Plan

Daniel Lindley's five-time James Beard-nominated wood-fire kitchen in a 96-year-old barrel-roof warehouse, formerly a cotton bag plant. Mashed potatoes on every table. An 8-foot grill, a 28-foot bar. Less famous than Rolf & Daughters, equally good.

Dinner hours

The Germantown outpost. The Black Eye is the move: espresso dropped into drip coffee. Big and bright, with enough tables to settle into the afternoon.

Daytime through early evening

Tandy Wilson. Eight James Beard nominations. Won Best Chef Southeast in 2016. The belly ham pizza has been on the menu since they opened in 2007: pork belly brined and treated like prosciutto cotto. It's still the thing to order. The cornbread gnocchi, too.

Dinner hours

Julia Sullivan's Food & Wine Best New Chef 2018, James Beard nominee. The raw oyster program is the reason to start at the bar. The smoked mackerel toast and wood-roasted fish are worth knowing about. Polished without being stiff.

Dinner Tue through Sat, brunch Sat and Sun

Named for the cappelletti, 'little hats' in Italian. Descended from Alfresco Pasta, which fed Nashville for decades. The meatball sub and the sausage and peppers sandwich. Italian market, imported goods, great soup. Get here early.

Daily 11am to 8pm

Family-style Southern in a Victorian house in Germantown. You sit with strangers, the dishes rotate: fried chicken, country ham, biscuits, cornbread, green beans. One price, all-you-can-eat. Pass the dishes. A genuine Nashville ritual.

Daytime through early dinner

Food stalls, produce and local vendors. Easy place to spend an hour before heading out.

Daytime

Phil Krajeck's pastas are the reason Germantown has a food reputation. The cecamariti is the dish people talk about years after eating it: cultured butter, black pepper, cacio e pepe logic in fresh pasta form. James Beard semifinalist. One of the best restaurants in Tennessee.

Dinner hours

Direct-trade roaster on Taylor Street. They take origin trips. The flash-chilled coffee soda in summer. Minimalist, calm, closes at 4pm.

Daytime through early evening

Beer hall on Fourth and Monroe, with a courtyard out back. Kitchen runs to close.

Until 10pm

Death & Company opened this in the basement of the Neuhoff's Curve Building in May 2025, their 'unbuttoned, unpretentious younger sister.' Walk-ins only. Conversation pit, Bitter Melon Negroni. Nashville Scene's Best New Bar. Go.

Open late

Good cocktails, open till 2am daily. The name fits the city.

Daily til 2am

Big patio, fire pits, cabanas, comedy, karaoke and cheap beer. Easy place for a group.

Open late