Favorite Restaurants in Laurel MS –

Laurel Mississippi is the location for HGTV’s show Home Town. This is my favorite of the home remodeling shows because of the charming hosts and the charming town. We had a wonderful visit to Laurel and found a plethora of things to do in this small town. And you will definitely not leave hungry…there are plenty of great restaurants in Laurel MS!

Best Restaurants in Laurel MS

You will be impressed with the number of delicious places to eat in Laurel MS!

Pearl’s Diner

Pearl’s Diner was possibly our favorite restaurant in Laurel MS. There was a line to order our food on the Saturday when we arrived at Pearl’s, but if you love good southern home cooking it is worth the wait! My husband had the vegetable platter and I had fried chicken and vegetables. Everything was delicious. It was just like having your grandmother from the country cook for you.

Miss Pearl has been featured on Home Town and she was at her restaurant the day we were there. She definitely keeps things moving! Everything we had at Pearl’s Diner was good…but, y’all, the mac and cheese. You’ve got to try the mac and cheese!

The Loft on Central

The Loft on Central was hopping the night we visited, it was busy and friendly. Their bar area has a warm, old-fashioned atmosphere with a brick floor and dark wood accents. We had a delicious peach cocktail while we were waiting for our table. The restaurant has steak and seafood options with ribeye being the steak of choice. My husband had the steak and I had the creole shrimp pasta. We agreed that his steak won the day.

We were there on a cold and rainy evening but there was outdoor seating which would be nice in good weather. There was live music that Friday night as well.

Cafe La Fleur

Cafe La Fleur is a cozy and delicious cajun restaurant. They serve a variety of cajun dishes including gumbo and seafood enchiladas and po-boys and a really yummy shrimp bisque which I definitely recommend.

Service was a little slow, but we weren’t in a hurry and sometimes you have to wait when everything is made fresh to order! We love bread pudding and try it where ever we go – it is excellent here so save room for dessert! And by the way, Cafe LaFleur does not serve alcoholic beverages.

Cafe La Fleur in Laurel, Mississippi. There are many good restaurants in Laurel MSCafe La Fleur in Laurel, Mississippi. There are many good restaurants in Laurel MS

Lee’s Coffee and Tea

Lee’s Coffee and Tea is an excellent coffee shop as well as a great place to grab some lunch. The young baristas and servers were friendly and helpful. I’m not a coffee drinker but my husband is and he claims that the coffee here was wonderful. I can recommend the hot tea!

They have some great light items for breakfast and lunch such as pastries and salads and sandwiches. They are known for their pimento cheese which just happens to be one of my favorite food items in the world. Lee’s also hosts special events such as music and movies and game nights so that might be fun for a visitor to Laurel to check out!

coffee shop in Laurel, Mississippi. A great place to stop for lunch. coffee shop in Laurel, Mississippi. A great place to stop for lunch.

Mimmos Italian Bistro

Mimmos is a small Mississippi chain. The Laurel location is spacious with soaring ceilings, brick walls, a large old-timey bar, and a fountain in the middle of the space. The service was excellent and the food was delicious.

The bread and especially the dipping sauce for the bread were particularly good. We split a pasta dish and a salad and devoured every bit. The salad dressing was homemade and just delightful. I still think about it.

We didn’t try pizza, but I saw them delivered to other tables and they looked yummy!

Sweet Somethings Bakery

You can’t come to Laurel and not stop in this pretty bakery. It smells good, it looks good, and everything we tried tasted amazing!

PDI – Phillips Drive-In

Looking for a classic, old school, drive-in burger and shake place? Phillips Drive-In is it! The locals call it PDI and it seems to be a beloved institution! It has been around since the 1950’s and still going strong. It is has the perfect greasy (in the best possible way) burger and creamy milkshakes. There is lots of outdoor seating at PDI.

The Knight Butcher

Oh my goodness.The Knight Market has the most delicious looking meats and foods. They have all kinds of products such as house made boudin and sausages, meatloaf, stuffed peppers, and gourmet burgers. They have some different varieties of beef jerky that you will want to sample.

Seriously, everything looked delicious. If you are staying at one of the nearby AirBnb’s with a kitchen you might be tempted to cook. They also serve lunch with items like burgers and brisket and deli sandwiches.

meat market in downtown laurel mississippimeat market in downtown laurel mississippi

Bird Dog Cafe

The Bird Dog Cafe is one of the newer restaurants in Laurel MS. You might have seen the renovation of this little house turned restaurant on Home Town Season 4. It was started by two brothers, the Bell brothers, who are from the area, left, and returned home to open their restaurant and help with the continuing revitalization of Laurel MS.

Bird Dog Cafe is a combination coffee shop and restaurant. I would suggest trying the chicken salad or the Cuban sandwich for lunch! Both are delicious. They have recently begun to open for dinner as well!

I know that you will enjoy the great restaurants Laurel Mississippi restaurants!

To learn about some other Mississippi towns you can check out my post about things to do in Greenwood, MS. Greenwood also has some good and interesting restaurants.

Or perhaps you would like to learn more about the quirky town of Natchez, Mississippi and the restaurants that you can try there.

Thanks so much for stopping by!