Soul food and Southern cooking are central to Charlotte's identity, from gospel brunch tables to modern reinterpretations. Mert's Heart and Soul keeps the classic Uptown tradition on North College Street, Leah and Louise reworks the form in West Charlotte, and Supperland turns a modern-Southern menu out of a converted Plaza Midwood church.
Soul Food restaurants in Charlotte
12 soul food places in Charlotte we have eaten in, sorted by editor score. All cuisines in Charlotte · Soul Food across every city.
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Supperland
- ★ 4.7
- $$$
- Plaza Midwood
Order Whatever is coming off the open hearth and a cocktail from Colleen Hughes's list.
Jeff Tonidandel and Jamie Brown's Supperland in Plaza Midwood is a Michelin-recommended Southern dining room set inside a converted 1950s church.
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Haberdish
Order The fried-chicken plate with biscuits and pimento cheese.
Haberdish on N Davidson is the NoDa mill-town Southern kitchen from Jeff Tonidandel and Jamie Brown, with a craft-cocktail bar built into the room.
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The Goodyear House
Order The hush puppies to start and the hot-honey chicken for a main.
The Goodyear House on N Davidson Street sets Southern cooking from Food Network champion Chris Coleman inside a historic early-1900s NoDa mill home.
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Leah and Louise
- ★ 4.6
- $$$
- West Charlotte
Order The hot tamale and the catfish plate; the Mississippi River Valley dishes that built the menu.
Greg and Subrina Collier's Leah and Louise is the Memphis juke-joint Southern kitchen that left Camp North End in 2024 for a larger home in west Charlotte.
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Haberdish
Order The fried-chicken plate with biscuits and pimento cheese.
Haberdish on N Davidson is Jeff Tonidandel and Jamie Brown's mill-town Southern kitchen and craft-cocktail bar in NoDa, with brunch Tuesday to Sunday.
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The Goodyear House
Order The hush puppies to start and the hot-honey chicken for a main.
The Goodyear House on N Davidson is a Chris Coleman Southern dining room set inside a historic 1900s mill home, with a wood-fired hearth in NoDa.
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Mert's Heart and Soul
- ★ 4.3
- $$
- Uptown
Order Fried chicken, collards and the mac and cheese; the canonical Mert's plate.
Mert's Heart and Soul on N College Street is uptown Charlotte's longest-running soul food room, with a fried-chicken-and-collards plate that draws a crowd.
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Leah and Louise
- ★ 4.6
- $$$
- West Charlotte
Order The hot tamale and the catfish plate; the Mississippi River Valley dishes that built the menu.
Greg and Subrina Collier's Leah and Louise is the Memphis juke-joint Southern kitchen that left Camp North End in 2024 for a new home in Charlotte's west end.
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Supperland
- ★ 4.6
- $$$$
- Plaza Midwood
Order Whatever is coming off the open hearth and a cocktail from Colleen Hughes's list.
Supperland in Plaza Midwood is a Michelin-recommended modern Southern room set inside a converted 1950s church, with hearth cooking and a cocktail list.
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Lupie's Cafe
- ★ 4.1
- $
- Plaza Midwood
Try Chili and daily specials
Lupie's Cafe on Monroe Road in Plaza Midwood is the Charlotte comfort-food institution since 1987, with chili plates, daily specials and a strict.
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Mert's Heart and Soul
- ★ 4.3
- $
- Uptown
Try Fried chicken plate with two sides
Mert's Heart and Soul on N College Street is the uptown soul-food room with a fried-chicken-and-sides lunch plate around $14, the budget anchor of the uptown.