11 Soul Food Restaurants In Virginia Where Every Plate Tastes Like A Sunday Feast
Virginia is home to soul food restaurants that make every meal feel like a Sunday feast.
From golden fried chicken and creamy mac and cheese to perfectly seasoned greens and cornbread, each plate is packed with flavor and tradition.
Locals keep returning for the comforting taste and warm hospitality that make these spots special.
Dining here is more than a meal. It’s a celebration of family, community, and the rich flavors of Southern cooking.
1. Mama J’s Kitchen (Richmond)
Richmond’s soul food royalty serves up comfort classics in a space that feels like visiting your favorite aunt’s house.
The fried chicken here shatters with golden perfection while the catfish melts on your tongue.
Former police officer Velma Johnson (the real Mama J) opened this Jackson Ward gem in 2009, but her recipes date back decades. The mac and cheese alone has a cult following that brings diners back week after week.
2. Croaker’s Spot (Richmond & Petersburg)
Legendary seafood and soul meet in perfect harmony at this Richmond institution that proudly calls itself the “Soul of Seafood.”
Their signature Eggleston’s Fried Fish Boat arrives like a monument to abundance, a mountain of whiting fillets atop a sea of fries.
Founded by the late Richmond icon Neverett Eggleston Jr., Croaker’s has expanded while keeping its original recipes sacred.
The cornbread alone, served hot in cast iron, could make a grown person weep with joy.
3. Southern Kitchen (Richmond)
Family-owned since 1932, Southern Kitchen stands as Richmond’s living time capsule of authentic soul cooking.
Their turkey wings fall off the bone after being slow-cooked to tender perfection in savory gravy that demands extra biscuits for sopping.
Breakfast here runs all day because nobody should be denied their famous salmon cakes and grits after noon.
The walls tell stories through decades of photos, creating an atmosphere as rich as their legendary sweet potato pie.
4. Ms. Girlee’s Kitchen (Richmond)
Hidden in Richmond’s East End, this unassuming spot produces smothered pork chops that could end family feuds.
The gravy alone, silky, savory, and perfectly seasoned, deserves its own fan club. Ms. Girlee’s daily specials rotate through soul classics like oxtails and neck bones.
Weekend crowds form early for their famous fish fry, where cornmeal-crusted fillets emerge from the kitchen in a steady, aromatic parade.
5. Big Herm’s Kitchen (Richmond)
Chef Herm transformed from NFL lineman to soul food superstar, and Richmond is forever grateful.
His signature fried chicken sandwich puts fast food chains to shame with its perfectly seasoned, juicy interior and shatteringly crisp crust.
The compact storefront packs massive flavor into every dish. Big Herm’s banana pudding causes spontaneous moments of silence at tables as diners contemplate how something so simple can taste so transcendent.
6. Lillie Pearl (Richmond)
Chef Mike Lindsey’s modern soul food haven pays tribute to his grandmother while pushing boundaries in delicious new directions.
The shrimp and grits here get a luxurious upgrade with creamy smoked gouda and crispy pork belly that will haunt your dreams.
Named for the chef’s grandmother Lillie Pearl, this downtown spot balances tradition with innovation.
Their deviled eggs topped with candied bacon demonstrate how soul food classics can evolve while honoring their roots.
7. Southern Taste Diner (North Chesterfield)
This suburban gem surprises first-timers with portions that could feed a small village.
Their country fried steak blankets the entire plate, swimming in pepper-flecked gravy that locals have been known to request by the extra cupful.
Southern Taste doesn’t play when it comes to sides. Their candied yams balance sweetness with warm spices perfectly.
The cornbread muffins arrive hot enough to melt the butter on contact, creating golden puddles of deliciousness.
8. Thee Soulfood Kitchen (Norfolk)
Norfolk sailors spread the word about this hidden treasure where oxtails reach fall-off-the-bone perfection after hours of patient braising.
The meat, rich and glossy with collagen, makes converts of even the most skeptical first-timers.
Run by a mother-daughter team with recipes spanning generations, Thee Soulfood Kitchen treats strangers like family.
Their yeast rolls come hot from the oven hourly, creating a heavenly aroma that pulls people in from blocks away.
9. Bowman’s Soul N the Wall (Hampton)
Tucked into an unassuming strip mall, Bowman’s serves up the crispiest fried whiting in Hampton Roads.
The fish arrives piping hot with a cornmeal coating that crunches audibly with each heavenly bite.
This family operation takes no shortcuts.
Their collards simmer with smoked turkey wings until perfectly tender, while still maintaining their integrity.
The sweet tea comes in mason jars so large you’ll need both hands, exactly as Southern sweet tea should be served.
10. Southern Comfort Restaurant & Lounge (Hampton)
Southern Comfort’s smothered chicken creates instant nostalgia, even for those who never had a Southern grandmother.
The gravy, velvety and studded with tender onions, transforms ordinary rice into something transcendent. Live music on weekends turns dinners into full experiences.
Their banana pudding arrives warm with perfectly softened vanilla wafers and a crown of toasted meringue that makes diners pause mid-conversation to admire it before diving in.
11. Q’s Quisine (Carrollton)
Worth the drive to tiny Carrollton, Q’s transforms turkey wings into objects of culinary devotion.
Slow-braised until falling off the bone, they swim in a rich gravy alongside cornbread that strikes the perfect balance between sweet and savory.
Chef-owner Quinton Gordon worked in upscale restaurants before returning to his roots. His banana pudding cheesecake, a brilliant hybrid dessert, has customers driving from three counties away.
The restaurant’s modest exterior gives no hint of the culinary magic happening inside.