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Where to Drink Coffee in Nashville

The finest cups of cold brew, frothy lattes, and jolts of espresso — mapped

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Nashville’s culinary star has been on the rise in recent years, and the coffee shop movement has shot up right along with it. Today — more than ever before — there’s a slew of shops around town taking great pride in their cup of joe, some going so far as to source their own beans in far-flung locales and roast them here at home.

So, if you’re looking for a little afternoon pick-me-up or a cup of warm, delicious java to perk up a morning coffee date, this curated mix of essential cafes around Nashville has your back with steamy cups of heavenly joe and a few sweet (and savory) snacks to help fuel your day.

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Elegy Coffee

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The cute coffee shop from the owners of the Fox Bar and Cocktail Club features a walk-up window for easy on-the-go coffee pickup. Iced coffee fans can look forward to seasonal concoctions — like the Honey Bear with cold brew, oat milk, burnt honey, cinnamon, and maple syrup — alongside its usual espresso and tea lattes. You can also find most of the same items at its Downtown and Germantown locations.

Retrograde Coffee

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The Dickerson Pike shop has a nice patio for rare days that beg to be spent outdoors. A favorite spot among locals, Retrograde serves locally roasted beans and offers other coffee from around the southeast. The City Heights location (2714 Clifton Avenue) turns into Bar at Retrograde at night, offering both classic and new cocktail creations after 5 p.m., including the Bloodletter made with red wine, apple brandy, pomegranate, and hibiscus. Retrograde also owns local favorite Ugly Mugs Coffee and Tea in East Nashville.

Slow Hand Coffee + Bakeshop

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Owned by Nick and Audra Guidry of Pelican & Pig, this East Nashville hang offers high-quality brews and a variety of savory and sweet breakfast and lunch items (think: hummingbird muffins and hot chicken burritos) while leaving the pretentiousness often affiliated with coffee culture at the door. You can also find a second location out in Lebanon.

Grandpa Bar - Coffee & Cocktails

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An unassuming coffee clatch serving up steaming lattes and pastries by day, Grandpa’s is all about the nightcaps after the sun sets, turning into a cozy bar scene in the evening with Old Fashioneds, espresso martinis, and antique furniture to enjoy them on. The coffee menu at this Marathon Village spot features drip coffee, espresso drinks, teas, and signature lattes like the Honky Tonk made with sweet cream and a Goo Goo-inspired syrup.

Drug Store Coffee

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Situated in the lobby of the Noelle in Downtown, Drug Store Coffee has a polished, mid-century modern feel about it with its brass, wood, and retro Eames-style swivel chairs. The drinks here, though, are more in touch with the present day — pistachio lattes, cold drip coffee, and cortados made with Sump coffee accompany the Hi-Fi cookies, muffins, bagels, and cinnamon rolls on the menu. There’s also a record player in the corner that showcases the shop's vinyl collection on a custom system created by local experts, Hazelwood Laboratories.

Rolling Mill Hill’s coffee mecca is serious about its business, taking painstaking efforts to source its beans the right way and offering various classes on the craft of coffee. And if you like an extra little pick-me-up with your morning joe, head over to Pinewood Social and order Crema's cortado with Fernet. There’s also a second, bigger location in Brentwood.

8th & Roast

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The original 8th Avenue haven for the creative class remains busier than ever, but roasting operations (and the new training lab) have gone south to their new, roomy digs on Grandview Ave. All of its locations brew the usual caffeinated suspects (espresso, cappuccinos, and lattes) alongside more creative concoctions like the fan-favorite housemade pistachio latte. You’ll also find breakfast and lunch options, including grab-and-go meals for those in a rush. At the airport? There’s an 8th & Roast there, too.

Headquarters

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It may be a tad small (nine feet wide, to be exact), but the eclectic Charlotte Avenue coffee shop’s brews — using beans from local coffee roaster Osa — make it worth a stop. Creative caffeinated concoctions include the sorghum cinnamon latte and the seasonal Cherry Refresho which combines espresso and Mexican Coca-Cola. The shop also offers baked goods from local bakeries Brightside BakeryDozen BakerySweet 16th, and Vegan Vee.

Sump Coffee

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This Saint Louis transplant is located in the OneCity complex and specializes in light-roasted single-origin coffee. Open every day from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m., you’ll find pour-over coffees and lattes at this bright, sunlit shop along with a variety of pastries from Dozen and a few office nomads tapping away at their laptops.

Dose Coffee

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Dose was the first multi-roaster coffee shop in town, and the owners of this popular West End coffee shop — which opened back in 2009 — also have two other locations in East Nashville and Old Hickory Village. While the East Nashville location is the only one with a bar program (i.e. you can spike your java there), all locations offer a rotating selection of coffees from Counter Culture Coffee all year round along with featured roasts from over two dozen U.S. roasters.

Matryoshka Coffee

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This shop within a shop is the creation of owner Abbey Chiavari who opened this micro cafe (it clocks in at 300 square feet) on the south side. Matryoshka’s bright, rainbow-hued decor imbues the space with a sense of joy that goes perfectly with the filter coffee, teas, and specialty drinks (like the Confetti Cuban with sweetened condensed milk, espresso, sprinkles, and edible glitter) on the menu.

Bongo Java

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This is the grandfather in the local coffee world, having originally opened up on Belmont Avenue in 1993. Its proprietary coffee is roasted here in Nashville and is 100% organic and fair trade. Food plays as big a part as the brew here, serving hearty breakfast options — like breakfast burritos and avocado toast — all day long. (Note: Bongo’s menu is taking a brief hiatus through March 2024 to host a Korean egg sandwich pop-up, the Egg Drip). The Bongo family has also grown considerably over the years, and now includes Fido, Game Point Cafe, and Grins.

The Loading Dock

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Kitchy and cool, this Wedgewood Houston haunt is a bit tough to find — you’ll have to wind your way to the back of a small complex. But once you’re there, you’ll want to order some of the locally roasted coffee brews or lattes to take out onto the patio with a bagel sandwich or one of its rotating pastry offerings. You can also pick up a few handmade goods from local artists while you’re there.

Great lattes — and real-deal breakfast tacos — are the name of the game at this Nolensville Pike coffee oasis. Former Texans run this shop (hence the strong breakfast tacos game), which features Houston’s Greenway Coffee but has recently dabbled in roasting its very own coffee. There’s also a Texas egg scramble and sweets from Dozen Bakery on the menu, plus a stage for special events.

The Frothy Monkey

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A 12 South institution, neighbors, college students, and business types alike have been flocking to this original location of Frothy Monkey since its inception. You’ll find all of the usual coffee suspects there (lattes, espressos, drip coffee) along with one of its signature concoctions, the Golden Monkey Latte with espresso, steamed turmeric milk, honey, and cinnamon. Frothy has now expanded to eight storefronts (four of which are in Nashville), a roasting facility, and its very own bakery.

Stay Golden

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At this bright and sunny Berry Hill coffee shop/all-day cafe you’ll find a refreshing coffee soda, a signature brandy vanilla latte, and even coffee cocktails like the Coffee Old-Fashioned with local Belle Meade Bourbon. The shop uses beans from its sister company, Good Citizen Coffee Co., which it sources from sustainable farms in Costa Rica, Guatemala, Brazil, and Ethiopia.

Jackie Gutierrez-Jones is the former editor of Eater Nashville. She has over a decade of experience writing, editing, and leading content teams in the food, drink, travel, and tech space.

Elegy Coffee

The cute coffee shop from the owners of the Fox Bar and Cocktail Club features a walk-up window for easy on-the-go coffee pickup. Iced coffee fans can look forward to seasonal concoctions — like the Honey Bear with cold brew, oat milk, burnt honey, cinnamon, and maple syrup — alongside its usual espresso and tea lattes. You can also find most of the same items at its Downtown and Germantown locations.

Retrograde Coffee

The Dickerson Pike shop has a nice patio for rare days that beg to be spent outdoors. A favorite spot among locals, Retrograde serves locally roasted beans and offers other coffee from around the southeast. The City Heights location (2714 Clifton Avenue) turns into Bar at Retrograde at night, offering both classic and new cocktail creations after 5 p.m., including the Bloodletter made with red wine, apple brandy, pomegranate, and hibiscus. Retrograde also owns local favorite Ugly Mugs Coffee and Tea in East Nashville.

Slow Hand Coffee + Bakeshop

Owned by Nick and Audra Guidry of Pelican & Pig, this East Nashville hang offers high-quality brews and a variety of savory and sweet breakfast and lunch items (think: hummingbird muffins and hot chicken burritos) while leaving the pretentiousness often affiliated with coffee culture at the door. You can also find a second location out in Lebanon.

Grandpa Bar - Coffee & Cocktails

An unassuming coffee clatch serving up steaming lattes and pastries by day, Grandpa’s is all about the nightcaps after the sun sets, turning into a cozy bar scene in the evening with Old Fashioneds, espresso martinis, and antique furniture to enjoy them on. The coffee menu at this Marathon Village spot features drip coffee, espresso drinks, teas, and signature lattes like the Honky Tonk made with sweet cream and a Goo Goo-inspired syrup.

Drug Store Coffee

Situated in the lobby of the Noelle in Downtown, Drug Store Coffee has a polished, mid-century modern feel about it with its brass, wood, and retro Eames-style swivel chairs. The drinks here, though, are more in touch with the present day — pistachio lattes, cold drip coffee, and cortados made with Sump coffee accompany the Hi-Fi cookies, muffins, bagels, and cinnamon rolls on the menu. There’s also a record player in the corner that showcases the shop's vinyl collection on a custom system created by local experts, Hazelwood Laboratories.

Crema

Rolling Mill Hill’s coffee mecca is serious about its business, taking painstaking efforts to source its beans the right way and offering various classes on the craft of coffee. And if you like an extra little pick-me-up with your morning joe, head over to Pinewood Social and order Crema's cortado with Fernet. There’s also a second, bigger location in Brentwood.

8th & Roast

The original 8th Avenue haven for the creative class remains busier than ever, but roasting operations (and the new training lab) have gone south to their new, roomy digs on Grandview Ave. All of its locations brew the usual caffeinated suspects (espresso, cappuccinos, and lattes) alongside more creative concoctions like the fan-favorite housemade pistachio latte. You’ll also find breakfast and lunch options, including grab-and-go meals for those in a rush. At the airport? There’s an 8th & Roast there, too.

Headquarters

It may be a tad small (nine feet wide, to be exact), but the eclectic Charlotte Avenue coffee shop’s brews — using beans from local coffee roaster Osa — make it worth a stop. Creative caffeinated concoctions include the sorghum cinnamon latte and the seasonal Cherry Refresho which combines espresso and Mexican Coca-Cola. The shop also offers baked goods from local bakeries Brightside BakeryDozen BakerySweet 16th, and Vegan Vee.

Sump Coffee

This Saint Louis transplant is located in the OneCity complex and specializes in light-roasted single-origin coffee. Open every day from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m., you’ll find pour-over coffees and lattes at this bright, sunlit shop along with a variety of pastries from Dozen and a few office nomads tapping away at their laptops.

Dose Coffee

Dose was the first multi-roaster coffee shop in town, and the owners of this popular West End coffee shop — which opened back in 2009 — also have two other locations in East Nashville and Old Hickory Village. While the East Nashville location is the only one with a bar program (i.e. you can spike your java there), all locations offer a rotating selection of coffees from Counter Culture Coffee all year round along with featured roasts from over two dozen U.S. roasters.

Matryoshka Coffee

This shop within a shop is the creation of owner Abbey Chiavari who opened this micro cafe (it clocks in at 300 square feet) on the south side. Matryoshka’s bright, rainbow-hued decor imbues the space with a sense of joy that goes perfectly with the filter coffee, teas, and specialty drinks (like the Confetti Cuban with sweetened condensed milk, espresso, sprinkles, and edible glitter) on the menu.

Bongo Java

This is the grandfather in the local coffee world, having originally opened up on Belmont Avenue in 1993. Its proprietary coffee is roasted here in Nashville and is 100% organic and fair trade. Food plays as big a part as the brew here, serving hearty breakfast options — like breakfast burritos and avocado toast — all day long. (Note: Bongo’s menu is taking a brief hiatus through March 2024 to host a Korean egg sandwich pop-up, the Egg Drip). The Bongo family has also grown considerably over the years, and now includes Fido, Game Point Cafe, and Grins.

The Loading Dock

Kitchy and cool, this Wedgewood Houston haunt is a bit tough to find — you’ll have to wind your way to the back of a small complex. But once you’re there, you’ll want to order some of the locally roasted coffee brews or lattes to take out onto the patio with a bagel sandwich or one of its rotating pastry offerings. You can also pick up a few handmade goods from local artists while you’re there.

Tempo

Great lattes — and real-deal breakfast tacos — are the name of the game at this Nolensville Pike coffee oasis. Former Texans run this shop (hence the strong breakfast tacos game), which features Houston’s Greenway Coffee but has recently dabbled in roasting its very own coffee. There’s also a Texas egg scramble and sweets from Dozen Bakery on the menu, plus a stage for special events.

The Frothy Monkey

A 12 South institution, neighbors, college students, and business types alike have been flocking to this original location of Frothy Monkey since its inception. You’ll find all of the usual coffee suspects there (lattes, espressos, drip coffee) along with one of its signature concoctions, the Golden Monkey Latte with espresso, steamed turmeric milk, honey, and cinnamon. Frothy has now expanded to eight storefronts (four of which are in Nashville), a roasting facility, and its very own bakery.

Related Maps

Stay Golden

At this bright and sunny Berry Hill coffee shop/all-day cafe you’ll find a refreshing coffee soda, a signature brandy vanilla latte, and even coffee cocktails like the Coffee Old-Fashioned with local Belle Meade Bourbon. The shop uses beans from its sister company, Good Citizen Coffee Co., which it sources from sustainable farms in Costa Rica, Guatemala, Brazil, and Ethiopia.

Related Maps