Heading to Nashville, Tennessee? Here are twelve of the best places to eat in Nashville, according to a local.
Nashville is a city of storytellers, of those who dream big and share their big dreams. And the best restaurateurs in Nashville know how to spin a story around food. Here, hot chicken is spiced with the spite of a scorned lover, biscuits flashback to comfort memories, and sweet potato cupcakes are symbols of resilience.
So, today, I’ll be sharing little stories of Nashville through twelve local-loved places to eat (read: I’m the local. I loved these places). These are the restaurant recs I’d text my friends hopping into Music City for a weekend.
Best Breakfast In Nashville

The Horn
The Horn was one of the first cafes I tried in Nashville, and it’s been a favorite ever since. The lines are wildly long these days, thanks to their house take on the TikTok viral Dubai chocolate bars. Don’t worry, the queue moves quickly, and The Horn still has all the charm of a family-run operation. You’ll see the whole Sayid family – fathers and mothers and brothers – taking orders, flitting in and out of the busy kitchen, rapidly restocking the fried-pastry case. Hassan Rasul Sayid and his sons, Ahmed and Zakariya, were slotted into Nashville in the mid-1990s, displaced by the Somali Civil War [source]. They’re refugees who introduced Music City to the best kind of chai (Somali chai) by opening a little shop on 619 Murfreesboro Pike in 2014. The Horn’s chai is sweet and soaked in warming spices. And yes, the sambusas, seasoned stuffings sealed in triangular pockets (ground beef and American-style cheesy breakfast are my go-tos), pair perfectly with hot tea.
General Info
ADDRESS: 619 Murfreesboro Pike, Nashville, TN 37210
COST: $
Guerilla Bizkits
Only one place in Nashville satisfies my biscuit craving: a tiny, takeout-only shop in the Fatherland District. Guerilla Bizkits’ name riffs off Gorilla Biscuits, a late ’80s straight-edge hardcore punk rock band. So unsurprisingly, Guerilla Bizkits is a nostalgia blast, hardcore and spunky, loudly (and proudly) inclusive, and community-centric. The bizkits are all entirely vegan, down to the butter. Go for The Blackout, a gratifyingly creative upheaval to a homestyle biscuit, with tart, dried cherries and zingy jalapeños that kick back in the throat.
General Info
ADDRESS: 1006 Fatherland St Suite 207, Nashville, TN 37206
COST: $
Travel Tip: If you’re looking for a more conventional Southern comfort food experience, drive to The Loveless Cafe. Each entrée comes with a basket of soft biscuits and sweet fruit jam!
Pinewood Social
Pinewood is where locals, who don’t want to feel overwhelmed by tourists, take tourists who want to feel surrounded by locals. Here’s why: Pinewood understands third places. It’s a hangout at heart, a cool concept that’s vibey, atmospheric, hard to distill, and odder to pitch. Picture a day menu and soft, spritzy drinks in an old building retrofitted with a copper bar, wood-laned bowling alley, comfy living room, loungy patio pools, and a mini Crema coffee counter. The mood is as casual or clubby as you want. You can grab a latte and read a book in the living room (my go-to), co-work at a communal table, or make reservations for a full-serviced (group-friendly) brunch.
General Info
ADDRESS: 33 Peabody St, Nashville, TN 37210
COST: $$
Best Lunch In Nashville

Kisser
Then, there’s Kisser, Leina Horii and Brian Lea’s comforting take on kissatens, retro Japanese neighborhood cafes that serve yōshoku. On weekends, almost everyone in Nashville seems to be vying for a seat (if you plan on grabbing lunch here, walk in at least an hour before closing). Order the chicken katsu sandwiched between house-baked shokupan (mild, sweet milk bread with a whisper of crust).
General Info
ADDRESS: 747 Douglas Ave, Nashville, TN 37207
COST: $$
Prince’s Hot Chicken Shack
Thornton Prince III started the hot chicken craze in the 1930s. The story goes that Prince was a player, and his then-girlfriend, tired of his cheating, wanted to get even. So, she cooked him an extra-peppery plate of fried chicken slapped with spice. It’s an adage that revenge is best served cold, but she served it hot, really hot. And Thornton Prince loved it. He meddled with the recipe and opened up his own chicken shack. Hot chicken has been a family business since. Prince’s great-niece, André Prince Jeffries, calls the dish revenge chicken.
Go for a quarter chicken (it’s soft and tender under crackly-crisp skin). Don’t order the hottest level (unless armed with antacids), but choose a heat point that tingles (a little). And get sweet tea on the side (you can thank me later).
General Info
ADDRESS: 5814 Nolensville Pike #110, Nashville, TN 37211
COST: $
Degthai
Degthai is my go-to for takeout, but if you can, dine in at least once. Degthai’s energy is lively, full of loud chatter. Murals dance along the walls. Bright plastic chairs slide in and out beneath tables topped with chile trays. Spoonfuls of fiery Tiew Gang Gai are slurped hastily. There’s no rush, but the pace feels fast. And the cacophony is irresistible. For many Nashville residents, this Thai restaurant is all the glamor of a backpacker’s Bangkok relived.
Bangkok-born Jay Jenratha started Degthai as a street food truck. It’s now a standalone building on Nolensville Pike. The menu is tight, but every item is the kind you can order on repeat: a nest of Pad Thai, thick Red Curry, and sizzling Kra Prao Moo Kai Dao that satisfyingly see-saws between salty and spicy.
General Info
ADDRESS: 3025 Nolensville Pike Location Vary, Nashville, TN 37211
COST: $$
Best Dessert In Nashville

The Cupcake Collection
In a little house in Germantown, past a wooden porch and doorway, is Nashville’s sweetest little cupcake shop. The Cupcake Collection is owned by Mignon Francois, a local legend best known for flipping five bucks into a full-fledged cupcake empire. She’s written a memoir and opened a new location in Lenox Village. Her cupcakes are worth the hype, from the cinnamon-dusted sweet potato cupcakes to the boozy, champagne-imbued strawberry cupcakes (my personal favorite).
General Info
ADDRESS: 1213 6th Ave N, Nashville, TN 37208
COST: $
Brightside Bakeshop
Brightside grew out of Andrea Borchers’ home kitchen [source]. Her first bakes were made with simple, classic tools. Soon, her pastries became a Richland Park Farmers Market Saturday staple. Over the years, Brightside has bloomed and bloomed and is now a full-time operation. Go early to see the bakery case at its fullest. The churro croissants and cinnarolls are big and beautiful and charmingly aligned behind upright labels. They disappear quickly, as lines form fast (luckily, you can pre-order the day before).
General Info
ADDRESS: 4907 Indiana Ave, Nashville, TN 37209
COST: $$
Cafe Intermezzo
A short walk from The Schermerhorn is Cafe Intermezzo, a date night dessert spot inspired by Central European Konditoreien (pastry shops). Go on an autumn (or winter) evening, to cozy up with a thick hot chocolate and decadent slice of cheesecake.
General Info
ADDRESS: 205 Demonbreun Street, 2nd Ave S, Nashville, TN 37201
COST: $$-$$$
Best Places To Eat Dinner In Nashville

Edessa
If you’ve never tried Kurdish food, Nashville is one of the best places in the US to try it. The first Kurdish immigrants arrived in Nashville in 1976, and the city is now home to the largest Kurdish population in North America. Edessa spotlights Kurdish cuisine. Imagine large-portioned, meat-forward meals laced with spices. Stews are fragrant, lamb is tenderized, and tomatoes are softened. If you’re looking for a hearty dinner in Nashville, Edessa is always a good choice.
General Info
ADDRESS: 3802 Nolensville Pk, Nashville, TN 37211
COST: $$
Travel Tip: My favorite Kurdish restaurant is TashTea in (nearby) Antioch. The exterior (and weathered strip mall location) doesn’t reveal that TashTea is one of the cutest, most Instagrammable brunch spots in Davidson County, but it is. Bring your friends for a fun brunch date and order shareables (so you can try everything).
Epice
The interior of Epice is gray: gray (concrete) walls, gray (stone) accents, gray (marbled) tabletops. It’s the kind of color that would be uninviting in most other places, but at Epice, gray feels easygoing. Gray offers a straightforward, supporting character simplicity to a Lebanese bistro menu that leans heavily into competing flavors. Start with the Al Raheb, and follow up with any dish that hints at lamb.
General Info
ADDRESS: 2902 12th Ave S, Nashville, TN 37204
COST: $$-$$$
Tailor

Vivek Surti deconstructs a dinner party and reintroduces you to its highs through Tailor. He warmly invites you to eat at a restaurant that feels like a home. “The fun part is you come in, you can hang out in the living room up front, have a drink, get settled, and then you come through the butler’s pantry and sit down here,” Surti says to all the guests on the night I visited Tailor. He’s an active part of what makes this Nashville restaurant experience so memorable.
My friend and I sat under an antique chandelier, at the chef’s bar with a view of a plating station, and listen to him share little details unique to each course. Each one is a showcase of Surti’s life as a first-generation Indian-American.

Travel Tip: If you can, splurge on the chef’s bar seating. You’ll get extra (not part of the official prix-fixe) small plates (one of the samples, a coconut bisque, was the standout of the entire dinner).
Every course (and there are eight to ten courses) is explained within two(ish) hours. You eat and listen and talk. Nashville is a city of storytellers, and Tailor weaves the best stories yet.

Did you enjoy this post on the best places to eat in Nashville? What are your favorite restaurants in Nashville? Let us know in the comments below!