Plan

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.

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

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.

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

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

Open late

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.

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

Open late

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

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

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

Open late · Walk-in bar.

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

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

Open late · Walk-in bar.

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

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

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.

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

Open late

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

The rooftop is the reason. Panoramic views of the Cumberland and Nissan Stadium, out over Riverfront Park, with retractable panels overhead. Best rooftop bar in Nashville per Nashville Scene readers. Sushi and Southern food on the same menu, which works better than it sounds.

Open late

Two dozen kitchens under one roof a block off Broadway. Useful when the group cannot agree or you need dinner without a reservation.

Open through dinner

Cocktail bar and restaurant at 218 3rd Avenue North, across from Printers Alley, in a building from the 1890s. The kitchen runs as late as the bar. Closed Sunday.

Until midnight, 1 AM Fri and Sat. Closed Sun

Bright downtown espresso bar that takes the coffee seriously. It closes at 6, so plan an earlier stop.

Open until 6 PM

A late bar at 210 Printers Alley inside the Dream Nashville hotel. Friday and Saturday only, 10 PM to 2 AM, with DJs rather than a band.

Fri and Sat, 10 PM to 2 AM

Local roaster Elegy's downtown counter, on the ground floor of an office tower on 4th Avenue North. Open 7 AM to 4 PM every day, so it works for a morning start or an afternoon break.

Open 7 AM to 4 PM daily

An English pub in the basement at 207 Printers Alley, with 14 beers on draft and a full food menu. It stays open later than almost anything else within walking distance.

Open until 1 AM, 3 AM Fri to Sun

All-day cafe on Rep. John Lewis Way North. Coffee from 7 AM, plus breakfast, lunch and dinner, with beer and wine. Table service and enough space to sit for a while.

Opens at 7 AM

Founded 1879 by the Hatch brothers. 145 years old and still running letterpress presses, some over 100 years old. Created posters for Earl Scruggs and Led Zeppelin. Now inside the Country Music Hall of Fame complex. Thirty minutes here earns whatever comes after.

Open until 5 PM

Opened in 2013 at 119 3rd Avenue South, built around Bill Miller's private collection of Cash artifacts. Open 9 AM to 7 PM daily, later than most museums downtown.

Open 9 AM to 7 PM daily

Layla Vartanian opened it in 1997, the only female-owned independent bar on Lower Broadway. While everything around it plays country radio, Layla's books bluegrass, hillbilly, rockabilly, Americana. Vintage license plates on the ceiling. Better drink prices than anything near it.

Open late

Old-school counter-service downtown. A simple, good ice cream stop.

Open daily

On the ground floor of the Municipal Auditorium at 401 Gay Street. It honors the session players and backing bands behind the records rather than the names on the label.

Mon to Sat, 10 AM to 5 PM

The main library at 615 Church Street reopened in March 2026 after a nine-month closure caused by a fire in the garage next door. Free to walk in. A permanent civil rights exhibit overlooks the corner of Church and 7th, where Nashville's 1960 lunch counter sit-ins were organized.

Mon to Fri 9 AM to 6 PM, Sat to 5 PM, Sun 2 to 5 PM

Opened in 2021 at Fifth + Broadway, tracing more than 50 genres and sub-genres that African Americans created or shaped. Admission is free on the first Wednesday of each month.

Open until 5 PM

A lawn and walking path in front of the Metro Courthouse at Union and 3rd, built on top of a parking garage. Fountains, an observation deck over the Cumberland, and benches. Free.

Open daily

Restaurant and bar with live music upstairs on weekends. A reliable sit-down dinner before a bigger show a few blocks away.

Open through dinner

Rooftop bar on top of the Noelle hotel at 200 4th Avenue North, looking out over the Cumberland and the AT&T tower. Draft and frozen cocktails. It closes at 10 PM, so it suits a show that ends early.

Open until 10 PM

The best honky-tonk on Lower Broadway. No cover. Whoever's playing is probably incredible.

Open late

Candy shop at 310 Broadway known for pralines and fudge. Open 9:30 AM to 10 PM every day, later than most of the shops on the strip.

Open 9:30 AM to 10 PM daily

222 Printers Alley, basement of the Southern Turf Building. Skull Schulman opened it in 1948. Elvis and Johnny Cash came through. Burlesque twice nightly Thursday through Sunday. Nashville's only downtown jazz lounge. The checkerboard stage is original.

Open late

A 38-seat diner at 107 3rd Avenue South themed around the Sun Records artists. Breakfast and lunch only, 7 AM to 3 PM every day.

Open 7 AM to 3 PM daily

Finished in 1859 to a design by William Strickland, who died during construction and is entombed in the north wall. Free guided tours run hourly on weekdays from the first-floor information desk. James K. Polk is buried on the grounds.

Mon to Fri, 9 AM to 4 PM

Six floors at 200 3rd Avenue South, with a menu that runs from breakfast plates to steaks, oysters and sushi. Each floor looks out over downtown.

Until 11 PM, 2 AM Fri and Sat

A cafe from Jean-Georges Vongerichten with its own street entrance at 6th and Union, inside the Hermitage Hotel, which opened in 1910. Barista bar and pastries in the morning, small plates and cocktails in the evening.

Open 6 AM to 9 PM daily

Dinner in an 1840s Italianate townhouse on Rosa L. Parks Boulevard. Prime steaks and seafood, Monday through Saturday from 5 PM. Reservations are worth making.

Mon to Sat, 5 to 9 PM

Three floors on Broadway at Fifth: a bar at street level, a supper club above it, and a rooftop on top. The rooftop is the reason to go.

Until 11 PM, 1 AM Fri and Sat

A trolley car parked here in 1931 and never left. The stage is hung with tinsel and old 45s, and the map by the bathroom is old enough to still show the Warsaw Pact. Betty Butts took it over in 2000 and charges bands no production fee, which is how it became home base for the noise and free-jazz players.

Until midnight daily · Walk-in dive; cash is safest and shows are rarely advertised.

Walk-up soft serve on Charlotte since 1951, renamed for Bobbie McWright when she bought it in the eighties. Harmony Korine shot the milkshake scene in Gummo here and the stand still looks the same.

Until 9pm Mon through Thu, 10pm Fri and Sat, 5pm Sun · Walk-up window; cash-friendly, seasonal hours.

Corner of 19th and Broadway, with more than 70 beers on tap and a Cajun-leaning menu. The bar runs to 3am daily; the kitchen stops at nine or ten.

Bar until 3am daily, kitchen until 9 or 10pm

132 acres on West End, open since 1903. Lake Watauga and the sunken garden are the walkable parts. The north side is fenced for construction through fall 2026, but the lake and garden paths stay open.

Sunrise to 11pm

Chuck Cinelli cooks his grandmother Lucia’s recipes, and his mother Joan comes in six days a week to check the kitchen still does it her way. Grocery in front, tables behind it. Bocce courts on the lawn.

Until 9pm Sun through Thu, 10pm Fri and Sat · Call ahead on busy nights.

On the National Register of Historic Places. Lynn Chandler opened it in 1939, taking over a soda fountain that had been on this block since the 1920s. Get the Dreamsicle: vanilla ice cream spun with orange juice and sherbet. Or the griddle burger with crinkle fries. Jimmy Buffett ate here after playing Exit/In.

Mon to Sat, 7:30am to 4pm. Sun, 9am to 3pm.

Hot chicken ordered by heat level, from Southern all the way to Shut the Cluck Up. This is the 19th Ave South location, the one closest to Music Row. The line is usually long and usually moves.

10:45am to 10pm, until midnight Fri and Sat

The 1957 studio on Roy Acuff Place where Elvis Presley, Dolly Parton, Waylon Jennings and Chet Atkins cut records. Tours run about 35 minutes. Tickets are sold only with Country Music Hall of Fame admission and the shuttle leaves from the museum downtown, so book ahead.

10:30am to 3:30pm daily

Burgers and a beer list longer than the food menu, in a bar about the width of a hallway. Two in the morning Thursday through Saturday.

Until midnight Sun through Wed, 2am Thu through Sat · Walk-in counter service, and it is a tight squeeze.

A steakhouse on Louise Ave that has been running since 1934. Doors open at four every day, so an early dinner is easy to get. Reservations are worth making.

From 4pm daily, until 8pm Sun

Pat Martin's whole-hog tradition from Henderson, Tennessee. Same operation as the original Nolensville spot. Brisket, ribs, pulled pork on Elliston Place, walkable from most of Midtown.

Open through dinner · Elliston Place location; verify hours before you go.

Open at 19th and West End since 1987. Southern cooking done as a sit-down meal, with breakfast and lunch on weekdays and dinner starting at 4:30. Valet parking is complimentary, which matters on this block.

Breakfast and lunch daily, dinner from 4:30pm

Built into the old boiler house of White Way Cleaners in Edgehill Village, with the 1920s coal hopper and smoke stack left in place. There is no sign. Look for the gold triangle off Edgehill Ave.

5pm to 1am daily

James and Louisa Green opened it in a converted Charlotte Avenue repair shop in 2020 and left the SERVICE DEPT. sign hanging over the bar. Cocktails and tacos, and the door stays open until two on weekends.

Until midnight Mon through Thu, 2am Fri and Sat, 11pm Sun · Walk-in bar.

Coffee bar on the ground floor of the Graduate hotel on 20th Ave N, a block off West End. Opens at 6:30 in the morning and runs to six. Espresso drinks, pastries, and enough table space to sit a while.

6:30am to 6pm daily

Division Street bar with a kitchen, open from eleven in the morning until three the next. Cheap and loud and reliably there when everything else has shut.

11am to 3am daily

Tex-Mex on 21st Ave S that has fed Vanderbilt students, hospital staff and Music Row for decades. Open until eleven six nights a week. Counter ordering, no ceremony.

11am to 11pm Mon to Sat, 11am to 5pm Sun

Ten acres of Gothic stone buildings at 19th and Grand, built for Scarritt College and now run as a conference and retreat center. The grounds are quiet and free to walk. Open weekdays only.

Weekdays 9am to 4pm

Indian cooking on 21st Ave N, with a lunch buffet from 10:30 to 2:30 and dinner service from late afternoon. Closed Tuesdays. Plan around that one day and it works the rest of the week.

Lunch and dinner, closed Tue

The building has been a bar since 1896, built as the barroom for the Tennessee Centennial Exposition. Speakeasy during Prohibition. The lore says Al Capone and Jimmy Hoffa both hid out here. Pool tables, pinball machines, bumper stickers floor to ceiling. Live music five nights a week. Just go.

Open late

Asian fusion on Church St with a bar that keeps going after the kitchen slows. Drag dinner runs Friday and Saturday nights and drag brunch on weekend mornings. Closed Mondays.

5pm to 10pm, until 11pm Fri and Sat, closed Mon

A neighborhood bar on 28th Ave N by Centennial Park, with a working stage. The easy pre-show drink when you don't want a plan.

Open through late

A full-scale replica of the Greek Parthenon standing in Centennial Park, with an art museum inside. Adult admission is $15. Last entry is well before closing, so go early in the afternoon.

9am to 7pm Mon to Thu, 9am to 4:30pm Fri and Sat, 12:30pm to 4:30pm Sun

Vanderbilt's art collection, housed in Cohen Memorial Hall on the Peabody campus at 21st and Edgehill. It reopened in September 2026 after a rebuild. Closed Mondays.

Tue to Fri 11am to 4pm, Sat and Sun noon to 5pm

In the old Café Coco space on Louise Ave, still pulling the Vanderbilt crowd. Coffee and Japanese comfort food until 3pm. Cocktails heavy on amaro Thursday through Monday from 5. Happy hour 5 to 7.

Dinner hours

Cash register, dart board, cheap beer. Ten minutes from Elliston and open until two-thirty every night of the week.

Until 2:30am nightly

Wendell Smith opened it in 1952 and died in 1967. His widow put son-in-law Jakie Cook in charge two years later, and Jakie is the one who turned it into a meat and three. Benji Cook runs it now with his sisters. The corner is named after the family.

Until 7:10pm Mon to Sat, closed Sun · Counter service, no reservations.

Nashville's art-house cinema since 1925. Independent, nonprofit, member-supported.

Evening showtimes

An antebellum house museum on the Belmont University campus, shown by guided tour. Tours run about an hour and cost $18 for adults. Last one goes out at 3:30.

Mon to Sat 10am to 3:30pm, Sun 11am to 3:30pm

Biscuits on Belcourt Ave, open 7am to 3pm every day. The Princess is a fried chicken biscuit with hot sauce and honey, and the Bonuts are fried biscuit dough. Expect a wait on weekends.

7am to 3pm daily

Opened on Belmont Blvd in March 1993 and still in the same spot, across from Belmont University. Breakfast is served all morning. Closes at five, so this is a daytime stop.

7am to 5pm daily

A 1927 lunch counter on Blair with a trailer bolted onto the back and the oldest beer license in Nashville hanging behind the bar. Cheeseburgers, cold beer, booths nobody has bothered to update. The kitchen stops around nine-thirty, so this is the stop you make on the way in.

7:30am to 9:30pm, 10pm Fri and Sat, 8pm Sun

Curtained booths on Belcourt Ave, each with its own screen and speakers, and a globally mixed menu. DJs play 9 to 1 on Friday and Saturday. Closed Mondays.

Until midnight Tue to Thu, 2am Fri and Sat, 10pm Sun

Known as Dragon Park for the 200-foot mosaic sea serpent that runs through it, built by artist Pedro Silva with volunteers. Tennis and basketball courts and a playground alongside. Open dawn to dusk on Blakemore Ave.

Dawn to dusk

Named after the pet shop sign that used to hang here. Bob Bernstein opened it in 1996, the Bongo Java people. You can sit three hours and not feel watched. One of Nashville's real third places.

Until 4pm daily

Burgers cooked to order with shakes and a beer list, on the 21st Ave S strip. Open until eleven on Friday and Saturday. Order at the counter and they bring it out.

Until 10pm Sun to Thu, 11pm Fri and Sat

Win and Patti Myint opened the original across the street in 1975. Their children Anna and Arnold reopened it at 2013 Belmont Blvd in 2021. It was a James Beard semifinalist in 2024 and carries Thailand's official Thai cuisine seal. Closed Sunday and Monday.

Lunch Wed to Sat, dinner Tue to Sat, closed Sun and Mon

Jeni Britton's ice cream, Hillsboro Village. Brown butter almond brittle or wildberry lavender. Two scoops. The afternoon is better for it.

Open daily

A small gallery inside Belmont's Lila D. Bunch Library on Belmont Blvd, with rotating shows of student, faculty and visiting work. Open seven days during the semester. Fifteen minutes is enough.

Mon to Fri 9am to 4:30pm, Sat 10am to 4:30pm, Sun 1pm to 5pm

Italian deli and grocery on Belcourt Ave, the fourth store after Germantown, Cool Springs and Gallatin. Sandwiches, soups and house-made pasta up front, dried pasta and fresh ravioli to take home. Closes at eight.

11am to 8pm Mon to Sat, 11am to 5pm Sun

Opened on Belcourt Ave in July 2026 and runs to 1am on weeknights and 3am on Friday and Saturday. Jerk shrimp tacos, oxtail grilled cheese, cocktails, and a covered patio. This is the late option in Hillsboro Village.

Until 1am Mon to Thu, 3am Fri and Sat, 11pm Sun

Started on Granny White Pike in 1983 and opened this 21st Ave S location in 1990. Slices, whole pies and calzones. Open until eleven on Friday and Saturday.

Until 10pm Mon to Thu, 11pm Fri and Sat, 9pm Sun

Clothing for men and women on the corner of 21st and Belcourt, open on this block for more than 25 years. Stocks a mix of national labels and smaller lines. Open until seven most days.

Mon to Sat 10am to 7pm, Sun noon to 5pm

Kettle-boiled bagels on Belmont Blvd with a long list of house cream cheeses. Sandwiches, lox boards, coffee. Daytime only, closing mid-afternoon.

Mornings through mid-afternoon

Counter-service tacos and margaritas on 21st Ave S, in the middle of the Hillsboro Village block. Order at the register, sit inside or out. Open until nine most nights.

11am to 9pm, until 8pm Sun

A 19-room boutique hotel in two restored 1920s Craftsman cottages that used to house Asylum Records and Spirit Music. LeBlanc+Smith, the Barrel Proof people. Gulf Coast cooking from Matt Regan, Tennessee whiskey cocktail program from Jason Sorbet. The least hotel-feeling hotel bar in Nashville.

7am to 10pm, 11pm Fri and Sat, 9pm Sun

Two levels on 21st Ave S, with a quieter dining floor below and a bar and patio upstairs. Happy hour runs 3 to 6 on weekdays and there is a DJ at weekend brunch. Closed Mondays.

Until 9pm Tue to Thu and Sun, 10pm Fri and Sat, closed Mon

Inside The Harpeth Hotel. 240-plus whiskeys in the keep, live music four nights a week. The quietest way to land in Franklin after a show.

Until 10pm

Named for I-55, the highway connecting Memphis to New Orleans. Jason McConnell grew up hauling horses down I-55 and fell in love with Delta and Gulf Coast cooking. Fried catfish and po'boys, shrimp and grits, all of it under corrugated metal and a gas station light fixture. Featured on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives.

Lunch & dinner

A cocktail club behind a hidden door on Main Street, reached from the alley through the back of Mellow Mushroom. Craft cocktails and shareable plates including a charcuterie board with house-pickled vegetables. Serves to midnight midweek and two in the morning on Friday and Saturday.

Tue to Thu 5pm to midnight, Fri and Sat 4pm to 2am, closed Mon

A farmhouse built in 1830 that stood in the middle of the Battle of Franklin on November 30, 1864. The standard guided tour runs an hour and costs $22, with longer tours covering the battlefield and the people enslaved on the property. The last tour starts at 4pm.

Mon to Sat 9am to 5pm, Sun 10am to 5pm

Steakhouse and wine bar on Main Street. Good wine list, dependable dinner when you want to sit and spend a bit. Jason McConnell's place. He also does Red Pony and 55 South nearby.

Dinner hours

A seaside Italian restaurant on Main Street with a third-floor rooftop bar, the only rooftop downtown. Oysters, tapas and cocktails. The rooftop takes no reservations and seats first come, first served.

Mon to Thu to 10pm, Fri and Sat to 11pm, Sun to 9pm

An art gallery in Clouston Hall, a house built in 1821 a block off Main Street. It represents more than 25 local and regional artists and also carries sculpture, art glass, jewelry and antiques. Free to walk through.

Daytime, closed Monday

The Gray's Drug Co. sign has been on Main Street since 1952. The building is from 1876. Michael and Joni Cole restored it in 2013. Original wood floors and tin ceilings, structural timbers left exposed. Southern food, live music upstairs on weekends. The right sit-down dinner in Franklin.

Tue to Sun dinner, live music upstairs Fri and Sat

Franklin-born roaster. Locals have been loyal since the start.

Open daily

A wine bar on the corner of Main Street and 2nd Avenue, pouring by the glass from self-serve machines. Happy hour runs Tuesday through Friday from four to six at 25 percent off the machines. Closed Sunday and Monday.

Tue to Thu 4pm to 10pm, Fri and Sat to 11pm

An independent bookstore in the Old Factory Store, a Greek Revival building from the 1820s that is the oldest commercial building still standing in downtown Franklin. More than 35,000 new, used and rare titles, including over 2,000 signed first editions.

Daily 9am to 7pm

A no-fuss Irish pub on Main Street. Pints, pub food. The easy pre-show drink in Franklin.

Open through late

Merridee Erickson started selling bread from a log cabin in Fairview in 1981, moved to this old hardware warehouse on 4th Avenue in 1984. Scratch breads, pastries, breakfast and lunch from 7am Monday through Saturday. Whatever you get, take your time.

Mon to Sat, 7 AM to 5 PM. Closed Sunday

Bread and pastries. The quiet Franklin daytime stop.

Daytime

A park across the Harpeth River from downtown with a one mile paved loop, joined to Main Street by the Sue Douglas Berry pedestrian bridge. A trail climbs from the park to Fort Granger, the Union earthwork that served as a command post during the Battle of Franklin in 1864.

Dawn to dusk

Tony Gemignani opened the first Tennessee location of Slice House on Main Street in April 2025. Four crusts are on offer, New York, Detroit, grandma and Sicilian, sold by the slice or as a whole pie, with craft beer and natural wine. An hour of parking is validated.

From 11am, closes 8pm most nights

Built in 1929 as a stove manufacturing plant. Magic Chef stoves came out of here. Now 83 tenants: restaurants, shops, a Broadway-style theater, a concert venue. The red brick and factory windows are preserved. Enough to fill some time before heading out.

All day

A 198 acre former horse farm a half mile north of Main Street. W. W. Harlin started it in 1933 and it produced Midnight Sun, the Tennessee Walking Horse stallion that took World Grand Championships in 1945 and 1946. Franklin bought the land in 2004 and opened it as a park in 2007. Walking trails, open fields and a four acre dog park.

Dawn to dusk

Open since 2005 in a Hillsboro Road strip center, with a ceiling shingled in beer tap handles they claim is a world record. Three in the morning, seven nights a week. Everything else in Franklin is dark by then.

Until 3am nightly · Walk-in bar, 21 and up.

Jonathan Waxman's restaurant in a converted automotive garage on McGavock, named for his mother. The wood-fired oven runs the menu and the JW Chicken is the dish people come back for. It is a sit-down meal, so give it time.

Lunch and dinner daily, kitchen closes around 10pm

James Beard American Classics winner since 2009. Cafeteria line since 1982: pick your meat, pick your three sides, pay cash. Kahlil Arnold runs it now. Monday through Saturday until 3pm, closed Sunday. Leave time to get where you’re going next.

Mon to Sat until ~3pm, closed Sun

A guitar store in the old Antiques building on 8th, with more than two thousand instruments on the floor. Vintage acoustics and electrics hang alongside new builds, and staff will hand you one to play. Players passing through town treat it as a stop in itself.

Mon to Fri 10am to 6pm, Sat and Sun 10am to 4pm

The 100 Layer Donut is the thing here, a croissant-dough donut cut into squares. There is also coffee and a few breakfast items. They close when the donuts run out, which happens some days before the posted time.

Mon to Fri 7am to 8pm, Sat and Sun 8am to 8pm, or until sold out

Built 1933 to 1934 as Nashville's main post office: cast aluminum doors and colored marble floors, Art Deco stonework throughout. Opened as an art museum in 2001. The building is worth the visit even without the exhibition. Closes at 5:30pm.

Thu to Mon, until 5:30 PM. Closed Tue and Wed

Po'boy bread flown in from New Orleans. The chicken and andouille gumbo is the anchor; the debris fries are worth knowing about. This is the real Cajun thing.

Open through dinner

A taproom on 12th with a long rotating draft list, mostly Tennessee and regional breweries. Pours come in flights or full pints and the staff will talk you through the board. Tables are communal and it stays busy late.

Until 11pm, midnight Thu to Sat

One of the most extensive Jamón Ibérico programs in the country. Get the bacon-wrapped dates, croquetas or pulpo. Dim lighting, marble and tile.

Dinner hours

The roof of the Thompson, open since the hotel was in 2016. Two hundred seats looking back at downtown. Doors at two on weekends, so it works after a matinee as well as after a late set.

Until midnight Sun to Thu, 1am Fri and Sat · Rooftop; the line builds on warm weekend nights.

Chef Julio Hernandez started making tortillas during the pandemic from his garage, masa milled from nixtamalized corn his family has grown in Tlaxcala for generations. James Beard semifinalist before the restaurant even opened. The tortillas are the whole deal. Get whatever's wrapped in one.

Dinner hours

$1.50 oysters at happy hour Monday through Friday, 5 to 7. Gulf Coast seafood with Brack May in the kitchen.

Dinner until 10pm

A small counter on 11th with espresso, drip, and a short pastry case. Seating is limited and turns over fast. Opens at six, so it covers an early afternoon as easily as a morning.

6am to 3pm daily

Ramen on Division, with tonkotsu and a few rotating bowls plus small plates. The counter seats fill first. They break between lunch and dinner on weekdays, so check the clock.

Mon to Fri 11am to 3pm and 4pm to 9pm, Sat and Sun 11am to 9pm

Carey Bringle named the restaurant after the leg cancer took when he was a kid. Texas Monthly called the dry-rub pork ribs the best Memphis-style in the country. That's the order. Don't skip the pimento cheese.

Open til close

Indoor mini golf on 12th Ave N with tracked scoring, plus a full bar and food. Courses run about an hour for a group. After nine on Friday and Saturday it is twenty-one and up.

Sun 11am to 10pm, Mon to Thu 11am to 11pm, Fri and Sat 11am to 1am

Tacos, tortas, and a long tequila list on McGavock. The patio faces the street and fills up on warm afternoons. Weekend service starts at ten in the morning.

Mon to Fri 11am to 10pm, Sat 10am to 10pm, Sun 10am to 9pm

A cocktail bar that moved to the fifth floor of the Bill Voorhees Building on 8th in May 2025. There are two menus, a short list and a long one running past a hundred drinks built up over seventeen years. The kitchen runs until midnight and the bar keeps going.

4pm to 2am daily, kitchen until midnight

A grocery with a hot bar, a made-to-order sandwich counter, and a small seating area at the front. You can put together a meal in ten minutes or shop for the week. It is the only full grocery in walking distance of the 12th Ave blocks.

Mon to Sat 7am to 9pm, Sun 8am to 8pm

Opened on Demonbreun in 2002 as a place for working musicians to land between gigs, and it still books a band every night with no cover. Nineteen other cities have one now. This is the original.

Until midnight Sun to Tue, 2am Wed, 3am Thu to Sat · Walk-in bar, no cover.

A bar tucked inside Goodfellas Pizzeria on Grundy, reached through the pizza counter. Cocktails and beer, low light, and pizza by the slice still available. It runs to three in the morning, later than almost anything else nearby.

Until 3am

European-style coffeehouse at 205 Demonbreun with a long pastry case and a full bar. Open from 8 AM until 9 PM, and to 11 PM on Friday and Saturday.

Open 8 AM to 9 PM, 11 PM Fri and Sat

The anchor of SoBro at 222 Rep. John Lewis Way South. Entry is timed in 15-minute slots and most visits run about two hours, so buy ahead if you are on a clock.

Open 9 AM to 5 PM daily

Deb Paquette's restaurant at 303 Demonbreun. She was the first woman in Tennessee to qualify as a certified executive chef. Lunch on weekdays, dinner from 4:30, closed Sunday.

Lunch weekdays, dinner from 4:30 PM. Closed Sun

The shop for the Goo Goo Cluster, first made in Nashville in 1912. Candy counter, dessert bar and hands-on classes at 116 3rd Avenue South.

Open 10 AM to 6 PM daily

Sean Brock opened this one in 2013 in a 19th-century house on Rutledge Hill, a few blocks south of Broadway. Southern cooking built around ingredients sourced in the region. Allow time for a seated meal.

Dinner from 5 PM, plus Saturday brunch

The 1909 Shelby Street Bridge, closed to cars in 1998 and reopened for walking in 2003. About 3,150 feet across the Cumberland to the East Bank, with the skyline on one side. Free and always open.

Open all hours

On the 27th floor of the Westin at 807 Clark Place, open to the public and not just hotel guests. Full bar and a food menu, with views in every direction.

Until midnight, 1 AM Fri and Sat

Ground floor of the Cambria hotel at 114 8th Avenue South, on the line between SoBro and the Gulch. Southern plates and a full bar, serving from 7 AM until midnight.

Until midnight, 11 PM Sunday

Indoor and outdoor space at 423 6th Avenue South shared with Yee-Haw Brewing. Moonshine and beer tastings, yard games, and counters from Prince's Hot Chicken and White Duck Taco Shop.

Until 10 PM, 11 PM Thu to Sat

Vintage bowling lanes from a 1950s Indiana Bowl-O-Rama. Handcrafted cocktails, dipping pools, a covered patio. A quieter stop once Broadway gets to be too much.

Open late

Brewery and beer hall at 809 Ewing Avenue with a kitchen that cooks with its own beer. Large enough to absorb a group without a reservation.

Until 10 PM, 8 PM Sunday

Ground floor of the Pinnacle building at 150 3rd Avenue South. Raw oysters, steaks and a long bar. The kitchen closes between 3 and 5 PM.

Lunch and dinner, closed 3 to 5 PM

Jack White's label storefront at 623 7th Avenue South, open since 2009. Vinyl, a novelties counter, and a restored Voice-O-Graph booth where you can cut your own record.

Open 11 AM to 6 PM daily

In-house roasting on 8th Ave. They close at six, so this one only works if you're already out.

Daytime through early evening

A bakery and cafe on 8th doing pastries, sandwiches, and coffee. There are a few tables inside and a counter to order from. It closes at seven most days, earlier on Sunday.

Mon to Sat 8am to 7pm, Sun 10am to 4pm

A diner named for Kevin Bacon's character in the 1982 film Diner, with 300 standing for a perfect bowling score and nodding to the Melrose Lanes that once occupied this strip. The bar was built from a repurposed bowling lane. Breakfast and lunch only, seven days.

Mon to Fri 7am to 2pm, Sat and Sun 7am to 3pm

A multi-dealer antique mall off 8th at Powell Place, with dozens of booths under one roof. A second building, GasLamp Too, sits a few doors down at 128 Powell Place. Furniture, jewelry, and small collectibles make up most of it.

Mon to Sat 10am to 6pm, Sun 12pm to 6pm

George Gruhn founded this guitar store in 1970 and it has been a reference point for vintage instruments ever since. Three floors of acoustics, electrics, mandolins, and banjos, with an appraisal and repair operation in back. You can ask to play almost anything on the wall.

Mon to Sat 10am to 6pm, Sun 12pm to 5pm

Hot chicken at the Melrose end of 8th, ordered by heat level from mild up through Shut the Cluck Up. There is a bar attached and a patio on the side. The line moves, and it runs later than most of the corridor.

Until 10pm, 11pm Fri and Sat

A French-leaning bakery and coffee counter on Craighead with croissants, quiche, and espresso. The space is small and mostly takeaway. Weekday hours run to four and Saturday ends at noon.

Tue to Fri 7:30am to 4pm, Sat 8am to 12pm

Biscuit sandwiches and coffee at the Melrose end of 8th. You order at the counter and they bring it out. Daytime only, closing at two on weekdays and three on weekends.

Mon to Fri 7am to 2pm, Sat and Sun 7am to 3pm

Architectural salvage on 8th: doors, hardware, mantels, and chandeliers pulled from buildings dating between the 1850s and the 1940s. Stock is arranged by type across a warehouse floor. Closed Sunday and Monday.

Tue to Sat 9am to 5pm

Twenty acres on the hill above 8th, built around a reservoir that city engineer J.A. Jowett designed in 1887 and finished in August 1889. The limestone walls stand about thirty-four feet and you can walk the full perimeter for a view over the south side. Courts, a playground, and picnic shelters sit on the lower ground, on the site of the Civil War earthwork called Fort Casino.

Dawn to dusk

A vintage and boutique guitar dealer that started in 1993 and moved to Nashville in 2016. The inventory leans toward rare electrics and small-batch builders. It is a quiet store with a handful of instruments out at a time.

Tue to Sat 10am to 5pm

Family-owned Thai in a tiny house-shaped building on 8th. The pad thai is the reason people wait. Get there when they open. Closed Sunday and Monday, so plan around it.

Lunch & dinner, closed Sun and Mon

A vintage store on 8th with clothing, furniture, records, and oddities spread across a deep floor plan. Prices are marked and the stock turns over weekly. Easy to lose half an hour in.

Mon to Sat 10am to 6pm, Sun 11am to 6pm

A vegetarian restaurant in a converted house on Azalea Place, open since 2012. The menu runs from black bean burgers to Indian and Mexican plates. Closed Sunday.

Mon to Thu 11am to 9pm, Fri and Sat 11am to 10pm, closed Sun

Cold-pressed juice, smoothies, and a short menu of bowls and wraps on 8th. Orders come out fast and most people take them to go. Opens at seven on weekdays.

Mon to Fri 7am to 6pm, Sat and Sun 8am to 4pm

Vietnamese on Bransford with rice plates, vermicelli bowls, and pho. You order at the counter and find a table. Open eleven to nine every day, which covers an early bill.

11am to 9pm daily

Pizza and a full bar on Lindell, off the 8th Ave corridor. Slices and whole pies, plus salads and a draft list. Closed Monday, open late the rest of the week.

Tue to Thu until 11pm, Fri and Sat until midnight, closed Mon

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

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

Until 10pm

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

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

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

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

Daily til 2am

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

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

Open late

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

The Opry Mills anchor store, with a large indoor aquarium, boat displays and a full floor of outdoor gear. Free to walk through and free to park. The fish tank is the reason to bring kids.

Mon to Sat 9am to 9pm, Sun 10am to 7pm

A German beer hall beside Opry Mills with more than 500 seats inside and another 120 in the outdoor biergarten. Long communal tables, German lagers by the liter, pretzels and schnitzel. Large enough to absorb a group without a reservation.

Mon to Thu 11am to 9pm, Fri and Sat to 10pm, Sun 10am to 8pm

A river-lodge restaurant on Music Valley Drive built around Tennessee outdoor cooking. Catfish, trout, ribs and steaks, with fried pickles and hushpuppies to start. Large enough to seat a group without much wait.

Dinner from 4pm

A free Dukes of Hazzard museum and gift shop run by Ben Jones, who played Cooter on the show. Inside are the tow truck, Daisy's Jeep, Rosco's patrol car and a 1969 Dodge Charger done up as the General Lee, plus costumes and props from the series. Twenty minutes covers it.

Daily 9am to 6pm

Vintage furniture, antiques and a flower counter in a Music Valley Drive strip center. Closed Monday and Tuesday, and the doors shut at 4 PM, so it only pairs with a daytime start.

Wed to Sun, 10 AM to 4 PM

An arcade and bar at Opry Mills, open to midnight most nights and two in the morning on Saturday. Games, a long bar and a full menu. Worth knowing because almost nothing else at Opry Mills serves past ten.

To midnight Sun to Thu, 1am Fri, 2am Sat

Nine acres of indoor gardens under glass, with waterfalls, winding paths and a 4.5 acre atrium that a flat-bottom riverboat runs through. Non-guests can walk the gardens for free. Park at Opry Mills and take the walkway to the Delta entrance to skip the resort parking fee.

Open daily, all day

Local ice cream on Music Valley Drive. Doors do not open until 4 PM on weeknights, so a weekday matinee is too early for it.

From 4 PM Mon to Thu, from 11 AM Fri to Sun

An independent espresso bar in a Music Valley Drive strip center. Locally roasted beans, bagel sandwiches and a rotating pastry case, with free parking out front. Live music on Saturday mornings from 10 to noon.

Mon to Fri 6am to 4pm, weekends 8am to 4pm

Family owned since 1993, serving Mediterranean and Greek plates from a counter inside Opry Mills. Gyros, kebabs, falafel and hummus, ordered at the register and out fast. The independent option in a mall otherwise full of chains.

Mon to Sat 10am to 9pm, Sun 11am to 7pm

Steaks cut in-house, scratch yeast rolls and a broad menu. Useful when a group wants an easy sit-down dinner on Music Valley Drive without turning it into a project.

Dinner hours

A Music Valley Drive bar that runs to three in the morning every night of the week, with a patio, pool tables and a kitchen that stays open. Wings, burgers and hot chicken, cheap beer, screens everywhere. One of the only places in Music Valley still serving after midnight.

Daily 11am to 3am

A 374 acre park where the Stones River meets the Cumberland. The Stones River Greenway runs eight miles west toward Percy Priest Dam and east over a pedestrian bridge to Shelby Bottoms. There is a disc golf course, a skate park and a dog park, and Two Rivers Mansion, the Italianate house David McGavock built in 1859, stands on the grounds.

Dawn to 11pm daily

It's Waffle House. Open always. No explanation needed.

24 hours

Josh Habiger's Wedgewood-Houston anchor. Michelin star, James Beard nominee, Food & Wine Best New Chef. The bar is walk-in. The 24-seat tasting menu is behind an iron door and needs a reservation.

A commercial gallery on Hagan Street showing contemporary painting, sculpture, and photography, with exhibitions that change roughly every six weeks. Admission is free and you can walk the whole space in fifteen minutes. Closed Sunday and Monday.

Tue to Fri 10am to 5:30pm, Sat 11am to 4pm

The largest inland stone fortification built during the American Civil War, on a hill south of the neighborhood. A half-mile blacktop path circles the fort, with about a quarter mile of boardwalk and twenty interpretive panels along the way. Leashed dogs are allowed and the grounds are free.

Grounds dawn to dusk, visitors center Tue to Fri 12pm to 4pm and Sat 9am to 4pm

Doug Havron named it after his daughter Gabriella. Opened 2009 in the building that used to be Hap Townes. Grass-fed beef, house-baked buns, milkshakes made with house-made syrups. Lunch only, closing around 2:30pm. A lunch stop before heading out later.

Lunch only, closes ~2:30pm

A taproom on Houston Street with twenty-nine taps, covering the brewery plus guest pours and cocktails. Happy hour runs four to six. Closed Monday, and weekend service starts at noon.

Tue to Thu 4pm to 10pm, Fri and Sat 12pm to 10pm, Sun 12pm to 7pm, closed Mon

Wood-fired tacos and a rooftop with margaritas, a few minutes from GEODIS Park.

A bar in a former welding shop on Houston Street, opened by brothers Jamie and Bryan Kenney. Cocktails and beer under high ceilings, with a patio out back. It runs to two most nights and three on Saturday.

Mon to Fri 4pm to 2am, Sat 12pm to 3am, Sun 2pm to 2am

Elmer 'Santa' Irwin built this karaoke bar inside a double-wide trailer on Bransford Ave and hung Christmas lights that never came down. He died in September 2025 at 75; his grandson Riley runs it now. Cash, beer only, and no cursing on the mic. Those were his rules and they still stand. Ed Sheeran and Kacey Musgraves both sang here. Open Wed to Sun from 4pm.

Wed to Sun, 4pm to 3am

An LGBTQ+ bar on Martin Street, open since 2005. Cheap drinks, a patio, and a crowd that spans the neighborhood. It runs to three in the morning every night.

Until 3am daily

Pizza and rotisserie chicken from restaurateur Sam Fox, in Hill Center on Hillsboro Pike. Full bar, happy hour 3 to 6 on weekdays. Kitchen runs to ten on Friday and Saturday.

Until 9pm Sun to Thu, 10pm Fri and Sat

Norman Fox opened it in 1973. The original sign came from a Memphis franchise and still hangs outside. For the 50th anniversary they sold glazed for 25 cents, the 1973 price. Get the glazed.

Daily 5am to 9pm

Mediterranean counter service further down Hillsboro Pike, south of the mall. Gyros, kebabs, falafel and a vegetarian menu. Closed Sundays and shuts at eight the rest of the week.

11am to 8pm Mon to Sat, closed Sun

Ann Patchett opened this in 2011 because independent bookstores kept closing and she could not stand it. National authors make it a tour stop, with hundreds of events a year. The shop dogs are a feature.

Mon through Sat 10am to 6pm, Sun noon to 6pm

Sixteen screens off Hillsboro Pike behind the mall, with reserved reclining seats. First showings start around eleven in the morning. It runs the wide releases rather than repertory.

11am to 11:30pm daily

Chef Victor Albisu's taqueria in Hill Center on Hillsboro Pike. Opens at eight for breakfast tacos and runs through dinner with a full bar. Tortas and quesadillas alongside the tacos.

8am to 9pm, until 10pm Fri and Sat

A bar built inside an actual greenhouse on Bandywood Dr, plants overhead and all. Happy hour pricing runs all day. It is open until three in the morning Thursday through Sunday, which nothing else out here is.

Until 1am Mon to Wed, 3am Thu to Sun

Hand-patted burgers, hand-battered tenders and a long bourbon list, a half mile up Hillsboro Pike from the Bluebird. Open since 2004 and unrelated to the other Corner Pubs around town, which is why this one is the Original.

Until midnight Mon to Thu, 1am Fri and Sat, 10pm Sun · Walk-in pub; the Hillsboro Pike location.

Coffeehouse on Granny White Pike across from Lipscomb University, with a stage in back that gets used most weeks. Opens at six on weekdays. Closes at five, so it is a daytime stop.

6am to 5pm weekdays, 7am to 5pm weekends

Amy found a decaying old beer joint behind a donut bakery and sex toy shop in then-undiscovered Madison and kept the plywood floors. Margo Price and Elizabeth Cook were early regulars. Frozen drinks and Frito pie in a 70s country lounge. Fri and Sat till 3am. The best bar in Madison.

Mon to Thu til 1am, Fri and Sat til 3am

Reliable, affordable Mexican on Gallatin Pike. No pretense, no wait on most nights. Locals eat here constantly.

Lunch & dinner

A Greek and Mediterranean counter on Gallatin Pike that runs to two in the morning. Gyros, falafel, kebab plates and fries, ordered at the register. Food, not a scene.

Daily 10am to 2am

Madison's community coffee house, open on Gallatin Pike since 2021. Espresso, drip and pastries, tables you can sit at for a while, and a counter that stays open until eight on weekdays.

Mon to Fri 6:30am to 8pm, weekends from 7am

Chriss Goyenechea named it after his kids Mae and Max. Full Filipino market and restaurant in Madison. Chicken adobo, sisig, lumpia, palabok, sweet longanisa. All-you-can-eat buffet with live music every Friday and Saturday. A real find on Gallatin Pike.

Lunch & dinner

Kava is a root from the Pacific Islands, ground and mixed with water. Mildly sedative, earthy, non-alcoholic. Nashville's kava lounge: Victorian aesthetic, 21+, open 8am to 2am every day of the year. Live music Monday and Tuesday, trivia Wednesday, karaoke Thursday.

Daytime through evening

New York style 18-inch pies in the old Sir Pizza building on Gallatin Pike, with toppings like pistachio pesto and lamb flank. Indoor bar seating and an outdoor patio with picnic tables. A long nonalcoholic list, including mocktails.

Tue to Sat 11am to 8pm, Sun noon to 5pm

Texas-style barbecue on Gallatin Pike, served from a counter until it sells out. American wagyu brisket and salt-and-pepper ribs are the reason to come. It is listed in the Michelin Guide, it takes no reservations, and it closes at three.

Wed to Sun 11am to 3pm or until sold out

Newer Gallatin Pike bar. Beer, cocktails, easy.

Open late

Darek Bell and Andrew Webber opened Corsair in 2010, Nashville's first distillery since Prohibition. Guided tasting of five spirits in what they call a 'bootlegger-style' setup. Taproom and bottle shop on site.

Afternoon through evening

Summer and Jake opened Dead End Records for metal and punk vinyl: doom, death metal, hardcore, everything that makes parents nervous, hand-selected. Cassettes, CDs, art, monthly markets. Open Wed to Mon, 11 to 6.

Daytime through evening

Coffee in the morning, cocktails at night, inside Marathon Village. Wednesday and Thursday 3 to 10, Friday through Sunday 10 to midnight.

Wed to Thu 3pm to 10pm, Fri to Sun 10am to midnight

Small-batch roasted coffee inside Marathon Village. Lattes, baked goods. The morning stop.

Daytime

Charles Nelson, a German immigrant, founded this in 1867. At its peak in 1885, the largest sour mash producer in Robertson County. DSP-TN-5, an older federal distillery number than Jack Daniel's TN-7. Shut down in 1909 when Tennessee enacted state Prohibition. His great-great-great-grandchildren reopened on November 23, 2014. Tours and tastings, with a cocktail bar.

Afternoon through evening

A coffee shop on Lebanon Pike that opens at 6 AM and runs to 8 PM Monday through Saturday. Espresso, drip, pastries, and tables to sit at. Closed Sunday.

Mon to Fri 6am to 8pm, Sat 7am to 8pm, closed Sun

Tennessee beer and comfort food next to the Donelson library, a couple of minutes off Old Lebanon Road. There is a covered patio. Open to midnight Thursday through Saturday, and closed Monday.

Tue and Wed 11am to 10pm, Thu to Sat 11am to midnight, Sun 10am to 10pm, closed Mon

A Mexican kitchen on McGavock Pike, about a mile away. It starts serving at 7 AM on weekdays, so breakfast, lunch, and dinner all work here. It closes at 3 PM on Sunday.

Mon to Thu 7am to 9pm, Fri 7am to 10pm, Sat 8am to 10pm, Sun 8am to 3pm

A Donelson deli and bar serving until two in the morning, about ten minutes south of Music Valley. Sandwiches, wraps, tacos and burgers from the kitchen, a full bar, and Bongo Java coffee if you want the other direction.

Until 2am nightly

Donelson's only craft brewery, open since March 2020, about ten minutes south of Music Valley. Beer brewed on site alongside pizzas that run to coconut curry chicken and shaved ribeye with truffle fries. Edgar Pendley, a co-owner of Urban Grub in 12South, is behind it.

Daily from 11am, to 9pm most nights and 10pm Fri and Sat

Kurdish and Turkish cooking in the Elysian Plaza shopping center, a third of a mile up the pike. Kebabs, flatbreads, and lentil soup from 11 AM. The kitchen closes at 8:30 PM on weeknights and 9 PM Friday through Sunday.

Daily 11am to 8:30pm, Fri to Sun to 9pm

A family-owned international grocery open since 1995, under a mile down the pike. The aisles run Latin American, South Asian, Middle Eastern, and East Asian, and there is a fresh seafood counter. Open 8:30 AM to 8 PM every day.

Daily 8:30am to 8pm

A Mexican panaderia and pasteleria a mile down the pike. Pan dulce, cookies, sweet breads, whole cakes, and tres leches by the slice. Open 6 AM to 9 PM every day of the week.

Daily 6am to 9pm

An Indian street food counter a half mile north on the pike. The menu is entirely vegetarian and built around snacks and vegetable sandwiches. Closed Mondays.

Tue to Sun 11am to 9pm, closed Mon

A taqueria a mile north on the pike that runs 24 hours. Tacos and tortas ordered at the counter, cash-friendly and fast. It is open whenever you get out.

Open 24 hours

A sports bar on Charlotte Pike with a long craft beer list and games on. The kitchen closes at 10 PM Sunday through Thursday and 11 PM Friday and Saturday, and the bar serves until 3 AM every night.

Bar daily 11am to 3am, kitchen to 10pm and 11pm Fri and Sat

A Mexican restaurant on the far west end of Charlotte Pike, out past White Bridge. Full sit-down menu from 11 AM, and the kitchen runs to 10 PM every night and 10:30 PM on Friday and Saturday.

Daily 11am to 10pm, Fri and Sat to 10:30pm

A Korean restaurant in a strip on Charlotte Pike, about two and a half miles east. Lunch and dinner from 11 AM. It is closed Thursday and Sunday, so check the day before you drive over.

Mon to Wed 11am to 9pm, Fri and Sat 11am to 9:30pm, closed Thu and Sun

A coffee bar on Charlotte Pike with baked goods and a short beer and wine list alongside the espresso. It opens at 7 AM and stays open to 9 PM Thursday through Sunday.

Mon to Wed 7am to 5pm, Thu to Sat 7am to 9pm, Sun 8am to 9pm

TailGate's original location, opened in 2014 in a former Moose Lodge on a seven-acre site a mile west. Scratch pizza, a large outdoor area, and a covered barn. Open to 9 PM most nights and 10 PM Friday and Saturday.

Sun to Thu 11am to 9pm, Fri and Sat 11am to 10pm

Andrew Jackson's plantation home, about two miles northeast on Rachel's Lane. Admission covers the museum and film, the grounds, the garden and the family cemetery, and an audio tour of more than 20 historic buildings. Last tickets sell at 4 PM.

Daily 8:30am to 5:30pm

A small specialty coffee bar on Lebanon Pike with espresso drinks and pastries. It opens at 6 AM on weekdays and closes at 3 PM every day, so it covers an early start or a midday break.

Mon to Fri 6am to 3pm, Sat and Sun 8am to 3pm

A scratch kitchen and cocktail bar on Lebanon Pike. Open Wednesday through Sunday from 8 AM to 9 PM, which covers breakfast through a late dinner.

Wed to Sun 8am to 9pm

Hibachi tables and a sushi bar in the strip on Lebanon Pike, a minute's drive away. The kitchen runs from 11 AM to 9:30 PM most nights and to 10 PM on Friday and Saturday.

Daily 11am to 9:30pm, Fri and Sat to 10pm

Burgers and craft beer on 8th Ave, open late.

Open late

Founded 1944, in the basement of the Melrose building. Opens at four, which leaves time for a game and a cheap drink first.

Opens at 4 PM, open late

Cold beer, neighborhood crowd, Gallatin Pike. Nothing fancy.

Open late

The Inglewood outpost of the local burger chain. Same formula: burgers, craft beer, open through late.

Open late

A cafe at the old depot just off the public square, two miles east. It opens at 6 AM every day and serves plate lunches and diner food until 8:30 PM Sunday through Thursday, 9 PM Friday, and 8 PM Saturday.

Daily from 6am, closing between 8pm and 9pm

A coffee shop on Watertown's public square, two miles east, formerly called The Adopted Farmhouse. They bake sourdough daily and make paninis and breakfast sandwiches on their own bread. Open 6:30 AM to 5 PM Monday through Saturday.

Mon to Sat 6:30am to 5pm, Sun 7am to 1pm

A bar on Thompson Lane with a big patio, cornhole, and a rotating food setup. Drinks are beer, seltzer, and simple cocktails. It is one of the few places on this side open past eleven.

Tue to Thu until 11pm, Fri to Sun until midnight

Nashville's last songwriter bar on Music Row. Six owners, three locations, nearly a century. Now at 9 Music Square South, the only live music venue left on the Row. Pick-and-sing nights. The real thing.

Open late