13 Terrific Black-Owned Soul Food Spots Around ATL
Editor’s Note: This article was first published October 9, 2020 and last updated February 8, 2024.
Nourish your soul with some phenomenal soul food that tastes just like your mama made it. Get cozy with some delicious soul food from some of Atlanta’s most outstanding chefs and restaurateurs! Restaurants listed below in alphabetical order.
1. Big Daddy’s Kitchen
Multiple Locations
For excellent oxtails, perfectly sweet yams, and delicious turkey wings, Big Daddy’s Kitchen is just the place. With locations in College Park, Decatur, and on Campbellton Rd. in Southwest Atlanta!
2. Busy Bee Cafe
A true Atlanta institution! Busy Bee was founded in 1947 at the height of the segregation era by self-taught cook, Lucy Jackson and is still Black-owned today by restaurateur Tracy Gates. Find this gem on Memorial Drive, just a short drive from Mercedes-Benz stadium. Order up some candied yams and finish your meal with their “ol’ fashioned banana puddin’.”
3. Delilah’s Everyday Soul
1235 Chattahoochee Ave NW, Atlanta, GA 30318
This soul food spot at the Chattahoochee Food Works specializes in fried chicken, and boy do they do it well! Dig into their fried chicken po boy, their chicken & waffle, mac and cheese, cornbread, and collard greens.
4. K&K Soul Food
881 Donald Lee Hollowell Pkwy NW, Atlanta, GA 30318
Pull up to the counter to order up some deliciousness on a plate. This no frills spot is serving up delicious soul food at breakfast, lunch, and dinner–and has been for over 40 years. Try the cheese grits, gorge on fried chicken, and dig into some cornbread at K&K Soul Food. Available for delivery on Grubhub!
5. Old Lady Gang Southern Cuisine
177 Peters St SW, Atlanta, GA 30313
No scrubs to be found, only great eats at Old Lady Gang. “The Real Housewives of Atlanta” star, businesswoman, and “The Masked Singer” winner Kandi Burruss grew up in a family where cooking was a HUGE part of growing up. She opened up Old Lady Gang to share the family recipes she grew up with to Atlanta diners. Expect *lots* of butter and amazing fried catfish!
6. Paschal’s
180 Northside Dr SW, Atlanta, GA 30313
Paschal’s, nestled in Castleberry Hills, has been an Atlanta staple for soul food for over six decades. The prices are super reasonable, and the fried chicken hits the spot every time. The takeout system makes it easy to order all time.
7. R C’s Southern Cooking
1516 Roswell Rd Marietta, GA 30062
Dig into a fried porkchop, some collard greens, fresh fried whiting, turkey wings, and banana pudding at this no frills Southern spot in Marietta. Come hungry!
8. Roc South Cuisine
3009 Buford Hwy NE, Brookhaven, GA 30329
This Buford Highway spot has all the good stuff. Collard greens, mac and cheese, oxtails, catfish, and grits. Plus the vibes are unbeatable, especially at brunch! It’s soul food right on Buford Highway!
9. Soul Vegetarian
Multiple Locations
Giving up the soul food you might have grown up with is difficult, but thanks to Soul Vegetarian, you can still get the same tastes from your childhood even if you’ve gone vegetarian. The portions are super generous, and the vegan mac and cheese and cornbread is delicious! Locations on Highland Avenue and Ralph David Abernathy Blvd.
10. SoulBox
1017 Fair St Atlanta, GA 30314
11. Southern Fire Kitchen
3375 Buford Hwy NE Unit 1050. Brookhaven, GA 30329
Buford Highway has all the good spots, and now there’s an excellent, reasonably priced soul food and Southern spot you can enjoy. Think mac & cheese, fried chicken, yams. Get the fried lobster bites!
12. Twisted Soul Cookhouse & Pours
Fried green tomatoes, bourbon caramel wings, and a bread basket with sweet potato biscuit and southern style corn bread are just some of the menu highlights at this excellent Blandtown/Westside spot from Chef Deborah VanTrece. It’s soul food and Southern food, but a bit more upscale and very creative. The fried chicken plate is a crowd pleaser and may very well be our favorite in all of Atlanta, with a GENEROUS portion of chicken, tasty collard greens, and a helping of three cheese mac and cheese, too.
13. Who’s Got Soul
Multiple Locations
Turkey wings. Candied yams. Peach cobbler. Who’s Got Soul has it all! You’ll come back again and again for their catfish feast and affordably priced eats, just like your mom used to make it. This Chef Keith Kash spot never misses. Locations in Lawrenceville, Decatur, and Duluth.
