Top places to eat in nashville tn

Nashville is famous for lots of things, the Grand Ole Opry, Broadway, incredible music and it’s art. That aside, there’s one thing that Nashville needs to be recognised for, its gorge-worthy and delicious places to eat. It’s one of those southern cities that might sometimes get overlooked for its foodie goodies, but boy it shouldn’t. With so many of the best restaurants in Nashville to try, you’ll honestly find it hard to choose. 🍜

That being said, if you’re on a trip to the city you will have to choose and select a good few spots that take your fancy. With that in mind, I wanted to share some of our favourite haunts from our last trip to Nashville. Honestly, you’ll love the foodie scene in Nashville – there really is something to suit everyone.

Take a look at some of the best restaurants in Nashville you have to try. Just make sure to pack elasticated pants…you will gorge! 🤣

1.) Pinewood Social

Based on Peabody Street, right next to the river, is Pinewood Social. It’s one of those spots that you can easily bypass if you didn’t know what it was. Inside, they’ve got a boutique bowling alley, an airstream, even a small paddling pool (in their garden)! It’s the kind of place you can spend all afternoon relaxing around and enjoying the space.

Once inside, make sure to get one of their signature cocktails and yummy dishes.

2.) Mas Tacos

Mas Tacos was recommended to us and boy am I glad we took up that recommendation. Based on Mcferrin Ave, Mas Tacos is a proper no-frills and totally friendly joint that serves some of the best Mexican food in the city. 🌮

The restaurant itself has a proper hipster vibe and is most definitely a cool spot for locals and visitors to eat. Best of all, the meals are so good and relatively cheap too!

Once you’re here, make sure to try their pulled pork tacos (around $3 each) and their Mexican soups. You can literally leave here (totally full) for less than $15.

Read more on when we visited Mas Tacos in this post

3.) Hattie B’s 

Hattie B’s is something of an institution in Nashville and a place you have to visit during your stay in the city. Probably one of the best restaurants in Nashville for fried chicken, it’s a spot that’ll have you going back for more.

Now, Hattie B’s lets you choose the spice of your chicken. From no spice to mind-blowingly hot (and that’s no joke). The hot is EXTREME. I’m pretty good with spicy food and this was on another level – but totally worth it! 🐔

There are a few Hattie B spots in the city, with the one near Vanderbilt University being the busiest. If you arrive in the evening, expect to queue for around 20 minutes to order. That being said, if you don’t fancy a queue, pop over to the West Nashville branch which was much quieter.

4.) Five Daughters Bakery

So, Five Daughters Bakery has a few sites in Nashville and we ended up visiting two of them! They make some of the tastiest doughnuts in Tennessee! Make sure to try their famous 100-layer doughnut.. they’re incredible.

They have a variety of flavours that change each month but some of the tasty staples are; chocolate sea salt, the purist and maple glaze. It’s literally heaven for anyone with a sweet-tooth. 🍩

5.) 5th and Taylor

Based in Germantown, 5th and Taylor is, in my opinion, one of the best restaurants in Nashville to experience. Situated in an old printing warehouse, 5th and Taylor is totally unique, but that’s not all it has going for it – the food is delicious too!

Once here, make sure to try their beer can chicken and their beef cheek pot roast. You can reserve a table, here.

6.) Biscuit Love

Right next to the What Lifts You wings mural (and a few other spots) is Biscuit Love. Trust me when I say, it’s a dessert-lovers dream spot! Once here, make sure to try their Southern Benny that comes with the most buttery biscuits you can imagine.

If you want to try another Southern Staple, grab yourself some cheesy grits.

7.) Peg Leg Porker BBQ

Nestled on Gleaves St, Peg Leg Porker is possibly one of the best restaurants in Nashville for a good southern BBQ. Open every day except Sunday, it’s the kind of spot you visit when your starving and want to gorge. Once inside, make sure to try their pulled pork platter, it’s so good!

Now Peg Leg Porker can get pretty busy, but you can reserve a table online before your visit. This will keep a wait down to a minimum (which means more time for eating). 🤣

8.) Loveless Cafe

Based around 20-30 minutes from downtown Nashville, The decades-old Loveless Cafe is a proper mom-and-pop kinda joint that’s really taken off. First set up in the 1950’s they have some of the tastiest Southern Platters of catfish, fried chicken, biscuits and meatloaf.

Honestly, I still think it was one of my favourite dining experiences for some heart-warming southern grub.

Now, one thing to note is that it can get busy at Loveless, we waited around 25-minutes for a table but it fly’s by when you’re looking around the cute estate. If you want to avoid a little of the breakfast or lunch rush, try arriving a little earlier in the morning. Honestly, you won’t be disappointed!

Read more about our visit to the Loveless Cafe, here

9.) Husk

One of the best dishes to get at Husk has to be the catfish, which is totally flakey (and delicious to boot). Based on Rutledge Street, Husk focuses on high-quality southern dishes, with their menu changing every day.

Yes, they do some of the best steaks in the city, but also an amazing shrimp and grits dish too. I’d even go as far as saying, it’s one of the best restaurants in Nashville for grits.

10.) Etch

Etch was one of those spots we found in downtown Nashville and a great little spot to grab a bite to eat when near the Country Music Hall of Fame. The restaurant serves up some tasty food like; Vegetarian Katafi and Veal & Shiitake meatballs (that are yummy).

The reviews for Etch are totally great but it wasn’t my very favourite out of all the spots we visited in Nashville. That’s likely down to my choice food, though… haha!

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