The Resy Hit List: Where In Nashville You’ll Want to Eat Right Now

For more than a decade, Husk has represented the epitome of farm-to-table fare in Nashville — with a laser focus on the mandate by opening chef Sean Brock: “If it doesn’t come from the South, it’s not coming through the kitchen door!” The stately Italianate mansion that is Husk’s home was once the home of a 19th-century Nashville mayor — and is reflected in the courtly hospitality — yet the cuisine continues to combine modernism with historical techniques of preservation, pickling, and some of the finest fried chicken in the land. And both kitchen and the bar staff take full advantage of the restaurant’s garden, where they grow heritage seeds into plants that show up as ingredients and garnishes.

The industrial zen vibe and lo-fi hip-hop soundtrack set the atmosphere at this standout modern izakaya and sake bar. Whether diners opt for á la carte service or offer themselves to the chef’s whim with an omakase experience, they’re sure to be delighted by the precisely plated parade of small dishes coming from the kitchen. Much of the menu focuses on seafood flown fresh to town from across the globe. Pro tip for sake fans: Present Tense has their own brand called Pure Land, crafted in Kyoto, with complex flavors that complement myriad dishes. Don’t be afraid to ask for pairing advice.

Fact: Australians are obsessed with coffee culture. Indeed,  Melbourne has more cafes per capita than almost anywhere in the world, and Australia takes credit for inventing several globally popular coffee drinks, including the flat white. Two Hands brings this experience to Music City in the form of an airy cafe that features specialty coffee and espresso drinks, healthy breakfast and brunch items, and fruity smoothies. Their harissa chicken and salmon quinoa bowls are especially popular, along with a smashed avocado dish spiced up with pickled shallots and Fresno chilis. Two Hands also prides itself on partnering with suppliers who share the company’s sustainability approach.

The Fairlane Hotel is located in a former bank building in the heart of downtown, and it leans into its previous incarnation as a center of commerce. The lobby is filled with mid-century modern furnishings and the vibe continues upstairs to the fourth floor where a meal at Ellington’s feels like being invited to the executive dining room. And the “Mad Men”-era mystique is further reflected in the upscale cocktail service and menu of classic American cuisine. Plush booths surrounded by gilded railings surround the bar area, and a secret table tucked around the corner feels like where corporate VIPs cut deals over platters of oysters and gigantic steaks.

Call 615-988-7333 for reservations.

Nashville’s premier izakaya and ramen house introduced many local diners to the concept of Japanese bar culture. Beers and highball cocktails are accompanied by small plates like edamame, shishito peppers or dumplings followed by courses that become increasingly more substantial. Yakitori skewers range from vegetable bites such as corn in miso butter or wasabi avocado to heartier options like pork belly, short rib or even chicken hearts. A bracing bowl of tonkatsu ramen in a creamy pork broth with a soft egg is a meal in and of itself.

Michael Hanna spent years perfecting his pizza technique, specifically mastery of the Silicilian-style pies known as sfincione. After various pop-ups at restaurants around town, he finally opened his own home base in the Gulch. Now that he’s working out of his own commercial kitchen, Hanna has dialed in the seemingly impossible combination of airy and crispy crust that sets his pizza apart. The kitchen leans on local purveyors whenever possible to source intriguing toppings and flavor combinations like squash, hazelnuts, and goat cheese, or the popular roasted potato, lemon, and potato cream pie. (It will change the way you think about pizza.) The menu also offers roasted vegetables, seafood and pasta dishes to round out your order, but don’t skip the sfincione.

While Marathon Village in North Nashville has become a bit of a tourist destination thanks to regular stops by the Old Town Trolley looping around downtown, dining options in the area haven’t been quite so zestful. Chef Zo has changed that with the opening of Zozkitchen, a soul food joint just across the street from the main entrance to the shopping development. Specializing in down-home cuisine with powerful flavors, Zozkitchen does a busy carryout business with patrons seeking stick-to-your-ribs fare ranging from gooey blackened chicken Alfredo to expertly fried catfish and dirty rice. Dine-in is also available, and preferable if you want to take advantage of the generous happy hour deals from the full bar.

The Southeast meets the Middle East at this Mediterranean- and Israeli-inspired neighborhood favorite. Working with locally-sourced ingredients, the kitchen at the Bee creates vegetable-forward dishes that are filled with exotic flavors and beautiful flourishes of color and texture. The whipped feta and fermented honey dip is legendary and a can’t-miss appetizer, but don’t be afraid to dig deeper into the menu for inventive shareable entrees served family-style to the table. Another favorite option is to make a happy hour grazing meal out of the wide selection dips and mezze small plates while you enjoy cocktails from one of the most talented staffs of mixologists in town. Butcher & Bee defies convention as a restaurant, so feel free to choose your own adventure.

The main dining room is dominated by a massive statue of city namesake Gen. Francis Nash astride a horse looming above the tables. Other colorful works of art (many of which were painted by chef Daniel Lindley) accent the tall walls of the restaurant to create a gallery feel to the experience. Lindley is a big fan of classic American family dinners, and his menu offers homey dishes like pot roast, meatloaf, and beer-can chicken you might have at a family meal (if Grandma were a James Beard-nominated chef.) Steaks off the wood-fired grill are standout options, flavored by smoke and fire and served with comfort food sides like beef-fat onions, oxtail gravy, and family-style mashed potatoes.

Beverage expert Alex Burch founded Bad Idea as a concept to bring a dynamic wine bar to East Nashville. Thanks to Burch’s fantastic wine and cocktail program and the inspired Lao-centric menu created by chef Colby Rasavong, Bad Idea has evolved into much more. The interior of the vaulted dining space is softened by natural materials accented with splashes of bold colors, and the lively bar scene adds energy to the room. A seasonally changing menu of small plates combines traditional Laotian cuisine with fun regional touches along with large format dishes sized for sharing. Open late with a limited, but no less intriguing menu, Bad Idea is the best idea for night owls seeking something more than a “last call” burger.

Call or text 629-729-4332 for reservations.

Nashville is home to the largest population of Kurds in the country, and their contributions to the local culinary scene are finally seeing the national spotlight since the New York Times named Edessa as one of the country’s best restaurants for 2024. For more than 20 years, Edessa has been delighting local diners with Turkish and Kurdish cuisine, including house-made hummus, kebabs, fresh-baked pita, and flavorful meze dishes, including novel preparations of regional favorites. The warm interior of the stylish restaurant creates a welcoming ambiance that is unexpected considering the strip mall exterior, but those who know what awaits inside are rewarded with some of the most flavorful and exciting food in the city.

More info here. 

Walking through the door to this popular ONEC1TY restaurant presents guests with a choose-your-own Italian culinary adventure. The to-go selection of pastas and gelato might prompt a quick grab-and-go trip, but then you’d miss out on the fun of dining in the main dining room, where joyful noise of families gathered around the tables bounces off the high ceilings as they enjoy plates of handmade pasta topped with luxurious sauces. A seat at the pizza bar is a little quieter and offers the ideal view to watch the talented pizzaiolos at work crafting classic regional Italian pies, while the intimate bar in the back of the restaurant is a fine place to hide out with friends over glasses of amaro or vermouth and maybe a plate of marinated olives.

The “MI” in this restaurant’s name stands for “mē,” a term that can refer to taste, beauty, and rice in several languages, including Korean. This represents the driving principle behind this vibrant Korean restaurant that features small plates to combine into a meal for the whole table. In addition to classic noodle dishes, MI Kitchen isn’t afraid to reimagine Korean cuisine with tacos stuffed with bulgogi beef or pork jeyuk, and their K-Pop chicken is a strong contender in a town filled with great fried chicken thanks to its shatteringly crisp crust and sticky, sweet, and spicy sauce. Don’t be surprised if you leave the restaurant believing that KFC now stands for Korean Fried Chicken!

Chef Margot McCormack made a brave leap of faith decades ago when she converted a former filling station into a French-inspired and Southern-informed brasserie in the Five Points neighborhood long before fine dining was commonplace in that part of town. She has been rewarded with an ardent legion of fans, many of whom have standing weekly reservations so that they can catch up with friends and neighbors while dining on a creative seasonal menu of bistro food that changes frequently based on the freshest ingredients coming through the door of the kitchen. Whether it’s a quick drink at the cozy bar or a convivial meal in the boisterous main dining room or a romantic tête-à-tête at one of the secluded upstairs tables, Margot Café is the premier meeting and eating spot in East Nashville.

The lines haven’t gotten any shorter at this diminutive lunch-only spot in Cleveland Park, and the national acclaim continues to pour in for the husband-and-wife chef team of Brian Lea and Leina Horii as they continue to push out delicious plates of Japanese comfort food from the tiny kitchen. Returning diners know the drill: scan the QR code to hold a place in the queue and wait your turn in line to be rewarded with craveable plates like egg salad or chicken katsu sandwiches on house-made milk bread, noodle bowls and curry rice dishes, grilled fish or a full Japanese breakfast featuring miso-marinated fish, three vegetables, a rolled omelet, soup, and furikake rice.

No reservations. More info here.

Joining the already popular location in downtown Franklin, Serrato’s opened a second outpost in Brentwood in 2024 that has quickly become a popular destination for anyone seeking a classic chophouse experience in Williamson County. While the stars of the show are hand-cut, rosemary garlic butter-topped steaks, chef Jose Serrato is quite proficient with seafood as well, whether as part of a surf-and-turf dish or as a standalone entree. Other highlights include the chef’s signature shrimp scampi, buttery and briny from the addition of capers, as well as substantially portioned wild-caught Alaskan halibut that should satisfy steak lovers looking for a change-up.