Southern Hospitality BBQ in New York City – Southern Comfort Food in the Big Apple

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When you think about eating your way through New York City, barbecue might not be the first thing that comes to mind. Pizza, bagels, cheesecake, and hot dogs usually get all the attention.

But during its run in New York City, Southern Hospitality BBQ brought a completely different kind of comfort food to Manhattan — smoky barbecue, crispy fried chicken, ribs, mac and cheese, cornbread, and plenty of Southern-inspired favorites.

Located at 645 Ninth Avenue in Hell’s Kitchen, Southern Hospitality BBQ was the kind of restaurant that felt like a little taste of the South tucked into the middle of New York City.

And as a Southern girl, you know I am always interested in finding good Southern food when I travel!

A Little About Southern Hospitality BBQ

Southern Hospitality originally opened on New York City's Upper East Side in 2007 before expanding to a second location in Hell's Kitchen in 2011.

The restaurant became especially well known because of its early connection to Memphis native Justin Timberlake, although restaurateur Eytan Sugarman was the owner of the restaurant.

The Hell's Kitchen restaurant was a large, lively space with plenty of Memphis and rock-and-roll personality. Elvis Presley memorabilia and references to the legendary Million Dollar Quartet helped give the restaurant a fun Tennessee feel.

It wasn't supposed to feel like a fancy Manhattan dining room.

It was barbecue, bourbon, comfort food, and a little bit of Southern attitude right in the heart of New York City.

Come Hungry!

This was definitely not the place to visit if you were looking for tiny portions.

Southern Hospitality's menu was packed with the kind of stick-to-your-ribs food I love finding when we travel.

Of course, barbecue was the star.

The restaurant served smoked meats such as brisket, pulled pork, chicken, baby back ribs, and Memphis-style dry-rubbed spare ribs.

If you couldn't decide on just one meat, combo platters made it possible to sample several.

Honestly, that's usually my favorite way to eat at a barbecue restaurant anyway. Give me a little bit of everything so I can decide which one I like best!

Start With Some Southern Appetizers

One of the fun things about Southern Hospitality was that the appetizers weren't boring.

We're talking fried green tomatoes, fried dill pickle chips, barbecue nachos, wings, hush puppies, and other Southern-inspired starters.

The BBQ nachos were especially over-the-top, combining tortilla chips with barbecue beans, cheese, guacamole, pico de gallo, sour cream, and barbecue sauce. You could even add pulled pork or pulled chicken.

That's practically a meal all by itself!

And you know I'm never going to complain when fried pickles show up on a menu.

The Barbecue

If you're going somewhere called Southern Hospitality BBQ, you've got to talk about the meat.

The restaurant served several different barbecue options, including slow-smoked brisket, pulled pork, pulled chicken, barbecue chicken, baby back ribs, and Memphis-style spare ribs.

One of the more interesting options was the Memphis-style spare ribs, which could be ordered wet or dry.

Dry-rubbed Memphis barbecue gets its flavor from a seasoned spice rub rather than relying entirely on a heavy coating of barbecue sauce. It lets that smoky meat flavor shine through while still giving you plenty of seasoning.

For anyone who wanted to sample several meats, the restaurant also offered big barbecue combination platters with meats and traditional sides.

These were definitely made for sharing — or for someone who arrived extremely hungry.

Don't Skip the Southern Fried Chicken

Barbecue might have been in the restaurant's name, but Southern Hospitality wasn't just about smoked meat.

The Southern fried chicken was another menu favorite.

The chicken was buttermilk-marinated and fried until golden and crispy, then served with classic Southern sides.

There was also chicken and waffles, combining crispy fried chicken with a Belgian-style waffle, butter, and maple syrup.

Sweet, salty, crispy, buttery — what's not to love about that combination?

Let's Talk About Those Sides

I have always said you can tell a lot about a barbecue restaurant by its side dishes.

The meat can be fantastic, but if the sides taste like an afterthought, something is missing.

Southern Hospitality offered plenty of choices, including:

• Macaroni and cheese
• Collard greens
• Cheddar cheese grits
• BBQ baked beans
• Mashed potatoes and gravy
• Coleslaw
• Sweet potato fries
• Cornbread with honey butter
• Black-eyed pea salad
• Crispy fries
• Onion strings

Give me some ribs, mac and cheese, collard greens, and warm cornbread with honey butter, and I am one happy girl.

Save Room for Dessert

After all that barbecue, fried chicken, and mac and cheese, dessert might seem impossible.

But when banana pudding, pecan pie, and red velvet cake are involved, you find room.

Southern Hospitality's dessert menu included Southern classics like banana pudding with vanilla wafers and a bourbon-flavored pecan pie.

Those were exactly the kinds of desserts you'd expect after a big Southern meal.

Southern Food in the Middle of Manhattan

Part of what made Southern Hospitality BBQ such a fun New York City dining experience was the contrast.

You could spend your day sightseeing around Manhattan and then sit down to a plate of smoked ribs, fried chicken, collard greens, and cornbread.

The Hell's Kitchen location was also convenient for visitors exploring Midtown and the Theater District, making it an easy addition to a day of sightseeing.

It offered something different from many of the foods travelers traditionally associate with New York.

Southern Hospitality BBQ Has Since Closed

If you've found this post while planning an upcoming trip to New York City, there is one important update you need to know.

Southern Hospitality BBQ is no longer open.

The Hell's Kitchen restaurant at 645 Ninth Avenue closed in 2019, several years after the original Upper East Side location had closed.

I'm keeping this post on Jen Around the World as part of my travel archives because restaurants are such a big part of our travel memories. Places change, restaurants close, and neighborhoods evolve, but those experiences are still part of the story of a destination — and part of my own travels.

If you ate at Southern Hospitality during its years in New York City, I'd love to know what you ordered.

Were you all about the ribs and brisket, or did you go straight for the fried chicken and mac and cheese?

Planning a Trip to New York City?

New York City is one of those destinations where you could visit again and again and still never run out of things to eat, see, and do.

Whether you're wandering through Times Square, catching a Broadway show, exploring Central Park, or simply eating your way through Manhattan, make sure you leave plenty of room in your itinerary for discovering New York's incredible food scene.

Sometimes those unexpected restaurant finds become some of the best memories from the entire trip.

Southern Hospitality BBQ was certainly one of those uniquely New York-meets-the-South experiences.