Michelin Recognition - Nashville 2025

Michelin came to Nashville. These ten restaurants are why.

The guide doesn't hand these out as participation trophies. Every restaurant on this list earned it — at a different price point, in a different room, with a different idea about what Nashville food can be. The Catbird Seat and Locust represent the ceiling of what this city's kitchens are capable of. Bastion and Kisser are the most interesting rooms in town. Peninsula is operating at a level most American cities would build an entire food identity around. SS Gai, St. Vito's, Redheaded Stranger, Sho Pizza Bar, and Uzbegim Halal are exactly the kind of places Michelin exists to surface — specific, unpretentious, and better than they have any obligation to be. Ten restaurants. One standard. All of them cleared it.

The Spots

Kisser

East Nashville
Japanese
Delicious as F*ck

Kisser is a Japanese comfort food restaurant in East Nashville from chefs Leina Horii and Brian Lea — lunch only, no reservations, Michelin Bib Gourmand, and some of the most talked-about Japanese cooking in Nashville.

kisser

Peninsula

East Nashville
$$
Spanish, Modern American
Delicious as F*ck

Peninsula is a tasting menu restaurant in East Nashville helmed by chef Jake Howell — Southern ingredients, global technique, Michelin Recommended, and a structured dining experience that earns every minute of its length.

peninsula

Redheaded Stranger

East Nashville
$$
Mexican, Tacos
Damn Good

Redheaded Stranger is a casual Nashville restaurant focused on Tex-Mex–inspired tacos and comfort-driven dishes. The menu emphasizes counter-service dining.

redheaded-stranger

Sho Pizza Bar

East Nashville
$$
Pizza
Damn Good

Sho Pizza Bar is a Nashville restaurant focused on Japanese-inspired pizza served in a casual setting. The menu emphasizes a narrow, specialized offering.

sho-pizza-bar

SS Gai

East Nashville
$
Fried Chicken, Thai
Damn Good

SS Gai is Thai fried chicken done at a level that made Michelin pay attention. One of the most exciting things happening in Nashville right now.

ssgai

St. Vito’s Focacceria

The Gulch
$
Italian
Damn Good

St. Vito’s Focacceria is a Nashville restaurant focused on Italian-inspired sandwiches built on house-made focaccia. The menu emphasizes casual dining.

st-vito-s-focacceria

Bastion

Wedgewood-Houston
$$
Cocktail Bar, Modern American
Delicious as F*ck

Bastion is a Michelin-starred tasting menu restaurant and bar in Wedgewood-Houston helmed by chef Josh Habiger — one of Nashville's first fine dining destinations and still one of its best, with a come-as-you-are bar and nachos on one side and a 24-seat hidden dining room on the other.

bastion

Locust

12 South
$$$
Modern American
Delicious as F*ck

Locust is a Michelin-starred tasting menu restaurant in 12 South helmed by chef Trevor Moran — Japanese, Irish, and British influences, wood-fired technique, a menu that changes constantly, and some of the most emotionally resonant cooking in Nashville.

locust

The Catbird Seat

The Gulch
$$$$
Modern American
Delicious as F*ck

The Catbird Seat is a Michelin-starred tasting menu restaurant in The Gulch helmed by chefs Andy Doubrava and Tiffani Ortiz — Nashville's most acclaimed restaurant, now in a spectacular new multi-floor space, with 13-16 courses and the most coveted reservation in the city.

the-catbird-seat

Uzbegim Halal Restaurant

Midtown
Middle Eastern
Damn Good

Uzbegim is a Michelin Bib Gourmand Uzbek restaurant tucked into a Midtown building, serving Central Asian cooking that Nashville had no right to have this good.

uzbegim-halal

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