cheese and hot sauce blend. The crispy pig ears, dusted with Cheetos, are chewy, fatty and irresistibly good. Executive chef Stephen Jones’ fine-dining pedigree shines through in dinner plates like the KFQ, or Kentucky fried quail, a perfectly deep-fried bird served with a helping of red bean and sausage gravy and a buttery foie gras biscuit.

10 articles

Lo Lo's Chicken & Waffles

10 W. Yuma St. Central Phoenix

602-340-1304

Breakfast/Brunch, Soul Food, Southern, Critics' Pick, Menu

Fried chicken simply doesn't get any better than this, unless it's paired with waffles. Everything on the soul food menu is homemade and completely addictive, with luscious catfish, red snapper, omelets, greens, mac 'n' cheese, and red velvet cake. Leave the diet at the door.

28 articles

Monroe's Hot Chicken

45 W. Jefferson St. Downtown Phoenix

602-872-7100

Hot Chicken, Southern, Best Of, Menu

6 articles

Monroe's Hot Chicken

430 N. Scottsdale Rd. Tempe

480-687-0007

Hot Chicken, Southern, Menu

Mr Claws

1130 W. Grove Ave., #111 Mesa

480-955-1883

Cajun/Creole, Southern

2 articles

Mrs. White's Golden Rule Cafe

808 E. Jefferson St. Downtown Phoenix

602-262-9256

Southern, Soul Food, American, Critics' Pick, Best Of, Slideshow

Walking up to Mrs. White's Golden Rule Café, you can't, for a second, tell if you're in present-day Phoenix or the first act of a decades-old film. Inside and outside, this place is a throwback, from the painted-on sign to the tight wooden booths and lunch counter. The fantasy extends to the menu; Mrs. White's (named for founder Elizabeth White) serves utterly timeless Southern food. The writing on the wall — literally — informs you this 58-year-old restaurant is where you'll find one of Phoenix's most famous Southern dishes: the golden brown Southern fried chicken (with suggested sides of cabbage and black-eyed peas). You'll find other homestyle staples here that are relatively rare in Arizona, like fried catfish (tartar sauce not needed), red beans, and cobblers. No worries if you live or work nowhere near the little yellow luncheonette. Mrs. White has spinoffs everywhere, including her grandson, Larry "Lo-Lo" White's spot, Lo-Lo's Chicken & Waffles. Seating is limited inside. Takeout is available, as is delivery via DoorDash.

46 articles

Okra

5813 N. 7th St. Central Phoenix

602-296-4147

Southern, Best Of, Slideshow

Okra Cookhouse & Cocktails is the sophomore effort from Chef Cullen Campbell, wife and co-owner Maureen McGrath-Campbell and co-owner/mixologist Micah Olson, the team behind Phoenix’s beloved Crudo. The menu delivers modern updates of classic Southern dishes, with the occasional Italian flair. Small plate highlights include the fried chicken skins, crispy bites slathered in an irresistibly good honey hot sauce, along with country ham served with a pimento cheese and fresh-off-the-griddle hoe cakes. Catfish al arrosto is a stunningly good entrée, the sweet and fleshy fish served atop a savory bowl of okra succotash. The bar menu specializes in southern standards, including several versions of the classic mint julep. And while there’s no pastry chef in the kitchen, you would be wise to stick around for the house dessert, a canned biscuit doughnut topped with salted caramel.

21 articles

Rhema Soul Cuisine

1153 E. Jefferson St., #1 Central Phoenix

480-987-1460

Soul Food, Southern, Barbecue, Best Of, Menu

Rhema Soul Cuisine is a Queen Creek original: a soul food café with an eclectic menu of Southern-style specialties like chicken and waffle, barbecue, Southern sides, and house originals like the “Brorito,” which is a sort of soul food take on the burrito. Mostly, you’ll want to come for the barbecue, which is first-rate, especially the St. Louis-style ribs and chopped pork, which are cooked slowly all morning over pecan wood. Still, it’s almost impossible to leave without trying the chicken and Red Velvet waffle special, featuring an exceptionally juicy serving of boneless chicken. The classic Southern pairing achieves something close to peak perfection in the Rhema Soul Cuisine kitchen.

2 articles

The Root and Soul

801 N. Third St., Scottsdale Central Phoenix

Southern, Best Of

3 articles

Smoke Dem Bones BBQ

1650 E. Indian School Rd. East Phoenix

602-595-3302

American, Barbecue, Soul Food, Southern, Best Of

8 articles

Southern Rail

300 W. Camelback Rd. Central Phoenix

602-200-0085

American, Southern, Recommended, Slideshow

Housed in part of The Newton, Southern Rail takes the trend in mashing up fine dining with Mason-Dixon cuisine a step further. The tidy, not-overwhelming menu features dishes tarted up with sausage gravy and sides of cornbread, to be sure, but chef Justin Beckett has finessed classic American dishes with some more subtle Southern influences. A casserole of broccoli, cauliflower, and leeks offers a blissful combination of tender vegetables tossed with tender rice and bound with a creamy smoked onion sauce and sprinkled with the crunch of spiced nuts. Blackened catfish is served cioppino style, glammed up with olives and potatoes and sweet corn. The crispy duck leg confit is superb. Read our review.

59 articles

SugarJam The Southern Kitchen

15111 N. Hayden Road, #170 North Scottsdale

480-948-6210

Brunch, Southern, Soul Food, Best Of, Essentials

If this were a list of the best brunch spots in the Valley, SugarJam A Southern Kitchen would be at the very top. On weekends, this place is a party complete with brunch cocktails and a DJ. But our favorite time to enjoy chef Dana Dumas’ exceptional cooking is during the week. The cafe is a little quieter, and there’s a shorter wait for a table, but the brunch experience is no less delicious. One outstanding dish is the SugarJam French toast. Sure, many brunch spots serve this classic, but none do it like this. Dumas soaks thick slices of challah bread in Grand Marnier, which when cooked, creates a crisp shell almost like a creme brulee. Top the bread with vanilla butter and drizzle on warm rum pecan maple syrup for a decadent bite. Don’t have a sweet tooth? Don’t worry. There are plenty of savory options that will satisfy. Pick from catfish and grits, buttermilk fried chicken and waffles, or applewood smoked pulled pork hash. Make sure to grab a homemade pie on the way out to save for later.

4 articles

The Larder & The Delta

2320 E. Osborn Rd. East Phoenix

602-388-4874

Southern, Contemporary, Slideshow, Essentials

The reincarnation of The Larder & The Delta was one of the most anticipated openings in 2024. Chef and owner Stephen Jones took a gamble in evolving his Southern restaurant into a fine-dining destination serving a 12-course tasting menu in the former Binkley’s Restaurant. Jones’ risk is being rewarded. He was named a James Beard Award semifinalist for Best Chef, Southwest in January — his third nod for his work at The Larder & The Delta. The restaurant launched a decade ago inside a downtown food hall and logged a five-year stint on Portland Street before making the leap to its current space with a new dining format in September. With each iteration, Jones continues to tell the complex story of Southern cuisine. The progressive menu changes regularly, but one constant is how Jones highlights Southern ingredients through exceptional culinary technique and pitch-perfect service. Among the winter menu’s courses, one of the most transfixing was cured, grilled tuna that ate like country ham, with a deft drizzle of red-eye gravy. In addition to the traditional tasting menu format, The Larder & The Delta invites customers into the space in many different ways, including a family-style meal on Wednesdays, service at the bar and occasional brunch.

13 articles

Tuck Shop

2245 N. 12th St. Central Phoenix

602-354-2980

American, Comfort Foods, Soul Food, Southern, Wine Bar, Recommended, Best Of, Menu, Slideshow

Situated in the residential heart of the Coronado District, you won't readily stumble on low-key little Tuck Shop like you would some of the restaurants along Seventh Street, but this place is worth the detour. Owner DJ Fernandes, an architect, revamped the 1950s-era building into a relaxing hideaway that's one part sleek tapas bar and two parts cozy living room. Dig into shareable plates of Southern-influenced fare, like fried chicken, red beans and rice, and mac and cheese with prosciutto, and be sure to order a cocktail -- housemade tonic water, ginger ale, and lemonade go perfectly with top-shelf spirits. Read our review.

39 articles

Welcome Chicken + Donuts

1535 E Buckeye Rd. Central Phoenix

602-258-1655

Breakfast, Dessert, Southern, Recommended, Best Of

Chef Michael Babcock is known for his excellent fried chicken, found every day at his and co-owner Jenn Robinson’s Welcome Diner. Here, the name of the game is that chicken paired with super-crafty artisan donuts. From 8 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. every day, the menu includes a large selection of doughnuts, as well as both hot and cold coffee. Standard cake doughnuts in flavors such as classic and chocolate cake with mole sugar and premium cake doughnut flavors including classic glazed with sprinkles, lemon poppy seed, and cream cheese with blueberry. If you're looking for a raised doughnut, Welcome delivers on that front, too. There are standard classic glazed doughtnuts in addition to a roster of premium including apple fritter; chocolate, rose, and pistachio; apple fritter with cheddar cheese; and banana cream with peanut butter, pecans, and cacao. The meal menu is short and simple: Choose a chicken combo, choose a sauce (three are available), and choose a side. Japanese barbecue wings are a house specialty, but they go fast, so get to Welcome early.

26 articles

Welcome Diner

929 E. Pierce St. Downtown Phoenix

602-495-1111

Southern, New American, Critics' Pick, Best Of, Slideshow, Readers' Choice

Welcome Diner 2.0, now situated at that hot Garfield District intersection at Pierce and 10th streets, doesn't have the same snug charm as its original location a block away. What it does have is a crisp, retro look, marrying its neon pink-and-blue sign with the diner's seating options — which is to say, booths, a wraparound lunch counter, a bar with liquor bottles crawling up the wall, and a massive, usually busy, porch-style patio. Gulf Coast-inspired dishes like jambalaya are big here, as are the classic cocktails. But it's the biscuits people talk about: They're big, pillowy, and have excellent biscuit names like the Bumblebee and Big Jim.

94 articles

Southern in Phoenix

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