10 Alabama Restaurants for the Best Mac and Cheese

When it comes to iconic Southern cuisine, mac and cheese is definitely at the top of the list.

That’s probably why you can find it on the menu of many restaurants throughout Alabama, which can make choosing where to eat when you’re craving this Southern dish difficult.

Luckily for us, This is Alabama recently asked its followers on its Facebook page which restaurants in the state served the best mac and cheese. From off-the-beaten-path barbecue joints to iconic meat and cheese restaurants and more, the responses did not disappoint.

You can read 10 of them below, and you can read them all on the This is Alabama Facebook page.

Scruggs Barbecue

Scruggs BBQ in Decatur, Alabama, is known for serving up some seriously good barbecue, but that doesn’t mean you should sleep on the sides they serve. The mac and cheese is proof. It’s the perfect blend of melted cheese and soft noodles with that gooey factor that every good mac and cheese should have.

Real and Rosemary

While many of the reader-suggested restaurants have been around for years (and even decades), that doesn’t mean you should ignore some of the state’s newer recipes. With three locations in the Birmingham area, Real and Rosemary is a great place to enjoy mac and cheese made with simple, flavorful ingredients for that hard-to-beat, homestyle flavor.

New BBQ Market

New Market BBQ’s smoked mac and cheese is so good, it even made the Alabama Department of Tourism’s “100 Dishes to Eat in Alabama Before You Die” list in 2019. As the name suggests, the mac and cheese is smoked on the restaurant’s own grill and topped with their signature sauce for a unique flavor you’ll only find at the Madison County restaurant.

Gibson Big Bob Barbecue

Big Bob Gibson Bar-B-Q, which has two locations in Decatur, is one of the restaurants that often comes up when readers are asked where to find the best mac and cheese in the state. It seems that in its nearly 100 years of operation, the restaurant has learned a thing or two about how to make a classic Southern dish like mac and cheese stand out, even when served alongside award-winning barbecue.

Learn more: Alabama Barbecue Legend Selected for National Barbecue Hall of Fame

Net and Vine

Filet and Vine in Montgomery, or Derk’s as many locals call it, is a full-service a la carte restaurant, including a bottle shop, quick-serve supermarket, deli, and steak bar and three hot plates serving some of the best Southern cuisine in the capital. While it offers more than seven meats and a dozen sides that change daily, the homemade mac and cheese, served daily, is a dish that should please hungry diners no matter what’s on the menu.

Miss George’s Kitchen

Speaking of meat and three-meat restaurants that know how to make a mac and cheese dish, Pannie-George’s Kitchen, with locations in Auburn and Montgomery, is definitely one of them. In fact, we’d say the only downside to the restaurant’s mac and cheese is that the dish isn’t offered every day, so you’ll have to keep an eye out for when it’s on the menu (and get there early on those days so you don’t miss out on that delicious, gooey flavor).

Learn more: The Inspiring Story Behind This Beloved Auburn Restaurant

Saw Soul Kitchen

There are plenty of reasons to love Saw’s Soul Kitchen, from its funky vibe to its incredible barbecue, and it looks like its mac and cheese, offered as a premium side at most of its six Birmingham-area locations, is another item to add to the list. So next time you’re at Saw’s for their signature pork and veggies, maybe grab a side of mac and cheese, too. Soon, you might be craving it just as much.

Learn more: The Story Behind One of Alabama’s Most Signature Dishes

City Cafe

With over 80 years in business, City Cafe has become a beloved fixture in Northport, Alabama since opening its doors in 1931. A classic steakhouse and three-course joint, featuring a wide range of homemade Southern entrees and sides that change daily, it’s likely that many of its loyal customers plan their visit based on whether or not its delicious mac and cheese is on the menu that day.

Learn more: Five things to know about City Cafe

Nikki’s West

With such a wide selection to choose from, the mac and cheese served at Birmingham’s iconic Niki’s West is an obvious choice for many of its regulars. That’s probably why, even though its menu changes daily, you can always find mac and cheese among the sides – unless, of course, they’re sold out due to high demand.

Learn more: Niki’s West: The Story of a Classic Alabama Restaurant

Jim and Nick’s BBQ

Jim ‘N Nick’s may have locations in six states today (17 of them in all of Alabama), but Birmingham is where it got its start, and its macaroni and cheese has clearly left its mark. Offered alone as a side or topped with pork and served as an entrée, Jim ‘N Nick’s macaroni and cheese has been a popular choice among readers, and it’s not hard to see why.

Learn more: 12 Things You Might Not Know About Jim ‘N Nick’s Bar-B-Q