Tupelo is a city located in northeastern Mississippi that is known for its vibrant music scene, being the birthplace of Elvis Presley. However, Tupelo also boasts a tasty and eclectic food scene with various restaurants offering everything from traditional Southern cooking to global cuisines.
From longtime establishments serving up hearty comfort food to chic, modern eateries creating innovative dishes, Tupelo has no shortage of excellent dining options to satisfy any palate. The hardest part is narrowing down the choices with so many tasty restaurants calling Tupelo home.
To help you decide where to eat in Tupelo, here is a list of 12 of the best restaurants this city has to offer. For each restaurant, you’ll find information about what makes them stand out, their most popular menu items, specialty dishes, price range, and more.
1. Neon Pig
The Neon Pig is a hip farm-to-table eatery focusing on producing creative comfort food using fresh and local ingredients. Housed in a vibrant pink building, the Neon Pig offers homestyle cooking with gourmet twists that has made it a favorite among Tupelo locals and visitors alike.
Popular menu items include biscuit pot pie, shrimp and grits, and their hot chicken sandwich that can be ordered at six different heat levels. Don’t miss their melt-in-your-mouth cornbread that comes with honey butter. Entrees at the Neon Pig range from $12 to $30.
2. Romie’s Grocery
A long-standing staple restaurant in Tupelo, Romie’s Grocery originally opened in 1937 and continues serving Southern comfort food from the same location where Romie Parker ran his grocery store decades ago. The restaurant still has much of the original décor when it first opened.
Popular menu items include fried green tomatoes topped with lump crabmeat, crawfish etouffee, and Delta tamales wrapped in corn husks and simmered in spicy sauce. Be sure to save room for their warm peach cobbler or chocolate chess pie for dessert. Entrees range from $10 to $25.
3. Roast Social Kitchen
Combining global flavors with locally sourced ingredients, Roast Social Kitchen has an ever-changing, innovative menu often fusing Latin and Asian influences into Southern cooking. Housed in a chic, modern dining room, Roast has quickly become one of the most popular restaurants in Tupelo since opening a few years ago.
Specialties include pupusas stuffed with fried green tomatoes and pimento cheese served with curtido, General Tso’s fried quail, Korean beef tacos, and ramencarbonara. Cocktail and wine lovers will also appreciate their extensive drink menu. Entrees range from $12 to $25.
4. Daily Fix Coffee + Wine Bar
For breakfast and lunch, check out Daily Fix Coffee + Wine Bar which is also a casually elegant place for dinner and drinks in the evening. This multifunctional eatery serves internationally-inspired small plates, sandwiches, salads, and often fuses Southeast Asian flavors into Southern dishes and comfort food.
Menu standouts include Thai chicken & waffles, banh mi tacos, Vietnamese shrimp & grits, and smoked salmon toast loaded with whipped feta, capers, pickled onions, and fresh dill. Prices range from $3 snacks to $18 entrees.
5. Little Venice
For authentic handcrafted Italian cuisine, Little Venice offers family recipes perfected over several generations. Tucked away in a small house, Little Venice provides an intimate ambiance and welcoming environment where diners can watch their dishes prepared firsthand in the open kitchen.
Popular picks include chicken piccata in lemon caper sauce, lasagna Bolognese, and eggplant Parmesan. And save room for homemade tiramisu and cannoli. Pasta dishes range from $12 to $18 while specialty entrees are $20 to $35.
6. Kermit’s Soul Kitchen
Right on the outskirts of downtown, Kermit’s Soul Kitchen plates up piping hot soul food and comfort classics perfect for lunch or dinner. A small, counter-serve establishment started by two sisters, Kermit’s menu overflows with timeless dishes like smothered pork chops, baked chicken, oxtails, and ox tails served with two vegetables and cornbread.
For the ultimate soul food platter, order the Southern Soul Food Special with your choice of two meats like fried chicken, fried catfish, barbeque ribs, or chitterlings with two hearty sides. Entrees average $10 to $15 per plate.
7. Main Street Coffee
For freshly baked pastries, breakfast sandwiches and creativity coffees and teas, Main Street Coffee makes everything in-house from their fluffy buttermilk biscuits to rich chocolate cake. This cozy coffeehouse uses local ingredients whenever possible and has plenty of vegetarian and vegan-friendly options too.
Top menu items include the signature biscuit sandwiches served on house-baked biscuits, avocado toast platter loaded with fresh vegetables and a poached egg, and their extensive coffee menu with choice or lattes, cold brew, pour over and more. Prices range from $3 to $12.
8. Blue Canoe
Overlooking the peaceful Tombigbee River, Blue Canoe has been open for over 15 years gaina loyal following for its contemporary take on Southern cooking served in a gorgeous riverfront setting. The restaurant features an exhibition kitchen so diners can watch chefs preparing wood-grilled steaks, seafood and more.
Specialties include coffee-crusted filet mignon, pan seared redfish, grilled pork tenderloin with a peach BBQ glaze, and shrimp and grits with Andouille sausage. Desserts like homemade beignets and bread pudding are also a huge draw. Entrees range from $18 to $40.
9. Renasant Center for IDEAs
Located inside the Renasant Convention Center, the Renasant Center for IDEAs delivers high quality cuisine in a contemporary, posh atmosphere. The restaurant serves globally inspired Southern fusion dishes made using seasonal, locally sourced ingredients whenever possible.
Creative menu standouts include chicken schnitzel picatta with lemon caper sauce, Asian glazed salmon with forbidden rice and stir fried vegetables, and pan seared diver scallops with parmesan cauliflower mash and crispy prosciutto. Prices range from $14 appetizers to $35 entrees.
10. Hop’s Diner
For quintessential diner fare perfected over decades, Hops’ Diner serves scratch-made regional favorites and comfort food staples at budget friendly prices You’ll discover nothing trendy or pretentious at this casual eatery housed in a rustic cottage, just delicious homemade meatloaf, chicken fried steak, catfish and daily blue plate specials.
Popular picks include country fried pork chops smothered in gravy, chicken salad croissant sandwich, patty melt with caramelized onions, and banana pudding for dessert. Nearly everything on their classic diner menu costs less than $15.
11. Little Italy Pizza
You can’t visit Tupelo without stopping by this beloved pizzeria serving piping hot New York-style pies since the early 1970s. Little Italy Pizza has a casual, laidback ambiance and primarily focuses on pizza, calzones and Stromboli along with pasta dishes, wings and a small selection of Italian American classics.
Must-try pies include the Staten Island loaded with sausage, mushrooms, green peppers and onions or the fan favorite margherita pizza. Pasta entrees average $9 to 14 while specialty pizzas cost $14 to $28 for extra large.
12. Vanelli’s Bistro
Last but certainly not least is Vanelli’s Bistro, an elegant yet approachable French-Italian fusion restaurant residing in a historic 1905 Colonial Revival home. Expect tableside service and cooking along with scrumptious, innovative takes on continental cuisine.
Standouts include lobster ravioli in truffle cream sauce, pan seared duck breast with cherry balsamic reduction, bacon wrapped filet mignon stuffed with blue cheese, and cioppino overflowing with seafood. Entrees range from $19 to $45. Save room for their trademark dessert soufflés too.
Conclusion
From colorful diners to swanky bistros, hole-in-the-wall joints to destination eateries, you’ll discover an amazing diversity of dining options in Tupelo. For traditional Southern fare, longtime restaurants like Romie’s Grocery and Kermit’s Soul Kitchen are local legends.
If seeking global flavors and contemporary cuisine, check out innovative kitchens like Roast Social, Renasant Center for IDEAs and Blue Canoe. And beloved institutions like Little Italy Pizza, Hop’s Diner and Main Street Coffee do classic comfort food right.
With such culinary variety, determining the 12 best Tupelo restaurants required difficult decisions. But visitors and locals agree these 12 eateries each offer a distinctly delicious taste of Tupelo dining spanning traditional to eclectic.
So pull up a table and prepare your appetite – tasty times await dining your way through Tupelo’s vibrant restaurant scene.