It’s hard to keep up with all the great food in town, but we try our best. For the up-to-the-minute reviews and new restaurants, click on the links here or go to our Where We’re Eating sections. The Editors.
DOWNTOWN
5th and Taylor
With a beautiful outdoor patio, this restaurant serves up excellent fried chicken, short ribs and fish over a heap of mashed potatoes.
Big Al’s Deli
Big Al makes the meanest greens, biscuits and pork chops you’ve ever had in this kitschy, well-worn house located on a residential street in the Salemtown neighborhood. Best to call before you go.
City House
Opened in 2014 by chef Tandy Wilson, this intimate café in a historic house in the heart of Germantown is a go-to for Nashvillians. Farm-to-table fare with an Italian spin.
Germantown Café
Located in the original heart of Germantown, this iconic restaurant serves soups, salads and dinner entrées. Great happy hour.
Henrietta Red
Neighborhood restaurant specializing in seafood and farm-to-table fare run by local Nashvillian Julia Sullivan. Love oysters? They got you.
Rolf and Daughters
This restaurant in an old warehouse is a darling of Nashville foodies. Chef Philip Krajek has a deft touch with homemade pasta and seasonal fare.
Tailor
This supper club-turned-restaurant by Vivek Surti serves innovative food blending Vivek’s Indian roots and his Southern upbringing. Prix fixe with two seatings per night.
The Optomist
Ford Fry’s seafood concept is sold as they come. We love oysters, but the move here is the Shrimp a la Plancha with a chili beur blanc we could take a bath in, but will settle for sopping with our toast served along side. venture upstairs to the sexiest bar in town with cocktails to match, Le Loupe.
Home to hipsters, artists, families and young professionals alike, the food scene east of the Cumberland River is the best in town and as varied as its neighborhoods. Here you will find well-established favorites alongside popular startups and food trucks-turned-restaurants. Also home to 300-acre Shelby Bottoms Park and the Tomato Art Fest every August.
Started during the pandemic by chef Aaron Clemins and wife Christen, the sandwiches stuck and now have a permanent outpost in an old corner bakery. The sandwiches are sky-high and divine.
Butcher & Bee
Middle Eastern–leaning menu with the best hummus and whipped feta in town. Shareable plates and seasonal dishes.
Dino’s
The quintessential dive diner serves burgers with a side of attitude to musicians and locals until the wee hours.
Acclaimed chef Levon Wallace found himself making pretzels during the pandemic. Now, he and his wife Kim own a deli and are making amazing sandwiches—on pretzel bread—and other homemade goodies. Open for breakfast and lunch.
Five Points Pizza
Hot pizza and cold beer in this bustling Five Points area of East.
From the chef of the wildly popular Rolf and Daughters in Germantown comes this hip, vibrant farm-to-table restaurant with fantastic food. You must get the clam pizza.
Audrey
Originally a venture of Chef Sean Brock, this farm to table restaurant is now owned by Southall Farms and serves serious seasonal fare.
The pinnacle of a neighborhood restaurant with Community Hour and specials every week. Chef Hal Holden-Bache is a gem.
Maiz de la Vida
You can find this food truck parked at the tiki bar Chopper and the bricks-and-mortar in The Gulch. Crafted by Chef Julio Hernandez, it is, hands-down, the best authentic handmade Mexican food in town.
This 25-year-old restaurant in the heart of Five Points serves French-inspired Southern food and is independently run by chef-owner Margot McCormick. It’s as solid as they come and one of our favorites.
Mas Tacos
The go-to taco spot for locals.
Redheaded Stranger
Neighborhood taco shop owned and operated by chef Bryan Lee Weaver, who is a genius.
Jefferson Street is the main corridor through this historic part of town that is also home to historically Black colleges Tennessee State University and Fisk University (plus the Fisk Jubilee Singers!). It is lined with some of our favorite food trucks, roadside eats and small businesses.
Specializes in Nashville’s hot fish sandwich.
Ooh Wee Bar-B-Q
Owner Freddie Waller has been smoking chicken, pork and beef and selling it in his trailer on Jefferson Street for 30 years.
Riddim N Spice
Riddim N Spice is an homage to the owners’ Jamaican roots and love of Caribbean food.
Slim & Husky’s
Fast-casual, artisan pizza shop with a love for hip hop and R&B culture.
Homestyle vegan comfort food in the heart of the Buchanan Street Business District.
Swett’s
Classic meat and three that’s been serving fried chicken, fish, mac and cheese and greens for nearly 70years.
A “gulch” of train yards that once contained a local grocery store, a “pickin’ parlor” and not much else is now lined with condos, hip boutiques, restaurants and juice bars. It is linked to downtown through a sidewalk system that makes it great for walking (though not so great for parking). P.S., the neighborhood’s historic pickin’ parlor, The Station Inn, is still there.
Adele’s
California cuisine and the rustic comfort of Italian dishes prepared with wood-burning ovens and grills.
Celebrity chef Maneet Chauhan’s bustling flagship restaurant featuring global Indian fare.
Iberian Pig
Authentic Spanish tapas in a beautiful setting.
Chef Sarah Gavigan is slinging some damn good ramen.
One of Music City’s most beloved BBQ joints.
St. Vito Focacceria
What started as a pop-up and wandering restaurant has settled into its own digs in the Gulch. Pizza, focaccia and sandwiches in the Sicilian style. A gem.
Marsh House
The beautiful seafood restaurant located inside the Thompson Hotel serves oysters and seafood with a cajun, southern spin.
Sunda
This hip, Asian restaurant serves sushi and divine Thai food.
You might call Hillsboro and Midtown a tale of two cities, with Hillsboro clinging to its historic, bohemian university feel while Midtown is sparkling new. They are adjacent to each other down the 21st Corridor that goes smack through Vanderbilt University.
Brown’s Diner
The OG burger joint in town, founded in 1927 and boasting the city’s oldest beer license. No hipster burgers here.
Fido
One of the classic and original coffee shops and cafés close to Vanderbilt serving great food and locally roasted coffee.
While the neighborhood around this restaurant has mushroomed, this stalwart serves classic “continental” food by one of the best, Randy Rayburn. Offers a shuttle to downtown fine arts venues for dine-in guests.
Authentic Thai and Laotian food served by chef Nina Singto.
Foodies, start your engines for this five-hour tasting experience.
Two Boots Pizza
Great pizza by the slice. Best for takeout.
Litle Hats
The third and most recent outpost of this Italian deli and cafe. Sandwiches are the best with pasta, olive oils, cheese, dough and ice cream available to go.
Lined with shops and restaurants and charming Nashville neighborhoods, this walkable strip is adjacent to Belmont University and buttressed by Sevier Park (home to the year-round 12 South Farmers Market) on one end and the Gulch on the other. It’s also home to native Reese Witherspoon’s Draper James clothing boutique and a varied mix of major brands and local shops.
Buttermilk Ranch
Sister restaurant to neighbor Urban Grub, this breakfast and lunch spot serves lovely French and Southern-inspired fare with delicious pastries.
Burger Up
Locally sourced burgers to suit every taste and a terrific kale salad.
Epice
One of our “go-to” restaurants serving delicious fresh Middle Eastern food with fabulous wines and a veteran staff.
Hearts
Aussie-inspired bowls and breakfast fare we love. Cocktail bar at night.
A ministry-based café serving up second chances to formerly unhoused men.
A classic. Chef Edgar Pendley knows how to smoke and serve meat. Solid food in a vibey setting with indoor and outdoor options.
South of downtown, Sylvan Park is a haven of young families walking their dogs and strollers to grab a bagel or go for a run on the Greenway that circles McCabe Park and its adjoining golf course. This vibrant area also includes some great restaurants nestled in the midst of neighborhoods. The Charlotte Corridor (best for cars, not walking) houses the new part of Sylvan Park with industrial warehouses renovated into spaces for restaurants and shops.
Neighborhood restaurant with globally inspired, hyper-seasonal fare.
Black Dynasty Secret Ramen House
Started as a pop-up in the hip Bar Sovereign, now part of local Bearded Iris Brewing. Best ramen in town.
Caffé Nonna
Family recipes from Abruzzo, Italy, served in a cozy neighborhood setting.
Lola
Intimate cozy restaurant in the heart of Sylvan Park serving Spanish Mediterranean tapas.
Intimate dining room serving farm-to-table fare with French and Middle Eastern influences and terrific wines.
Gastropub and beer garden with great outdoor space. Chef Carter Hach is a smoking master. Get the brisket if he has it.
Joyland
Chef Sean Brocks beloved burger joint.
Just south of downtown, Nashville’s Wedgewood-Houston (or “WeHo”) neighborhood is a formerly industrial area that is now a creative hub with art galleries, restaurants, bakeries, distilleries and breweries growing faster than a weed.
Bastion
Upscale, reservation-only tasting menu behind a nondescript door in an old warehouse row. High-design cooking for serious foodies.
IL Forno
What started as a family food truck is now a restaurant serving Neapolitan wood-fired pizza.
Jackalope, The Ranch
This woman-owned brewery is super fun and, although it doesn’t serve food, hosts some of the best food trucks in town.
Featured proprietor: Nate Underwood, Harding House Brewing Co.
“Every beer we brew has a local product in it: 100% locally grown grain and heirloom varieties of local corn. We want to give people a real taste of Tennessee and brew beer that has a true sense of place.”
What was once completely industrial is now a neighborhood of new “tall-skinnies” with stylish interiors and small yards. Its heartbeat is 51st Avenue that runs through the center and is home to breweries, cafés and restaurants. Its beacon is a hand-painted mural on an old silo of one of the original inhabitants of the neighborhood.
Daddy’s Dogs
Gourmet hot dog shop.
Farm-to-table, wood-fired pizza and pastas.
Farm-to-brew beers. This small, understated brewery is crafting some of the best ale in town.
Bare Bones Butcher
Great burger. Old school butcher.
Frothy Monkey
Vibey coffee shop with several other area outposts that also serves wine, cheese boards and dinner.
Nolensville Road, one of the main arteries of town, runs through many of Nashville’s immigrant communities and offers some great food at reasonable prices. This busy road is full of international markets, bakeries and taquerias. Best for driving.
Albasha Restaurant
Swoon-worthy kebabs and shawarma.
Degthai Street Food
Some of the best Thai food in town.
Edessa Restaurant
Named for a city in Turkey, this unassuming restaurant with Kurdish ownership serves kabobs, hummus, baba ghanoush, lamb and goat all accompanied by fluffy pita.
El Tapatio
Authentic Mexican. Two locations.
Gluten Free Goose, a Bakery
This certified gluten-free café and bakery has insanely good cakes, cookies, brownies and breakfast and lunch sandwiches.
Taj Indian Restaurant
One of the best Indian spots in town.
This part of Nashville is decidedly less touristy and more urban than other parts, and less walkable too. A mishmash of restaurants, apartments and automotive centers, it’s convenient to downtown, One Hundred Oaks Mall and the leafy Oak Hill suburb.
Fenwick’s 300
Modern take on the traditional diner serving breakfast and lunch and Southern fare. Great coffee.
This French bakery in a strip center off 8th Avenue is the second location for Guenievre Milliner and husband, Parisians who moved to Nashville for their love of country music. Divine pastries, croissants and macarons, all to-go.
M.L. Rose Craft Beer & Burgers
Solid, reliable burgers and a great beer selection.
Smiling Elephant
This eclectic mom-and-pop Thai restaurant has been in business for more than 25 years (old by Nashville standards) and is small, funky and fun.
Vui’s Kitchen
A Nashville staple since 2012. Quick, fresh Vietnamese food done well.