Scones and rolls are suitable accompaniments for a feast that sticks to the gut. But when in the South, the supreme side for a skillet dinner (maybe besides corn bread) is bar none the biscuit. Almighty in heft and angelically light, this utilitarian quick bread has been adopted by the region’s denizens as a matter of tradition. In Nashville or Charleston, among the most delicious comfort foods populating many a dining room table are these golden-brown beauties, steaming and ready for grits, collard greens, and all assortments of mouthwatering gravy.
Many of those hailing from the Southern U.S. are probably seasoned enough in biscuit-eating experience to not need a guide on which restaurants do them right. Out-of-towners who’ve never tasted mawmaw’s, however, might need a map to traverse the bottomless options. In the latter camp? Like any good traveler, you’ve gotta do your research, and knowing which scratch kitchens justify the lengthy trek is a matter of diligent preparation. So, we decided to round up the strongest batches baking across the landscape. Sifting through countless reviews from a variety of sources helped us reach our 13 picks, and for a better look into the process, you can catch our criteria at the end.
We shored up reviews posted on a variety of platforms — common sources were Yelp, Tripadvisor, and YouTube as well as regional news outlets and culinary publications — to gather the basketfuls rivaling granny’s baked goods (sorry, mawmaw).
In New Orleans, where classic foods worth trying abound, Willa Jean restaurant and bakery fixes up one of the finest biscuits currently baking in The Big Easy. Combining Southern heritage with professional pastry expertise, Kelly Fields, the founder, has produced a template for sky-high confections, teetering between a French tart and sturdy bread receptive to copious sops of peppery gravy.
Diners are directed to mosey on over to the menu’s Biscuit Situation where mouthwatering possibilities lean toward simplicity — jam and butter, perhaps — or excessively Southern, such as the bacon and egg breakfast sandwich glued down with pimento cheese. The Fried Chicken & Tabasco Honey, Yelp’s top biscuit contender, inspires plenty of love among visitors due to the sweet heat that fuses perfectly with the vessel’s crackly, buttery crunch.
In service until three in the afternoon each day, this cafe is definitely buzz-y, with a track record of long lines and even stars (Beyonce, for one). But thousands are in agreement that the biscuits are worth it. Recalling their life-changing experience, one diner said, “The biscuit was delicious and unlike any we’ve ever had. My wife said it is like a biscuit and croissant had a love child.”
In Nashville, folks make a beeline to The Loveless Cafe for what is easily the most iconic biscuits in Music City’s history. Established in 1951 along Highway 100, the restaurant that started in the home of Annie and Lon Loveless to feed road-dwellers some fantastic home cooking has transformed into a bountiful business, and that remains true even into the 21st century. As a won-over diner put it on Yelp, “The biscuits are the highlight of this restaurant.” Satiating the maws of many does mean the cafe can be found churning out a lot of biscuits: Tennessee’s Department of Economic & Community Development puts it at 10,000 carb-laden pillows daily.
The eatery is tight-lipped on the formula for its butter-kissed delights, that’s for sure. But it’s no secret diners will be faced with scrumptious specialties that put the staple front and center. Order them by the basketful to break bread with your table, or assemble miniature sandwiches with savory stuffings — nobody’s ever been wronged by fried chicken or smoked pulled pork. Or, for the ultimate hospitality, guests can enjoy swiping on some house-made preserves in peach or strawberry, which are available to buy (plus bagged biscuit mix!) in the gift shop.
Crafting biscuits from scratch is a tough endeavor, but one Callie’s Hot Little Biscuit has pulled off without a hitch. Carrie Morey transformed her home kitchen into a well-buttered baking enterprise nearly two decades ago, and the recipe — from her mother, Callie — has become synonymous with what the regional staple should be. Per one reviewer, “You can’t come to the South without eating some biscuits and Callie’s is the perfect place to get some,” and it’s all possible thanks to just four ingredients (flour, butter, buttermilk, and cream cheese) assembled by hand every time.
Though Callie’s has entered the supermarket sphere, we suggest visiting one of its two brick-and-mortars in Charleston to savor the fullest scope of flavors. Both stores are a bit on the cozy side, but squeezing in for a flaky nibble sandwiched with fillings (or speckled with chocolate chips) will override any discomfort. A notable variety that’s proved popular at the Upper King location, per Yelp, is the cheese and chive biscuit with tangy pimento and onions. But loyalists are apt to shout about them all. Purchase a trio for only $6, or for under $25 you can get a party-ready Baker’s Dozen.
“Put some South in your mouth,” commands Biscuit Head, and locals faithfully obey. A newcomer relative to the region’s stalwarts (its doors first opened in 2013), the restaurant is revered for slinging some of the grandest biscuits in the area. Three locations in Asheville — and a single eatery in Greenville, South Carolina — platter up hefty drop-style balls, (called cat heads) that draw regulars every morning until 2 p.m. on the dot.
Keeping in line with owner Carolyn Roy’s environment-first ethos, the entire menu is built off local ingredients, the biscuits being no exception. Split apart, they can be smothered in five different gravies, which is how you can tell this is a Southern restaurant that’s seriously in charge. Just as well, customers can choose a biscuit-centric breakfast, tacking the starch star onto a plate of eggs or having it cradle a rustic hash scramble.
The Biltmore Avenue location, claiming the highest review total on Yelp with over 2,000 responses, demonstrates an intense love affair in motion. The craggy edges are sublime, and true to their name, the proportions resemble the feline cranium. One enthusiast proclaimed, “Biscuit Head has the best biscuits in town. Or maybe the world?” Make the trip to see why!
Roadside haunts aren’t beholden to the same pressure as contemporary establishments — peeking at Dick Russell’s Famous Bar-B-Q is proof. The restaurant has essentially stuck to its guns for 70 years and counting. Drivers cruising the U.S. 90 will encounter a red-hued restaurant in Mobile, Alabama, that serves up fantastic biscuits. Award-winning, too — these doughy delights earned the Lagniappe “Nappie” Reader’s Choice honor from locals who voted them as the cream of the crop back in 2015.
Feather-light and hissing steam, these biscuits are not only texturally strong — equal parts flaky and sink-your-teeth squishy — but they’re also piping-hot from the oven to boot, since this barbecue joint prepares them, like everything it does, from scratch. Shiny batches are carted out every quarter-hour, which is a source of joy for pleased patrons who consider themselves proud regulars. “They make the best biscuits in the world and I even told the staff members this,” proclaimed a jazzed-up reviewer. “They bake a new batch every 15 minutes and they are served with home made peach preserves and whipped butter.”
A single biscuit drizzled in honey is just under a dollar, but the price is still dirt-cheap when they’re affixed with luscious country gravy or ham and eggs.
In the ‘burbs of Atlanta, The Red Eyed Mule inspires intense adoration for its burgers. Jake’s Sloppy Slaw Burger, in particular, has become a well-documented favorite of celebrity chef Alton Brown. But the biscuits? They fly off the baking sheet. You’ll only find them in the mornings — doors open at 7 o’clock sharp every day except for the Lord’s Day, when things start hopping two hours later.
These aren’t pop-and-bake discs on sale at the grocery store; they’re far too laminated and tall, and there’s no deceiving guests that these are masterful, from the crisp surface down to the fluffy center. In the words of one fan, “the biscuit is the star here,” so savoring these beauties alone will never lead you astray, especially at $3 apiece. Neither will loading them with chicken sausage or thick Applewood bacon, or any of the other creations on deck. Locals have no trouble applauding the authenticity of this regional delight. Transplants, who might be less familiar with real Southern eats, are predictably gobsmacked when encountering the buttery decadence rolled into every mouthful. As one Yelp reviewer raved, “I recently moved to the south from the west coast and I have never had biscuits like these. The biscuits were so good.”
Buttermilk biscuits are what most tables have peeking out of a basket. Is it the South’s only style? Far from it. From a century-old building in Birmingham, Helen proffers warm angel biscuits as an appetizer, and these holy bites of decadence can be counted on to grace parties filing in for the eatery’s upscale comfort plates. “It really doesn’t matter what you order, but do NOT miss the biscuits,” was the guidance provided by one diner. “I don’t even like biscuits, but these biscuits? Like something out of this world.”
Giving the skinny to AL.com, co-founder Rob McDaniel says the recipe was lifted from the pages of Southern Living magazine, but the catalyst that inspired their place on the menu was, of course, his grandmother, Helen, who used to make homemade angel biscuits. Baking powder, baking soda, and yeast pack a triple-threat of leavening power to get the biscuits rising to pillow-y proportions. They’re also hand-rolled and baked on site with a luscious butter infused with cane syrup, plus a speckling of Maldon salt.
Should the Tomato Pie hog anyone’s appetite (it’s second in popularity after the biscuits on Yelp), plenty of customers treat the rolls more like dessert, or even a snack for later.
Cushiony biscuits might be the backbone of the Oklahoman diet, but according to customers in the Sooner State, some rise to greater heights. Believe them when they refer you to the biscuits cooking at Good Gravy! Diner. The scratch-style execution is repeatedly lauded by regulars, and what’s more, every batch is consistently on-point, eluding those mistakes everyone makes when baking biscuits. “It’s one thing to make a great biscuit,” a commenter giving a five-star rating mused on Yelp. “It’s amazing to make great biscuits day after day after day.”
Biscuits and gravy are the prime vehicle for these crackly rounds, which if you peer at the menu, come in singles or pairs for sopping up the kitchen’s creamy garnishes. What’s more, the dive takes it to another level by providing over 40 flavors of gravy, representing Appalachian and Southern staples like white, red eye, and the once-a-week chocolate gravy offering in the rotation (possible origins of the sweet variation hearken back to the colonial era).
Biscuit-artisans from the South invest nothing less than their lives to achieve culinary perfection. To many, the humble Good Gravy! Diner lives up to the task. Raved one patron, “The HUGE, soft, warm, fluffy biscuit was home made and the gravy was like my grandmother’s.”
Though Husk is upscale enough to get the James Beard Foundation calling, the micro-chain channels the humble spirit of down-home cookery to a tee. The buttermilk cheddar biscuits, held in high esteem by residents and travelers, definitely make the case for a pit-stop when touring Nashville, Tennessee, Charleston, South Carolina, or Savannah, Georgia.
Three simple components are employed in the baking, and that’s flour, chilled butter, and buttermilk. Considering ingredients are sourced solely from the region, it makes sense the dining establishment turns to the staple brand of flour, White Lily. Pre-leavened, it requires no rising agents, while the delicate finish, once baked, leads to a browned crust harboring light, feathery tiers.
Tangy undercurrents are brought on by the dairy and cheese, a pairing that naturally slides into a bit of decadence. But those who’ve fallen head-over-heels claim the combo marries harmoniously on the palate. “They have a hearty and thick texture with a hint of cheddar,” a Tripadvisor user wrote, concluding in their rave report that the biscuits were “certainly among the best I’ve had.” Mawmaw might glare at the $8 price tag, but when it comes to experiencing a proper biscuit, the Southern spot doesn’t miss.
After opening for business mid-pandemic, Bomb Biscuit Co. is paving a trail for contemporary biscuits in The Peach State. Erika Council heads the operation, rising at the break of dawn to churn out her signature recipe now in cookbooks and on the radar of The New York Times and Michelin. The latter awarded the place a “Bib Gourmand,” a stamp indicating excellent craftsmanship and affordability, two traits on the side of the golden-brown staple.
Brunch-y concoctions with names like Carolina’s Finest and The Big Boy intermingle with standalone biscuits, flavored with everything from cheddar and jalapeño to chocolate chips. These biscuits are coarser in appearance, deviating from the soft cushions saturating our list. That being said, the starchier finish allows for better support constructing a sandwich, of which patrons overwhelmingly order. The hot honey chicken biscuit, hosting a trifecta of pickles, hot honey, and battered dark meat, ensnares a fleet of compliments on Yelp, but either way patrons slice it, the carb is well-acclimated to any of the toppers.
Delicious creations, not to mention the Atlanta cafe’s sunny interiors, means the spot fills up pretty quickly. Biscuit-lovers, get there early.
There’s nothing like grabbing a steaming-hot biscuit first thing in the morning, huh? Over at Sunrise Biscuit Kitchen, a local mainstay since the late 1970s, the golden-brown rounds are cranked out bright and early for college kids (and anyone, really) cruising through The Tar Heel State. Chapel Hill is well-known for the takeout-only outpost, but customers wanting to rest their rear should head to the Louisburg location for actual seating.
Grilled cheese, hot dogs, and other comfort meals round out the restaurant’s offerings. But let’s be real, here — when you’re in either of the Carolinas, it’s tantamount to treason if you don’t secure a whopping biscuit at some point in your travels. Both locations are closed before 3 p.m., so the majority of the biscuit builds are breakfast-oriented, and to customers, they’re absolutely worth crawling out of bed for. Loads of testimonies point to the breaded chicken biscuit for blissful eating, but there’s an item, the Bad Grandpa, that’ll slam the hunger pangs away until suppertime (a bacon, egg, and cheese deal on top of a chicken cutlet). The feedback proves these breads go above and beyond in the made-from-scratch category. From FourSquare, customers say they’re “worth the wait in the line” and “better than your grandma’s biscuits, she said so.”
High-rising, heavenward biscuits are normally the terrain of tight-knit operations. Yet Vicious Biscuit, which hit the scene six years ago, is aiming to bring this down-home staple to a wider pool of foodies. That’s great news for out-of-towners, since as one Yelp user summarized, “This a place to go when you need that delicious and filling southern biscuit.” Home base is Mount Pleasant, South Carolina, but more states — at the moment that’s North Carolina, Florida, and Ohio — have or are expecting storefronts of their own.
Like any modern biscuit spot, the flaky puck acts as a canvas for exceedingly daring and delicious culinary experiments. Two of the top-rated sandwiches at the flagship location — The Fat Boy and The Flame Thrower per Yelp – stack the biscuits with flourishes like house-made pimento spread and candied jalapeño peppers (called cowboy candy). While such Wonka-level excess is bound to impress, the biscuits are air-tight as customers happily confirm. For example, one tourist who sampled many goodies along their regional journey was very impressed by the franchise, fawning over the freshly baked crumb like a precious jewel.
How does one know whether a Southern joint is actually authentic? Wait to see if a warm basket of biscuits materializes in front of you at no cost and with no questions asked. Poogan’s Porch, which has been operating for close to 50 years, has treated downtown Charleston to this ritual along with elegant cooking in some of the most breathtaking surroundings (Victorian-era architecture, anyone?). The Infatuation restaurant guide lauds the shrimp and grits entrée as well as the pimento cheese fritters, but the bread bouquet evidently garners plenty of accolades, putting it in the same league as main courses.
As demonstrated by the positive feedback, getting a bee in your bonnet for these biscuits is just one consequence of booking a table, even if your prior intention was to slurp down some She-Crab Soup. Diners have reportedly received automatic refills of the famous quick bread, with several pledging to make the pilgrimage repeatedly to experience the golden-brown goodness. Rounds are delivered in pairs, per Road Food, and like any complimentary house bread, there’s butter for sopping up. If the appetizer unleashes the urge for more, the biscuits and gravy remain equally crave-worthy.
–mashed.com
