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The Best Places to Eat in Nashville

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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
Park Cafe
4.7
4.7 (1352)
$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
Ramonavip
Dined 3 days ago
Brought friends who were in town for the evening and everyone loved it!!
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A photo of Pork Chop and Eggs of a restaurant
Popular dish
Pork Chop and Eggs
A photo of Meatballs of a restaurant
Popular dish
Meatballs
A photo of Park Café Salmon of a restaurant
Popular dish
Park Café Salmon
A photo of Giovanni's Ristorante - Mid Town restaurant
Giovanni's Ristorante - Mid Town
4.8
4.8 (1656)
$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
Howardvip
Dined 6 days ago
The specials were perfect. Salmon was cooked perfectly. Appetizers were also great.
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A photo of Lasagna of a restaurant
Popular dish
Lasagna
A photo of Tiramisu of a restaurant
Popular dish
Tiramisu
A photo of Tagliatelle alla Bolognese of a restaurant
Popular dish
Tagliatelle alla Bolognese
A photo of Trattoria Il Mulino - Nashville restaurant
Trattoria Il Mulino - Nashville
4.7
4.7 (3590)
$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
john
Dined 5 days ago
Our two beautiful servers were patient and charismatic. Thanks guys
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A photo of Lasagna of a restaurant
Popular dish
Lasagna
A photo of PAN SEARED SCALLOPS of a restaurant
Popular dish
PAN SEARED SCALLOPS
A photo of Grilled Octopus of a restaurant
Popular dish
Grilled Octopus
A photo of The Palm Nashville restaurant
The Palm Nashville
4.4
4.4 (4880)
$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
Waltervip
Dined 5 days ago
One of our favorites for many years. These guys don’t disappoint. Brent is the best
A photo of Bob's Steak & Chop House - Nashville restaurant
Bob's Steak & Chop House - Nashville
4.7
4.7 (3543)
$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
Williamvip
Dined 1 day ago
Food was exceptional, service impeccable and atmosphere was great. A must stop when in Nashville.
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A photo of Prime Ribeye of a restaurant
Popular dish
Prime Ribeye
A photo of Prime Filet Mignon of a restaurant
Popular dish
Prime Filet Mignon
A photo of Veal Porterhouse Chop of a restaurant
Popular dish
Veal Porterhouse Chop
A photo of Maggiano's - Nashville restaurant
Maggiano's - Nashville
4.7
4.7 (7190)
$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
Mike
Dined 6 days ago
Second visit to this restaurant. It is excellent. Noel was again our server. They have a two people dinner where you can reach pick from a list of entrees and includes an appetizer and desert. The portions are large. We take home more than we can eat. I don't see how a restaurant this large can produce this quality and at the price they charge. Incredible. It is THE place we will be going from now on when we want some good Italian food.
A photo of Ruth's Chris Steak House - Nashville restaurant
Ruth's Chris Steak House - Nashville
4.6
4.6 (2731)
$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
Michael
Dined on Dec 8, 2024
The food was amazing, we got the porterhouse for 2, lobster mac and cheese, potatoes au gratin, and lobster tail and everything was extremely taste and amazing, the server was great, great experience 😋
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A photo of Porterhouse for Two of a restaurant
Popular dish
Porterhouse for Two
A photo of Ribeye of a restaurant
Popular dish
Ribeye
A photo of Lobster Tail of a restaurant
Popular dish
Lobster Tail

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