Restaurants
Downtown/The Gulch
Germantown (historic neighborhood close to downtown, lots of great food options)
- Henrietta Red (seafood forward fine dining)
- Optimist (also seafood forward fine dining)
- City House (a classic Nashville establishment, known for their wood-fired pizza)
- Rolf & Daughters (high-quality Italian/fresh made pastas)
- Tailor (7 course Indian tasting menu, only two seatings per night – reservation required)
- 5th and Taylor (upscale American food)
- Babychan (Japanese bakery)
- Butchertown Hall (smoked meats/Tex mex)
- Pelato (Brooklyn-style Italian food)
- Monelle's (Southern home cooking, served family style, breakfast, lunch & dinner)
Wedgewood Houston (former industrial warehouse district with lots of art galleries/restaurants) / Melrose
- Iggys (all fresh made pastas)
- Pastis (Parisian bistro)
- Aba (Mediterranean with California influence)
- Bastion (reservation required; a speakeasy chef's counter experience hidden behind a bar)
- The Smiling Elephant (Thai)
12 South (walkable street with lots of shopping), Belmont Blvd, Hillsboro Village
East Nashville
- Peninsula (inspired by the Iberian peninsula; great sherry list and about 10 types of gin and tonics)
- Bad Idea (Laotian food inside an old church; incredible wine program)
- Xiao Bao (Chinese hipster diner)
- Folk (wood-fired pizzas, cocktails, small plates)
- Audrey (elevated Southern food by chef Sean Brock)
- Kisser (lunch only) (Japanese lunch options galore – voted one of the best restaurants in the US)
- Frankie's Sputino (outpost of the famed Carroll Gardens restaurant; they make all their pasta in-house and the olive oil is from their family farm in Sicily!)
- Noko (wood-fired Japanese food)
- Sho Pizza (Tokyo-inspired pizza by famed chef Sean Brock)
- Lyra (Middle Eastern, Levantine)
- Junior (elevated small plates)
- Alebrije (Mexico City style Mexican food)
- Lockeland Table
- Kase x noko (sushi omakase)
- Fancypants (innovative, fun dining)
- The Pharmacy Burger Parlor & Beer Garden (German beer garden, craft sodas, lots of outdoor seating)
Midtown (area between downtown and Vanderbilt University)
Further Afield (but worth a trip!)
Bars/Drinks
Downtown/The Gulch
- Bar Inside the Famed Hermitage Hotel (be sure to check out the 1910 Art Deco period-specific men's bathroom!)
- Patterson House (the original Nashville cocktail bar, recently moved to a new location in the Gulch)
- The Sinatra Bar (Worth a nightcap here for sure! Alle vongole & a Negroni, you say? "How'd all these people get in my room?!")
- Rare Bird OR Hidden Bar at Noelle Hotel (Always consistently good. Let the weather decide which one you choose)
- Pinewood Social (Like a Wes Anderson dream club. Equally great in daytime and nighttime. Fantastic little dipping pools in the back + bocce + bowling)
- Rudy's (Old-school jazz spot in the Gulch. Feels like a West Village downstairs club but isn't. Good music on any night)
- Bar Sovereign (Divey and fun. Always good tunes playing. Pop up food service in the back is a nice treat)
- House of Cards (magic themed bar/restaurant with live magicians and an hourly magic show in a mini theater; there is a dress code to enter)
- Play (playground for adults)
- Golden Sound (cocktail bar)
- Pins Mechanical (bar full of pinball machines and other games to play)
Germantown
- Le Loup (nautical themed cocktail bar that serves oysters)
- Close Company (cocktail bar with a 70s style conversation pit in a reclaimed industrial building)
- Bearded Iris (beer)
- Café Babu (Indian/Mediterranean fusion coffee shop by day/cocktails by night)
- Green Hour (absinthe bar only open on the weekends; weekdays it is a Belgian chocolate shop)
- Sauced (wine bar)
Wedgewood Houston
- Glasshaus (coffee and cocktails in a glassblowing studio)
- Deir Coffee Shop (middle eastern coffee house with amazing desserts / open late)
- Bastion (bar in a warehouse; if you order nachos, they give you a balloon to hold until your nachos are ready)
- Flamingo Cocktail Club (Miami inspired bar inside of an old church)
- Never Never (cocktail bar in an old autobody shop)
East Nashville
- Proper Sake / Rice Vice (Domestic sake (they make in house!) alongside traditional Japanese pours. Vinyl is always playing at a low volume)
- Urban Cowboy (Roberta's Pizza + a fine cocktail bar + an outdoor courtyard with firepits + an indoor wine bar with quiet jazz)
- Inglewood Lounge (Wonderful neighborhood haunt in an old fast-food spot turned mid-century hideaway. Locals only. Lots of nooks to sip in)
- Sun Room (Spanish/Mediterranean style tapas and super cocktails)
- Chopper - Robot Tiki Bar (yes, that's correct + best taco truck, Maiz De La Vida, in town)
- Pearl Diver (Kitschy mid-century style Tiki bar)
- Attaboy (Great for a nightcap. Must wait to be let in. No menu. Tell ‘em what you like "mezcal, amaro, chartreuse & citrus" and prepare to be delighted)
- Butterlamp (wine bar that also makes fresh sourdough and serves the best can to table tinned fish in town)
- Smith & Lenz (beer)
- Dino's (dive bar; great burgers)
- Sid Gold's Request Room (piano karaoke in an intimate mid-century style lounge; Alexa's boyfriend Paul will be the host from 9pm-midnight on Wednesday night)
- Haraz Coffee House (middle eastern coffee house with amazing desserts / open late)
- Tiger Bar (Circus side-show themed bar)
- Coral Club (trendy, cave like bar with a Mediterranean bent)
- The Fox (intimate cocktail bar with velvet booths)
- Eleven 11 (Vietnamese food/cocktails in a creative space)
- Groceries etc. (vinyl listening lounge/bar)