Southern Kitchen

We loved this diner! The fried chicken was hot and crispy and full of flavor and juicy too! Tried chicken fried steak for the first time and loved that too! Grabbed a malt milk shake and it was creamy and flavorful. Loved everything about this place and the wait staff matched the food, equally as amazing! Can’t wait to return!

Always stop when I drive through the states! I will even take the long way just to stop! Best fried chicken! And peanut soup!! The best chicken fingers which I never thought I was say but it’s amazing! Can’t wait to come back

Food was meh. Not the cleanest place we've ever eaten in. Would've been nice to see the windows sills clean. My salad came with a complimentary slice of plastic. Cucumbers look like they were either frozen at some point or just old. Baked potato skin was dry, hard and definitely not edible. However the pies were good!

Just a little ways off I-81 sits this family owned restaurant. I’ve come here plenty of times—mostly for breakfast, this time for lunch. Breakfast. You can’t go wrong with sausage and gravy biscuits or their scramble bowls. Lunch & Dinner menus are in the pictures. There’s plenty of options for everyone. When they are busy, be a little patient with service. When not as busy, service is pretty quick. This is a must stop in and give it a try!

Super fun retro diner! Excellent service and atmosphere. Food was like a diner, but prices were very low! Great coffee. 🙂

We walked into “Southern Kitchen” in New Market, VA. It was busy as there was a queue, but we weren’t waiting too long. Lots of outdoor parking. It’s a huge restaurant. The waitress who took care of us, Shelby was very attentive and friendly. It was seafood night. We had shrimp scampi, breast, thigh leg, 2 hot teas. Thankful for the mugs of teas, as we were driving through. Comfortable seating. Multiple restrooms on both ends of the restaurant, clean. You can tell it’s a popular spot with the locals as the restaurant was jammed packed. They were selling cool stickers too.

We found this place on the way back from Luray. We tend to eat at local places on our road trips and every so often we come across a gem like this. This restaurant just exudes "comfortable and friendly". From the beautiful neon sign post outside to the staff and people in the restaurant, we felt at home as soon as we walked in. The place smells amazing and is very clean and warm. You can tell the owners love it and love what they do. We ordered the Sunday special, three pieces of chicken with two sides, as well as peanut soup, loaded baked potato, Mac and Cheese, mashed potatoes and gravy, and salad. The food was an amazing example of good home and country cooking. Everything came out promptly and at the correct temperature. The soup was flavorful and consistent. The chicken was so crispy and juicy! The Mac and baked potato, while simple dishes, are easy to ruin. This was not the case as the Mac and cheese held up and wasn't over cooked and the loaded baked potato wasn't over done. We cannot reccomend this place enough and have actually added as a favorite on our trip map. Regrettably we did not try the pie and other desserts as we were stuffed from dinner. However, looking forward to it next time very much. Stop in. You won't be disappointed.

Food was good and they offer a nice selection. Area we sat in was dirty. Great server, friendly and quick.

Best fried chicken I've ever had. Came out so hot that you can't be in a hurry to eat it. I think it was still frying 2-3 minutes after it came to the table. Once it cooled enough to touch it was the best place I've ever eaten fried chicken at. Crispy with a perfect coating of breading and tender as any piece of chicken I've ever had cooked perfectly. Ambiance didn't matter you were there for the chicken, but the place was everything you would expect a small town family owned place to be. Not far from the highway and it was a great stop on a long drive. Please don't stop at a fast food place make the time it's worth it.

The majority of my family visited the Southern Kitchen based on a recommendation. There were nine of us that visited the restaurant around 5:00 PM on a Sunday and we were still able to be promptly seated. The restaurant appeared to be filled with regulars who definitely appeared on the older side. Restaurant definitely promotes their fried chicken (with the menu having a little bit of everything) and didn't disappoint. Four of us had fried chicken dinners and the rest of our group had sandwiches. Food was excellent, I had the fried chicken which was very flavorful, and tender. My sides were equally tasty. Everyone seemed to enjoy their meals. Ticket times seemed to be a little slow. Our waitress started out slow then responded well. This seems to be a vintage staple of the community worth visiting. I don't know if I'd order steak or seafood but I would certainly return.

Just a little ways off I-81 sits this family owned restaurant. I've come here plenty of times--mostly for breakfast, this time for lunch. Breakfast. You can't go wrong with sausage and gravy biscuits or their scramble bowls. Lunch & Dinner menus are in the pictures. There's plenty of options for everyone. When they are busy, be a little patient with service. When not as busy, service is pretty quick. This is a must stop in and give it a try!

Had 2 pancakes 1 Buckwheat 1 Blueberry Buckwheat. Water Eggs, French toast, home fries and a sweet tea.

You know when you've left the north and entered the South. When you driving by people and folks wave at you for no reason. And your greeting in a restaurant comes with big smiles followed by come on in and have a seat. To a northern , that could be like a horror movie cause you wondering what is next. This is your nice basic restaurant with a friendly feel. Decor, I would bet is what it was when they opened years ago and it is still functional and making money. Families enjoying breakfast and making plans. I went with the California omelet but added sausage and bacon to it. The omelet was good. Not over stuffed, and light eggs. Nothing like southern cooking

Southern kitchen is a definite stop along the '81 corridor. The fried chicken at this locally owned mom 'n pop's is worth writing home about. Will definitely go out of my way to eat here again the next time I'm in the New Market area.

This restaurant was everything and MORE. If you like good, home-cooked food, then look no further. It tasted just like my grandma's cooking! The fried chicken is a MUST-TRY item. It's so buttery and crunchy! The green beans and mac and cheese were excellent. And dessert! The apple pie was legendary. The service here is so welcoming and friendly. Our server was so sweet and took great care of us. I love the old diner feel of the restaurant, the decor is very retro. Can't say enough good things about this restaurant. And the prices are very reasonable!

Great little spot on Rt. 11 the trout was amazing. The service was fantastic, fast and friendly. A great step back in time with fresh weed made southern fare.

Stopped by for a quick breakfast while visiting my brother who lives in Timberville. This was my first time at Southern Kitchen, but my brother and his girlfriend do dine here quite a bit considering they live close by. We went on a weekday morning and there were only two other parties, dining, The menu has typical diner food and reasonable prices. I enjoyed my eggs, bacon and toast and the coffee was nice and hot. We did have to wait a while to get our servers attention to get some napkins, hot sauce and ketchup etc which was a little bit annoying at some point because the restaurant wasn't very busy and we didn't know where she went. Other than that, our experience was great and next time I visit, I would be happy to come back for breakfast and try the pancakes. Thank you!

This is the type of place that makes you feel like you came back to your hometown during Christmas. It's cozy. It's everything a diner should be. Staff were very polite. The food itself was delicious and hot! My only regret is not trying the Brownie Delight dessert..

We had southern fried chicken with French fries and buttered corn. My husband and I both enjoyed it. In fact, I've never seen my husband enjoy chicken more! It was very good. The French fries were awesome too. We shared a piece of apple pie afterwards but that wasn't a favorite of mine. I think that was store bought but everything else was excellent. We loved the mid-century feel of this nice clean restaurant and the service was excellent. We will stop again when we are passing through.

Fried chicken was amazing! The service was great and the place was a genuine diner experience. Awesome music playing. Highly recommend.

I guess I got the wrong restaurant that had a great chicken fried steak. Sisco food Staff is nice

The food was fine but nothing special. The waitress and hostess were very nice and polite however slow as molasses. The service was fine but SLOW. It took almost 1 1/2 hours to do breakfast. If you have a need for a very long breakfast this would probably work

Quaint cute little " back in the day" vibe restaurant with excellent quick efficient and friendly service. The food was amazing! We were visiting from out of town and all agreed that we'd drive back just to eat here. You just cannot go wrong with anything you order. Treat yourself and visit. Look forward to returning.

I was traveling from Harrisonburg, VA to Baltimore, MD and got a hot tip to try this place so I did. I think it says something good about a place when you roll up to it at 10 AM on a Wednesday and you get the last parking space in the sizeable parking lot! I had checked out their website prior to my visit and knew I wanted to try out their sausage gravy and biscuits. I got the one-biscuit version and it comes with home fries. You know that kitchen is right when you taste it for seasoning and don't even need to add anything. I guess that explains the absence of ketchup and hot sauce bottles on any of the tables in my view. Hopefully I can get back here sometime to try out their lunch/dinner menu. I know it's gonna be good. The bathroom was clean and tidy.

This place was highly recommended, unfortunately I was disappointed. It is a nice looking old fashioned diner, and the service was slow but not too bad. The menu has a variety of great comfort food. The portions are generous and dishes are reasonably priced. However the food was not fresh the evening of our visit and most of it under seasoned.

Great little southern restaurant with all it's charm near Shenandoah Valley and Luray Caverns. Get the hush puppies. And then get more to take home with you. They are so good and keep so well. Even cold, they are delicious. The fried chicken was really good, just needed a bit more salt but that's up to personal taste. The breast was nice and juicy, no problems there. Friendly staff and cashier. Don't sleep on this spot!

Service was nice but the Ruben was terrible . The bread was soggy, the sauerkraut tasted old, and I have never seen a sandwich where they skimped on the meat as bad as they did with this. Would not recommend.

I cannot recommend this place enough!!!!! We make the 1.5 hour drive here when we can because we love their fried chicken that much. Their food is good, southern cooking...no wonder the name is Southern Kitchen! Their fried chicken is amazing, their ranch is homemade, their potato wedges are perfectly crispy, seasoned, and soft in the middle. The staff are super sweet every time we come. Their meringue pies are delicious and totally worth saving room for dessert if you can. Wow wow WOW!! Stop here if you're ever in the area and I promise the fried chicken won't disappoint!

It's a nice family style restaurant, the service was great and the ambiance was warm. I will go again and I do recommend.

nice throw back diner place. The fried chicken is good. Staff is good, very home like.

Great home cooked comfort food. Outstanding plates include the fried chicken, reuben sandwich, country fried steak and rancho chicken wrap. Our server Liza was fantastic and was always there when we needed her for drink refills and such. The ambiance is a classic old-timey diner that could use a refresh, but the food and service easily make up for that. We'll be back as we pass through again our our way to Blacksburg.

They serve delicious southern comfort food and are a great value. Staff are very friendly too. Would highly recommend if you are in the Luray area.

Such a great local place. Very nice staff. Incredible service, delicious comfort food. Definitely a great place to stop by for comfort food meal and get southern hospitality.

Amazing fried chicken! I got the chicken tender meal with Mac and cheese/coleslaw for my 2 sides (it also comes w a soft dinner roll). It was a very generous portion of food and it was so good that I ate everything... i would highly recommend everything I had!

The location was one of the few options in the town. The staff was friendly and the prices affordable. The food was okay the fries were okay. The cole slaw was a bit dry for my taste. The meatloaf was not great needed more seasoning and less watered down gravy. The Mac and cheese was dry and overcooked

In the area for a week. Ended up eating here twice. The food selection was great. Everything we ordered tasted great and the service was awesome! Tons of locals made us check it out. If you're in the area pass up the chain restaurants and give this place a try. It's not fancy, but who needs that anyway? Stop in...you won't be disappointed.

The food was great, but my two family members didn't get what they ordered. Yet, they didn't tell them either. They were very busy! Chicken takes longer if you order it. All in all, we loved the diner feel of the place and would go back if we ever travel back this way!

I ordered the prime rib for my birthday but I would have enjoyed it more if it was little less salty - I recommend to request less salt when ordering a prime rib special

Disgusting, nasty, and not worth the money paid. For starters, the waitresses were arguing about tables very loudly which was really unprofessional. It also took nearly an hour for my food to be prepared. I ordered salmon, green beans and mac n cheese. The salmon was super dry and burnt to the point where it tasted chalky. The green beans were completely bland and my mac and cheese was burnt and inedible. I had to change out my mac and cheese for mashed potatoes and those were just okay. The only thing I had that was good was the lemonade. If you want real southern style food, that is not the place to go.

Simply the best chicken anywhere and you can't beat the prices. You'll have leftovers for sure. Be sure to squeeze in one of their most delicious (and oftentimes decadent) homemade pies. Whenever I visit the area, this is a must stop. Period.

Stopped by here on the long road from Northern Virginia to Atlanta, Georgia. Southern Kitchen is located in New Market, VA. The signs to this place are a bit confusing, as there's a complex with the same name, but it says it's coming up in 3 blocks. So make sure to read the fine print, not worth going down that complex. We followed Google Maps and eventually we saw the large sign with its name, on the left side. Nice parking lot overlooking a valley or praerie of sorts. Lot of grass and free reign to run around. Small place inside the restaurant, reminds me of a diner. They've got lot of awards on the wall, apparently they're the best fried chicken in Shenandoah County. Nice. Ordered fried chicken, a turkey and chicken salad sandwich, 12-pack of hush puppies, and lemon meringue pie, all to go. Ate the food on the drive to Atlanta. It was all good, and packaging was superb. Nothing was missed. The dessert item -- lemon pie -- was just incredible. Probably best meringue pie I've had. Nice. If we swing by here again, I'd also like to try the Peanut Butter one. That looked nice as well. Overall, highly recommend if you're on the road or highway, and need to grab a quick bite to eat. Excellent fried chicken, and southern hospitality and cuisine at its prime. Well done. Superb diner, and will definitely make a note of the name and location of the spot.

We're traveling from Maine to Florida. Wanted a good old home cooked meal instead of fast food. I highly recommend this place. The staff was so pleasant and down to earth. So many choices on the menu. We had the hot turkey sandwich and the turkey, Swiss and bacon on Texas toast. It was yummy!!! It's not fancy decor but often those are the best food.

Amazing!! A small town restaurant with big town tastes!! We tried the oyster stew which I can't find in Baldwin County Alabama close to the beach?! It was wonderful!! Hubby's Rueben was tasty as well!! This is definitely in our radar when driving I-81 N or S!?!

Prices have gone up; food quality, portions, and menu have deviated from what I was used to as a kid. Maybe I visited on an "off night"? (No coconut cream pie with sky-high meringue, open-faced turkey sandwich was less than impressive, decor has changed. I wish they'd left it all in its original authenticity!) Willing to give another try, I'd love to leave a rave review. This place deserves to remain a classic.

Waitress was rude, food was cold and charged $2.85 for about 5 cucumber slices we ordered in stead of chips. Never go back. The chicken was very plain, Fox's pizza in Strasburg has much better chicken this this place!!

If you want some really good fried chicken then visit. The remaining menu is okay at best. The breakfast fare is generally good too, except how does a fried chicken place not offer chicken and waffles? The two stars is due to the service. The last time we ever tried to eat there, we stood waiting for 10 minutes to be seated. The place was 2/3 full and there were 5 employees who saw us standing at the door. One came over played with the register then walked away. There wasn't an offer to sit any where or an apology with an offer to get the host.

always busy at Southern Kitchen - even at 2PM on Sunday. stopped by after pumpkin patch down the street. we've been multiple times, good solid diner food. loved loved my potato wedges - crispy but soft inside, not greasy. I'm also a liver fan - so it's my to go meal here. don't leave without trying the desserts - so many to choose from and homemade!

Awesome restaurant if you looking for good food, great service and a pleasant atmosphere. Highly recommend if you live nearby or stopping off the ins Tera take like we were. Awesome place.

Having read the reviews we decided to stop after exploring nearby Luray Caverns. I am so glad we did, especially after experiencing some comfort food! My sister ordered hush puppies and fried mushrooms for starters, and I ordered a bowl of the peanut soup. Her friend wanted a strawberry milkshake, and said it was the best one he has had in a very long time. My husband wasn't very hungry and ordered a BLT that came with potato chips. I also ordered the "small" turkey open faced sandwich with mashed potatoes and gravy, and my sister had the oyster stew. Both our dishes were outstanding! She said her oyster stew tasted like the ocean, and my turkey was a perfect comfort food to hit the spot. Highly recommend you go out of the way for this hidden gem.

I've eaten southern kitchens before and no I'm not impressed with how you prepare fried chicken In both times, the breading has almost been burnt and dried out cracked it seems like the oil is too hot and maybe not changed enough to be effective for controlling your frying process. The chicken flesh was good. This time I also ordered a codfish sandwich. It's been pre-frozen. It was heavily breaded so there's hardly any fish in again. The breading was overcooked in the fryer. Also ordered peanut soup that was actually quite good I ordered a milkshake malted milkshake, which could barely taste any of the malt . I'm certain that I was charged for it. The service was good but a little bit slow and certain areas I had you tracked down the waitress occasionally, but it was busy and I could see that that's why we sat at the counter I'm glad that you have a very large warm market of people who are loyal to your food and service But for me to agree that your food was well prepared would be taken out of a line of "the Emperor has no clothes " I'm just going to do that Maybe if it's convenient, I'll try your breakfast sometime What was hard to swallow was the increased cost of restaurant food I thought the $34 bill did not represent the quality of food that we've received As I promised the waitress, I would look up a peanut soup that I thought was close to what I was served and here's url to a recipe https://www.thespruceeats.com/peanut-soup-recipe-3061085

Very nice breakfast. They heated up the maple syrup for me. Coffee was good. French toast with link sausage was very nice.

On a trip in Shenandoah Valley, reviews looked nice, decided to stop by in early afternoon. Cozy & comfortable, reminiscent of a 50s diner. I love soups and rarely pass up a chance to try a new one, so the peanut soup was a must. First tastes not that great, added a bit of salt. Next bites a little better. Then *bam!* we loved it!! Lol. My wife selected the roast beef dinner with side salad. Southern Kitchen claimed to be known for their fried chicken but not my fav so I chose the chicken livers with salad and mashed potatoes & gravy. My wife loved the roast beef. My livers were crispy, lightly breaded and delightful. Salads were cold, crispy and great. Mashed potatoes were very good, I saved half because I knew my wife would save half of hers to have room for dessert. They were out of lemon meringue so she went for the coconut meringue pie. It was a good slice of pie with a tower of meringue. Pie was excellent. Meringue was a bit different texture and taste, my wife thinks maybe Dream Whip mixed in? Service was excellent. Liza M. (for Maé not Minelli, yes she was named after her and as a child resembled Shirley Temple), was great and quick with all the meal.

Stop with my wife to have breakfast service was excellent. Food came out fast. I had ham, steak and eggs. Ham was absolutely the best!!! coffee was hot eggs were cooked perfect potatoes were great! My wife and I can't say enough about this restaurant. We'll definitely stop in the next time we're traveling through town I highly recommend others give this place a try. I'm sure you won't be unhappy. Well, 14 days later, we returned to have lunch another outstanding meal, my wife and I had the fried chicken it was some of the best I've ever had nice and moist and juicy all through and the crust outside was absolutely wonderful. Our waitress Katie waitress we had 14 days ago does a wonderful job is friendly and very responsive. We will return on our next trip for sure.

Literally so good! Like all 25 people in this town come here and the food slaps. I would definitely recommend coming by here if you are in new market!

Retro-like diner. Reminded me of the Brady Bunch. It was packed. Took a bit to get drinks and server wasn't as attentive as she could've been, but super sweet. Food came in about 20 minutes-impressed with that. The fried chicken was really juicy-can't say I was impressed with the crust-looked like bubbled up fish and chips crust. Food was extremely hot and fresh. Veggies were amazing and husband said hamburger steak was good. Gravy was really thick and in a little ramekin. Prices very reasonable. Seafood night on Fridays and it looked fresh.

We came across this place on a long road trip. Friendly staff and quick service. Great old time diner space with juke boxes at the booths. (Although these weren't working) The home cooked food tasted great and was a great alternative to the fast food options that are usually available on the road these days. If you are near there... go!

This is a greasy spoon. If you're from the south you will know what I mean. Meat and three kind of place with some additional items like a crab cake, various seafood etc. It's descent, and I was fine with my meal, but it isn't somewhere I would go out of my way to eat again. It's in a cute town, and it has an old country feel to it, which is nostalgic for me, but food is not bad, but not great. Just "fine". But I will at it was super popular with what I assume is the local crowd. We had a 15 min wait and it was packed on a Friday night.