Welcome to Nashville! You’re ready to have the full Broadway experience, but where to eat? More celebrity chefs come to town every year, and locals are also stepping up their cooking game. With all the unique and unexpected dining experiences available, the choices can seem overwhelming. To help you choose, we’ve selected 18 of our favorite foodie spots. Ranging from street hot dogs to exclusive tasting menus, there’s something for everyone on this list.
Also, do no despair if you see a restaurant you want to visit but you can’t get a reservation. All is not lost. Many of the establishments have full-service bars where walk-ins can dine.
As always, the restaurants featured below and independently owned and operated, because here we celebrate A Little Local Flavor.
(Pssss: if you are looking to learn about Nashville’s history and culture while eating local food, check out one of our walking tours. Our Downtown Nashville Food Tour lets guests eat and drink their way through the city while seeing some of the most important landmarks in the downtown district. The Nashville Craft Cocktails Tour visits some of the best fine dining locations in Nashville, including several that are on this list. Both are led by locals passionate about Music City’s food and drink scene.)
Iconic and Must-Try Restaurants in Downtown Nashville
The Southern Steak & Oyster
The team at the Southern celebrates the stories that food can tell. In the main dining room, diners watch their food being prepared, whether from the shuck-to-order oyster bar or the open-air kitchen where food gets cooked over their hickory wood-fired grill. In addition, the folks at the Southern are focused on making their delicious food sustainable and local. They are open for lunch, brunch and dinner, and their Oyster Happy Hour happens daily. This is one foodie spot you will not want to miss.
We serve a quarter rack of their phenomenal ribs with a side and a local beer as one of the stops on our Downtown Nashville Food Tour.
Etch
Chef Deb Paquette’s Etch brings global cuisine to Nashville. Her dishes feature bright, layered flavors and innovative sauces. The bar team’s efforts focus on taking the classics and updating them to compliment the restaurant’s diverse influences. Etch is one of our owner Christine's favorite Nashville restaurants downtown. She loves their roasted cauliflower, the filet is top notch, and they often have a seasonal pavlova for dessert. Resy named it one of “The ten restaurants that defined Nashville dining in 2022.”
D’Andrews Bakery
This amazing bakery was a James Beard Award semi-finalist in 2024 for Best Bakery. Executive Chef and Owner David Andrews is a Nashville native who left to become a pastry chef. After cooking in some of the best restaurants in New York City, he came back home. Everything made at D’Andrews is crafted in house, from the intricate French Bulldog macaron to the freshly-baked sandwich focaccia bread to the dressings for the salads. Set just outside the tourist district, this is a spot lots of locals frequent. This is a must try Nashville spot.
417 Union
This often-overlooked breakfast/lunch/brunch spot celebrates the flavors of Tennessee. Using produce from the Nashville farmer’s market and source bread from a local artisan bakery, the team seeks to gives their guests a taste of what it means to be from Nashville. They have also decorated their 1897 building with artifacts from World War II downstairs and the Civil War upstairs. It's the best spot for a traditional Southern breakfast in downtown Nashville.
The Standard
The Standard is in the Smith House, which is also known as the Savage House. Once, the area around Capitol Hill was filled with similar Italianate Victorian townhouses, but today, this is the only surviving one. It is also one of the two surviving Antebellum buildings in downtown. It was also the city’s first bowling alley. Today, the restaurant serves steakhouse classics with contemporary twists. The Standard Club shares the building with the restaurant. The Robb Report has called this private organization one of the “Top 5 Cigar Bars in the US.” The restaurant does have a dress code.
Acme Feed & Seed
Each floor of this popular downtown Nashville restaurant offers a different dining experience. On their first floor honky tonk, order a rack of some of the best ribs Nashville has to offer while humming along to the live music down front. On the second floor, 22 TVs stay tuned to the latest sporting events, and they also have a sushi menu available. The third floor is their private event space, should you have a gathering you need to host. And then the rooftop bar looks out over Broadway, the Cumberland River and East Nashville. We even serve an incredible off menu item from Acme on our Downtown Nashville Food Tour
Want to explore downtown Nashville with a fork in hand?
Join our Downtown Nashville Food Tour to eat, drink, and discover the stories behind these must-try restaurants. It’s a perfect way to sample the city while seeing its most iconic landmarks—led by a local who knows where the flavor lives.
Best Restaurants in Downtown Nashville for Unique Vibes
Black Rabbit
Once home to Jimmy Hoffa’s lawyer, the Black Rabbit celebrates Printers Alley’s notorious past. Chef Trey Cioccia and his team have kept that spirit alive by leaving the 16-foot ceilings, brick walls and original wood floors untouched. The restaurant channels the speakeasies of yesteryear, but the food and drink offered there will make any foodie happy. Wood-fired cooking is the center of all that happens in the kitchen, while the bar menu reinvents the boozy drinks popular during Prohibition. No wonder it was named the best happy hour in Nashville by the writers of the Nashville Scene!
Liberty Common
Liberty Common is tucked just around the corner from all the bustle of Broadway and offers a quiet, ambient spot for dining. Modeled on a traditional French bistro but celebrating the flavors of the South, the dining experience at Liberty Common looks delectable and tastes even better. During brunch, check out one of their Waffles Benedict or the Liberty Classic Pancakes, and be sure to take advantage of their full-service expresso bar. At dinner, give their Monte Cristo Waffle Sandwich or their vegetarian Liberty ‘Elt a try. Happy hour is available on Thursdays and Friday. They also have a new bottomless mimosa brunch!
Lou/Na
Named for the Louisville-Nashville railroad that used to run past the restaurant’s location, Lou/Na has one of the best views in the city. Located on the 25th floor of the Grand Hyatt hotel, you can choose whether to sit indoors or out. They also have live music many nights, and the restaurant also offers complementary 2-hour valet parking.
Gray & Dudley
Named for the hardware store that once occupied this historic corner of downtown Nashville just a few steps away from beautiful Public Square Park, Gray & Dudley merges food and art. It is located in the Banker’s Alley Hotel, the only Hilton Tapestry Hotel in the United States, which houses a three-story art gallery that is free and open to the public. When you’ve finished your meal, take your final drink with you as you tour the art (just return the glassware, please; no one wants to do a scavenger hunt among the installations).
Deacon’s New South
Deacon’s is the most dressed-up version of a traditional meat-n-three to be found. (For those not familiar with a meat-n-three, that is an iconic style of Nashville restaurant where guests choose a meat and three sides). In addition they have the largest dry-age locker in the Southeast. Here, the cuisine celebrates all things Southern, but reinvents those iconic flavors for the modern diner. Their extensive bar program also has echoes of the past, focusing on updating what Nashville diners would have drunk a century ago. They also have a fantastic daily happy hour.
Makeready L&L
Set in the basement of the Noelle Hotel, Makeready L&L merges Italian sensibilities with Southern flavors. A “makeready” was the final stage of setting a printing press, the moment when the journeymen made sure the page was perfectly set. In the same way, the team at Makeready L&L seeks to make their space a retreat from the chaos outside, a place where the people and visitors of Nashville can relax and celebrate. And, of course, all the food is farm-to-table and locally sourced.
Looking for a delicious way to get off the beaten path?
Our food tours highlight hidden gems and locally loved spots—the ones most tourists miss. Perfect for travelers who want to eat like a local and learn the stories behind the bites.
Where to Find Great Global Flavors in Downtown Nashville
Ellington’s
As the flagship fine dining restaurant in the vibey mid-century modern Fairlane Hotel, Ellington’s celebrates classic 20th century dining with a 21st century update and a hint of Spanish influence thanks to executive chef Christopher Ayala. No reservations? No worries. Their bar is full service (and happy hour is from 3-5, Monday through Friday). If the weather is nice, take your drink outside onto their spacious terrace. After dinner, head up to their rooftop bar and check out the latest popup! The theme changes seasonally, and the execution makes it an Instagram-worthy excursion.
Yolan
Yolan is a seasonally-driven Italian-style fine dining restaurant operated by James Beard Award-winning and Michelin-starred Chef Tony Mantuano located in the Joseph Hotel. Cathy Mantuano leads a team of four sommeliers to construct the restaurant’s bar program. You can choose between a tasting experience or an a la carte menu. Or, for a truly unique, personalized dining journey, sign up for La Tavola in La Cucina. Available for parties of four, the chef de cuisine and a dedicated sommelier create personalized dinner and wine pairing for their guests. Needless to say, this is one of the top restaurants in Nashville.
Drusie & Darr
The historic Beaux Arts Hermitage Hotel, Nashville’s first million-dollar hotel, has long been a favorite spot for both locals and visitors to gather for fun or for business. Many of those gatherings have happened down in its basement, once a German-styled rathskeller known as the Capital Grille and Oak Bar. Once home to Chef Sean Brock, today that basement space is the newly-renovated Drusie & Darr. Run by Celebrity Chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten, it’s his first restaurant in the South. His menu reflects his usual global influences, but it is made using locally-acquired, seasonal produce. Come here for breakfast, lunch or dinner. (P.S. Right next door to the bar area is the men’s Art Deco restroom, a spot you’ll see many ladies sneaking into. It’s been repeatedly called the best restroom in America. Pop up on the shoe shining stools for a great selfie opportunity, but then head next door to the women’s restroom made out of Tennessee pink marble. It gives the men’s room a run for its money.)
Quick Bites and Hidden Gems in the Downtown Core
Assembly Food Hall
The Assembly Food Hall, located at the corner of 5th and Broadway, is home to more than thirty local restaurants and bars. It also has the largest rooftop space in Nashville and three stages where local acts entertain visitors. Arranged as a gourmet food court, some of the stalls to visit include: Prince’s Hot Chicken, inventor of the original Nashville hot chicken; Steam Boys, creators of authentic Chinese comfort foods including some of the best bao you will ever eat; and the Pharmacy Burger, a local favorite.
Daddy’s Dogs
Find yourself craving a late-night hotdog after a jaunt down Broadway? Head to Daddy’s Dogs Printer’s Alley stall or look for their downtown hotdog cart for a grown-up, gourmet hot dog experience. This has been a local favorite downtown for nearly a decade, and a local's worthy midnight snack. Here is a full list of other late night food in Nashville.
Bajo Taco
Located just a few feet from the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, Bajo Taco is a quick-service taqueria where Mexican classics have been updated for Nashville palates. Nashville Hot Chicken Taco? Why not, unless the Korean Crispy Tofu Taco or Coconut Shrimp Taco sounds better. Don’t miss their hand-crafted margaritas, either. Take out and delivery is also available.
Frequently Asked Questions About Downtown Nashville Dining
What good restaurants are in downtown Nashville?
Downtown Nashville is home to a variety of excellent restaurants, from upscale dining to local gems. Top picks include Etch, The Southern Steak & Oyster, Acme Feed & Seed, Yolan, and Liberty Common. These spots serve everything from global cuisine to modern takes on Southern classics.
What food should you not miss in Nashville?
When visiting Nashville, don’t miss out on Nashville hot chicken, wood-fired meats, local biscuits, and seasonal Southern sides. Many of these signature dishes are featured on our Downtown Food Tour, which lets you taste a curated selection of can't-miss local bites.
What is the most iconic Nashville food?
The most iconic Nashville food is Nashville hot chicken—a spicy, crispy fried chicken dish traditionally served on white bread with pickles. Prince’s Hot Chicken at Assembly Food Hall is a local favorite and often considered the origin of the dish.
What is the name of the famous cafe in Nashville?
The famous cafe you're thinking of is likely The Bluebird Cafe—a legendary music venue where many country music stars got their start. Located outside downtown in Green Hills, it’s a must-visit for music lovers and offers a uniquely intimate performance experience alongside light food and drinks. Be sure to have a ticket before you arrive.
What are unique places to eat in Nashville?
Some of the most unique places to eat in Nashville include:
The Standard – housed in a historic antebellum home
Black Rabbit – a Printers Alley speakeasy-style restaurant
Gray & Dudley – attached to a modern art gallery
Drusie & Darr – in the Hermitage Hotel with award-winning design
Yolan – a fine-dining Italian experience in The Joseph Hotel
These places offer more than food—they deliver full cultural experiences.
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Let us know what your list is! What would you add?