8 Secret Restaurants in the South
Gas stations, freezer doors, and sliding library walls are just a few of the facades fronting the South's coolest and tastiest secret restaurants. Image: Firehouse Lounge
Finding hidden gems across the South is StyleBlueprint’s specialty. But today, we’re sharing some actually hidden hot spots. Most of these restaurants are unmarked and require secret directions to find. Some are tucked away in charming neighborhoods. All are highly lauded and worth a spot on your culinary bucket list. If you can find them …
El Carajo | Miami, FL
While most restaurants on this list are unmarked, El Carajo has disguised itself as a working gas station. Past the pumps and into the “Food Store & Deli,” you’ll weave through rows of candy and snacks into a beloved tapas restaurant and world-class wine shop. Yep, this Miami BP gas station sells more than 2,000 sommelier-selected wines from all over the globe, plus delicious Spanish tapas in a charming old-world cafe.
The Marble Ring | Birmingham, AL
“If you don’t know where it is, you’ll just have to ask your friends,” reads this bar’s mysterious website. The Marble Ring is a speakeasy bar in Avondale, a bustling neighborhood near downtown Birmingham. But we can tell you that to get to this roaring ‘20s-inspired bar, you go through Hot Diggity Dogs and into a Police phone booth to ask (through the working receiver) for an available table. Bring your hot dog order and enjoy some serious cocktails named after the era’s famous and infamous characters.
N7 | New Orleans, LA
When GPS or your Uber driver tells you you’ve arrived at N7, don’t be confused. Look for an unmarked door along a tall fence, and you’ll enter a jungle-like garden and one of Louisiana’s most treasured dining experiences. Filmmaker Aaron Walker infuses some seriously romantic aesthetics while chef Yuki Yamaguchi serves up French and Japanese tapas and natural wines. The charming, window-flanked building was previously a tire shop and a stable for carriage horses.
Firehouse Lounge | Austin, TX
Austin’s Firehouse Hostel and Lounge are located in the city’s oldest standing fire station, built in 1885. The building was home to a brigade of volunteer firefighters through the turn of the 20th century, and there are still many nods to the building’s history throughout the hostel rooms. But the most fantastic room of all lies behind a secret sliding bookshelf. Watch your step as you enter a raucous room filled with talented mixologists slinging cocktails, domestic beers, and small plates to eclectic patrons from all over.
Blind Tiger | Aventura, FL
North of Miami, Reunion Ktchn Bar sits in a sprawling strip near a bank, grocery store, and Coldstone Creamery. Check in at Reunion, make a quick left at the bathrooms, and you’ll see the curtains that shield the restaurant within a restaurant. On the other side is Blind Tiger, a highly acclaimed sushi restaurant. The decor is sparse because the colorful and explosively flavorful food is the main event.
Eleanor’s | Smyrna, GA
Muss & Turner’s is a popular all-day joint in a Northwest suburb between Atlanta and Marietta. But you’ll notice some patrons breezing past the host stand toward the giant metal walk-through freezer door. To open it is to open yourself up to Eleanor’s, a Prohibition-style speakeasy filled with tasty cocktails, creative small plates, and rotating sandwich offerings. Whether you’re a local or just passing through the area for work, this hidden restaurant should be on your list.
Chez Nous | Charleston, SC
Hiding in plain sight, Chez Nous (“our house”) is a pint-sized house-turned-restaurant off a gravel driveway in one of Charleston’s bustling downtown neighborhoods. And if you think finding the restaurant is an adventure, wait until you taste the food. There are typically just two options per course, and the beautifully handwritten menu you can take home changes daily. It’s a worthy stop on any Charleston food itinerary!
Hiden | Miami, FL
You’ll meander through a bustling taco restaurant to an unmarked door to get to this Michelin-starred restaurant. You won’t, however, have tacos in your future. Your reservation gains you the coveted door code that leads to an eight-seat omakase restaurant, Hiden. At $300 a person, the eight-to-ten-course tasting menu is a splurge, but the wide-reaching Japanese flavors and intimate experience make it positively worth it.
Find the door, and you’ll score a thrilling hidden dining experience.
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Zoe Yarborough
Zoe is a StyleBlueprint staff writer, Charlotte native, Washington & Lee graduate, and Nashville transplant of eleven years. She teaches Pilates, helps manage recording artists, and likes to "research" Germantown's food scene.