Nashville is known worldwide as “Music City,” but its culinary playlist is just as impressive as its country legends.
It’s a crossroads of deep Southern tradition, modern Southern cuisine, international influences, and the wild creativity of a city that keeps drawing dreamers by the thousands.
Eating like a local here means more than just hot chicken (though you’ll find it!); you’ll taste soulful diners, bustling brunch spots, and boundary-pushing kitchens.
Community is everything in Nashville, and the best-loved restaurants feel like a living room, a stage, or a back-porch gathering. Here are five restaurants that capture the delicious, diverse spirit of Nashville right now.
Arnold’s Country Kitchen
Since 1982, Arnold’s has been a hub of Nashville life—a “meat-and-three” so iconic, it won a James Beard award but never lost its bustling, everyday feel.
The cafeteria-line format is part of the charm: you slide your tray along, choosing heaping portions of slow-cooked roast beef, fried catfish, meatloaf, or chicken and dumplings.
Vegetable sides—creamy mac and cheese, collard greens, cornbread—define the “and three.” It’s packed for weekday lunch with everyone from construction workers to songwriters and tourists chasing city legends.
The setting is humble, the food is deeply soulful, and every plate feels like Southern hospitality made edible. For many, it’s the beating heart of classic Nashville.
The Pharmacy Burger Parlor & Beer Garden
In East Nashville, The Pharmacy has earned a reputation as the go-to burger spot—think hand-ground patties, housemade sausages, and an old-school soda fountain vibe.
Tables spill into the German-style beer garden, where local musicians sometimes strum on warm evenings.
The burgers are undisputedly juicy and inventive—a “Farm Burger” with fried egg and bacon, a “Chili Burger” loaded with hand-chopped chili, and legendary bratwursts.
Milkshakes and phosphate sodas add retro fun, and the beer list is broad enough to impress any craft fiend.
The Pharmacy is beloved for capturing Nashville’s creative, social spirit—if there’s a wait, you’re just in the right place.
Prince’s Hot Chicken Shack
No Nashville list exists without homage to Prince’s—the fried chicken joint that launched a national craze.
The origin story (revenge, spice, and all-night frying) might be legend, but the crispy, cayenne-blasted chicken is all real. Each order is made to the spice level of your choice (from mild to “XXX hot”), with white bread and pickles to catch the delicious, sweat-inducing juices.
Locals know you go to Prince’s for a meal, an experience, and maybe even a dare.
The lines can be long, especially late at night or after shows, but the payoff—fiery, crunchy, classic—is worth every minute. Prince’s is the cornerstone of Nashville’s hot chicken identity.
Biscuit Love
What started as a food truck is now a sensation—Biscuit Love is where brunch dreams come true for locals and patient visitors alike.
Set in The Gulch, its airy, farmhouse-modern vibe is always abuzz. The biscuits themselves are famously pillowy and golden, but what goes atop them—fried chicken, sausage gravy, “bonuts” (biscuit-doughnut hybrids with lemon mascarpone)—is the real star.
The menu is Southern yet inventive, from shrimp & grits to a killer breakfast sandwich (“The East Nasty” is beloved).
The weekend lines are a rite of passage, but the staff keeps things friendly and speedy. Biscuit Love embodies the “new Nashville”—honoring history, but never afraid to flip the script.
City House
Hidden in Germantown, City House is where Southern flavors get an Italian (and unmistakably Nashville) remix.
Chef Tandy Wilson is a James Beard winner, but the mood is anything but pretentious—just brick walls, open kitchen, and a dining room as packed with musicians as with foodie regulars.
The pizza is wood-fired and ever-changing (sometimes topped with belly ham or house sausage); the Sunday Supper feast draws crowds for creative pastas with an Appalachian twist.
Locals are obsessed with the belly ham pizza and the cornbread, and with good reason—there’s no other city where this blend feels so natural. It’s a place for milestones and casual hangouts, where the food is both comfort and revelation, and where Nashville’s talent (culinary and otherwise) gathers at the table.
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