Plan

The Duke's crew opened this Korean spot in Riverside Village with an Atlanta chef in the kitchen. Sit-down dinner, good cocktails, a little more considered than the rest of the East Side.

Burgers on Woodland Street, a short walk from Five Points. Counter service and no reservation, so the only thing to plan around is the line.

Open until 10 PM

The original Barista Parlor. Big space, good coffee. Grab a table and stretch the morning before heading out.

Wed to Sun, 8 AM to 2 PM · Walk-in coffee stop.

This is the hot chicken shop you're looking for. Just don't get it above medium on your first try. Trust us.

Open through dinner

Deep bins, genuine opinions. A good browse here can eat a loose afternoon.

Open until 8 PM · Check shop hours before heading over.

Memphis fried chicken on Dickerson. Get it spicy.

Lunch & dinner

A food hall with several kitchens. Grab a burger at Hugh Baby's, a gyro at Music City Gyros, or Vietnamese at Vui's. Useful when the group needs dinner without turning it into a reservation project.

Open through dinner · Counter-service food hall.

Hal Holden-Bache and Cara Graham opened this in a corner building in Lockeland Springs in 2012, and the James Beard Foundation nominated it for Best New Restaurant inside a year. Community Hour runs 4 to 6 with $7 snacks and drinks, and a cut of it goes to local school parent-teacher groups.

From 4pm, closed Sunday · Call ahead on busy nights.

Mas Tacos is an East Side staple. Order a lot, leave happy.

Tue to Sun, 11am to 9pm · Walk-in counter service.

Mitchell's IS Riverside Village. Relaxed, caring, neighborly. Here at The Rounds, we love the French dip, but we can't advise against anything else.

Daytime

Beachy cocktails and a loose patio. Good when you want the first stop social without getting too loud.

Late afternoon through late night · Great for groups; call ahead if needed.

A Texas-inflected East Nashville institution. The crunch wrap reigns supreme. The margs will get your day well underway.

Open late

Butcher counter and meat-and-three. A gem of the community. Roy will probably greet you himself, and will make you feel like you should move to the neighborhood.

Daytime

A relative newcomer to the East Side, Schulman's already feels like part of its fabric. Classic rock blaring, greasy eats cooking, and a neon-lit, smoke-filled back patio. Good for a quick bite during the day or an extended--and we mean extended--hang at night.

Open through dinner · Walk-in friendly; call ahead for larger groups.

Walk the Shelby Bottoms trailway. It is an easy place to lose an hour before a show.

Dawn to dusk

Sandwiches and fried things from the Turkey and the Wolf crew, now in East Nashville. You'll like the lights and the decor. You'll want to hang for a while. Get the burger.

Daytime through early evening

Ramen (try the tonkotsu!), izakaya snacks, and a deep Japanese whiskey list. Allow time for a seated meal.

Dinner hours · Call ahead on busy nights.

A record shop and bar on Gallatin. Browse, have a beer, stay for a show or walk across to Schulman's.

Wilburn is the neighborhood bar in McFerrin. Have a whiskey, talk about a whole lotta love or a whole lot of nothing. Stay long enough, and you may get some extra tunes.

Open late

No menu. Tell them what you like, they figure it out. Worth the detour.

Sun to Thu, 5pm to 2am. Fri and Sat, 4pm to 2am.

A small bar on Dickerson that gets quieter and better the later it gets. Go late.

Open late

The Coral Club feels like SoCal by way of Mars. The crowd looks the part. Their team makes good drinks, too.

Open late

The best burger spot in Nashville. Grab a bacon cheeseburger, special sauce, animal style fries. You'll be back.

Open late · Walk-in bar food.

Duke's is the bar of bars, our favorite in the whole city. The drinks are cheap and stout. The DJs hit every time. The bartenders and owners embody the closeness and creativity of this big small town.

Open late · Walk-in bar.

Tiki bar, kitsch, good punch drinks. Strange and easy. Good after a show.

Open late

Underneath Basement East. The after-show that requires no planning. You are already there.

Open late

Dark. Glowing red. Great jukebox. Pool, darts. Smoky patio. Need we say more?

Open late · Walk-in bar.

Five Points cocktail bar. Good drinks, open late. Stop here afterward.

Open late · Walk-in bar.

Riverside Village bar for one more stop without the debate about where to go.

Hang outside and have a beer. Take your time. Grab a pretzel, pet a dog. This is Riverside Village.

Open late