There’s no doubt that everyone’s favorite thing about traveling is finding great food places. Or if you live locally, trying new food places. Charlotte, North Carolina is known for its wide variety of restaurants and bars, and they’re mostly known for all the different kinds of soul foods.
Here are our top 10 favorite places to get soul food in Charlotte, NC:
1. Nana Morrison’s Soul Food Kitchen
Known for their different types of chicken, yams, mac and cheese, and greens… well they’re just known for being one of the best food places in Charlotte. It’s hard to find something on their menu that you won’t like!
Why We Like It
We love Nana Morrison’s Soul Food Kitchen because it has a mom-and-pop shop feel to it, and you will always feel welcome here – whether you’re a local or a traveler. The service is always amazing, and let’s be real, the food is out of the world. It’s always fresh and seasoned to perfection!
2. LA’Wan’s Soul Food Restaurant
This restaurant has classic southern entrees such as beef tips, fried fish, and a long list of southern side dishes. This restaurant is a staple in the southern part of Charlotte that most locals love. If you’re taking a trip to Charlotte, this is one place you need to try. Their menu consists of home-style classics such as fried chicken, fish, pork chops, and more.
Why We Like It
This is a staple in most southerner’s food places, including ours. We love how every time you go to La’Wan’s, you get the same quality and service each time. Their prices are affordable and you get large portions, you’ll never finish your meal still feeling hungry! This is true southern soul food!
Related Post: 11 Spots With The Best Fried Chicken In Charlotte
3. Soul Central
If you are looking for a home-cooked southern meal, this is the place for you. Soul Central is located in the heart of Plaza Midwood, and it’s one of the best soul food restaurants in Charlotte. This restaurant offers Caribbean-style food with a southern twist, and they made it into Yelp’s Top 50 Best Places to Eat in Charlotte in 2016.
Why We Like It
We think this is an obvious answer… This is great soul and comfort food. They have a super diverse menu and the food is always amazing. If you are looking for authentic southern food, you NEED to try Soul Kitchen!
4. Mert’s Heart and Soul Restaurant
This restaurant is another staple in southern food places. It offers all the southern foodie favorites fried chicken, collard greens, cornbread, and more. And let’s not forget their dessert menu… their peach cobbler is to die for! Also, it was featured on Guy Fieri’s Diners, Drive-ins & Dives! Guy tried their world-famous Soul Roll, which is an egg roll wrap stuffed with adobo-laced collard greens, black-eyed peas, seasoned rice, and diced fried chicken, which after eating he said “This is a soul food missile pop, with everything combined in one easy-to-eat bite!”
Why We Like It
This restaurant offers a home-cooked meal, but you’re eating out. The vibe inside (pre-covid) was super warm and inviting and there’s not much more that we can say other than its just great soul food!
If you love authentic smoked southern BBQ, this is the place for you! Close to uptown in east Charlotte, Sweet Lew’s BBQ is one of the top BBQ places in the area. With a 450 square foot smokehouse, this is the only true smoker in all of Charlotte. Sweet Lew’s is known for their blend of hickory, pecan, and peach woods that drives their fires to create their award-winning recipes.
Why We Like It
Who doesn’t love some great BBQ? This is hands down our favorite place when we’re in the mood for a BBQ cookout. The way they smoke their meats is unlike any other place in all of Charlotte. This is soul food at it’\s finest and we love the atmosphere here!
6. Haberdish
Sleep Southern-style restaurant that serves southern favorites including fried chicken, okra, and biscuits. The cool thing about this food place is that it’s a home-style restaurant, meaning you don’t order a meal, you order everything individually. You get to pick and choose what you want
to eat which is one thing people love about this place. Haberdish offers a wide range of southern favorites that are locally driven and made fresh daily.
Why We Like It
The main thing we love most about Haberdish is the fact that you can choose exactly what you want to eat. You order each item individually so you can choose all your favorite food items. They offer all of our favorite southern sides, and the quality of the food is top-notch.
One of the best places in Charlotte to get rotisserie chicken! There is nothing fancy about this place, but you feel so welcomed and comfortable while you’re in this place. If you’re hungry but can’t make up your mind about what you want to eat – go here! They offer a wide variety of foods and flavors and you’ll never leave feeling hungry still. They have delicious sides and its great soul food!
Why We Like It
We love coming here because it’s just a welcoming, home-like vibe. It’s a relaxed atmosphere where you can go relax and enjoy some soul food. They have the coolest kind of menu where you choose how much chicken you want, they have a lot of different food choices, and you really can’t beat their prices.
Queen’s soul food offers cafeteria-style dining and serves country-fried chicken along with other soul food staples. Some of their most popular foods are fried chicken, BBQ chicken, ribs, beef, fried fish and so much more!
Why We Like It
We love Queen’s Soul Food because it’s tasty, fresh, quick food. If you’re on a time crunch but want delicious and authentic southern food, this is the place for you! They have a smaller menu but everything is amazing! We love the cafeteria-style dining and we love the atmosphere here, it’s a ‘down-home’ space!
This is a not-for-profit southern-style eatery with an attached bakery and breakfast café. This is a great option if you’re looking for a great breakfast, as well as lunch and dinner.
Why We Like It
What we love most about The King’s Kitchen is that they help to feed the hungry. They also take in people from the streets who are considered to be “unemployable” and give them jobs. They train them in necessary life skills and give them a second chance at life. We love to eat here often because we know that by doing so, we’re helping others.
10. Midnight Diner
This is for all you chicken and waffle lovers out there! Midnight diner is known for their famous chicken and waffles – a southern classic. Not only do they serve amazing breakfast, they do serve lunch and dinner, but they are most known for their breakfast options.
Why We Like It
The south is known for chicken and waffles, and this is the place to get it if you’re in the Charlotte area. If you don’t stop here while in the area, you’re missing out!
When it comes to traveling, let’s all be honest… The food is the best part of any trip. These are our top 10 recommendations of soul food in Charlotte, North Carolina.
If you’re a local looking for new places to eat or traveling to the area, we promise you won’t be disappointed with any of these soul food places!
