The 10 Restaurants That Defined Nashville Dining in 2025

No restaurant in Nashville opened with more buzz in 2025 than Pastis, where the staff probably had to continually rub the noseprints off the windows as anxious diners snuck peeks at the dining room during a seemingly interminable construction process. (Ownership first announced they were coming to town more than three years ago.) How can a restaurant be worth this long a wait? Well, for one thing, Pastis has delivered on every promise made. The din of diners is constant, as the sounds of delighted conversations and forks hitting plates reflect off the hard tile surfaces that create a French bistro ambiance. It would take a whole workweek of lunches just to get through the frites options on the menu (three different cuts of beef plus lobster and mussels), but what a wonderful week that would be! It’s not too late to become a regular, but you’ll be joining a long list of fans.

Hidden away on the top floor of a commercial strip center that houses everything from a nail salon to a cigar shop, Alebrije is a treasure waiting to be discovered. Chef Edgar Victoria describes his small venture as “if Momofuku was Mexican,” and sitting at the short chef’s bar while enjoying small plate after small plate, it’s easy to make that connection. Victoria takes the soul of the Mexico City street food of his youth and reinterprets it using modernist techniques and inventive ingredients he has come up with just for his own kitchen. There’s always beef braising on the cooktop waiting to be ladled into house-made tortillas, featuring heirloom corn nixtamalized by the chef himself. If you can’t choose between the many delightful street taco options, grab the sampler box and enjoy the volume discount! 

No reservations. Find more info here.

This began as a Sean Brock project, and the peripatetic chef has left Audrey in excellent hands under the leadership of one of his former protégés, chef Sam Jett. Born of Brock’s reverence for the Appalachian ingredients and dishes of his youth, which he learned about standing at his grandmother Audrey’s apron strings, the restaurant continues to be a vibrant experimental place in Brock’s absence. The kitchen combines ancient ingredients with modern techniques to create an entirely new genre of cuisine that is grounded in tradition and reaches towards the future at the same time. The cool Japanese zen vibe of the restaurant interior sets the mood by emphasizing the interplay between rustic and contemporary, and a stunning collection of folk art hanging on the walls draws the eye around the dining room between courses. At first glance, the menu might read simple, but upon closer observation, it reveals the depth of Appalachian flavors and traditions.

It’s a family affair at Iggy’s, where Matthew Poli runs the beverage program and front of house while his talented chef brother Ryan tends to the kitchen. The menu features fresh pasta made daily, with specific shapes paired with appropriate sauces and dishes at the whim of the chef. A baker’s dozen of lucky diners can reserve seats at the chef’s bar for a front-row view of the kitchen and the opportunity to interact with the chef. Menus change frequently, and it can be difficult to choose when confronted with so many creative options. Pro tip: Indecisive diners can take advantage of “No Decision Sundays,” when couples at the chef’s bar enjoy two starters, three pastas, a dessert, and a bottle of wine chosen by the chefs and sommelier for a set price.

Book now on Tock.

As we said … three mentions of Sean Brock. When Brock moved back to Nashville in 2013 to open the first outpost of Husk outside of Charleston, that simple act went a long way toward cementing his adopted new hometown’s place as a center of the burgeoning farm-to-table movement. The bounty of produce available within a short drive of middle Tennessee allowed Brock to intentionally limit his menu to items sourced locally, and he and the kitchen made those ingredients shine. More than a decade and a string of talented kitchen leaders later, Husk still sets the standard for locavorism and hospitality in the city. Despite the stereotype that Southern food revolves around just barbecue and fried chicken, Husk’s nightly “plate of Southern vegetables” is often the highlight of the menu, featuring items selected at the height of freshness and ripeness, prepared thoughtfully and presented beautifully.

In a city like Nashville where there is so much interest in whatever is shiny and new in the restaurant business, it’s lovely to see a restaurant mature over time and really grow comfortable in its identity. That’s the wonderful spot where Butcher & Bee finds itself right now. Once a spin-off of a Charleston restaurant of the same name, Nashville is now home to the only iteration of “The Bee,” so the kitchen no longer needs to mimic the menu of the original location. The cuisine still revolves around Middle Eastern flavors and dishes made using local seasonal ingredients, and some of the restaurant’s greatest hits like whipped feta with fermented honey and avocado crispy rice never fall off the menu. But after a decade, the kitchen is working with such a facility that the cooks have the freedom to experiment more with small dishes that can be part of a meal of mezzes or a side dish to a larger plate. Who knows what will be their next big hit in Music City?

For years, there’s been a bit of an unspoken, informal competition around Southern culinary destinations. Not to throw shade, but Nashville is home to the current Beard Award winner for Best Chef-Southeast, and did disproportionately well at Michelin’s first American South recognition ceremony this year. Further, a number of restaurants have chosen to expand to Nashville from New Orleans, Atlanta, and Charleston — including Xiao Bao, an eclectic Chinese, Thai, Taiwanese, and Vietnamese restaurant that shares much of its menu with the original Xiao Bao Biscuit in Charleston. Serving lunch and dinner Thursday through Sunday, Xiao Bao has captured the attention of Nashville diners with dishes like pork belly, pickles, and peanuts stuffed into baos, crab fried rice, and hand-pulled noodles. Don’t miss the craveable okonomiyaki; the staff doesn’t mind you calling it a “Japanese pancake” if you’re frightened of tripping over your tongue.

No reservations. Find more info here.