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Start a Top 5 for SouthernEditor’s picks
Press picks, until locals rank their own Top 5s. Sourced from the local food press. As seen in The News & Observer, Raleigh Magazine, and INDY Week. Updated September 2026.
Poole's · Downtown Raleigh
The News & Observer includes Poole's Diner in its Raleigh restaurant guide as Ashley Christensen's landmark downtown room. The chalkboard menu reframes Southern ingredients through a contemporary kitchen while retaining comforting structures. The macaroni au gratin remains a useful anchor, ideally shared beside one of the changing vegetable dishes and a seasonal main.
Succotash Southern and Creole Kitchen. · Durham
INDY Week's Durham County coverage recognizes Succotash for Southern cooking shaped by Creole and soul-food traditions. The current Old Chapel Hill Road address replaces the restaurant's earlier Hillsborough Road listing. Build a meal across a rich main and several sides, allowing the kitchen's seasoning and regional range to emerge beyond a single plate.
Acme Food & Beverage Co · Carrboro
Acme Food & Beverage Co. applies a seasonal, farm-conscious approach to Southern comfort food on Carrboro's Main Street. Pair a changing entree with a vegetable side, or use the fried chicken when it appears as the table's anchor.
Big Ed's City Market Restaurant · City Market, Raleigh
Big Ed’s City Market Restaurant has served country breakfast and Southern plates in downtown Raleigh since 1989. Family recipes shape its familiar dining room.
State Farmers Market Restaurant · Farmers Market, Raleigh
Raleigh Magazine's brunch coverage sends readers to the State Farmers Market Restaurant for a traditional Southern meal. The dining room serves substantial breakfast and lunch plates beside biscuits and country-style sides, matching the market setting around it. Order a classic plate with a biscuit when you want the restaurant's straightforward, regionally rooted experience.