Sperry’s
Belle Meade
$$$
Seafood, Steakhouse
Sperry's is the Belle Meade original — fifty years of dark wood, booth seating, and a beef Wellington that hasn't changed because it doesn't need to.
The beef Wellington is the point. Properly wrapped, properly cooked, timeless rather than retro. The room is old Nashville in the best sense and the service has the experience to match.
Chef:
Awards:
James Beard
Nashville
4
Sushi-san
12 South
Japanese, Sushi
Sushi-san is a high-volume sushi restaurant in Nashville offering a broad menu of rolls, nigiri, and Japanese-inspired dishes. The format emphasizes energy, accessibility, and group dining.
Sushi-san is serious sushi in a not-so-serious package — quality fish, smart rolls, and an energy that makes you want to stay for another round. The Lettuce Entertain You pedigree shows.
Chef:
Awards:
James Beard
Nashville
3
Le Loup
Germantown
French
Le Loup is a French-influenced cocktail bar and small plates restaurant in The Gulch. The cocktails lead. The food keeps up.
The bar program is built around classic French spirits and seasonal ingredients. Small plates complement the drinks without competing with them. A room for a long evening.
Chef:
Awards:
James Beard
Nashville
4
Black Dynasty Ramen
Sylvan Park
$$
Ramen, Japanese
Black Dynasty Ramen is a casual restaurant in Nashville specializing in Japanese-style ramen. The menu centers on broth-driven noodle dishes served in a streamlined dining format.
Black Dynasty is bringing a distinctive aesthetic and solid ramen to Nashville's East Side — ambitious flavors, a dark and moody room, and a kitchen finding its footing on something genuinely interesting.
Chef:
Awards:
James Beard
Nashville
4
Answer
Sylvan Park
$$$
Modern American
Answer is a casual neighborhood bar and restaurant in Sylvan Park serving globally-influenced small plates in a relaxed, come-as-you-are setting. It's built around sharing food and good drinks, not impressing anyone.
A genuine neighborhood spot that gets more right than wrong — solid food, good drinks, and zero pretension.
Chef:
Awards:
James Beard
Nashville
3
Red Pony
Franklin
$$$
Modern American
Red Pony is a restaurant in Nashville offering contemporary American cuisine in a full-service setting. The menu emphasizes composed dishes and sit-down dining.
Red Pony is the best restaurant in Franklin that most people outside of Williamson County don't know about — serious food, a beautiful room, and a kitchen that's been doing this at a high level for years.
Chef:
Awards:
James Beard
Nashville
4
Shabu Shabu
Midtown
$$
Japanese
Shabu Shabu Nashville is interactive hot pot dining done at a functional level. The format is the experience. The food is what you cook.
The hot pot format works on its own terms — good broths, fresh proteins, the inherent pleasure of cooking your own dinner. As a restaurant recommendation on food quality alone, the kitchen's contribution is limited by design.
Chef:
Awards:
James Beard
Nashville
5
The Authentique
East Nashville
French
The Authentique is West African cooking on Nolensville Pike, one of Nashville's most genuinely diverse food corridors. The jollof rice and egusi stew are the reason to go.
The jollof rice is properly made — smoky, complex, with the slight char at the bottom of the pot that distinguishes real jollof from approximation. The egusi stew and suya follow the same standard.
Chef:
Awards:
James Beard
Nashville
4
Kase x Noko
East Nashville
Fusion, Japanese, Omakase, Sushi
Kase x Noko is an intimate omakase bar in East Nashville from the Noko team — Japanese-focused with torched salmon, uni, toro hand rolls, and an electric green pandan cocktail in the smallest bar in Tennessee.
The omakase bar Nashville was waiting for — 14 courses of Japanese-focused precision, uni on demand, and the smallest bar in Tennessee to wait in.
Chef:
Awards:
James Beard
Nashville
2
The Henry Nashville
12 South
$$$
American
The Henry is a hotel restaurant doing better work than it has to. Not a destination, but an honest effort from a kitchen that actually cares.
The American brasserie menu uses real sourcing and seasonal thinking. The bar program is one of the stronger hotel bar setups in the city. The food holds up independently of the hotel address.
Chef:
Awards:
James Beard
Nashville
5
Fishmonger
East Nashville
Seafood
Fishmonger is a casual seafood counter in East Nashville doing fresh fish the right way. Simple preparations, quality sourcing, honest prices.
The fish is sourced properly and cooked simply. The format is counter service with a focused menu. Good seafood in Nashville is rarer than it should be — Fishmonger fills a real gap.
Chef:
Awards:
James Beard
Nashville
4
Dos Santos
Wedgewood-Houston
$$
Mexican
Dos Santos Nashville is a restaurant focused on Mexican-inspired street food and tacos. The menu emphasizes casual dining and shared plates.
Dos Santos brings solid Mexican street food to Nashville with genuine enthusiasm and an accessible price point. Not destination dining, but a reliable option for tacos and margaritas done right.
Chef:
Awards:
James Beard
Nashville
4
Diceys Pizza And Tavern
Wedgewood-Houston
$$
Pizza
Dicey’s Pizza & Tavern is a casual restaurant in Nashville serving Detroit-style pizza. The menu combines pizza with a tavern-style setting.
Dicey's is exactly what it claims to be — a low-key neighborhood bar with solid pizza and zero pretension. Not a destination, but a genuinely good time for those who live nearby.
Chef:
Awards:
James Beard
Nashville
4
Harpers
SoBro
$$$$
American, Burgers
Harpers Nashville is a modern restaurant and bar offering American cuisine in a large, high-energy setting. The menu blends composed dishes with a bar-forward atmosphere.
Harpers is the neighborhood restaurant Nashville keeps saying it wants and keeps failing to build. Genuinely good food, real hospitality, and a room that actually feels like it belongs somewhere.
Chef:
Awards:
James Beard
Nashville
4
Browns Diner
Hillsboro Village
$
American, Burgers, Dive Bar
Brown’s Diner is a long-running Nashville diner offering classic American comfort food. The menu centers on burgers, sandwiches, and traditional diner fare.
Browns Diner is a Nashville institution that earns its reputation through history and character more than culinary ambition. The burger is genuinely good. Everything else is beside the point.
Chef:
Awards:
James Beard
Nashville
4
Saffire
Franklin
$$
Saffire tried to make a comeback. It didn't take. The kitchen is still inconsistent and Nashville's standard has moved past it.
The room is lovely and the reputation is real. The food is not living up to either. Inconsistent execution at prices that assume the kitchen has figured itself out.
Chef:
Awards:
James Beard
Nashville
5
Attaboy
East Nashville
$$
Cocktail Bar
Attaboy Nashville is East Nashville's most serious cocktail bar — no printed menu, no signatures, just a bartender asking what you like and building something worth drinking. The Nashville outpost of the legendary New York original, doing exactly what made the concept famous.
Attaboy Nashville is a cocktail bar in East Nashville known for custom drinks made without a printed menu. Food is limited and secondary to the bar program.
Chef:
Awards:
James Beard
Nashville
3
Fancypants
East Nashville
$$$
Modern American
Fancypants is a casual restaurant in Nashville serving modern comfort food with a bar-driven focus. The menu emphasizes familiar dishes in an informal setting.
Fancypants earns its quirky name — charming, a little eclectic, and genuinely trying. Not every swing connects, but enough do to make it worth your time.
Chef:
Awards:
James Beard
Nashville
3
Puckett’s
Downtown
$$
Southern
Puckett's is a downtown tourist restaurant that happens to have live music. The food exists to keep people in their seats long enough to hear another song.
Southern comfort food calibrated for visitors who aren't asking hard questions about what's on their plate. The live music is real. The food is not the point and doesn't pretend to be.
Chef:
Awards:
James Beard
Nashville
5
Coral Club
East Nashville
$$
Cocktail Bar
Coral Club is a bar and restaurant in Nashville offering Caribbean-influenced food alongside a cocktail-driven program. The menu supports a relaxed, social dining style.
Coral Club is Nashville's most fun upscale bar and dining experience — the retro beach club aesthetic is fully committed and the food and drinks are good enough to justify the bit.
Chef:
Awards:
James Beard
Nashville
4
Frankies 925 Spuntino
East Nashville
$$
Italian, Pasta
Frankie's 925 Spuntino is a Nashville Italian concept focused on the approachable, convivial side of the cuisine — pasta, pizza, simple preparations done with care in a setting that makes you feel like you should eat more than you planned.
The pasta is properly made and properly sauced. The pizza has real fermentation and char. The room is warm and casual in the way Italian restaurants are supposed to be.
Chef:
Awards:
James Beard
Nashville
3
January
Franklin
Modern American, Vegetarian
January is a fine dining restaurant in Nashville offering a tasting-menu-driven approach to contemporary American cuisine. The experience is structured and reservation-based.
January is a downtown Nashville restaurant doing elevated American cooking with precision and a room that makes every dinner feel considered.
Chef:
Awards:
James Beard
Nashville
3
Smith And Lentz Brewing
East Nashville
$
Brewery, Pizza
Smith & Lentz Brewing is a Nashville brewery offering beer alongside a food menu centered on pizza. The experience blends dining with a taproom setting.
Smith & Lentz Brewing is East Nashville's standout craft brewery — serious, thoughtful beers in a taproom that has become part of the neighborhood's identity.
Chef:
Awards:
James Beard
Nashville
4
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