In the South, we don’t play around when it comes to dessert. Our layer cakes are the tallest, our pies are the flakiest, and our portions are the largest. That’s why so many iconic sweets were either born here, or made famous in our region, like this list of famous desserts from Southern restaurants. All of these places are notable—many have won national and local awards—but their desserts are what draw people from around the country, and even the world. Customers know they’ll be ordering these dishes, whether it’s Key lime pie in Key West or the best peach cobbler in Atlanta, before they even walk through the door. And believe us, these legends truly live up to the hype.
Coconut Cake, Bottega
Bottega
Birmingham, Alabama
There are many famous coconut cakes throughout the South (in fact, there is another one on this very list) but few are as celebrated as the one served at Bottega and its sister restaurant Chez Fonfon. Don’t expect the traditional white-on-white layers and frosting. Created by James Beard Award winner and Bottega’s former pastry chef, Dolester Miles, the cake itself is speckled with ground pecans, which add texture and sweetness, which are brushed with simple syrup. In between the layers is a rich filling made with shredded coconut, cream of coconut, and sweetened condensed milk. Then the whole thing is covered in a light coconut frosting and topped with more shredded coconut. If that wasn’t enough, each slice is served with a pool of creme anglaise. It’s the kind of dessert that makes your eyes roll back with pleasure, or evokes tears when it’s sold out for the night.
World Famous Peanut Pie, Virginia Diner
Virginia Diner
Wakefield, Virginia
Imagine the sticky sweetness and crunch of a pecan pie, only with peanuts. But not just any old peanuts—this pie is made with Virginia peanuts, the super-sized, extra flavorful kind. That’s the not-so-secret ingredient in Virginia Diner’s most beloved dessert. The roadside restaurant, which opened in 1929, is now known for its locally-sourced nuts (which it sells in a variety of flavors, plus in brittles and mail-order pies ) as much as its menu of comfort food classics, like meatloaf and country-fried steak. Each slice is packed with toasty nuts, adding a pleasantly savory, salty note that balances out the syrupy filling.
Bananas Foster, Brennan’s
New Orleans
Flambéed tableside with a dramatic burst of fire, bananas Foster is the kind of dessert that draws all eyes in the dining room to your table. And although you can find versions of it served all over the country, the dish started here in 1951, and has remained on Brennan’s menu ever since. Sliced bananas are sauteed in a sauce of butter, brown sugar, aged rum, and banana liqueur, then lit on fire with the addition of rum. The whole thing is transferred into a dish, topped with vanilla ice cream and extra sauce. The restaurant’s whimsical dining rooms and seasonally-inspired menu are unlike any other in New Orleans and well worth a trip to the city. But if you’re just here for the bananas, you won’t be alone.
Black Bottom Pie, Weidmann’s
Weidmann’s/Facebook
Meridian, Mississippi
Open since 1879, and located in the same building since 1923, Weidmann’s staying power is legendary in itself. From the vintage neon sign out front to the small crocks of peanut butter with crackers that top each table, the place is full of old-fashioned charm. The menu is peppered with specials like Catfish Belvedere and Chicken Ya Ya, but the one thing you can’t miss is Weidmann’s World Famous Black Bottom Pie. Each generously-sized slice has a tall, sail-like wedge of meringue, a custardy chocolate filling, and a cookie crust. The whole thing is topped with whipped cream and chocolate shavings for a final flourish. The dessert is a delicate balancing act; the lightness of the meringue counters the richness of the filling, which makes it all too easy to polish off.
Peach Cobbler, Paschal’s
Paschal’s/Facebook
Atlanta, Georgia
This Atlanta institution opened by brothers James and Robert Paschal in 1947 has a history as rich as its famous peach cobbler. What started as a simple coffee shop grew to become a restaurant and catering company with an outpost at Hartsfield-Jackson airport. At one time, it even included a hotel. Most importantly, it was a gathering place in the 1960s for civil rights organizers and leaders like Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. The Paschals also supported the movement by posting bonds for arrested protesters and giving them free food. Only second to its fried chicken, peach cobbler is the restaurant’s most beloved dish—and that’s saying something in a city where the dessert is on menus everywhere. This version is simply outstanding, with a layer of sugary pastry on top of tender, lightly spiced, buttery fruit.
Texas Trash Pie, Royers Round Top Cafe
Royers Round Top Cafe
Round Top, Texas
If you’re looking for desserts with artful subtlety, you won’t find them at Royers Round Top Cafe. This homey spot makes big, bold pies that demand attention. The most famous of them all, Texas Trash Pie, seems like it could be too over the top, with caramel, chocolate chips, coconut, graham crackers, and pretzels in a pastry crust. But before you know it, you’ve nearly polished off an entire salty-sweet slice and are going back for another.
Strawberry Pie, Jim’s Steak & Spaghetti House
Jim’s Steak and Spaghetti House/Facebook
Huntington, West Virginia
Don’t let the name of this place fool you. While pasta dinners have kept this in business since 1938, the house-baked pies have a following of their own, especially when strawberries are in season. Every May, Jim’s offers strawberry pie for one week only, drawing lines of customers down the street waiting to claim a slice. Unlike some strawberry pies that involve gelatin, this one celebrates the fruit in its freshest form. Sweet sliced berries are piled into a baked pastry crust and blanketed with whipped cream on top. When you’re done eating a slice, you’ll be left with a pool of strawberry juice on your plate—don’t let it go to waste.
Tennessee Waltz Cake, City House
City House
Nashville, Tennessee
While this cake might not have the name recognition as some of the other desserts on this list, we think it is destined to become a new classic. Created by pastry chef Rebekah Turshen at City House restaurant in Nashville, it’s already legendary in Music City. Turshen took inspiration from an icebox cake made by her grandmother to create an entirely modern dessert. The creamy, six layered dessert has buttermilk-pecan cake drizzled with espresso syrup with bourbon-espresso-vanilla-pecan Bavarian, and chocolate-espresso-pecan praline crumbs on top. Each bite is a different and delicious combination that tastes nostalgic, but also like nothing you’ve ever had before.
Chocolate Chess Pie, Angus Barn
Angus Barn
Raleigh, North Carolina
Beef is the main draw at the 65-year-old, family-owned Angus Barn, but the Chocolate Chess Pie has a dedicated following of its own. The steakhouse estimates that it sells a whopping 50,000 of them a year. Part of its appeal might be the simplicity of the pie, which is simply a gooey chocolate filling with a crisp, crackled top inside a buttery pastry shell. The recipe comes from the late Alice Eure, who opened the restaurant with her husband, the late Thad Eure, Jr. in 1960. It’s the kind of homey dessert that many people recall a grandmother or family member making during their childhood, which adds to the pie’s old-fashioned appeal.
Caramel Pie, Charlotte’s Eats and Sweets
Charlottes Eats and Sweets/Facebook
Keo, Arkansas
Dessert is always ordered first at this small town diner, which draws customers from all corners of the state just for a slice of pie. Meringue pies are the thing here, and the billowy topping is so tall it seems to crane toward the ceiling. While the chocolate and coconut pies have their fans, Charlotte’s caramel pie is truly legendary. Its buttery, burnt-sugar filling is the perfect contrast to the airy meringue. Only a certain number of pies are made every day, and flavors often change, so you have to check the board for the day’s flavors, and cross your fingers that it isn’t already sold out by the time you’re seated.
Derby Pie, Kern’s Kitchen
Louisville, Kentucky
As synonymous with Kentucky as the mint julep, this dessert was created by George Kern in 1954 for Melrose Inn, a restaurant in Prospect that was known for its Derby parties. Made with walnuts, chocolate chips, and a pastry crust, this unique pie has a gooey filling and a crisp top, reminiscent of a chocolate chip cookie. While the Melrose Inn is no longer open, the recipe remains a closely-guarded family secret. (In fact, the kern family has even trademarked the name.) It’s sold at restaurants in and around Louisville, and online.
The Ultimate Coconut Cake, Peninsula Grill
Peninsula Grill
Charleston, South Carolina
This showstopping 12-layer cake is like a modern skyscraper, all sharp lines and angles. Which is why it’s surprising that it started as an heirloom family recipe. The Peninsula Grill‘s late chef and owner Robert Carter took his grandmother’s coconut cake and turned it into a masterpiece. The layers are made of coconut pound cake (which is sturdy enough to be sliced so thinly) and have coconut icing between them. The outside of the cake is covered in a smooth layer of cream cheese frosting and covered with toasted coconut on the sides. It’s a dessert that’s worthy of a wedding, and countless Charleston brides have served it on their special day. If you can’t make it to Charleston, order it shipped to your door.
Key Lime Pie, Kermit’s Key Lime Shop
Kermit’s Key West Key Lime Shoppe
Key West, Florida
In Key West, Key lime pies are as common as roosters in the street. (If you’ve been, you know.) And while many slices at restaurants and bakeries around town are beloved, Kermit’s has achieved legendary status. Any business that sells primarily one thing has to perfect their formula, and the Key lime pie here has a balanced sweet-tart flavor, a buttery crust, and texture that’s not too firm or too soft. It’s the Goldilocks of pies. You can also enjoy a slice on a stick that’s been coated in dark chocolate and frozen. It’s not not for purists, but it’s delicious all the same.
