Best restaurants in Nashville

The Catbird Seat

★ Michelin$$$$Contemporary

Many chefs have carried the Catbird banner since the restaurant’s founding in 2011. Today, husband-and-wife chef duo Andy Doubrava and Tiffani Ortiz usher in the next chapter of this prized, U-shaped counter situated on the top floor of the Bill Voorhees Building. In a room where cooks have nowhere to hide, expect a youthful, frenetic tasting menu that highlights locality, seasonality and preservation with a wide range of ingredients. Smoking and grilling, oils and purees, granitas and powders – the flavors and techniques involved are extensive. Courses are built around an array of stimulating

Bastion

★ Michelin$$$$Contemporary, Southern

Walk through the buzzy cocktail bar to find this stylish restaurant in the Wedgewood-Houston neighborhood. Bastion offers a single tasting menu featuring contemporary Southern cooking that is approachable yet playful. This is a kitchen that isn't afraid to take risks. Dishes arrive in waves, and the product focus is on full display in a stunning plate of yellow peach and tomato with strawberry miso mayo and mozzarella marshmallows, and in a summery pairing of candy-striped agnolotti filled with squash accompanied by a luscious bowlful of creamed corn. Black cod poached in champagne butter over

Locust

★ Michelin$$$$Contemporary

Reservations here are scarce — and for good reason. Laidback, quirky and full of charm, Chef Trevor Moran's compact, Japanese-influenced hotspot is a beehive of energy. There’s a simple elegance and a clear attention to detail in every dish, all designed for sharing. Beef tartare hand rolls, a house classic, always delight. From there, explore seafood like Maine diver scallops with shaved green apple. A Japanese omelet with Jonah crab is simple but spot on. Don't skip dessert. The ever-changing iterations of their kakigori may present a sculpted block of the finest, powdery shaved ice dressed,

Sho Pizza Bar

Bib Gourmand$$pizza

The curious name of Chef Sean Brock's pizza restaurant is derived from the Japanese word “shokunin,” which represents a person’s full commitment to every detail of a craft. This is indeed a thoughtful approach to Neapolitan-style pizza, but with its own distinct personality. It starts with the dough, slowly cold fermented, then baked in a wood-fired oven, resulting in a light, tender, utterly appealing crust.The fresh-looking Riverside Village space boasts a sunny vibe with concrete flooring, pale walls, light wood furnishings and pops of blue, which include a matte tiled, domed pizza oven mad

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Kisser

Bib Gourmand$$Japanese

Married couple Brian Lea and Leina Horii are behind this popular restaurant that fills quickly. It's all about Japanese comfort food, with a nod to a kissaten, or a cozy tea shop. Their menu is concise and designed for sharing. This a team who cares about the details, and from ingredient quality to execution, it's all done with a simplified finesse. Don't miss the onigiri with three triangles of rice with different fillings, including shredded snow crab and avocado, cod roe and a curry with kabocha squash. Larger dishes include grilled yellowtail collar with a vibrant ponzu sauce or chilled ra

S.S. Gai

Bib Gourmand$$Thai

Fried chicken in Nashville is far from a stretch, but S.S. Gai deals in Thai street-style fried chicken for an unexpected twist. Located in a refurbished car wash with vendors in the former bays, this spot has a one-track mind. It's all about Thai-style chicken, and while fried is the signature, it also comes grilled. Order at the window and select two or four pieces of gai tod that's impossibly crispy and bursting with flavor. It all comes with sticky rice and tamarind chili fish sauce for a hearty meal that shows off quality ingredients and hits all the right notes. From there, you can add i

Redheaded Stranger

Bib Gourmand$Tex-Mex

There is typically a line out the door at this Cleveland Park spot. Named for a Willie Nelson song and album, the vibe is laidback and slightly quirky (think diner style with chili pepper lights strung above). It's a small spot but great care is taken with everything from house-made hot sauces to tortillas. Watch the chef making those terrific flour tortillas in the main dining room or sit outside on the patio to savor Chef Bryan Lee Weaver's Tex-Mex menu. Tacos run the gamut from simple (bacon, egg and cheese) to creative (poblano with whipped feta and crispy rice). Main dishes include a burr

Peninsula

Bib Gourmand$$$Spanish

At first glance, it might be easy to dismiss this rambunctious restaurant set at the base of a nondescript apartment building in East Nashville. But don’t be fooled: You’ll be convinced otherwise at first bite. Broadly focused on the Iberian Peninsula, the cooking is creative and pulls influences from around the globe for its tapas-style dishes. Buckle up for plates powered by character that take unexpected twists and turns, as in a bold opener of endive, fried and covered in a koji foam with a burnt onion powder, or a clever beet starter paired with roasted garlic. The smart cooking continues

St. Vito Focacceria

Bib Gourmand$$Sicilian, Pizza

Memphis-born but Sicilian to his core, Chef Michael Hanna opened St. Vito’s in the Gulch with one mission in mind: to bring his version of sfincione, a Sicilian street food, to Nashville. It's far from your average slice of pizza. Instead, imagine focaccia studded with fontina and then topped with breadcrumbs and pecorino. It's all on display in the exposed kitchen where you can watch the chefs fold the dough. There are four varieties, such as spicy tomato with burrata or roasted potato cream, and the toppings are generous on this hearty and satisfying treat. A small menu shares several salads

Uzbegim

Bib Gourmand$Uzbek

This restaurant promises something different, specializing in authentic Uzbek cuisine in a space with a stunning patio. Originating in Islamic China and traveling across to the Middle East, this is a cuisine that features some of the usual suspects (think kebabs) as well as standouts like Uyghur-style, hand-cut noodles. Kick off the meal with a tandir samosa, a flaky shell stuffed with ground beef and onion and sided by a spicy red sauce. Then, tender, charred lamb kebab is a good choice, but don't skip the noodles stir fried with beef, vegetables and fried egg. House-made cherry juice is the

Shotgun Willie's BBQ

$Barbecue, American

Named after Houston native Bill LaViolette’s favorite Willie Nelson song, Shotgun Willie's began life as a food truck and has moved twice thanks to the popularity of his brisket. Crowds flock to this casual space where booths and picnic tables fill the room and the walls are hung with road signs and Texas memorabilia. If you're lucky you might just meet Mr. Tony, who also has a side dish named for him (green beans with smoked brisket — you want them). He'll walk you through the menu and the stations, where Texas-style barbecue chicken and pulled pork hold court alongside prime brisket with pep

Folk

$$$Contemporary

This East Nashville restaurant from Chef/owner Philip Krajeck is the more casual sibling of Rolf & Daughters. Warm wood paneled walls and plenty of light lend an inviting ambience to this dining room. Chef Krajeck's contemporary menu is driven by local, seasonal produce. Items shift often but you'll always discover simple-but-satisfying plates with items like stracciatella dressed with olive oil and topped with fresh peaches or main dishes like bluefin tartare or chicken Milanese. Naturally leavened pizzas topped seasonally minded items (perhaps a summery treat of fresh sweet corn) are always

Audrey

$$$$Southern

Set in East Nashville, Audrey is a celebration of Appalachia and the American South. From the rustic charm and cozy vibe to the tempting menu, it's the sort of place where you'll want to become a regular. Imagine your grandma's cooking, leveled up, and you'll get a sense of this share plate-style menu split between seasonal and traditional dishes. From paw paws to benne seeds, iconic Southern ingredients make their way into dishes like fried green tomatoes sided by a buttermilk sauce flavored with chow chow. The menu constantly evolves but chicken and dumplings always remain. Unveiled at the t

Tailor

$$$$Indian

Chef Vivek Surti has crafted a showpiece of his Indian heritage and Southern upbringing at this Germantown restaurant. Set in a dramatic space with stylish furniture, bold colors and plush fabrics, it's an inviting space with an open kitchen. Guests are served simultaneously, lending the air of a dinner party. The tasting menu artfully weaves Southern and Indian influences together for an ambitious and inventive meal that might include items like a tomato sandwich with masala onion aioli and barbecued short ribs infused with Indian spices. Finally, the chef’s favorite Gujarati dessert of thick

Rolf and Daughters

$$$American Contemporary

Chef/owner Philip Krajeck's Germantown restaurant lures a well-heeled crowd of locals who flock here for great food, done well. His cooking is earnest and approachable, with a seasonal and contemporary mindset. This is a menu where you'll want everything; luckily, it's all designed for sharing. The house-made pasta program turns out impressive work in plates that speak to the season, from fresh spaghetti tinted green from the inclusion of tomato leaves to a corn agnolotti tucked with sweet corn in a beurre blanc. Main dishes like chicken or pork t-bone lean into the refined comfort appeal. A v

Arnold's Country Kitchen

$Southern

Ask a local where they'd go for a classic "meat and three" and you'll likely hear the same name again and again. Arnold's Country Kitchen is a bit of an institution. Opened in 1982 by Jack and Rose Arnold and now run by their son, Kahlil, this is Southern cooking to its core. Grab a tray and be sure to consult the specials chalked up on the board. Peruse the proteins, perhaps pork chop or brisket, and then select from a bevy of sides like turnip greens studded with cubes of tender, smoky pork. There's nothing fussy or fancy about it, but this is flavorful food that draws in crowds who flock he

Hattie B’s Hot Chicken

$Southern, Regional Cuisine

Nashville is synonymous with hot chicken and if you want a true taste, head to Hattie B's. It's a pretty simple promise at this family-run concept. Step up to the counter and decide if it's a bones or no bones day with dark or white meat or tenders and sandwiches. Then comes the all-important decision—how hot? Southern kicks it off with no heat and then reaches increasingly hotter in five tiers. Not sure which level you want? Order the tenders with three heat levels in one dish. Sides are classic Southern staples like green beans and pimento mac and cheese, plus fried pickles and loaded fries.

iggy's

$$$Italian

Curious what this spot from brothers Ryan and Matthew Poli is all about? Take one look at the mural outside and you'll soon realize. This Wedgewood-Houston restaurant with a sleek, modern industrial look (and a glass-enclosed pasta room!) is all about Italian food.The concise menu keeps things simple with a few small plates like crispy arancini in warm goat cheese fondue or Village Bakery brioche stuffed with whipped cream cheese before a tempting array of house-made pastas like little shells with Maine peekytoe crab in a sea urchin butter. Soft serve sundaes are nonnegotiable. Lemon huckleber

International Market

$Thai, Asian Influences

Patti Myint opened the original iteration of International Market in 1975. In 2022, her children, Anna and Arnold, relaunched the restaurant with two of the original cooks from the original restaurant. You'll still find the original's steam table specials with fried rice and curry offerings at lunch, as well as well-executed Thai classics like phad see ew and drunken noodles alongside newer items from Chef Arnold. In the evenings, it all shifts to a full-service restaurant with a cocktail and wine program. The menu features a bevy of creative Thai dishes ranging from fried trout laab and local

Cafe Roze

$$American Contemporary

Café

Bad Idea

$$$Contemporary

Wine bar