Three Tennessee State alumni opened Slim & Husky's Buchanan Street pizzeria in Nashville in 2017, anchoring North Nashville's restaurant revival with hip-hop and pies.
Signature dishes: Build-your-own pizza, Cinnamon rolls
Must order: Build your own pizza on hand-tossed dough, plus a gourmet cinnamon roll.
Tip: Counter ordering, no table service; the patio gets busy on Saturday afternoons. Cinnamon rolls run out by 14:00.
Address: 911 Buchanan St, Nashville, TN 37208
Billy Dec's Chicago import in The Gulch, Nashville runs modern Southeast Asian small plates and a strong sushi programme since 2022, with a deep cocktail list.
Signature: Crispy pork belly bao, Sushi tasting
Order: Crispy pork belly bao buns and the chef's sushi tasting.
Tip: Late-night service runs until 23:30 Friday and Saturday; the bar is the easy walk-in seat.
Maneet Chauhan's Gulch room in Nashville runs globally inflected American comfort food with strong cocktails, opened 2018 and steady at the top of the area lists.
Signature: Crispy pork shank, Fried chicken
Order: Crispy pork shank with chili crisp, plus the kale Caesar.
Tip: Happy hour is generous and easy to walk into; book ahead for the patio in warm weather.
Strategic Hospitality's 13,000 square-foot Peabody Street complex in downtown Nashville combines a restaurant, copper-bar cocktails, six vintage bowling lanes and a coffee shop.
Signature: Burgers, Brunch with bowling
Order: Burger at the bar; banana cream pie on weekends.
Tip: Bowling books out for weekend nights; the patio with mini bocce takes walk-ins year-round.
The Loveless Cafe on Highway 100 in Nashville has served scratch biscuits, country ham and redeye gravy since 1951, anchoring the Natchez Trace's tourist circuit.
Signature: Scratch biscuits, Country ham with redeye gravy
Order: Plate of biscuits with peach preserves; country ham and redeye gravy with eggs.
Tip: Lines build by 09:00 weekends; put your name down and shop the on-site Hams & Jams Country Market while you wait.
Monell's family-style Southern dining in Germantown, Nashville has run since 1995, seating strangers at communal tables in a Victorian house north of the Capitol.
Signature: Family-style Southern lunch, Skillet fried chicken
Order: The full family-style spread: fried chicken, country ham, mac and cheese, greens.
Tip: Reservations available; tables seat ten. Sunday brunch is the marquee meal, books a week ahead.
Chef Hal Holden-Bache's Five Points room in East Nashville opened 2012 in a corner storefront, running wood-fired pizzas and Southern-accented neighbourhood plates.
Signature: Wood-fired pizza, Pork chop with redeye gravy
Order: Margherita pizza from the wood oven and the pork chop.
Tip: Happy hour 16:00 to 17:30 runs half-price pizza and pours at the bar; James Beard Community Kitchen nominee.
