Enable JavaScript to run this app.
Skip to main content
OpenTable logo
  1. Home
  2. Best Places to Eat
  3. The Best Places to Eat in Nashville
editorial list heading

The Best Places to Eat in Nashville

A photo of Red logo
by The OpenTable Team
Updated February 26, 2020

Nashville is famous for three things: great music, warm hospitality, and inventive cuisine. When one thinks of Tennessee meals, food like barbecue and fried chicken come to mind. Yet, Nashville is more than just meat and top chefs are reinventing this Southern cuisine. But where are the smartest, savviest diners eating out? Welcome to the Tastemaker Lists. We’ve pulled data from thousands of restaurants to find the top spots among OpenTable's most expert, seasoned diners. Iconic Nashville dishes like “meat and three,” fried catfish, cornbread, mac 'n' cheese, and country ham all get a chance in the limelight, but so do some more exotic plates. Book a table and get eating at some of these Nashville icons.

A photo of Park Cafe restaurant
4.7
4.7 (1376)
$30 and under
Contemporary American
Sylvan Park & Sylvan Heights
About the restaurant
This minimalist bistro is a great example of how Nashville chefs are succeeding in soul fusion. There’s nothing more “Nashville” than the smoked Springer Mountain chicken. It’s served alongside house bacon, crème fraiche potato salad, and fried dill pickles and topped with an Alabama white sauce.
Top review
Jack
Dined 1 day ago
Great service. Good food. Convenient valet. Great desserts. Good place to visit.
A photo of Giovanni's Ristorante - Mid Town restaurant
4.8
4.8 (1679)
$31 to $50
Italian
Music Row
About the restaurant
This high-end restaurant specializes in Italian cuisine with a Southern twist. The ambiance is rustic — drawing both on Nashville and Northern Italy. The mac and cheese with ham and peas is a dish that is popular in both Italian and Southern cuisines. For the main event, order the chicken. It’s served on the bone with sausage, oil, garlic, and potatoes.
Top review
CesarVIP
Dined 4 days ago
Always a great meal here. It’s funny though, the restaurant had only two tables when we arrived, we were placed right near the other two. An empty place, but a cluster of three tables together. I would prefer to be separate until other diners arrived. Food and service were wonderful as always.
A photo of Trattoria Il Mulino - Nashville restaurant
4.7
4.7 (3625)
$50 and over
Italian
Downtown
About the restaurant
You might forget you’re in such a laid-back city while sitting at a booth at Il Mulino. The Nashville outpost of this Italian restaurant screams class while embracing the flavors of the South. Here, you’ll never go wrong ordering the cowboy ribeye, served with asparagus, marasala, and mushroom ragout.
Top review
Barbara
Dined 6 days ago
Il Mulino doesn’t disappoint! Dinner was great—the lasagna was huge, and the watermelon salad delightful. Service was excellent.
A photo of The Palm Nashville restaurant
4.5
4.5 (4900)
$50 and over
Steakhouse
Downtown
About the restaurant
Another famed high-end steak chain that’s made its way to Nashville is the Palm. The décor is just as interesting as the Palm’s locations in other cities (full of caricatures of celebrities and memorabilia), and their menu is as classy. The food speaks for itself here. When in doubt, order the filet medallions. Make it a “meat and three” by adding an order of the green beans or three-cheese potatoes au gratin on the side.
Top review
PaulVIP
Dined 5 days ago
Excellent all around! Outstanding service and experience.
A photo of Bob's Steak & Chop House - Nashville restaurant
4.7
4.7 (3562)
$50 and over
Steakhouse
Downtown
About the restaurant
Possibly one of Nashville’s most iconic dishes (and exports) is hot chicken. Not for the faint of heart, hot chicken is an eye-watering dish that one might guess was a dare (it was actually a revenge scheme gone wrong). Many locals and tourists head to the hot chicken shacks in the city to try this delicacy. Luckily, Bob’s Steakhouse has created an upscale version of the dish that they serve in a setting one might expect to find in a Waldorf Astoria. The portions here are still quite sizable (what you would expect to find in a steak house instead of an upscale dining room), and the hot chicken isn’t so hot that it induces the pain and suffering you might find at the shacks.
Top review
Laurenza & Dawid
Dined 1 day ago
We had a lovely evening with good food and company
A photo of Maggiano's - Nashville restaurant
4.6
4.6 (7195)
$30 and under
Italian
Belmont / Hillsboro
About the restaurant
While most diners might not consider Italian food to be a part of the Southern culinary landscape, Nashville was home to a huge wave of Italian, German, and Polish immigrants in the 19th and 20th centuries. Luckily, many restaurants celebrate this immigrant past through the iconic dishes that now call Nashville home. Few other restaurants can celebrate this union of European and country cuisine better than Maggiano’s Little Italy in the West End. The candied smoked bacon is the perfect example of American and Italian cuisine. Candied bacon in itself is just about as Southern as you can get. Pair that with a dollop of ricotta, fig jam, and a handful of arugula? You’ll wish you had paid more attention in history.
Top review
Rona
Dined 4 days ago
Absolutely love Maggianos! We have been eating there for years. The food is wonderful and service is always on point. Madison was a fantastic server, took very good care of us.
A photo of Ruth's Chris Steak House - Nashville restaurant
4.5
4.5 (2748)
$50 and over
Steakhouse
Music Row
About the restaurant
Ruth's Chris might be famous across the country as the place for meat, but in Nashville (where meat is king) it’s an even bigger deal. Since bigger is better when it comes to meat in the South, the tomahawk ribeye is the dish to order here. This USDA 40-ounce ribeye is a great example of a marbled steak. Herbed butter tops all steaks, which come with a choice of accompaniments. The ambiance is upscale and reminds diners of the musical acts that pinned Nashville to the map. Chandeliers twinkle from above and are reminiscent of the ones at the Grand Ole Opry itself — making diners the stars of the show.
Top review
Melissa
Dined 7 days ago
My daughter and I started with delicious craft cocktails. Our server Amir was AMAZING! Started with crab cakes that were divine! I had the garlic crusted sea bass…OMG melt in your mouth delicious! The filet and lobster, wine, crème brûlée AND espresso martinis?!?! We enjoyed in so much! ❤️
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use
  • Cookies and Interest-Based Ads
  • Cookie Preferences
Copyright © 2024 OpenTable, Inc. 1 Montgomery St Ste 500, San Francisco CA 94104 - All rights reserved.
OpenTable is part of Booking Holdings, the world leader in online travel and related services.
Booking Logo
Priceline Logo
KAYAK Logo
Agoda Logo
OpenTable Logo