Soul Food in Dallas

200 S. Main St. Cedar Hill

469-272-4500

American, Soul Food, Recommended, Best Of, Menu, Readers' Choice

The small menu here reflects the predominantly fried All-Stars of Texan and Southern cuisine. There's fried chicken and chicken-fried steak, natch. There's fried catfish and pot roast. There's fried chicken tenders and smoked chicken. That's the entire selection of main dishes at Babe's Chicken Dinner House. No joke. And that's a relief to see in a market chock-full of Southern/soul food shops slinging what seems like infinite permutations on the fried. The selection of side dishes (gravy, mashed potatoes, sweet corn and green beans) and desserts (pineapple upside-down cake) is similarly tiny. But what's not tiny? The portions. They're served in true down-home style, with helpings as large as the elastic-waistband pants needed to eat at Paul Vinyard's 11,000 square-foot homage to poultry.

10 articles

Babe's Chicken Dinner House

120 S. Main St., Burleson South Fort Worth Suburbs

817-447-3400

American, Soul Food, Southern, Traditional, Recommended, Best Of, Menu, Readers' Choice

The small menu here reflects the predominantly fried All-Stars of Texan and Southern cuisine. There's fried chicken and chicken-fried steak, natch. There's fried catfish and pot roast. There's fried chicken tenders and smoked chicken. That's the entire selection of main dishes at Babe's Chicken Dinner House. No joke. And that's a relief to see in a market chock-full of Southern/soul food shops slinging what seems like infinite permutations on the fried. The selection of side dishes (gravy, mashed potatoes, sweet corn and green beans) and desserts (pineapple upside-down cake) is similarly tiny. But what's not tiny? The portions. They're served in true down-home style, with helpings as large as the elastic-waistband pants needed to eat at Paul Vinyard's 11,000 square-foot homage to poultry.

7 articles

Buttons Jazz Cafe

209 E. Pleasant Run Rd., De Soto Duncanville/DeSoto

972-223-5800

Soul Food, Southern, Bars and Clubs, Coffee Shops, Music Venues

The trays on the waitresses’ arms at Buttons Jazz Café in Desoto are filled with neon blue and red cocktails as they pass through a crowd of well-dressed patrons on a Thursday night. While the dinner rush has come and gone, there are still food orders being placed in front of patrons, but everyone is there for one reason. A popular jazz band performs on the high stage that sits on the back wall directly behind the bar. And though the place is set up like a proper chain restaurant (there are other Buttons locations in Fort Worth and Addison), it doesn’t stop people from scooting the tables out of the way so they can cut a rug.

Chicken Scratch

2303 Pittman St. Oak Cliff/South Dallas

214-749-1112

Fried Chicken, Soul Food, Southern, Critics' Pick, Menu

You could almost pretend you're in your friend's backyard when you're hanging out here. The east side of the courtyard is framed by the two buildings that house the restaurant and bar. To the west, shipping containers that once sat stacked on railcars have been reinvented as furnished front porches. To the north is an open-sided building with a few more tables and a setup for games. To the south is Dallas' most attractive outdoor stage, built from wooden shipping pallets stacked into a cascading rounded giant that drunkenly leans to the side. The four sides frame what might be Dallas' coolest outdoor space, serving food that would be at home at any picnic, and lots of beer. Fried chicken boasts spotty skin that can't stay put, but is big on flavor. Wood-roasted chicken tinged with subtle smoke comes draped in tangy barbecue sauce. Sides are decent across the board. Paired with a beer from the Foundry (or seven) you'll have the makings of a fine afternoon picnic.

10 articles

Daq & Mag Daiquiri's

3431 W Camp Wisdom Rd Duncanville/DeSoto

Soul Food, Best Of

1 article

Eden

4416 W. Lovers Lane Park Cities

972-267-3336

American, Bakery, Burgers, Creole, Deli, Fine Dining, Sandwiches, Seafood, Soul Food, Southern, Menu

Goldmine Family Restaurant

3127 S. 1st St. Garland & Vicinity

972-840-1337

American, Soul Food, Southern, Best Of

The Goldmine Family Restaurant is the epitome of a greasy spoon: cheap breakfasts, worn-out booths, waitresses who will probably call you “honey,” plenty of elderly regulars nursing their sixth cup of coffee. Biscuits are fluffy, bacon is crisp and you will definitely never bear witness to the bottom of your coffee cup. Unlike many restaurants of its type, the Goldmine is open for dinner, serving up plenty of home-cooking staples such as chicken-fried steak, burgers, fried okra, onion rings and your standard cooked-to-death vegetables, just like grandma used to make. Weekend-goers may discover treasures like all-you-can-eat catfish or even crawfish.

1 article

Hattie's

418 N. Bishop Ave. Oak Cliff/South Dallas

214-942-7400

Soul Food, Southern, Recommended, Best Of

If consistency is your thing, you’re probably going to like Hattie’s. The Bishop Arts District Restaurant with a Southern menu has been cooking up shrimp and grits in Oak Cliff for 20 years now and not a whole lot has changed since it first opened. The dining room is white, bright and full of light, and the staff that fills the place is always polite and professional. When Hattie’s first opened, it was a big enough draw to get Park Cities diners to venture across the dinner to dine. Two decades later, the restaurant is still a Dallas favorite.

9 articles

Henderson Chicken

8266 Abrams Rd. Northeast Dallas

214-340-6191

Soul Food, Southern, Best Of

2 articles

Henderson Chicken

3103 Al Lipscomb Way Oak Cliff/South Dallas

214-238-2775

Soul Food, Southern, Best Of

1 article

Henderson Chicken

4121 N. Westmoreland Rd. West Dallas

214-421-1777

Soul Food, Southern, Best Of

1 article

Kitchen and Kocktails

1933 Elm St. Downtown/Deep Ellum

469-472-5445

Soul Food, American, Best Of, Essentials

The menu at Kitchen + Kocktails is packed with comfort food staples like Southern-fried catfish, shrimp and grits, and crispy fried green tomatoes. But don't sleep on the lamb chops here, or the blackened-shrimp-topped deviled eggs, both of which are on a budget-friendly happy hour menu. There’s also an impressive cocktail game: Try the smooth — and powerful — D’usse, a frozen peach concoction topped with a healthy dose of D’usse Cognac. On the weekends they run a clinic: How to Brunch. Pull out those nice heels you'd been saving, make reservations and buckle up.

Top Pick: The oxtail here is epic. The seasoning is on point but more important the meat slides right off the bone with a gentle tug of a fork.

3 articles

Mama's Daughter's Diner

2014 Irving Blvd. Downtown/Deep Ellum

214-742-8646

American, Soul Food, Southern, Best Of, Menu

If the name didn't clue you in, Mama's is all in the family-a large family, with five offspring (by which we mean locations). From the beginning nearly 40 years ago, Mama has done things the hard way (i.e., from scratch). Home-cooked favorites include meat loaf, chicken and dumplings as well as the obligatory chicken-fried steak matched by classic Southern sides like turnip greens and candied yams, just to name a few. If you're not weighed down by all the fried goodness, enjoy a litany of pies, ice box and otherwise, for dessert.

10 articles

Savorite Southern Cuisine

2400 K Ave., Suite B Plano

Soul Food

The locally-owned soul food kitchen was featured on HBO's Hard Knocks, when a Dallas Cowboy revealed it as his favorite restaurant. Here, the sides are the star of the show. Don't pass on the thick and creamy macaroni and cheese or the sweet yams. Mashed potatoes are blessed with a liberal amount of dark brown gravy. Mains include fried chicken (white or dark), catfish, shrimp, pork chops and wings and waffles. At the time, Fall 2021, the dining room was closed. Check their website for updates.

1 article

Soulful Street Bites

16601 Addison Rd suite 106 Addison

214-613-2119

Soul Food

Soulful Street Bites specializes in soul food imbued with some New Orleans-inspired flavors and attitude along with some smokehouse barbecue. Frequent daily specials are dishes like chicken tetrazzini, red beans and rice with sausage and, on Sundays, oxtails with gravy and rice. The signature dish is a bowl of brisket mac and cheese, in large or mini sizes: homemade mac and cheese topped with fall-apart-tender smoked brisket, cornbread crumbles and a drizzle of barbecue sauce. Decadent, rich and satisfying.

South Dallas Cafe

7035 Marvin D. Love Freeway Oak Cliff/South Dallas

214-337-9200

Soul Food

Although this is not the original location, South Dallas Café has been the standard for soul food in Dallas. For almost 25 years, the Price family has been serving some of the best southern comfort food this side of the Mason-Dixon. Here you can enjoy soul food favorites like oxtail, smothered pork chops, collard greens, cornbread, and even barbecue. You'll want to go here to experience the magic of soul food cooking. Get a large glass of that sweet nectar we all grew up with, Kool-aid. Be sure to check the menu before you visit, because the food items offered vary throughout the week. Save room for dessert. The peach cobbler slaps!

2 articles

Sweet Georgia Brown Bar-B-Que

2840 E. Ledbetter Dr. Oak Cliff/South Dallas

214-375-2020

Barbecue, Soul Food, Recommended, Best Of

Sweet Georgia Brown could easily be overlooked among the surrounding Family Dollars and pawn shops, but when the soul food mecca is called "the pride of South Dallas" (it's actually in South Oak Cliff), it's not the appearance they're talking about. It's the unbelievable food: melt-in-your-mouth ribs; crispy, greasy fried chicken; buttery sweet potatoes; and macaroni and cheese that you'll have dreams about. The dining room is Spartan and ill-lit, but the staff is friendly, and the buffet service keeps the inevitable line moving briskly--although once you've tasted the goods, any wait at all seems like an eternity.

4 articles

Tha Neighborhood Kitchen

4705 Yancy St. Oak Cliff/South Dallas

469-399-0144

Soul Food, Recommended

This tiny restaurant (take-out only) in Joppa is serving some of the best home cooked and soul food plates in Dallas. Get the smothered pork chops, which will likely be the best you ever had. Even though these are billed as "smothered," the crisp crust encasing each thick chop is perfectly seasoned. Two big chops come to a plate topped with thick slices of onion and a light brown gravy; it was nothing heavy and chalky, but an almost-clear broth brown gravy. For the sides on this plate, you can't go wrong with any of them bu tthe macaroni and cheese stood out and the vegetables are crisp. Check Facebook for the weekly menu updates: https://www.facebook.com/Thaneighborhoodkitchen1

1 article

Soul Food in Dallas

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