The Resy Hit List: Where In Nashville You’ll Want to Eat Right Now
Updated:
There’s no question we hear more often: Where should I go eat? And while we at Resy know it’s an honor to be the friend who everyone asks for restaurant advice, we also know it’s a complicated task. That’s where the Resy Hit List comes in.
Consider it your essential resource for dining in Nashville: a monthly-updated guide to the restaurants that you won’t want to miss — tonight or any night.
Three Things In Nashville Not to Miss This Month
- Beef Up: For three nights, June 8-11, downtown steakhouse Prime + Proper will host The Rare Tour, an international celebration of exceptional beef. Collaborating in the kitchen will be AG from Stockholm, Sweden. Recognized as one of the top 10 steakhouses in the world, AG is fanatical about Scandinavian precision and European fire-cooking techniques, and chefs Johan Jureskog, Martin Kjäll, and Johan Andersson will join the Prime + Proper kitchen crew to craft a special collaborative multi-course menu with available beverage pairings. The evening will include live music, exceptional cuts of meat, meticulous aging, and live-fire cooking. All guests will also go home with an exclusive AG x Prime + Proper gift.
- Now Open: Just a little more than a year after opening its first Nashville restaurant in the burgeoning Neuhoff complex in Germantown, Atlanta-based seafood restaurant Fishmonger has doubled its Music City presence with the addition of Fishmonger WEHO in a brand-new building in Wedgewood-Houston now known as The Finery. Located at 475 Gray St., the latest location features the same focus on Gulf Coast seafood, fresh oysters, creative cocktails, bold decor softened by lots of greenery, and, of course, that legendary blackened grouper sandwich that is pretty much a mandatory order on any Fishmonger experience.
- Cocktail Classes: At Grandpa Bar, a coffee shop and cocktail emporium in North Nashville, hot coffee drinks are on offer until 2 p.m. and iced coffee and cocktails all day and night. In addition to a tight list of beers and wines, Grandpa specializes in new riffs on classic cocktails, especially the venerable old fashioned and the newly-revitalized espresso martini — order them from the à la carte cocktail menu, or for a more intimate experience, book an hour-long afternoon educational tasting session. Grandpa’s talented bar pros will guide you through the creation of a classic old fashioned or espresso martini, plus samples of two innovative versions of the drink. Book a group or come alone and make new friends.
New to the Hit List (June 2026)
Once Upon a Time in France, Pastis, Prime + Proper, Sushi|Bar.
1. Henley Midtown
Henley’s design is inspired by the refined hospitality of a traditional Southern manor, beginning with a sidewalk patio that serves as a modern interpretation of a classic veranda. The bar program is a key focus, featuring single-barrel whiskeys and craft cocktails. In the main dining room, the modern American brasserie menu offers fun takes on Southern cuisine, integrating regional staples with global techniques and seasonal ingredients. For private events, a clubby snooker room provides an intimate, versatile space at the rear of the restaurant. For a unique experience, take a trip down the Rabbit Hole, a semi-private chef’s table tucked behind a concealed bookshelf door.
2. FISHMONGER Germantown Nashville
One of the first tenants of the revitalized Neuhoff District that has converted a former meat processing facility into some of the hottest dining destinations in Nashville, Fishmonger kicked off restaurant offerings with a bang. A spin-off from a popular Atlanta seafood restaurant, Fishmonger combines the vibe of a casual seaside fish shack with stylish industrial decor that could be home to a tech startup. The menu changes frequently, but you’ll always find market oysters and smoked fish dip on offer. The dish everyone raves about is the blackened grouper sandwich, a delicate filet of fish with a spicy crust courtesy of the grill. It’s served with Fishmonger’s signature “Florida sauce,” a creamy umami-rich condiment that pairs perfectly with the fish.
3. Sadie’s Edgehill Village
Tucked away in Edgehill Village between the tourist corridors of Midtown, 12 South, and Music Row, Sadie’s is popular with both local diners and informed visitors. The quirky details of the interior design include mismatched light fixtures and tables set close together to create a homey vibe. Small mezze plates of Mediterranean classics are easy to combine into a grazing lunch or as appetizers to complement a large-format dinner dish like braised lamb shank or whole roasted chicken. The popular weekend brunch augments Sadie’s usual Middle Eastern lunch offerings with classic breakfast sandwiches, avocado toast, and egg dishes. A full bar adds a little extra festivity to the meal thanks to creative cocktails and thoughtfully crafted mocktails.
4. Prime + Proper Nashville Yards
Stretching along Broadway on the ground floor of the luxurious Grand Hyatt, Prime + Proper acts as the front door to the newest major entertainment district in the city, Nashville Yards. Immediately upon stepping into the hallway between the reception desk and the dining room, guests understand what makes this a special steakhouse among a multitude of upscale downtown meat markets. The walls are lined with bottles of rare wines on offer. Various cuts of USDA Prime beef and imported wagyu are displayed at different points of the dry-aging process, meticulously cared for by an in-house team of talented butchers. The extra aging concentrates flavors and changes the texture of the meat to create a dining experience like no other.
5. The Treehouse East Nashville
The menu at The Treehouse is as whimsical as the eclectic thrift store decor elements that add charm to the quintessential East Nashville hangout. And by whimsical, we mean that the kitchen is liable to make up a dish on the spot based on whatever fun ingredients came through the back door of the kitchen that day or depending on the mood of whoever’s doing the cooking. Bold flavors are the unifying constant, with creative plating as the final flourish on every dish. Fun cocktails and generous happy hour pricing make it a popular spot for hospitality workers, so you may see the person who served you lunch somewhere else earlier sitting next to you at the bar for dinner.
6. Two Ten Jack – Nashville East Nashville
In addition to being one of the best ramen spots in town, Two Ten Jack is notable for introducing the Japanese izakaya pub experience to Nashville. The word literally translates to “stay-drink-place,” and the menu is designed to lead diners through leisurely enjoyment of beers, highball cocktails, wine, and sake paired with small bites like blistered shishito peppers or dumplings followed by bento boxes built around kushiyaki skewers cooked over infernally-hot Binchōtan charcoal, or poke over steamed rice. A bowl of savory steaming ramen is the natural conclusion to the menu progression, but carb lovers can opt instead for a chasu donburi finale with crispy pork belly over steamed rice.
7. Butcher & Bee – Nashville East Nashville
Butcher & the Bee sits at a fascinating crossroads between time-honored Southern food and Middle Eastern cuisine, emphasizing locally-sourced seasonal ingredients accented with deeply flavorful international spices. Drawing on ancient traditions of many cultures, “The Bee” (as many fans call it) manages to create something entirely modern. A seat at the large chef’s bar offers a peek behind the curtain to see talented staff members carefully prepping and cooking individual dishes, and it’s a more entertaining show than most sporting events in Nashville lately. The whipped feta and fermented honey dip is a creamy, tangy, sweet, and savory masterpiece of an appetizer that is a non-negotiable must-try. In fact, clever diners sometimes craft an entire meal out of nothing but the dips and small plates. And we salute them.
8. Halls Catch Midtown
Scrupulously adhering to a freshness rule demanding a 48-hour limit from the ocean to the plate, Halls Catch changes up the menu frequently based on the availability of the best ingredients. The vast variety of seafood presentations represents a global reach by the kitchen, from elegant sushi and crudo raw dishes to a Southern fish sandwich and shrimp & grits, to a classic New England butter-poached lobster roll. Inspired by their landlubber neighbors and corporate cousins at Halls Chophouse, the restaurant also features A5 Japanese wagyu, tender filets, and a massive cowboy rib eye. Based out of Charleston, both Halls restaurants are steeped in Southern hospitality and high-touch service. Live music in the lounge every night (except Sundays) augments the ambiance during dinner service.
9. 1 Kitchen Nashville SoBro
“Luxury sustainability” is the guiding principle of the 1 Hotel in SoBro, and this belief that guests can feel pampered without leaving too big of an impact on the planet extends into the property’s signature restaurant, 1 Kitchen. Under the guidance of former “Top Chef” contestant Chris Crary, local and seasonal fare rule, yielding dishes with more than 75% of the ingredients sourced from within 200 miles. A monthly “Supper that Sustains Us” series recognizes the specific growers, foragers, ranchers, and purveyors behind the menu and features them in highlight dishes. Vegans and vegetarians have plenty of choices alongside American wagyu beef and pasture-raised lamb for avowed carnivores. “Luxury” also extends to a list of rare whiskeys available by the pour that rivals any collection in town.
10. Mangia Nashville 8th South/Melrose
Often, Italian dining in Nashville feels overly formal and stuffy; at the other end of the spectrum, sometimes it’s just reheated fried cutlets covered with red sauce and Parm. Mangia chef and owner Nick Pellegrino has a much appreciated third way, bringing the joy of a raucous family dinner to his weekly service at Mangia Nashville, where the strangers who were seated next to you might become the caboose of the joyful conga line the chef leads, serpentining around the dining room between courses. This doesn’t mean the chef isn’t serious about his seasonal Italian cooking; he just wants to make sure guests have fun while they’re enjoying his food! At the end of six courses, you’re bound to leave with a smile on your face, some extra spring in your step, and a to-go box filled with zeppoles.
11. Two Hands Nashville The Gulch
In a city where breakfast can often be the heaviest meal of the day, Two Hands has introduced the wonderful finesse of Australian cafe culture. In addition to a fantastic selection of specialty coffee drinks, the menu at this breezy bar/restaurant changes from hour to hour, progressing from sweet pastries and a transcendent smashed avocado toast with pickled shallots and Fresno chiles for “brekky” to healthy veggie and protein bowls for lunch and an internationally-inspired dinner menu of main dishes. If the entire table is game, a prix-fixe dinner option allows diners to pick between multiple apps, mains, and desserts to create their own three-course experience.
12. Once Upon A Time In France East Nashville
From the black-and-white penny tile floor to the pressed tin ceiling and everywhere in between, this cozy Greenwood restaurant is the epitome of the Parisian bistro experience in Nashville. Tables are placed close enough together that diners can eschew the menu and choose their entrees based on what they see on nearby plates. Bistro fans can probably guess the menu anyway, since it’s filled with classics ranging from escargot and a prototypical French onion soup to entrees like beef Bourguignon and steak frites. The beverage selection skews heavily Gallic, including imported beers, classic Parisian cocktails, and a wine list that highlights the major viticultural regions of the country. A new “How We Dine in France” experience paces guests through a leisurely set menu meal with wine pairings and a few dish choices along the way.
13. Sushi | Bar Nashville The Gulch
Among the many excellent new(ish) omakase, Sushi|Bar rises to the top of the list in several ways. Restaurant staff set the mood immediately by sitting guests in a sultry, retro music lounge to enjoy a complimentary cocktail while all parties arrive for their seating. The assembled group is then whisked into a theater of culinary performance. A dozen diners sit at the bar in front of a trio of talented chefs who take everyone through a 17-course tasting of precisely cut and artfully assembled nigirizushi featuring a parade of exquisite fish. Internationally sourced from locales like Spain and New Zealand, the finest of Sushi|Bar’s ingredients hail from the world-renowned Toyosu Market in Tokyo. Beverage pairing options include Champagnes, Japanese whiskies, and rare sakes.
14. Husk Nashville Rutledge Hill
Since first opening in 2013, Husk has been home to a procession of several executive chefs who each have put their own spin on the restaurant’s philosophy of farm-to-table evangelism. The fact that the food has remained uniformly excellent through all those years and leadership changes stems from the consistent overarching commitment to Southern ingredients and an imaginative mash-up of Lowcountry cuisine and down-home country cooking. The constantly changing “Plate of Southern Vegetables” menu item is often the highlight of the menu, featuring produce at the absolute peak of freshness and ripeness. Whether as a shareable set of side dishes for the table or a standalone entree to keep for yourself, that particular order represents Husk’s soul on a platter.
15. Butchertown Hall Germantown
The famous barbecue traditions of the Hill Country region of Texas arose from German roots as part of a large migration of immigrants seeking refuge from political unrest and religious persecution during the middle of the 1800s. Some of these new Texans were former butchers, and the best Hill Country joints still sell spicy smoked sausages and smoked meats on grease-stained sheets of butcher paper. Butchertown Hall combines the influences of European beer halls with Texas smokehouses to great effect. Proper smoked brisket is a rare find in Middle Tennessee, but they do it right at Butchertown Hall, and it appears as a nacho topping, stuffed into housemade tortillas as tacos, or sold by the pound.
16. Mercado Wedgewood-Houston
From the team behind Nashville favorites Butchertown Hall and Liberty Common, Mercado draws influences from its sister restaurants in the best of ways. The “Texas meets Baja” gestalt of Butchertown appears here in the form of homemade tortillas, craveworthy queso, small-batch guacamole, and entrees grilled over live fire ranging from 30-day aged rib eye fajitas to salmón asado. The 12-hour oak-smoked beef brisket is a particular standout. The casual elegance of Liberty Common is evident in the vibe of Mercado’s fourth-floor oyster bar, Ramone’s. The open deck perched high above the burgeoning Wedgewood-Houston area offers sweeping vistas of the neighborhood stretching all the way to the downtown skyline. Now enclosed for comfort during the winter, it’s always oyster season at Ramone’s.
17. January Franklin
January, the signature restaurant at Southall Farm & Inn, is the epitome of “seed-to-fork” philosophy in Middle Tennessee. The kitchen ensures resort guests and visiting diners feel the connection to the surrounding 325-acre estate that contributes ingredients to the daily-changing menu. Chefs consult weekly harvest logs to create new dishes based on the freshest ingredients from Southall’s gardens, greenhouses, and orchards. What the Michelin Green Star-winning kitchen can’t produce on site, they source as locally as possible, including honey, heritage vegetables, and proteins purchased from within a short drive away. Diners can experience this seasonal focus through a refined multi-course tasting menu or curated à la carte options, often served within view of the fields and gardens where the ingredients originated.
18. Pastis – Nashville Wedgewood-Houston
It can be difficult to stand out in the already crowded restaurant scene in the rapidly growing Wedgewood-Houston neighborhood, but Pastis became an anchor tenant in the former May Hosiery Mill building the minute the front door was opened. Recreating a Parisian Metro vibe thanks to hundreds of subway tiles alongside classic bistro ambiance like a zinc bar, tin ceiling tiles, inviting banquettes, and hand-painted mirrors, Pastis transports diners to France by way of Manhattan. The menu is also filled with bangers — a craveable steak sandwich served on French bread with caramelized onions and melted Gruyère for lunch, and all the frites (steak, mussels, and lobster) for dinner. For a landlocked state, the Tennessee outpost of Pastis features excellent seafood, from oysters, scallops, and tuna on the appetizer list to trout, salmon, and branzino as main dishes.
19. Nicky’s Coal Fired The Nations
Tony and Caroline Galzin have been restaurant pioneers in The Nations neighborhood for more than a decade, and they have worked hard to ensure that Nicky’s Coal Fired remains a community hub for families and visitors to the growing culinary destination that has grown up around them. They earn their customers’ loyalty through a fanatical commitment to hospitality and quality, especially in the form of those beautiful blistered crusts on the pizzas that emerge from the massive infernal 800° coal-fired pizza oven that Tony named “Enrico” after his great-grandfather, who immigrated to America from the Lazio region of Italy. Additional nods to the old country include an impressive variety of amari and Italian wines to accompany more than a dozen pizza options and housemade pasta dishes.
20. Boqueria – Nashville Downtown Nashville
Inspired by the traditional markets in Barcelona’s Las Ramblas, Boqueria offers a sophisticated social dining experience at the Fifth + Broadway retail and entertainment complex. The menu features a diverse range of tapas, from citrus-marinated olives and classic tortilla Española to elevated plates like crispy brussels sprouts tossed in a jamón Ibérico vinaigrette. For larger groups, the restaurant provides prix fixe “Feast” menus and seasonal seafood paellas. A specialized pre-theater menu features quick-fired dishes to accommodate diners attending performances at the nearby Ryman Auditorium, Bridgestone Arena, or the newly opened Pinnacle. Whether visiting for a cocktail at the central bar or a full culinary tour of the Iberian Peninsula, guests find a stimulating atmosphere that bridges Spanish tradition with Nashville’s downtown energy.
