Hot Chicken, Meat-and-Three, Tortilla Soup: This Is Your Nashville Culinary Bucket List

These dining experiences should be at the top of your culinary bucket list.

With so many new dining and drinking spots opening up in Nashville, it can be hard to keep up, much less continue to patronize your old favorites. But some experiences in Nashville are truly legendary and are not to be missed whether you’re in town for the weekend or you’re a lifelong resident. You won’t go wrong searching out the following singular dishes from iconic local restaurants and some new spots that are sure to have staying power. Check out this list and make plans for a week's worth of dining delight.

Locust
Locust

12 South
A warning right off the bat, this is an experience you’re gonna have to work for. Since being named the 2022 Best Restaurant in America by Food & Wine magazine, reservations are snatched up quickly as soon as they open, but a new evening service that concentrates on just dumplings and bar service offers an ecumenical option without reservations. It’s definitely worth the effort to experience Noma-trained chef Trevor Moran’s meticulous cuisine. The menu is short, never more than ten items or so, but every dish is worth consideration. From beef tartare to an unbelievable take on shrimp toast to the Platonic ideal of dumplings, Locust is truly a special, special dining experience. They turn the tables quickly to get more people through the door, so order everything and eat fast! You wouldn’t want to miss out on the amazing kakigori (Japanese shaved ice) by running out of time.

Take an international excursion at a former car wash

East Nashville
The Wash is an innovative new micro-kitchen concept in East Nashville with six drinking and dining concepts tucked into the bays of a former self-serve car wash, backing in like hermit crabs occupying new abandoned shells. Leche de Tigre, featuring Peruvian cuisine, the Caribbean specialties at Soy Cubano, and the creative cocktails at Bay 6 have been popular since The Wash opened in 2022. Newcomers SS Gai and Sweeza Super Quesadillas have only upped the buzz about the miniature food hall, with the former serving spicy Thai chicken and the latter specializing in cheesy Mission-style quesadillas suizas. Pick your favorite or visit multiple windows to create a buffet of deliciousness.

Big Al's Deli
Big Al's Deli

Salemtown
Nashville is filled with great breakfast spots, but the residential neighborhood of Salemtown north of Germantown has never been one of the places you’d go looking for one. That is until Alfonso Hamilton opened his eponymous diner among the gentrifying homes. Serving a classic Southern breakfast plus lunch dishes like shrimp & grits, fried pork chops and meatloaf, Big Al adds a little of his soul to every dish. It’s a melting pot of a restaurant, with lawyers in suits holding breakfast meetings at tables alongside workers in hardhats. In fact, when it gets crowded, those construction workers have been known to throw a sheet of plywood off their truck over a couple of sawhorses to create their own makeshift table. When you gotta get back to work but don’t want to miss out on a great meal, you learn to improvise.

Soak up the evening’s debauchery with some late-nite bar food

Various locations
Grabbing a bite after an evening of bar hopping is the perfect end to a night out, and it’s even better if you don’t have to leave the drinking establishment you started out at. In Nashville, an easy indicator is a dive bar with an apostrophe in the name. Dino’s is an East Nashville stalwart with a legendary burger, and Schulman’s Neighborhood Bar has quickly become a local favorite thanks to its nostalgic homage to the old school downtown Nashville bars that once dominated Printers Alley, plus cheap beers and elevated bar bites. Duke’s serves excellent sandwiches until late into the evening, even after the nightly DJs have stopped spinning the wheels of steel in the wee hours. Mother’s Ruin is the second outpost of the NYC-based temple of cocktails, and Old Bay Waffle Fries and Cholula Honey Wings are the perfect ending for a night of consumption served until 1:30 in the morning.

Wendell Smith's Restaurant
Wendell Smith's Restaurant

Pick your plate at an iconic “Meat & Three”

Various
While it’s no longer unique to Nashville, the tradition of a “meat & three” meal where diners slide cafeteria trays down a serving line and choose their protein and three vegetable side dishes from a steam table filled with a cornucopia of delicious options originated here and still is an integral part of local lunches. Fortunately in Nashville, macaroni ‘n’ cheese, jello, and stewed raisins count as “vegetables” on these sorts of menus. After a brief hiatus while the owners considered selling their valuable building in the Gulch, Arnold’s Country Kitchen is back as the undisputed champion of soulful Southern cooking. Swett’s is another family-owned example of a classic meat & three that has been in operation since the middle of the past century. In addition to classic Southern and soul food fare, they feature a smokehouse that pumps out some fantastic ribs, pulled pork and brisket. Speaking of soul food, Silver Sands Cafe is still a secret to many because of their hidden location near the Nashville Farmers’ Market, but if you know, you know. There’s no better spot in town for chitterlings, pigs feet, oxtail, neck bones, and hog maw—all the parts of a pig or a cow that you probably don’t normally think of eating, but you definitely should.

Hillsboro Village
The proud possessor of Nashville’s oldest beer license, Brown’s Diner unashamedly embraces its dive bar status. Originally opened in a retired streetcar, even the smallish additional dining space maintains the appropriate dim dinginess which is the perfect setting to enjoy a longneck beer and a classic griddled cheeseburger. New ownership has spruced the space up a bit and built an expansive outdoor deck, but the vibe is still thankfully “shabby chic” at best. Music industry veterans populate the dark bar in the older streetcar section, and live music is frequently featured both inside and on the expansive new wooden outdoor deck. It’s a true taste of authentic “Old Nashville” before country went corporate.

Husk Restaurant
Husk Restaurant

Rutledge Hill
This shrine to Southern cooking has survived, nay thrived, during executive chef changes through the years. Continued excellence stems from the restaurant’s puritanical dedication to using seasonal regional ingredients, and they are especially talented at stretching out the seasons through preservation and pickling items for year-round use. The plate of seasonal vegetables is often overlooked on the menu, but the quartet of composed plates that arrive at the table aren’t just a combination of side dishes.

Eat your body weight in pastries

Various locations
In a city with as many luxury hotels as Nashville, the best pastry chefs often hide out in hotels preparing their culinary creations for big banquets and the disinterested conventioneers who attend them. Fortunately, a lot of the most talented pâtissiers in town have dedicated themselves to baking for us civilians. At The Butter Milk Ranch in 12 South, lines stretch out the door to enjoy classic croissants and other inventive laminated pastry treats. The pastry chefs at Yolan and D’Andrew’s Bakery & Cafe have earned nominations from the prestigious James Beard Foundation for their exemplary work in the bakery kitchen, and Megan WIlliams is a long-time local treasure for her work at Etch, etc., and Jasper’s. Remember, the best pastry is mostly air, so it can’t be that bad for you, right?

The 404 Kitchen
The 404 Kitchen

Gulch
Since moving across the street into bigger digs, The 404 Kitchen has taken full advantage of the additional space. They have expanded their menu to include even more hearty dishes that showcase premium proteins grilled, seared, fried or smoked, all under the expert hand of chef Matt Bolus. Veggies don’t get the short shrift either, but it’s the meat that best complements Nashville’s best whiskey bar, Gertie’s, on the ground floor of the restaurant.
 

Midtown
Long the best spot in town for a power lunch between music industry executives, politicos, downtown workers or in-the-know tourists seeking a great meal before setting course toward the honky tonks, Midtown Cafe is one of those reliable restaurants who still recognize the importance of impeccable service in addition to quality ingredients. The menu exhibits continental influences along with dashes of California cuisine and Southern cookin’, so there’s something for everyone. Be sure to start with a bowl of the famous lemon-artichoke soup.

East Nashville
For a restaurant with the word “tacos” in its name, there certainly is a lot of buzz about the chicken tortilla soup at Mas Tacos. This East Nashville fixture does serve some remarkable tacos, especially the cast iron chicken with salsa verde and sour cream or the vegetarian quinoa and sweet potato taco topped with shredded cabbage. It can get a little cramped in the small dining space, but there’s also a lovely outdoor option to enjoy your bounty of tacos and soup.

Get spicy and saucy with some Nashville hot chicken

Various locations
The story of how Nashville hot chicken was originally invented by a spurned lover to punish a boyfriend with a wandering eye is oft told, and Thornton Prince’s girlfriend probably didn’t imagine how much he would love it or that she was creating the city’s most iconic food. Prince’s Hot Chicken Shack is still operating in the family and is definitely the most popular purveyor of piquant poultry. Now we’re not talking about spicy like your average Buffalo wings; Nashville hot chicken is intended to be painful with its infernally dark crust brushed with cayenne-laden lard before serving. Most importantly, you can’t have good hot chicken without starting out with great fried chicken, and you’ll find the best at old school spots like Prince’s, Bolton’s Spicy Chicken & Fish, and Slow Burn. For a more convenient and familiar dining experience, newer restaurants like Hattie B’s and Party Fowl have multiple locations that feel more like a restaurant than a “joint” or a “shack.” Whether that’s better or not is up to you.

Take a global culinary tour on Nolensville Road

Various locations
While it seems like Nashville’s restaurant scene revolves around elevated Southern farm-to-table and hot chicken, that’s just the beginning. The best street to broaden your horizons is Nolensville Road, an extension of 4th Avenue that stretches from just outside of downtown to, well, Nolensville. Populated with fantastic small restaurants, some of which are tucked into the back of international markets, a tour of Nolensville Road exposes intrepid diners to a plethora of fascinating food. Nashville is home to the largest Kurdish community in the world outside of Kurdistan, and spots like Newroz Market offer Middle Eastern specialties such as shawarma, tabbouleh, flatbreads baked in a unique barrel-shaped oven, and delightful unfamiliar pastries for dessert. Osh continues to make waves with exotic Uzbek cuisine, while Central America is represented by Pupuseria Reina La Bendición, a Salvadoran restaurant offering traditional pupusas, tortas, and empanadas.

Shotgun Willie's BBQ
Shotgun Willie's BBQ

Sample Music City’s best barbecue joints

Various
While Memphis gets most of the barbecue attention in the state, Nashville features some legit smoked meats as well. Martin’s Bar-B-Que Joint is one of the last practitioners of whole hog cookery in Tennessee, and each of their multiple locations has at least one smoker big enough for an entire pig. Peg Leg Porker specializes in West Tennessee-style dry rub pork ribs, and their racks rival any in the state. Don’t sleep on Peg Leg’s yardbird or pulled pork either. Edley’s Bar-B-Que treats their smoked meats in novel ways, from the Tuck’s Special, a decadent brisket sandwich topped with pimento cheese, red and white bbq sauce and an over-easy egg to their Friday special of Nashville hot barbecue pork prepared in the fashion of fiery fowl. Shotgun Willie’s has earned the reputation for Nashville’s best Texas-style beef brisket. An impending move to a new larger space will allow even more patrons to enjoy that great Lone Star State cooking, although they are still liable to run out of food sometimes because even great barbecue isn’t as good the next day, so when they’re out, they’re out.

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Chris Chamberlain is a food, drink, and travel writer. If Nashville was the Love Boat, he’d like to think he’d be Julie, your cruise director. In truth, he’s probably more of a Gopher. Join him on the Lido Deck on Twitter @CeeElCee.