Midtown Cafe

Already home to one of Nashville’s best “power breakfasts,” weekend brunch is more festive thanks to more tourists and fewer attorneys in the crowd. Egg plates and omelets lead the fare, and pay special attention to the fork-tender short ribs basted in Coca-Cola barbecue sauce. The kitchen bakes up exemplary buttermilk biscuits too, whether served with sausage gravy or stuffed with breakfast meats.

While people throw around the oxymoronic term “casual fine dining” way too often, at Midtown Cafe, that descriptive term really fits. They’re used to catering to tourists, politicians, actors, and music stars on a daily basis, and the experienced staff treats all their patrons like the most important customer in the room. National food magazines have begged for the secret recipe to their lemon artichoke soup for years, but they ain’t getting it. You, however, should definitely get it as a starter to kick off a meal of approachable elevated cuisine.