The Resy Hit List: Where In Nashville You’ll Want to Eat in Feb. 2025

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.

Nashville’s preeminent contemporary Italian steakhouse has settled in nicely in the luxurious W Hotel in the Gulch. Chef Andrew Carmellini has imported his effort from New York, with a menu that combines the regional flavors of Italy with hand-cut steaks, fresh pastas, and seafood. The clubby atmosphere of the main dining room feels like every table is a private dining experience, but the best seats offer a view into the open kitchen. The porchetta-spiced slow-roasted prime rib is a menu standout, and a dessert of baked spumoni flambéed tableside is the perfect dish to share at the end of a memorable meal.

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. 

Few restaurants are more ingrained in their community than Lockeland Table, the sort of place where diners secure standing weekly reservations and neighbors gather frequently during the restaurant’s Community Hour to catch up on school events and support local PTOs, with a portion of the proceeds from sales of shareable small plates. The burnished copper pizza oven is a work of art and the centerpiece of the open kitchen, and the pies and roasted vegetables that emerge from the infernal oven are centerpieces of any meal at Lockeland Table. Chef Hal Holden-Bache’s signature N.Y. strip steak served with spicy chimichurri is a menu stalwart and one of the best beef deals in town.

Founded 15 years ago by the Darsinos family, Southside offers contemporary American food with fun little Mediterranean touches inspired by the family’s Greek heritage. Dine at the bar, in the inviting main dining room or on the covered patio that’s open year-round as you work your way through a menu that features seafood appetizers such as octopus, calamari and a warm lump crab meat salad before moving on to main dishes of meats and fish. The beef truffle burger is an indulgent treat that frequently appears on “best burgers” lists around town, and Southside’s filet mignon with gouda mashed potatoes and grilled asparagus is a classic steakhouse dish.

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.

Chef Ryan Poli and his brother/general manager Matthew represent a dream team of hospitality professionals who have worked together at notable restaurants in Nashville and around the country. Together, the brothers have created their dream Italian restaurant with Iggy’s. The neighborhood gathering spot shows off all of the Polis’ most beloved things: handmade pasta, great Italian wines, craft cocktails, and a diverse soundtrack of energetic music to help set the mood. “No Decision Sundays” offer the chance to sit at the chef’s counter and let the kitchen and sommelier select two starters, three pastas, a dessert and a bottle of wine for you. As a bonus, a small display case near the front door offers fresh pasta and sauces to take home for another meal later in the week.

For reservations, call 615-645-9949.