The best restaurants in Nashville run from Michelin-starred tasting counters (The Catbird Seat, Bastion, Locust) to hot chicken shacks and meat-and-three cafeterias that have fed the city for decades. For a first trip, eat hot chicken, a meat-and-three lunch, a biscuit breakfast and one big dinner you booked ahead.
This guide covers Nashville’s four native food traditions, the restaurants the Michelin Guide singled out in 2025, where to eat by neighborhood, how reservations and walk-ins work, what taxes and tips add to the bill, and a three-day eating plan. It’s for visitors who want to eat well without spending a trip in lines. The caveat: Michelin announces its 2026 American South stars in Nashville on October 21, 2026, so the starred list here is the 2025 one. Check back after that date.
Last updated September 29, 2026. Prices, rules and details checked September 2026.
The Short Version
| If you want | Go to | Book ahead? |
|---|---|---|
| The original hot chicken | Prince’s Hot Chicken: Nolensville Pike, Assembly Food Hall or Century Farms | No; counter service |
| Hot chicken near Broadway | Hattie B’s, on Broadway or in Midtown | No; expect a line at peak times |
| Hot chicken and hot fish | Bolton’s Spicy Chicken & Fish, East Nashville | No |
| A meat-and-three lunch | Arnold’s Country Kitchen, Swett’s or Silver Sands Cafe | No; go early |
| Southern food, family style | Monell’s, Germantown | Check before you go |
| A biscuit breakfast | Biscuit Love | Walk-in only |
| Weekend brunch | Husk, Saturday and Sunday 10am to 2pm | Yes |
| A special-occasion tasting menu | The Catbird Seat, Bastion or Locust | Yes, well ahead |
| Great value with a Michelin nod | One of the seven Bib Gourmands, such as SS Gai or Kisser | Varies |
| Everyone wants something different | Assembly Food Hall, Fifth + Broadway | No |
| A drag brunch | Suzy Wong’s House of Yum | Yes, weeks ahead |
Nashville’s Four Native Food Traditions
Nashville eats like the rest of the modern American South, with sushi counters, taco trucks and tasting menus, but four traditions belong to the city and deserve a place on any first trip. Think of them as the canon: hot chicken, the meat-and-three, barbecue, and the biscuit-and-country-ham breakfast.
Hot chicken
Nashville hot chicken is fried chicken coated after frying in a paste or oil loaded with cayenne, served on white bread with pickle chips to catch the drippings. The story Nashville tells is that in the 1930s Thornton Prince’s girlfriend, tired of his late nights, doused his fried chicken in pepper as revenge, and he liked it so much that the family started selling it. The Prince family has been frying it ever since, and for decades hot chicken was a Black Nashville specialty that most of the city ignored. Now it’s the dish the city is known for.
How to order: every hot chicken place runs a heat scale, from plain or mild up to levels named to scare you. Order one step below what your pride suggests, especially the first time, and get a side that cools things down. Dark meat stays juicier under the heat. The white bread isn’t decoration; by the end it’s the best part.
Where to go: Prince’s lists locations on Nolensville Pike, inside Assembly Food Hall at Fifth + Broadway and at Century Farms; the old Prince’s Hot Chicken Shack on Ewing Drive is now listed as closed, so don’t follow an old map there. Hattie B’s is the easiest name to find, with a location on Broadway and another in Midtown. Bolton’s Spicy Chicken & Fish, in a cinderblock building on Main Street in East Nashville, fries hot fish as well as chicken, and it’s the natural second stop after Prince’s for anyone comparing styles.
A hot chicken survival guide
- Start low. Heat levels aren’t standardized between restaurants, and “hot” at one place can be another’s top level. Your first order should be one step below the level you think you can handle.
- Have a cooler ready. The white bread and pickles are there for a reason, and a creamy side such as mac and cheese or coleslaw helps more than water does.
- Mind your hands. Cayenne oil stays on your fingers. Use the wet wipes, and don’t touch your eyes or contact lenses for a while afterward.
- Try hot fish too. Bolton’s fries fish the same way, and it’s the lesser-known half of the tradition.
- Compare two. The best way to understand hot chicken is to eat it at two places on different days: Prince’s for the original, then Bolton’s or Hattie B’s to see how the style has spread.
The meat-and-three
A meat-and-three is a Southern lunch counter where you pick one meat and three sides from a steam table: fried chicken, meatloaf, country-fried steak or catfish, with sides such as mac and cheese, greens, fried green tomatoes, creamed corn and whatever the cook made that morning. You usually order in a cafeteria line, pay at the end and eat at shared tables. It’s the most local meal in Nashville and one of the best-value lunches in any American city.
Where to go: Arnold’s Country Kitchen, the city’s best-known meat-and-three, reopened in January 2024 after a brief hiatus in 2023 and announced a second location in North Nashville. Swett’s is still serving, and the family that runs Silver Sands Cafe has been cooking fried chicken, pork chops and pig feet for more than 70 years. Monell’s, in Germantown since 1995, serves Southern food family style: you sit with strangers and pass the bowls. Most meat-and-threes are lunch places, so check hours and go early; the best dishes run out.
Barbecue
Middle Tennessee barbecue is pork first, smoked low and slow, with brisket, chicken and ribs now common too. It sits between the whole-hog tradition of West Tennessee and the tomato-sauce styles of other regions, and Nashville’s barbecue spots mix and match. Martin’s and Edley’s are the two barbecue names that turn up again and again on current Nashville dining lists, and either makes a good lunch for a group with mixed appetites.
Biscuits and a Southern breakfast
The fourth tradition is breakfast: buttermilk biscuits, country ham, sausage gravy and grits. Biscuit Love is the busiest name in town and takes no reservations, so arrive early or go on a weekday. Monell’s family-style tables are the alternative for a big, slow breakfast, and on weekends the city’s brunch reservations become the main event; Husk serves brunch on Saturday and Sunday from 10am to 2pm.
The Best Restaurants in Nashville, Ranked
This ranking mixes fine dining and cheap eats on purpose, because Nashville’s best meals come at both ends. It weighs recognition, including the 2025 Michelin Guide, consistency, value and how much the restaurant could only exist here. Every place on it was confirmed operating in September 2026; the ranking is our editorial judgment rather than a record of meals eaten, and prices change often enough that we point you to each menu rather than quote one.
1. The Catbird Seat
One Michelin Star (2025) · tasting counter · book as far ahead as possible
Founded in 2011, The Catbird Seat is the restaurant that proved Nashville could do serious fine dining. Chefs Andy Doubrava and Tiffani Ortiz now run it from a U-shaped counter on the top floor of the Bill Voorhees Building, where every diner watches the kitchen work. It’s a set tasting menu, so it suits a special occasion rather than a casual night. Verdict: the city’s defining fine-dining room, and the hardest table to get; plan it before you book flights.
2. Bastion
One Michelin Star (2025) · Wedgewood-Houston · single tasting menu
Bastion, in the Wedgewood-Houston neighborhood south of downtown, serves a single tasting menu of contemporary Southern cooking that Michelin describes as approachable yet playful. It’s the starred room for diners who want creativity without stiffness. Verdict: the best special-occasion dinner for people who don’t usually like special-occasion dinners.
3. Locust
One Michelin Star (2025) · Japanese-influenced · open only a few days a week
Chef Trevor Moran’s compact, Japanese-influenced restaurant opens only a few days a week, and reservations are essential. The small room and short opening schedule make it the most difficult of the three starred restaurants to fit into a trip. Verdict: worth building an evening around if you can get in; don’t count on a last-minute table.
4. Husk
37 Rutledge Street · Southern · brunch Saturday and Sunday 10am to 2pm
Husk’s Southern menu, built on regional ingredients in a restored house on Rutledge Hill, a short ride from Broadway, makes it the classic “take me somewhere nice” answer for visitors. Weekend brunch runs from 10am to 2pm, and its private room, The Stables, seats up to 16 for brunch. Verdict: the most reliable upscale Southern meal in town and the easiest special dinner to book; reserve ahead for weekends.
5. Prince’s Hot Chicken
Nolensville Pike, Assembly Food Hall and Century Farms · counter service · no reservations
The family that invented Nashville hot chicken still runs the most important name in it. The Assembly Food Hall counter at Fifth + Broadway is the convenient option downtown; the Nolensville Pike location puts you on the city’s international food corridor. Verdict: the essential hot chicken stop. Eat here first, then compare everything else to it.
6. Arnold’s Country Kitchen
Meat-and-three · cafeteria line · lunch
Arnold’s is the city’s best-known meat-and-three, a cafeteria-line lunch counter where the day’s meats and sides change on a rotation. It reopened in January 2024 after a brief 2023 hiatus, and the family has since announced a second location in North Nashville. Verdict: the single best-value introduction to how Nashville actually eats. Go before noon to beat the line and the sell-outs.
7. SS Gai
Bib Gourmand (2025) · Thai fried chicken · casual
Thai street-style fried chicken, served from a refurbished car wash with vendors in the old bays. It’s Nashville’s second fried-chicken obsession, and Michelin gave it a Bib Gourmand in the inaugural American South guide. Verdict: the most fun cheap meal on this list, and a smart counterpoint if your group has had enough hot chicken.
8. Kisser
Bib Gourmand (2025) · Japanese
Kisser earned one of Nashville’s seven Bib Gourmands for its Japanese cooking, Michelin’s badge for good food at moderate prices. Verdict: a strong choice for a relaxed dinner away from the tourist core; check its hours before you go, since smaller restaurants keep shorter weeks.
9. St. Vito Focacceria
Bib Gourmand (2025) · Sicilian, pizza
Sicilian-style pizza and focaccia earned St. Vito a Bib Gourmand, making it one of two pizza places on Michelin’s Nashville list. Verdict: the pick for a group that wants something shareable and excellent that isn’t fried.
10. Monell’s
Germantown · Southern, family style · since 1995
At Monell’s you sit at shared tables and pass bowls of Southern food like a family Sunday dinner, in historic Germantown, where it has been serving since 1995. Verdict: the most sociable meal in Nashville, especially good for a group or a solo traveler who wants company. Check the current hours before you go.
11. Bolton’s Spicy Chicken & Fish
East Nashville · hot chicken and hot fish · counter service
Bolton’s fries hot chicken and hot fish from a cinderblock building on Main Street in East Nashville, and it makes the natural second stop after Prince’s. Verdict: the stop for anyone who wants to compare the city’s styles, and the place to try hot fish.
12. Sho Pizza Bar
Bib Gourmand (2025) · pizza, contemporary
The other pizza place on Michelin’s Nashville list, Sho Pizza Bar pairs pizza with a contemporary menu. Verdict: a strong casual dinner, and a sign of how far Nashville’s everyday eating has come beyond fried chicken.
Michelin in Nashville: What the Stars and Bibs Mean
The Michelin Guide came to the region in 2025 with its first American South edition, which recognized 36 Tennessee restaurants. Nashville got three stars, for The Catbird Seat, Bastion and Locust, and seven Bib Gourmands. The Hermitage Hotel also received two Michelin Keys, the guide’s hotel award. The 2026 ceremony is being held in Nashville itself, at The Pinnacle in Nashville Yards on October 21, 2026, and new stars and Bibs will be announced there.
| Restaurant | 2025 distinction | Style |
|---|---|---|
| The Catbird Seat | One Star | Tasting counter |
| Bastion | One Star | Contemporary Southern tasting menu |
| Locust | One Star | Japanese-influenced |
| SS Gai | Bib Gourmand | Thai fried chicken |
| Kisser | Bib Gourmand | Japanese |
| St. Vito Focacceria | Bib Gourmand | Sicilian, pizza |
| Sho Pizza Bar | Bib Gourmand | Pizza, contemporary |
| Redheaded Stranger | Bib Gourmand | Tex-Mex |
| Uzbegim | Bib Gourmand | Uzbek |
| Peninsula | Bib Gourmand | See the Michelin listing |
What do the labels mean for you? A star marks cooking Michelin considers worth a special trip, and in Nashville all three are small rooms that book up. A Bib Gourmand marks good cooking at moderate prices, which makes the Bib list the most useful one for a visitor: seven restaurants, across seven different cuisines, where a very good dinner doesn’t require a special occasion. Uzbegim’s Central Asian cooking and Redheaded Stranger’s Tex-Mex are good examples of how much the city’s food has broadened.
Brunch in Nashville
Weekend brunch is a Nashville institution, partly because it doubles as the bachelorette parties’ favorite meal, so the good tables book up. These are the brunches confirmed for fall 2026, with the rules that matter.
| Restaurant | Hours | Good to know |
|---|---|---|
| Husk, 37 Rutledge Street | Saturday and Sunday, 10am to 2pm | The Stables private room seats up to 16 for brunch |
| The Southern, 150 Third Avenue South | Saturday and Sunday, 10am to 3pm | Groups of 11 or more use a request form; 20 percent gratuity for six or more |
| Kitchen Notes at the Omni | Saturday and Sunday, 7am to 2pm | Reservations strongly encouraged; private rooms aren’t used for Sunday brunch |
| Sixty Vines, Fifth + Broadway | Saturday and Sunday, 10am to 3pm | Private dining available |
| Suzy Wong’s Drag’n Brunch, 1519 Church Street | Fall and winter seatings: Friday noon, Saturday 10:30am and 1pm, Sunday 1pm | $34.99 for the show, shared starters and a main; 18 and up |
At Suzy Wong’s, the $34.99 covers the show, shared starters and a main, while alcohol, tax and tip are extra; mimosas are $9. It typically books up weeks ahead, groups of eight or more have to call, and shrinking or canceling a booking inside 48 hours costs $34.99 per missing guest. For the other brunches, a reservation a week or more ahead is sensible for a Saturday, and more for a group.
Where to Eat by Neighborhood
Nashville’s restaurants are spread across the city, and the best meals are rarely on Broadway. This is where each area earns its place.
| Area | What it’s good for | Names to know |
|---|---|---|
| Downtown and SoBro | Convenience before a show, food halls, brunch | Assembly Food Hall (with Prince’s), Hattie B’s on Broadway, The Southern, Kitchen Notes at the Omni, Sixty Vines |
| Rutledge Hill | A special Southern dinner a short ride from Broadway | Husk |
| Germantown | Dinner-focused restaurants and family-style Southern | Monell’s; the Farmers’ Market for breakfast and lunch |
| East Nashville | Neighborhood restaurants, hot chicken and hot fish | Bolton’s; food tours on Fridays and Saturdays |
| Wedgewood-Houston | Destination dining south of downtown | Bastion |
| Midtown | Casual eating near Vanderbilt and the Division Street bars | Hattie B’s Midtown |
| Nolensville Pike | The international corridor: Kurdish, Mexican, Asian and more | Prince’s Hot Chicken |
Downtown and SoBro
Downtown’s strength is convenience. Assembly Food Hall, at Fifth + Broadway, puts dozens of counters under one roof, including a Prince’s Hot Chicken, and it’s the answer when a group can’t agree. The Southern Steak & Oyster at 150 Third Avenue South runs weekend brunch from 10am to 3pm, and Kitchen Notes at the Omni serves brunch on Saturday and Sunday from 7am to 2pm. Sixty Vines at Fifth + Broadway does weekend brunch from 10am to 3pm. None of them is a hidden local secret, and all of them are practical before a Ryman show or an afternoon on Broadway.
Germantown
Germantown, a mile north of downtown, packs some of the city’s most talked-about restaurants into a few blocks of 19th-century brick, and it’s where Nashvillians go for a proper dinner out. Monell’s family-style tables are its most famous old-school address. Pair a Germantown dinner with a morning at the Nashville Farmers’ Market on Rosa L. Parks Boulevard, where the market hall is a good breakfast or lunch stop.
East Nashville
Across the river, East Nashville’s restaurants are neighborhood places first, which is exactly why they’re worth the 10-minute ride. Bolton’s hot chicken and hot fish is the must-try institution, and the neighborhood’s independent restaurants are the best argument for spending one dinner away from downtown. If you’d like a guide, Walk Eat Nashville runs an East Nashville food tour on Fridays and Saturdays at 11:30am.
Nolensville Pike
South of downtown, Nolensville Pike is Nashville’s international corridor, a long road of immigrant-run restaurants and markets. Nashville is home to the largest Kurdish community in the United States, and the Pike is where you’ll find it, alongside Mexican, Asian and many other kitchens. It’s also home to a Prince’s Hot Chicken. Come with a car or a rideshare and an appetite for exploring; this is the least touristy eating in the city.
How Booking Works: Reservations, Walk-Ins and Lines
Book well ahead
The three starred restaurants are small, and Locust opens only a few days a week, so book as soon as your dates are firm and check each restaurant’s own booking page for when new dates are released. Weekend brunch also needs a reservation: Husk, The Southern and Kitchen Notes all take them, and Kitchen Notes strongly encourages it. Suzy Wong’s Drag’n Brunch typically books up weeks ahead; groups of eight or more must call, and canceling or shrinking a booking inside 48 hours costs $34.99 per missing guest.
Walk in
Hot chicken counters, meat-and-threes and Biscuit Love are walk-in places. Biscuit Love takes no reservations at all. The trick with all of them is timing: arrive before the noon rush, or after 1:30pm for lunch places, and go on a weekday if you can. At a meat-and-three, the most popular dishes can sell out, so early is better than late.
Groups
Big groups change the rules. The Southern asks parties of 11 or more to use a request form, which isn’t a confirmed booking until they reply, and adds a 20 percent gratuity for parties of six or more. Hattie B’s Midtown lists a 50-person private room, and Husk’s The Stables seats up to 16 for brunch. For a group that can’t agree, a food hall solves everything.
What Eating Out Costs in Nashville
Nashville’s restaurant prices run from counter-service lunches to tasting menus that are the most expensive meals in the city, and menus change often enough that the only reliable price is the one on the day. What doesn’t change is what gets added at the end.
Food and beer pay Davidson County’s 9.75 percent sales tax. Cocktails, wine and spirits sold by the drink pay Tennessee’s 15 percent liquor-by-the-drink tax on top, for 24.75 percent in all. Table service customarily gets an 18 to 20 percent tip, and some restaurants add a gratuity automatically for big groups, so check the bill before you tip twice. Put together, a dinner where half the menu total is cocktails costs noticeably more than the menu suggests: on $100 of food and $50 of cocktails, the taxes alone add about $22 before the tip.
How to eat well for less
- Make lunch the main meal. The meat-and-threes and hot chicken counters are among the best-value meals in the city.
- Drink beer rather than cocktails, for the lower tax.
- Use the Bib Gourmand list for dinner: Michelin’s badge for good food at moderate prices.
- Eat at food halls and markets when you’re with a group, so nobody pays for a meal they didn’t want.
- Book brunch rather than dinner for a special meal; many restaurants’ weekend brunches cost less than their dinners.
Where to Eat for Every Occasion
Date night
For a big night, book one of the starred tasting counters, The Catbird Seat, Bastion or Locust, as far ahead as you can. For something less formal, Husk is the reliable Southern choice, and a Bib Gourmand such as Kisser or St. Vito makes a relaxed dinner before a show.
Groups
Groups do best at places built for them: Assembly Food Hall, where everyone orders separately, Monell’s family-style tables, and restaurants with private rooms, such as Hattie B’s Midtown, which lists a 50-person room. Expect an automatic gratuity at many sit-down restaurants for parties of six or more.
Families with kids
Hot chicken counters work for families as long as the kids order plain or mild, and the food hall and the Farmers’ Market solve picky eaters. Meat-and-three lunches, with their mac and cheese and fried chicken, are an easy win. Save the tasting menus for a night without the kids.
Vegetarians
Meat-and-three sides look vegetarian, but many Southern vegetables are cooked with pork, so ask before you order greens or beans. The Bib Gourmand list is the better hunting ground: SS Gai, Kisser, St. Vito and the pizza places all have plenty that isn’t meat. Nolensville Pike’s international restaurants are another good bet.
On a budget
Make lunch the main meal at a meat-and-three or a hot chicken counter, eat breakfast at the Farmers’ Market, and drink beer rather than cocktails. A Bib Gourmand dinner is the best-value special meal in the city.
Where to Eat Near the Big Sights
| If you’re at | Eat at |
|---|---|
| The Ryman or Lower Broadway | Assembly Food Hall (with Prince’s), Hattie B’s on Broadway, Acme Feed & Seed, Sixty Vines |
| The Country Music Hall of Fame | Kitchen Notes at the Omni next door, The Southern a few blocks away |
| The Farmers’ Market or Bicentennial Mall | The market hall, then Germantown and Monell’s |
| Vanderbilt and Centennial Park | Hattie B’s Midtown |
| East Nashville | Bolton’s on Main Street |
| Wedgewood-Houston | Bastion, booked ahead |
Common Mistakes (and How to Avoid Them)
- Eating every meal on Broadway. It’s convenient, but the city’s best food is in the neighborhoods. Eat at least one dinner in Germantown, East Nashville or Wedgewood-Houston.
- Following an old list. Nashville restaurants open and close quickly; the old Prince’s shack on Ewing Drive, for example, is listed as closed. Check that a place is open before you cross town for it.
- Arriving at a meat-and-three at 2pm. Most are lunch places, and the best dishes run out. Go before noon.
- Ordering the top heat level first. It’s a rite of passage for some, a ruined afternoon for most.
- Forgetting the drinks tax. Cocktails pay 24.75 percent tax; beer pays 9.75.
- Relying on last year’s Michelin list. The 2026 stars and Bibs are announced on October 21, 2026, so check the new list if you’re traveling after that.
- Skipping Nolensville Pike. The city’s most interesting cheap eats are along it, and most visitors never go.
How to Read a Nashville Menu
A few words turn up on menus across the city that first-time visitors may not know.
| On the menu | What it means |
|---|---|
| Hot chicken | Fried chicken coated in a cayenne paste or oil after frying, served on white bread with pickles; ordered by heat level |
| Hot fish | Fried fish, usually whiting, spiced the same way |
| Meat-and-three | One meat and three sides from a steam table, usually at lunch |
| Country ham | Salt-cured, aged ham, sliced thin and salty; best on a biscuit |
| Fried green tomatoes | Unripe tomato slices breaded and fried |
| Pimento cheese | Cheddar, mayonnaise and roasted peppers, the South’s favorite spread |
| Chess pie | A simple custard pie of butter, sugar and eggs |
| Banana pudding | Layers of vanilla custard, bananas and wafers; a meat-and-three staple |
| Sweet tea | Iced tea sweetened while hot; ask for unsweet if you want plain |
| Goo Goo Cluster | A candy bar of chocolate, marshmallow nougat, caramel and peanuts, made in Nashville since 1912 |
How Nashville Learned to Eat Out
For most of the 20th century, eating out in Nashville meant a meat-and-three at lunch, a steak house for a celebration and hot chicken if you knew where to look, mostly in the city’s Black neighborhoods. The change came in the 2010s, when the city’s population and visitor numbers boomed and chefs arrived to cook for both. The Catbird Seat opened in 2011, Germantown and East Nashville filled with ambitious neighborhood restaurants, and hot chicken went from a local secret to a dish on chain menus across the country.
The Michelin Guide’s arrival in 2025, with three stars and seven Bib Gourmands for Nashville, confirmed what locals already knew: the city now eats well at every price. The 2026 ceremony, held in Nashville for the first time, is a sign of how seriously the food world now takes the city. The old places still matter, though. The meat-and-threes and hot chicken counters that fed the city before the boom are still the best way to understand where it came from.
A Three-Day Eating Plan for First-Timers
| Day | Breakfast | Lunch | Dinner |
|---|---|---|---|
| Day 1: downtown | Biscuit Love, early (walk-in only) | Prince’s Hot Chicken at Assembly Food Hall, Fifth + Broadway | Husk, booked ahead |
| Day 2: neighborhoods | The Nashville Farmers’ Market | Arnold’s Country Kitchen, before noon | A Bib Gourmand: SS Gai, Kisser or St. Vito Focacceria |
| Day 3: slow day | Weekend brunch at The Southern or Kitchen Notes | Bolton’s in East Nashville | A starred tasting menu, booked weeks ahead, or Monell’s for family style |
This plan puts hot chicken on day one, so you can compare Prince’s and Bolton’s by day three, and saves the biggest dinner for the end of the trip, when you’ll know whether you want another night of Southern food or something else entirely. If you’re following our three-day Nashville itinerary, these meals slot around the same days: downtown first, neighborhoods second, a slower third day.
Eating Near the Honky-Tonks
If you’re spending the afternoon on Broadway, eat before 6pm, when kitchens get busy and the traditional honky-tonks go 21 and up. The practical options are all within a few blocks: Assembly Food Hall and its Prince’s counter, Hattie B’s on Broadway, Sixty Vines at Fifth + Broadway, and Acme Feed & Seed at the river end, where walk-ins work for groups of two to nine and the rooftop looks over the Cumberland. Several of the big honky-tonks, such as Ole Red, also run full kitchens. For the bars themselves, see our ranked guide to the Broadway honky-tonks.
Food Tours: Worth It?
A guided food tour is a good first-day shortcut if food is the reason you came. Walk Eat Nashville runs downtown and East Nashville tours, each with five tasting stops over about three hours for $109 plus taxes and fees, with groups capped at 12. That’s more than you’d spend eating the same things yourself, but a good guide will tell you where to go back to. Our guide to Nashville’s tours compares food tours with the city’s other paid tours.
What to Eat in Nashville, Beyond the Big Four
Once you’ve done hot chicken, a meat-and-three, barbecue and biscuits, Nashville has plenty more to explore. The Bib Gourmand list is the best shortcut: Thai fried chicken at SS Gai, Japanese at Kisser, Sicilian pizza at St. Vito, Tex-Mex at Redheaded Stranger and Uzbek food at Uzbegim. Nolensville Pike’s Kurdish and Mexican kitchens are the city’s most interesting cheap eats. And don’t skip dessert or the small things: a banana pudding at a meat-and-three, a fried pie, a Goo Goo Cluster, the chocolate-marshmallow-caramel-peanut candy bar invented in Nashville in 1912 and sold across the South.
Best Restaurants in Nashville FAQ
What are the best restaurants in Nashville?
For fine dining, the 2025 Michelin-starred trio: The Catbird Seat, Bastion and Locust. For Southern food, Husk. For Nashville’s own dishes, Prince’s Hot Chicken, Bolton’s and the Arnold’s Country Kitchen meat-and-three. For good-value dinners, the seven 2025 Bib Gourmands, including SS Gai, Kisser and St. Vito Focacceria. New Michelin stars are announced on October 21, 2026.
What food is Nashville known for?
Nashville is best known for hot chicken: fried chicken coated in a cayenne paste or oil and served on white bread with pickles. The city’s other classics are the meat-and-three, a Southern lunch counter where you choose one meat and three sides, pork barbecue, and a breakfast of biscuits, country ham and gravy. Goo Goo Clusters, the candy bar, were invented here in 1912.
Where should I get hot chicken in Nashville?
Start with Prince’s Hot Chicken, the family that invented the dish, at its Nolensville Pike location or its counter in Assembly Food Hall at Fifth + Broadway. Hattie B’s, on Broadway and in Midtown, is the most convenient name, and Bolton’s in East Nashville also serves hot fish. Order one heat level below what you think you can handle.
Do you need reservations at Nashville restaurants?
For the Michelin-starred tasting counters, yes, well ahead, and for weekend brunch at places like Husk, The Southern and Kitchen Notes. Hot chicken counters, meat-and-threes and Biscuit Love are walk-in only, so arrive early or on a weekday. Drag brunches and large groups need booking weeks ahead, with cancellation fees at some places.
What is a meat-and-three?
A meat-and-three is a Southern restaurant where you choose one meat, such as fried chicken, meatloaf or catfish, and three sides, such as mac and cheese, greens or fried green tomatoes, usually from a cafeteria line. They’re mostly lunch places. Arnold’s Country Kitchen, Swett’s and Silver Sands Cafe are Nashville’s best-known examples, and Monell’s does the same food family style.
Which Nashville restaurants have Michelin stars?
In the 2025 Michelin Guide American South, three Nashville restaurants received one star each: The Catbird Seat, Bastion and Locust. Seven more received Bib Gourmands for good food at moderate prices. The 2026 stars are announced at a ceremony in Nashville on October 21, 2026, so check for updates after that date.
How much should you tip at restaurants in Nashville?
Tip 18 to 20 percent for table service, as elsewhere in the US, calculated on the food and drink total. Check the bill first, because some restaurants add an automatic gratuity for large groups; The Southern, for example, adds 20 percent for parties of six or more. Food is taxed at 9.75 percent, and cocktails at 24.75 percent.
Related Nashville Guides
- Nashville Itineraries: Ready-Made Plans for 1-5 Days: where these meals fit in a trip
- Nashville Honky Tonks and Bars: A Ranked Nightlife Guide: where to go after dinner
- Nashville Tours: What’s Actually Worth Booking: food tours compared with the city’s other paid tours
- Where to Stay in Nashville: Best Areas & Hotels: a base close to the neighborhoods you want to eat in
- Best Time to Visit Nashville: Month-by-Month Guide: when patios, brunch lines and festivals peak
Sources and verification
Details in this guide were checked on September 23, 2026 against the restaurants, guides and agencies listed below; the guide does not claim first-hand meals, and the ranking is an editorial judgment built from that research.
- Michelin Guide: Nashville restaurants
- Michelin Guide: The Catbird Seat
- Michelin Guide: Bastion
- Michelin Guide: Locust
- Michelin Guide: SS Gai
- Tennessee Department of Tourist Development: Michelin Guide American South
- Prince’s Hot Chicken: locations
- Arnold’s Country Kitchen
- Biscuit Love
- Husk Nashville
- The Southern Steak & Oyster
- Kitchen Notes at the Omni
- Suzy Wong’s House of Yum
- Walk Eat Nashville: East Nashville food tour
- Tennessee Department of Revenue: alcohol tax manual (June 2026)
Photo credits
- Hot chicken at Bolton's: photo by Southern Foodways Alliance/Amy C. Evans, Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0)
- Hattie B's on Broadway: photo by Carol VanHook from Tennessee, USA, Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.0)
- Germantown: photo by Brent Moore from Smyrna, TN, USA, Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0)
- Acme Feed & Seed: photo by Michael Rivera, Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
- Fifth + Broadway, downtown Nashville (featured image): photo by Warren LeMay from Chicago, IL, United States, Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.0)
Photos are from Wikimedia Commons and have been resized for the web. The chart is our own, drawn from the figures in this guide.