The 21 Restaurants You Shouldn't Leave Nashville Without Trying
Make a reservation ASAP.
When it comes to entertainment, there is so much to do in Nashville that it’s sometimes easy to forget to plan for meals in between music shows, sporting events, and strolling from bar to bar along Lower Broad. But to miss out on the eclectic dining scene of Nashville would be to give Music City less than full measure. While the visitor hotspot of Lower Broad in Downtown does offer some great restaurant opportunities, most of the authentic gems are out in the actual neighborhoods that are an easy rideshare trip from the neon lights. Spend a little time and dining money away from the urban core to discover where locals live and eat, and you’ll be rewarded with fantastic food at any of these options.
12 South
There are few things more interesting than a really talented chef with an obsession. Trevor Moran fits both those criteria, and he’s turned his fascination with creating the perfect dumpling into a winner of a restaurant that was named the best in the country for 2022 by Food & Wine magazine. You could write the menu on a matchbook, but every single item is worth your attention. Or go with a few friends and order everything for a meal of pork dumplings, shrimp pockets, beef tartare with the option of “too much caviar.” Don’t forget a finisher of kakigōri, a Japanese shaved-ice dish that can be topped with just about anything, as long as it’s delicious.
East Nashville
This tiny East Nashville lunch-only spot opens daily with a line out the door. The queue is filled with patrons yearning for the innovative reimagining of Japanese comfort food courtesy of the husband-and-wife team of Brian Lea and Leina Horii. Both classically trained chefs, the couple executes their intentionally limited menu to perfection, ranging from small bites like a tomato sandwich on house-baked milk bread accented with bonito kewpie mayo, furikake, and shiso to larger plates such as marinated and grilled yellowtail collar and an umami-rich beef tataki udon bowl.
Germantown
When chefs visit Nashville from out of town, this Germantown eatery is almost always on their eat-inerary. Starting off with one of the most eclectic wine lists in Nashville designed to get your juices flowing for an extraordinary meal, Rolf & Daughters is a delight with salvo after salvo of small plates from the kitchen served in a welcoming space with a neighborhood vibe. Dishes exhibit unexpected bursts of flavor from ingredients preserved, fermented, or pickled as part of chef Philip Krajeck’s culinary obsessions which change frequently.
Wedgewood-Houston
Brothers Ryan and Matthew Poli run the kitchen and front-of-house respectively at this exciting Italian restaurant that leans on local purveyors to provide the ingredients for classic pasta dishes with a twist. The energetic dining room stays filled with guests enjoying toothsome house-made pastas and fun takes on classic red sauce dishes. A popular “No Decision Sunday” option seats couples at the chef’s counter for two starters, three pastas, one dessert, and a bottle of wine selected by Matthew and his beverage team to complement Ryan’s dishes of the day. It’s a delightful way to end the weekend without having to think too much about anything.
East Nashville
Riffing on Mediterranean cuisine using Southern ingredients is the calling card of this popular East Side eatery that offers a variety of small mezze plates and dips as starters along with large-format dishes served family-style for the table. The whipped feta with fermented honey is the “can’t miss” appetizer, or diners can take advantage of the “Order Like a Pro” options where they receive all the small plates coursed out like a meal or the “Chef’s Choice” deal where the kitchen sends out a series of their current favorite dishes for a fixed price.
Nashville
Founded by one of the city’s most exciting young sommeliers, Bad Idea has quickly become an East Nashville neighborhood hangout. In addition to a fascinating beverage menu annotated with historical nuggets, tips, and suggestions courtesy of the expert owner, Bad Idea specializes in the cuisine of Laos seen through the lens of chef Colby Rasavong who has worked in some of the most renowned kitchens in Charleston and Nashville. A limited, but still excellent late-night menu aims at restaurant and bar industry workers looking for something exciting to do after their shifts, as well as anyone seeking some of the most exciting food in the neighborhood.
East Nashville
Nationally acclaimed chef Sean Brock has found his happy place with Audrey, his exciting restaurant named after his grandmother who invited the young boy to cling to her apron strings while he learned the ways of the kitchen. Highlighting the ingredients and cooking techniques of his native Appalachia, Brock and his team have created a fascinating tasting menu of artfully prepared dishes showcasing regional ingredients like country ham and heirloom beans made even more remarkable with subtle Japanese culinary influences.
Gulch
Arnold’s is the prototypical “meat and three” restaurant in the city, which makes it the most iconic in the world. Nashville is home to the traditional steam table lunch service where diners slide plastic trays along metal counters while selecting a meat such as roast beef, fried chicken, or catfish accompanied by three classic Southern side dishes. At Arnold’s workers in boots and overalls dine next to politicians and country music superstars, enjoying delicious fare made using fresh ingredients and the authentic hospitality of the Arnold family and staff. It’s not uncommon to see people dining with suitcases tucked under the table, craving one last meal at Arnold’s before heading to the airport or their first taste of Nashville upon arrival.
Nolensville Rd. & Downtown
The legendary inventor of Nashville’s most iconic regional dish, hot chicken, is still the champion. The newest location in the Assembly Food Hall downtown makes it even more convenient to get your fix. Serving objectively fantastic fried chicken as a base (even if you order it “mild,” wimp), Prince’s has heat levels to please and punish any fan of the fiery fowl. Often described as a spiritual experience, eating the hottest levels of Prince’s chicken may actually make you feel like you have left your body.
Various locations
Their great pizza and craft beer offerings would be enough to land them on this list, but long-time high school friends Clinton Gray, Derrick Moore, and Emanuel Reed have made a huge impact by focusing on bringing people and opportunities to neighborhoods around HBCUs like their alma mater, Tennessee State University. The result is the restaurant they cleverly call a “pizza beeria” because of its focus on custom-made pies and craft beers. The bold decor with hip-hop lyrics stenciled on the wall and the welcoming atmosphere really feels in and of the neighborhood. The trio has already expanded the concept to other Nashville neighborhoods, including the only Black-owned restaurant in the Lower Broad tourist district and new locations across the state and in Georgia.
East Nashville
Cleveland Park has turned into a dining destination thanks to the addition of this Middle Eastern eatery, where chef Hrant Arakelian draws on his Lebanese roots to present a seasonal menu of bold flavors featuring elevated versions of hummus, roasted vegetables, and creative meat dishes. The chef is particularly adept with lamb and seafood, so put those at the top of your order and work backwards to the appetizers from there. An affordable wine and cocktail list offers excellent accompaniments to the nuanced elements of the food.
East Nashville
The bar and dining room at Lockeland Table is almost always full of neighborhood residents chatting to one another while enjoying fine food and drink, but even if you enter as a stranger, you’ll probably leave with some new friends from this convivial eatery. A roaring wood fire in the pizza oven further warms the ambiance, and the specialty pies that emerge from the infernal heat are ideal for splitting as an appetizer unless you’re too selfish to share. The rest of the menu features Southern fare with international accents like the mandatory app of chicken liver pâté on Tuscan bread or the chef’s signature dry-aged NY strip steak topped with an artistic swath of brilliant green chimichurri sauce.
Germantown
Chef Vivek Surti is a first-generation American of Indian descent who tells the story of his culinary journeys through prix-fixe dining experiences that are really more like an intimate dinner party. The engaging chef introduces each course to the room, sharing the philosophy behind and the evolution of each dish, many of which combine spices and flavors he learned about cooking at his mother’s side in their home kitchen with modern techniques that elevate the cuisine to fine dining status. Thoughtful optional beverage pairings complement each plate, and they’re pretty much mandatory.
Downtown
The Nashville foodie community was set abuzz when the Hermitage Hotel announced that world-class chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten would be the culinary genius behind their revamp of the hotel’s main restaurant option. The restaurant is named after the hotel’s former general manager’s children who grew up playing in the dramatic Beaux Arts lobby of the property. Jean-Georges has created a globally inspired menu featuring the abundant agricultural bounty of Tennessee, including some items grown on a local farm that The Hermitage partners with to work the land. For a magical experience, take the ride with Drusie & Darr’s tasting menu and prepare to be delighted by the whims of the chef.
Rutledge Hill
This shrine to Southern cooking has survived, nay thrived, during executive chef changes through the years. Experienced pro Ben Norton helms the kitchen, and he maintains the continued excellence stemming from the restaurant’s puritanical dedication to the use of seasonal regional ingredients. The plate of seasonal vegetables is often overlooked on the menu, but the quartet of composed plates that arrive at the table aren’t just a combination of side dishes. They are thoughtful venerations of the terroir of the South.
Wedgewood-Houston
Bastion is a unique treat in that it’s actually two restaurants in one. The Big Bar is a homey cocktail and beer spot decorated like a casual living room that happens to serve just one food dish, a plate of transcendent nachos designed by James Beard-nominated chef-owner Josh Habiger. Tucked away behind the bar is an intimate chef’s table restaurant where Habiger and his team present thoughtful small plates cooked directly in front of diners and paired with one of the most inspired wine and cocktail lists in town. The engaging chefs explain each dish and occasionally take a quick break from the line to change the vinyl on the turntable to set the perfect mood.
East Nashville
The Spaniards and Portuguese have this restaurant thing figured out. An evening of small clever plates of food paired with affordable wines and inventive gin and tonics is the perfect way to enjoy a social meal with friends. That’s also the model behind Peninsula, where you can cover your table with tapas described in the menu simply by listing a few fresh ingredients used in the plate’s preparation. Part of the fun is being surprised by what the kitchen does to combine the flavors into amazingly flavorful dishes.
SoBro
After decades running kitchens in some of Nashville’s most beloved restaurants, chef Deb Paquette shows little sign of slowing down. She continues to tantalize the taste buds of local diners with multiple layers of exotic international flavors as part of a tight menu at lunch and dinner. A spot at the long chef’s bar watching the team at work is more entertaining than a front-row seat at a Titans game. Although entrees rotate frequently, the cultish following of her roasted cauliflower appetizer will not ever let Paquette take that off the menu.
East Nashville
There’s not much use in checking the online menu at this cozy Five Points bistro built in a 1930s building that was once a service station. That’s because for more than 20 years, the kitchen at Margot changes up the selections daily based on whatever fresh produce and proteins they find that meet the chef’s stringent specifications. Once they’ve picked out the best of the best, talented cooks craft dishes inspired by French cooking informed with Southern sensibilities. In addition to fun Sunday suppers, the restaurant also throws periodic theme dinners around chefs or cookbook authors who are admired by the kitchen staff.
Germantown
Don’t let Tennessee’s status as a land-locked state deter you from visiting Henrietta Red for some of the best seafood available anywhere. Chef Julia Sullivan has an enduring love for fish and shellfish, including a global menu of oysters flown in fresh. The main dining room is elegant without being fussy, and the convivial bar offers excellent daily happy hour deals including “Chef Select” oysters and discounts on wine, craft drafts, and cocktails.
Wedgewood-Houston
The team behind this modern Japanese izakaya actually own their own sake company and import a score of rare rice wines to pair with small dishes of intricately-plated sushi, sashimi, and other East Asian-inspired cuisine. The power move is to put yourself in the hands of the kitchen and order Present Tense’s omakase experience, either served tableside or at the small chef’s counter where diners receive the full attention of the cook staff. A vibey house music background soundtrack completes the chill experience.