Nashville, Tennessee: 10 best places to stay, eat and play
The Tennessee capital, home of country music, has dining options that go way beyond fried chicken.
The Tennessee capital, home of country music, has dining options that are as widely varied as its gig scene.
1 Good cluck
Treading in the footsteps of great singers and songwriters and listening to live music will always be the main draw in Nashville. But in between seeing gigs and touring the honky tonks, you’ll find a staggering number of great places to eat and drink. Let’s start with Shut the Cluck Up, the name of the blisteringly hot chicken dish served to “enthusiasts only” at Hattie B’s. This is less of a chicken joint, more of a cult, as the queues snaking out the door attest. Work your way from mild to medium, or hot to damn hot or dive straight into the Dante’s Inferno of sauces. The Shut the Cluck Up chicken is slathered in a hot sauce comprising ghost peppers, habaneras and cayenne pepper that staff say is “made with love and a touch of hate”. Hattie B’s is a lot of fun. Feel the burn; it’s a spiritual experience. Pre-order the peach cobbler with vanilla ice-cream to cool the palate afterwards.
2 Paddock to plate
The team behind The Farm House in downtown Nashville leads the field in farm-to-fork dining as a way to support local producers. Understatement is not a Nashville strongpoint. Everything at The Farm House is on-message, from the rustic dining room with bare tables to the earthy dinnerware menu that changes with the seasons. Chef Trey Cioccia (whose Black Rabbit is a short hop away) draws on his love of Southern comfort food to celebrate select ingredients. Here, the idea is to build a farmhouse-style feast beginning with starters such as house-made cornbread, fried green tomatoes and gouda grits followed by heftier dishes like bone-in porkchops and fried chicken. The restaurant and bar also celebrate the local drinks scene with a particular focus on bourbon.
3 Slice of heaven
There’s no escaping the fact Tennessee’s cosmopolitan capital is best known for its country music when you’re standing under the giant Nashville guitar sign. Take a selfie and then cross back over the train tracks to find Dicey’s Pizza & Tavern in the hip Wedgewood-Houston neighbourhood. The tavern has salads, subs, sandos and thin-crust specialty pizzas. Popular choices are the Peppy Boy (pepperoni, honey, mozzarella and parmesan drizzled with chilli oil) and Hippy Flip (parmesan cream, roasted veg, mushrooms, taleggio, mozzarella, lemon and onion). A grungy tavern with a house-party vibe, the place is divided into bar, dining room, outdoor patio and deck, and has a thumping soundtrack.
4 Rabbit warren
“Woo girls” is the term used to describe bachelorettes who descend on downtown Nashville to celebrate. It’s best to wait until the next busload of these exuberant women has barrelled past, so they don’t notice you ducking into the Black Rabbit and follow suit. The 122-seater restaurant and bar is tucked away in an 1890 building near historic Printer’s Alley. It’s named after a once-notorious NYC speakeasy and has embraced dark granny chic. Local chef Trey Cioccia (of The Farm House) is behind the food, so expect enhanced iterations of Southern classics such as shrimp and grits alongside live jazz played on a century-old piano. Brunch is a thing here; go for a post-honky tonk shakshuka and bloody mary.
5 Old gold
Brothers Dick and Houston Thomas opened Sperry’s in 1974. And in the half-century since, neither the decor nor the menu has changed. In fact, many of the staff working the floor have been here for four of those five decades, which gives the restaurant a welcoming feel. As well as being a special-occasion institution, the steakhouse named after Burton Sperry, great-great grandfather of the brothers, is home to the city’s first salad bar. Don’t forget to look up from your filet mignon and wedge salad, as one of the joys of dining at Sperry’s is the people-watching. Ask the staff which celebrities have dined here, and they’ll rattle off names such as Bill Murray, Kristen Bell, Post Malone and Wynonna Judd. Although there’s a sister venue in Cool Springs, a table in the softly lit dining room at the original steakhouse is still coveted by young and old.
6 Mix and match
Nashville’s evolution as a foodie destination is on display at the Assembly Food Hall, which has the city’s largest rooftop space. Plan a progressive feast and pinball from charcuterie at Sixty Vines to Indian hawker-style food at Saffron Kitchen, and Cotton & Snow for shave ice. This is #smashville, so of course there are three stages to satisfy your appetite for live tunes. All up, there are more than 30 eateries and nine bars dotted around the venue, which spans the second and third floors of Fifty & Broadway’s retail block. Head here for Happy Hour O’Clock, held every Monday to Thursday from 3-6pm, when you can meander from bar to bar for the better part of the afternoon.
7 Fire it up
Barrel House BBQ chef and owner Chuck Baker was a block mason by trade. But when the US construction industry faltered in 2012, Baker bought the old Wishy Washy laundromat in Lynchburg, Tennessee, and decided to give barbecuing a spin. Baker built a barbecue pit out the back, upcycled barrels from the nearby Jack Daniels Distillery into tables and chairs, and honed his skills as a pitmaster. After just one year, Chuck was invited to compete on Destination America’s BBQ Pitmasters series and although he didn’t win, his joint became a popular pit stop on the Tennessee barbecue trail. Recommended is the Cheese on Crack sandwich, grilled into submission with a heap of pulled pork.
8 Don’t nok it
Noko is short for nokoribi, which loosely translates to “embers” in Japanese and nods to the fact everything in this lively neighbourhood space is either smoked, seared or roasted over coals. While executive chef Dung Vo’s comfort food is excellent, it is co-owner Jon Murray’s lofty ambition to “change hospitality forever” that makes the experience of dining here even more meaningful. Murray aims to create a more sustainable work-life balance for his employees, who are the very definition of “Nashville nice”. As a hub, Noko is loud, boozy and fun, with beer and sake from a well-considered list. Order plates to share such as sweet-soy-lacquered tuna with crispy rice, charred shishito peppers, smoked wagyu brisket and Sichuan green beans – all of which show off cross-currents of Asian flavours. Squeeze in here before heading to the Bridgestone Arena to catch a game of ice hockey. Go Preds!
9 Home grown
Founded in the early 1800s, Nashville Farmers Market remains an excellent place for the community to gather. Open year-round, it provides retail space for farmers, makers, growers and start-ups. Fossick in the open-air sheds for produce before heading into the international food hall, where you will find 20 eateries and a culinary incubation centre. Carve off on your own dining adventure before meeting your entourage at a communal table. Here, you might nibble on triangles of Bella Nashville Pizzeria, Lilly’s Hot Chicken and Music City Crepes. One of the best places to nosh.
10 Where to stay
Nashville is otherwise known as #musiccity, #smashville and #nashvegas. The fact you can mooch from Music Row back to Virgin Hotels Nashville in just minutes makes this 262-guestroom hotel one of the best places to stay. Forget room service. Ask the concierge for the code to gain access to The Late Great Cocktail Bar. The speakeasy, modelled on an old-school recording studio and doing double duty as a museum, was designed by Hannah Crowell, granddaughter of Johnny Cash. Its name references the 1972 album The Late Great Townes Van Zandt by the troubadour of the same moniker. Enter through the secret door to find sentimental Cash family artefacts such as the last photo taken of the Man in Black and a painting of the family dog. Try The Late Great Cocktail Experience, which includes a charcuterie board and three cocktails. If you stay awake, the Commons Club on the ground floor of the 14-storey building serves fluffy breakfast pancakes.
Carla Grossetti was a guest of Nashville Convention & Visitors Corp.
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