Ranked by TableJourney editorial score.
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.
Pimento cheese emerged as a Southern staple in the 1930s when canned pimentos became widely available; by the 1950s it was the universal Southern lunch counter and church-potluck spread. Husk Nashville under Sean Brock made the chef-driven version a fine-dining starter; Arnold's Country Kitchen still serves the meat-and-three version with crackers, a daily staple.
6 editor picks for Pimento Cheese in Nashville, ranked by editorial score. All Nashville signature dishes · Pimento Cheese across every city.
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.
TipLunch is a quieter seat with the same kitchen. Book the porch in spring; it overlooks downtown.
The Arnold family's Gulch meat-and-three lunch counter in Nashville won the James Beard America's Classics Award in 2009. Located in The Gulch.
OrderRoast beef or fried catfish with three vegetables, sweet tea, banana pudding.
TipCafeteria line, lunch only Monday through Friday 10:30-14:30. A North Nashville sit-down location opened in 2025.
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.
TipBradley Midgett took executive chef duties in March 2025; the menu stays Wilson's. Sunday Suppers are the easy seat.
Philip Krajeck's casual East Nashville sibling to Rolf and Daughters opened in 2018, running naturally leavened pizza and a vegetable-forward menu.
OrderThe mushroom pizza and whatever bitter green is currently on the menu.
TipClosed Wednesdays. Walk-in seats at the long marble bar are the best move on a weeknight.
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.
OrderCrispy pork shank with chili crisp, plus the kale Caesar.
TipHappy hour is generous and easy to walk into; book ahead for the patio in warm weather.
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.
OrderPlate of biscuits with peach preserves; country ham and redeye gravy with eggs.
TipLines build by 09:00 weekends; put your name down and shop the on-site Hams & Jams Country Market while you wait.
Pimento Cheese makes more sense with someone from Nashville explaining it. These are the classes and tours we have checked, with booking links.
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