Southern in Denver

Bread-N-Butter

1612 E. 17th Ave. Central Denver

303-322-0898

Southern

4 articles

Coleman's Taste of Detroit Soul Food

2622 Welton St. Downtown Denver

303-296-3389

Soul Food, Southern, Recommended

Henry Coleman knows from Detroit soul food, Detroit comfort food, Detroit's streetside, slapdash, eat-while-walking cuisine. From behind the rail of his kitchen at Coleman's (in the former home of Ethel's House of Soul), he knocks up specials (roasted barbecued chicken breast with greens and rice and gravy, if you're lucky), bakes the cornbread, slow-cooks his brisket and hot links, and fries up an incredibly good fried chicken.

4 articles

Cracker Barrel

350 W. 120th Ave. North Denver

303-280-9634

Southern, Best Of, Menu

Cracker Barrel is a massive chain of combination restaurant/country-store locations that feature a surprisingly well-prepared menu of Southern comfort foods served in gigantic portions at ridiculously low prices. Don't look for originality or anything outside of the American canon, but if you want hot coffee by the gallon, real buttermilk pancakes served with maple syrup that actually once saw the inside of a tree, and grits with sawmill gravy, Cracker Barrel delivers. The gift shops attached to each restaurant offer everything from books on tape and classic candies to lawn ornaments, pancake mix, Loretta Lynn CDs and the kind of tourist T-shirts that tend to pop up at ironic moments in Quentin Tarantino movies.

4 articles

Four Friends Kitchen

2893 Roslyn St., Denver Central Park/Montbello/Green Valley

303-388-8299

Breakfast/Brunch, Southern, Recommended, Best Of

Four Friends Kitchen, a family-friendly breakfast-and-lunch spot that opened in early 2015 in what is now Central Park (formerly Stapleton), isn’t a place to see and be seen. It isn’t around the corner from the art museum or Union Station or anyplace you’re going to spend the rest of your day, unless you’re headed to your kid’s soccer game on a nearby field. Rather, the Southern-inspired fare is the draw. Don’t miss the buttery drop biscuits, beignets with crème anglaise and berry compote, the open-faced chicken-and-waffle sandwich topped with apple coleslaw, or the Down South Trio, with green-chile macaroni and cheese, peanut-crusted chicken tenders and collard greens. The huevos rancheros, a lasagna-like stack of whole corn tortillas, refried beans, avocados, cheese and eggs, strays from the Southern mold but charms nonetheless.

20 articles

Gumbo's Louisiana Style Cafe

1033 E. 17th Ave. Central Denver

720-266-5300

Soul Food, Southern

5 articles

Jive Kitchen & Bar

1055 Broadway Central Denver

303-339-6636

Southern

Low Country Kitchen

1575 Boulder St. Central Denver

720-512-4168

Southern, Recommended, Slideshow

At Low Country Kitchen, where walls bear faux plantation shutters and a pitcher of sweet tea sits on the bar, each bite of Southern fare takes you to a place far, far away — a place where breezes blow in through moss-hung live oaks and afternoons are spent on covered porches sipping mint juleps with friends. The menu, created by Southern transplants Brian and Katy Vaughn, reads like a love note to the South, with excellent fried chicken and shrimp and grits. Save room for the glorious sides, like cornmeal-crusted okra, buttermilk biscuits and biscuit-crumb-topped macaroni and cheese.

15 articles

Nola Jane Restaurant & Bar

1435 Market St., Denver LoDo/Ballpark/Commons Park

720-592-1942

Southern, Best Of, Readers' Choice

In 2021, the former Pour House space (that bar moved across the street) became a little slice of New Orleans in Denver with the debut of Nola Jane. This lively spot serves Cajun and Creole favorites like po’boys, jambalaya, gumbo and crawfish étouffée, as well as Hurricanes on draft, all with a side of Southern hospitality — and keeps on serving into the late-night hours, offering eats until midnight on school nights, and after on weekends.

7 articles

NoNo's Cafe

3005 W. County Line, Littleton Southeast Denver Suburbs

303-738-8330

Cajun, Creole, Southern, Best Of

Better wear the elastic-waistband jeans to NoNo's Cafe, a Southern-style eatery that serves comfort food in the extreme. NoNo's features food so bad (for you) it's good, from big, bacony breakfasts to an outrageous stacked macaroni and cheese that's served as a heaping accompaniment to many entrees. NoNo's also satisfies a New Orleans jones with gumbo, catfish dishes and every imaginable kind of po' boy sandwich; beignets and chicory coffee are nice, authentic touches. If it's a light meal you're after, stay far away from NoNo's, where even the grilled salmon comes covered in a creamy sauce. But if you're looking for a big, fat feast, NoNo's will surely do the trick.

5 articles

Pappadeaux Seafood Kitchen

7520 E. Progress Place, Englewood Southeast Denver Suburbs

303-740-9449

Cajun, Creole, Soul Food, Southern, Menu

This Texas-based chain draws inspiration from the vibrant French Quarter in New Orleans, and it attempts to channel that scene in both atmosphere and cuisine. Wooden slats and and brick walls provide the base for the bayou-themed decor in Pappadeaux's low-ceilinged, massive outpost in the Denver Tech Center. Groups flood the place for the seafood-based menu, which includes Louisiana specialties like shrimp creole, crawfish etouffee and gumbo, as well as plenty of fruity, alcoholic beverages. A Sunday brunch buffet invites a veritable orgy of eating, with diners able to sample not just the entrees, but breakfast fare such as pancakes, omelets and much, much more.

Pearl Street Grill

1477 S. Pearl St. South Denver

303-778-6475

American, Brunch, Mexican, Soul Food, Southern, Southwestern, Recommended, Menu

This South Pearl landmark looks like a cross between Cheers and a location for Friends, but it serves swell bar burgers, nachos and other grill standards. The international beer list is overwhelming, the atmosphere unassuming and friendly, and the secluded patio a great summer hideaway.

9 articles

Revival Denver Public House

630 E. 17th Ave., Denver Capitol Hill/Uptown/City Park

720-524-7867

American, Southern, Essentials

Revival Denver Public House debuted in the former Avenue Grill space on East 17th in 2021. Despite a name that sounds a bit generic, this spot owned by chef Dan Vizzard and his wife, Emily, is bursting with personality, from the hodgepodge of art and knickknacks to the Southern-inspired menu and the killer happy hour that includes some standout deals on favorites like Old Fashioneds and martinis, broiled oysters (go for the chorizo butter option), Hatch chile pimento dip and the crab pretzel, a large, round soft pretzel topped with blue crab, Old Bay and melted cheese.

1 event 1 article

The Rock N Soul Cafe

5290 Arapahoe Ave. Boulder

303-443-5108

American, Coffeehouse, Soul Food, Southern, Tea, Music Venues, Menu

1 article

Ruby Ru's Street Eatery

1280 Centaur Village Dr., Unit 1 Lafayette

303-997-8238

Southern

Sassafras American Eatery

3927 W. 32nd Ave., Denver Highland/Lower Highland

303-433-0080

Southern, Critics' Pick, Menu, Readers' Choice

As anyone who's gone out for breakfast lately knows, Denverites love their morning meal: Hours-long waits at joints that serve up a mean pancake aren't uncommon. Sassafras opened its first location on West 26th Avenue in 2012 to immediate success, but relocated to the Highland neighborhood in 2019. Not one to mess with a good thing, the spot retained the same menu, emphasizing classic Southern comfort foods like grits (from pimiento cheese grits to scallion grits with fried oysters and smoked bacon); a few varieties of mac and cheese (who can resist breakfast mac?); gumbo, which gets its deep, earthy kick from filé powder; and fried green tomatoes, which are featured in a Benedict and as the stuffing of a sandwich. And then there are the biscuits, so light and flaky it's almost a shame to cover them up with the delicious sausage gravy.

1 article

The Soul Kitchen

14107 E. Colfax Ave. Aurora

720-474-1996

Soul Food, Southern, Menu

Jay Berry opened Kirk's Soul Kitchen in 2012, adding another option in the area's slim soul-food scene. The restaurant is dedicated to his stepfather, Kirk, who told him, "Stay focused because you could do anything you put your mind to." What Berry does at Kirk's is serve great homemade food, including fried chicken, collard greens and an incredible banana pudding.

4 articles

Southern Hospitality

7431 Park Meadows Dr., Lone Tree Southeast Denver Suburbs

720-274-8660

Southern, Barbecue

2 articles

The Spillway Grill

13740 E. Quincy Ave. Aurora

303-693-0755

American, Soul Food, Southern, Tex-Mex, Bars and Clubs, Music Venues

1 article

Swirk Soul Food

2205 S. Peoria St. Aurora

303-337-0549

Soul Food, Southern, Menu

The sign outside this small, takeout-only spot in an Aurora strip mall reads "Swirk Supreme Food," and what a supreme selection it has: barbecue, sandwiches, seafood and more. Not sure where to start? Go for the Southern King Platter Dinner, which includes a fried catfish fillet, two jumbo shrimp, one hot link and barbecue chicken, with your choice of two sides.

Tom's Home Cookin'

800 E. 26th Ave. Downtown Denver

303-388-8035

Southern, Comfort Foods, Critics' Pick

For more than a decade, Tom's Home Cookin' has been a stick-to-your-ribs, lunch-only respite for soul-food seekers and Southerners, blue-collar workers and chefs, chatterers and chicken-chasers. The fried chicken, profoundly moist with skin crusted the color of copper, flies right every single time. It's a sign of more goodness to come: peach cobbler, macaroni and cheese (it's the Velveeta, people), cornbread stuffing and whatever else owners Steve Jankousky and Tom Unterwagner have on the day's chalkboard. Get in line early, because Tom's sells out fast.

21 articles

Tupelo Honey

1650 Wewatta St. Downtown Denver

720-274-0650

Southern, Menu, Slideshow

12 articles

Waffle House

8401 Pearl St. North Denver

303-287-1337

American, Breakfast/Brunch, Diner, Fast Food, New American, Soul Food, Southern, Specialties, Traditional, Menu

You know you've become an American icon when you make regular appearances in Larry the Cable Guy's standup routine, and by that standard, Waffle House is the Elvis Presley of Interstate dining. With more than 1,400 franchises in 25 states (including Denver / Boulder), this Georgia-based breakfast joint, founded in 1955, is among a handful of 24-hour chain diners that serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner all day and night long. Despite the jokes about sticky silverware, all of its waffles are served on real china. And it doesn't matter when you want a meal, you can order anything off the menu—including soups and sirloins, country ham sandwiches and German waffles topped with any number of hot compotes. Many Waffle Houses have jukeboxes, and all of them offer bottomless cups of coffee and breakfast bar service for fans of a bacon-and-eggs-laden buffet. Just look for the yellow neon—or look on Voice Places.

2 articles

Southern in Denver

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