Hot chicken, meat-and-three, and the city writing Southern food right now.
Free cancellation on most tours, with live prices on the partner's site.
Nashville eats with conviction. The city's defining plate is hot chicken, born at Prince's in the 1930s as a punishment that turned into a craving, now standardised in shops across Music City and franchised globally. The meat-and-three remains its lunch institution: a protein with three vegetables, sweet tea included, ordered at counters like Arnold's and Monell's that have run the format since the 1980s. Black-owned restaurants in North Nashville and the Bordeaux corridor anchor the city's soul food and barbecue heritage. Newer arrivals push the city upmarket: Bastion, Locust, The Catbird Seat and Sean Brock's Audrey hold Michelin stars from the Guide's first American South edition in November 2025. East Nashville's blocks trade in natural wine, tacos, ramen and pizza. Germantown reads as the new fine-dining axis around Rolf and Daughters, Henrietta Red and The Optimist. The constant is hospitality: rooms still refill your tea without asking and tell you what to order.
Guided tour · 3 hours
Walk through Downtown Nashville with five food tastings, lively stories, and sights like the Ryman, Country Music Hall of Fame, Broadway’s honky tonks, and hidden gems...
Guided tour · 3 hours
Experience East Nashville through 5 tastings and stories of resilience, creativity, and community on a guided walking food tour.
Guided tour · 4 hours
Experience the best of Nashville on a bus tour. Visit a local distillery for a guided tour and whiskey tastings, enjoy a meal at a local BBQ joint, and sip on a flight...
The plates that define eating in Nashville.
Bone-in fried chicken painted with a cayenne paste, served on white bread with pickles. The lacquered red crust hides serious heat; bread soaks the oil.
Where Prince's Hot Chicken, Hattie B's Hot Chicken, Bolton's Spicy Chicken and Fish, Pepperfire Hot Chicken
Where to eat Nashville hot chicken in Nashville →A plate-lunch tradition: one Southern protein plus three vegetable sides, with cornbread and sweet tea. Counter ordering, cafeteria lines, lunch hours only.
Where Arnold's Country Kitchen, Monell's Dining and Catering, Elliston Place Soda Shop
Where to eat Meat-and-three in Nashville →Tennessee-style barbecue: pulled whole-hog pork over hickory, served with vinegar sauce or Alabama white. Slow-cooked overnight, served on a soft roll.
Where Martin's Bar-B-Que Joint, Peg Leg Porker, Edley's Bar-B-Que
Where to eat Tennessee whole-hog pork in Nashville →A round chocolate-coated candy of caramel, marshmallow nougat and peanuts, invented in Nashville in 1912. The first ever combination candy bar in America.
Where to eat Goo Goo Cluster in Nashville →Salt-cured, smoke-cured and aged Tennessee ham, sliced thin and pan-fried. The signature pork product of the region, with redeye gravy as its match.
Where Loveless Cafe, Husk Nashville, Monell's Dining and Catering
Where to eat Tennessee country ham in Nashville →Cornmeal-dredged catfish fillets, deep-fried until the coating shatters. Plated with hush puppies and cole slaw, dipped in tartar or hot sauce.
Where Loveless Cafe, Arnold's Country Kitchen, Monell's Dining and Catering
Where to eat Fried catfish in Nashville →Layered dessert of vanilla wafers, banana slices and from-scratch vanilla custard, topped with meringue or whipped cream. Cold service.
Where Arnold's Country Kitchen, Hattie B's Hot Chicken, Loveless Cafe
Where to eat Banana pudding in Nashville →Slow-smoked pork shoulder pulled into tender shreds, piled on a soft white bun with creamy slaw and a thin Tennessee-style tomato-vinegar sauce.
Where Martin's Bar-B-Que Joint, Edley's Bar-B-Que, Peg Leg Porker, Husk Nashville
Where to eat Tennessee Pulled Pork Sandwich in Nashville →True Tennessee cornbread: white cornmeal, buttermilk, bacon fat, baked screaming-hot in a cast-iron skillet with a crackling crust. No sugar, no flour added in the meat-and-three tradition.
Where Loveless Cafe, Arnold's Country Kitchen, Husk Nashville, Monell's Dining and Catering, Folk
Where to eat Southern Skillet Cornbread in Nashville →The South's caviar: sharp cheddar, pimento peppers, mayonnaise, and a kick of cayenne, served as a dip with crackers or spread thick in a sandwich.
Where Husk Nashville, Arnold's Country Kitchen, Folk, Loveless Cafe, City House, The Mockingbird
Where to eat Pimento Cheese in Nashville →Whole catfish or whiting fillets cornmeal-fried and basted in a heavy cayenne-and-lard slick, stacked on white bread with pickles. The North Nashville hot-fish answer to hot chicken.
Where Bolton's Spicy Chicken and Fish
Where to eat Bolton's hot fish in Nashville →A handful of the places we send friends to when they are in Nashville.
Chef Philip Krajeck's Germantown Italian-American kitchen in Nashville opened in 2012 inside the Werthan factory and runs handmade pastas and wood-fired.
OrderSquid ink chitarra with octopus and chickpea, plus the wood-fired pork.
Chef Tandy Wilson's Germantown room in Nashville serves blue-collar Italian and Southern cooking since 2007. Kitchen leans italian southern.
OrderBelly ham pizza with mozzarella, oregano, chiles and pickled peppers.
Chef Julia Sullivan's Germantown seafood room in Nashville opened in 2017 with a raw bar, wood-grill program and a wine list built around growers.
OrderHalf-dozen oysters from the daily list, then the wood-grilled whole fish.
Ford Fry's Atlanta-born seafood concept landed in Nashville's Germantown Hammer Mill in 2023, anchoring a seafood tower programme and Le Loup cocktail lounge.
OrderThe opulent seafood tower for two, plus the wood-grilled fish of the day.
Sean Brock's Rutledge Hill institution in Nashville cooks ingredient-driven Southern food on a wood hearth, run today by chef de cuisine Brian Baxter.
OrderThe cornbread skillet, then whatever the menu lists from the wood hearth.
Sean Brock's East Nashville Appalachian fine-dining room opened 2021, named for his grandmother and in the 2025 Michelin Guide. Sam Jett runs day-to-day.
OrderThe full tasting if you can; otherwise heritage pork from Brock's own farm.
Nashville's most polished restaurant row: Rolf and Daughters, Henrietta Red, City House and The Optimist run a four-block stretch north of downtown.
Best for: Fine dining, Italian, Seafood, Brunch
The city's creative core. Five Points anchors Lockeland Table, Margot Cafe and Mas Tacos; Gallatin and Eastland run natural wine, ramen and pizza.
Best for: Tacos, Natural wine, Cafes, Pizza, Brunch
Glass towers, BBQ, the Mockingbird and Adele's. Walking-friendly, expensive, and where most first-time visitors end up eating downtown.
Best for: BBQ, Steakhouses, Brunch, Bars
A walkable retail strip with Locust, Edley's BBQ, Five Daughters donuts and Bartaco. Sunday brunch lines stretch around the block.
Best for: BBQ, Brunch, Tacos, Bakeries
Belmont University territory: Pancake Pantry's morning line, Bongo Java's coffee, Proper Bagel on Belmont Boulevard. A college-town pace.
Best for: Brunch, Cafes, Bagels, Casual dining
Lower Broadway honky tonks and SoBro hotel restaurants. Husk on Rutledge, Drusie and Darr at the Hermitage, plus the Assembly Food Hall.
Best for: Fine dining, Hotel restaurants, Bars
Nashville hot chicken
Bone-in fried chicken painted with a cayenne paste, served on white bread with pickles
Meat-and-three
A plate-lunch tradition: one Southern protein plus three vegetable sides, with cornbread and sweet tea
Tennessee whole-hog pork
Tennessee-style barbecue: pulled whole-hog pork over hickory, served with vinegar sauce or Alabama white
Goo Goo Cluster
A round chocolate-coated candy of caramel, marshmallow nougat and peanuts, invented in Nashville in 1912
Tennessee country ham
Salt-cured, smoke-cured and aged Tennessee ham, sliced thin and pan-fried
Germantown
Nashville's most polished restaurant row: Rolf and Daughters, Henrietta Red, City House and The Optimist run a four-block stretch north of downtown
East Nashville
The city's creative core
The Gulch
Glass towers, BBQ, the Mockingbird and Adele's
A sample of Nashville hotels from our booking partner, who list 710 here. Live prices and availability open on their site.
Somatel Nashville Airport Hotel
Located in Nashville, Somatel Nashville Airport Hotel is in the historical district, within a 10-minute dri...
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Knights Inn Nashville
Located in Nashville (Downtown Nashville), Knights Inn Nashville is within a 15-minute walk of Cumberland R...
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Days Inn by Wyndham Nashville Airport
Located in Nashville, Days Inn by Wyndham Nashville Airport is within a 10-minute drive of Nashville Shores...
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Americas Best Value Inn Nashville Downtown
With a stay at Americas Best Value Inn Nashville Downtown in Nashville (Talbot's Corner), you'll be within ...
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Red Lion Inn & Suites Nashville Airport
With a stay at Red Lion Inn & Suites Nashville Airport in Nashville (Donelson), you'll be within a 10-minut...
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Super 8 by Wyndham Nashville West
With a stay at Super 8 by Wyndham Nashville West in Nashville (Bellevue), you'll be within a 5-minute drive...
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Comfort Inn Downtown Nashville-Vanderbilt
Comfort Inn Downtown Nashville-Vanderbilt is centrally located in Nashville, a 1-minute walk from Nashville...
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Hotel Nashville
Located in Nashville, Hotel Nashville is in a rural location, a 2-minute drive from Hard Truth Distilling C...
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Abode Nashville - Marathon Village/Near Downtown
When you stay at Abode Nashville - Marathon Village/Near Downtown in Nashville, you'll be in the historical...
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BLACK SWAN - SoBro Nashville
A stay at BLACK SWAN - SoBro Nashville places you in the heart of Nashville, within a 5-minute walk of Coun...
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Quality Suites Nashville Airport
With a stay at Quality Suites Nashville Airport in Nashville (Donelson), you'll be within a 10-minute drive...
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Four Points by Sheraton Nashville Airport
With a stay at Four Points by Sheraton Nashville Airport in Nashville (Donelson), you'll be within a 10-min...
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Also compare: Holidu in Nashville from USD 100/night · LateRooms in Nashville from 62/night · Expedia in Nashville
Stays are listed by our booking partners, not editor picks. We earn a commission if you book, at no cost to you.
Every restaurant, cafe, market and bar we cover in Nashville, pinned. Click a pin for the page.
Peak food season: April to October for peak Tennessee tomatoes, corn and peaches at the farmers markets. May for the Music City Food and Wine Festival, July 4 for the Hot Chicken Festival, August for Tomato Art Fest. Avoid mid-summer heat for outdoor events.
Local dining hours: Lunch 11:30-14:00, meat-and-three counters often close at 14:30. Dinner 17:30-22:00, last seating typically 21:30. Sundays many neighbourhood rooms close; hot chicken shops and downtown bars run latest.
Tipping: Tip 18 to 22 percent on the pre-tax total at sit-down restaurants. Bars and counters get $1 to $2 per drink or 15 to 20 percent. Some Lower Broadway rooms add an automatic service charge; check the bill before adding more.
Nashville's signature dishes include Nashville hot chicken, Meat-and-three, Biscuits with redeye gravy, Tennessee whole-hog pork, Goo Goo Cluster. See our signature dishes chapter for where to eat each.
TableJourney editors map Nashville by district. Germantown, East Nashville, The Gulch, 12 South are among the strongest for food, each with its own guide.
Editor picks in Nashville include The Catbird Seat, Bastion, Locust, plus the full fine dining chapter on TableJourney.
TableJourney covers 4 editor-picked food tours in Nashville, with what each shows you and how much to budget.
TableJourney's Nashville dietary chapter covers vegan, vegetarian, gluten_free, halal, kosher venues, each editor-picked with what to order and how to ask.
