The 22 Best Restaurants in Nashville

Condé Nast Traveler, March 2025

There will always be good BBQ, hot chicken, and meat ‘n’ threes in Nashville—perhaps the best you've ever tasted (don’t change too much, Music City!). But if you limit your culinary sojourns to those iconic dishes, you’ll be missing out on one of Nashville’s best features: the breadth and depth of its chef-driven restaurants. James Beard Award nominees and winners are around every corner turning out creative spins on classic French dishes, modern Mediterranean, omakase, Japanese kakigōri, and (of course) time-honored Southern food. It's hard to whittle down your must-eat list if you're only in town for a weekend—you might have to sneak in a first lunch and a second lunch—but these noteworthy spots are great places to start. Here are the best restaurants in Nashville. - Margaret Littman