276 Best Restaurants in Tennessee, USA

Authentic New York–style Italian food is the name of the game at Mangia Nashville, and they bring it to a new level with their reservation-only weekend Italian Feasts. With multiple courses served family-style to the table and lively Italian music playing in the background, don't be surprised if guests push back their chairs between courses to dance and sing along—spontaneous conga lines have been known to break out. The kitchen is particularly responsive to gluten sensitivities, so it's a great place for diners who share those concerns.

Big and bright, this newcomer food hall has room for a dozen vendors, ranging from vegan soul food to Korean fusion to street tacos. There's a bar, a coffee shop, and plenty of room to hang with friends.

In 2001, when Nashville native Margot McCormack brought her Culinary Institute of America/New York City café–pedigree back home to establish Margot Café, she sparked a food revolution that has since swept through East Nashville. Her local dining institution consistently offers a delightfully inconsistent menu, with Southern-influenced rustic Italian and French dishes served daily. Ingredients are seasonal and always fresh, and fish, chicken, and meat dishes are prepared in an accessible gourmet-meets-comfort-food style.

Southern seafood is no joke: where the Northeast focuses on lobster and clam, the South emphasizes fried Gulf oysters, shrimp, and gumbo. At Marsh House, they elevate these Southern staples to beautiful heights while also offering up a raw bar to behold and their signature seafood towers; now with daily brunch, you can choose a more low-key experience until 2 pm.

Burgers, beer, and pub food done right are the focus of this classic Sylvan Park establishment. Its brick interior feels vaguely European while the plant-filled outdoor patio looks out onto the neighborhood’s main business intersection.

Upscale regional food (described as "contemporary Southern") is served at this popular Downtown restaurant where the menu changes every two months.

It’s impossible to overstate how cozy this Irish pub is. There’s live music every night of the week, but on Friday and Saturday, you can catch the owner himself performing traditional Irish tunes with his band, Nosey Flynn. After dinner, Finn McCool's Giant Ice Cream Pie is an unbeatable treat, but you’ll need at least four people to finish a slice. Or, if you’re after something a little stronger, McNamara’s serves every Irish whiskey you can get in Nashville. If there’s a long wait downstairs, they also serve the full menu upstairs in the semi-secret sports bar.

As soon as you squeeze through the front door of Meridee’s Breadbasket, you’ll feel at home. The shelves are stocked with fresh-baked bread, and the cabinets are full of peanut butter pie and butterscotch bars. There are quilts on the walls and baskets hanging from the ceiling, helping the jumble of tables to feel more neighborly than crowded. The service is as charming as the setting: ask any employee which bread you should order with your chicken salad sandwich, and they'll discuss it with you for as long as you like.

If you love a decadent late breakfast or a sumptuous meal before heading out for a night on the town, then Midtown Cafe is the perfect place to stop for everything from soups to desserts. The café also offers diners a shuttle service to some of Nashville’s premier performing arts venues, including the Schermerhorn Symphony Center, TPAC, and Ryman Auditorium.

A downtown Nashville staple for many years, Mike’s reminds you of a classic 1950s soda parlor, complete with vintage murals. Featuring classics like perfectly dipped cones and tall sundaes covered in chocolate, it’s a great way to end a day walking around Downtown.

What started as a tiny coffee-and-gelato shop in nearby Chattanooga, Tennessee, is now a full-service restaurant serving up one of The Gulch's most extensive brunch and lunch menus, with savory options like the shareable shakshuka (eggs poached in a tomato sauce) to comforting breakfast hash bowls. Once known mainly for its gelato, the bakery has also blossomed over recent years with crowd-pleasing homemade Pop-Tarts, brioche cinnamon rolls, and fluffy croissants that pair perfectly with any of their specialty coffee drinks. This is a great pick for those who prefer to start their day with an unhurried and indulgent meal, but be prepared to wait for a table as it's first come, first served.

Diners flock to this two-story 1867 white-frame house (listed on the National Register of Historic Places) with a white picket fence to feast family-style at tables laden with Southern favorites like fried chicken, meat loaf, fried catfish, stuffed vegetables, and sliced tomatoes, along with corn on the cob, homemade biscuits, cornbread, pecan pie, lemon icebox pie, fruit cobblers, and strawberry shortcake. And, yes, the famous whiskey distilled nearby is used in some of the recipes. Dinner (that's lunch) is served at 11 am and 1 pm Monday–Saturday. An additional 3 pm seating is added most Saturdays April–Oct, but check the website before making your plans. Reservations are highly recommended.

For a melting pot of global flavors, head to Food Network–featured chef Brian Riggenbach's playful modern diner. Start with the famous tatchos (nachos with tater tots) and then take a short trip around with world with Filipino sisig (a pork dish that's a bit sour), Korean-style bulgogi steak, and barbacoa (slow-roasted short ribs) smothered in adobo. The brunch offerings are just as varied and fun, with an added bonus of some very refreshing cocktails. 

Focusing on Dominican, Puerto Rican, and Cuban cuisine, Mofongo Café is a popular destination for diners seeking the flavors of the Caribbean. There aren't many restaurants in town where you can find goat and oxtail, but Mofongo Café is known for those succulent meat dishes along with a long list of varieties of empanadas, tostones, mofongos, and seafood from the menu or off the buffet.

Much of the dining in Germantown is high-end and experimental, making longtime local favorite Monell's Dining and Catering a welcome dose of Southern comfort food, all served family-style. Visit for breakfast, lunch, or dinner to fill up on Southern favorites like skillet-fried chicken, home-style meat loaf, and delicious biscuits. Just be sure to save room for dessert.

With multiple bars ringing the dance floor and stage area, this is more of a \"beer-and-a-shot\" place where the focus is on the music. Enjoy bar bites while listening to old-school country from singer-songwriters and bands who play in the afternoons and evenings. The walls are adorned with 20th-century country album covers and promotional photographs of country's founding fathers (and mothers) like Vern Gosdin, Hank Williams, and George Jones. Maybe you'll discover the next star before they hit the big time.

For a neighborhood joint that takes diner fare to the next level, Nadeen’s balance of folksy and classy won’t disappoint. The rolls for their Philly cheesesteaks actually come from Philadelphia, and their biscuits are made fresh every morning.

This cozy family-owned coffee shop is much more charming than its strip mall locale might imply. The walls of the bright interior space are adorned with country music stars' promotional headshots and other bits of memorabilia to peruse while enjoying specialty coffee drinks made using locally roasted beans, bagels and croissants, or more substantial sandwiches during the lunch hour. Works by local artists hanging on the walls are also for sale.

A little inner child indulgence is encouraged at this playful ice cream shop that also serves up cocktails, boozy milkshakes, scoops and cones, espresso drinks, and eight different varieties of hot chocolate. Sundaes with toppings like brownies, marshmallows, and cinnamon rolls are the focus, and there's also a banana split with all the fixings. Quick breakfast bites are also available every morning.

Serving burgers nearly as big as their iconic neon sign, The Nations Bar & Grill keeps it real with substantial pub-style favorites that run the gamut from wings and Reubens to loaded tots and patty melts. Formerly an auto-repair shop, this no-nonsense neighborhood spot won’t leave anyone hungry or thirsty; just leave room for the daily fried hand pies.

Half café (pressed juices, coffee, and wraps) and half restaurant (tacos, burrito bowls, and a full bar), Nectar Urban Cantina is great whether you’re in a hurry or have more time to kill. Inside an updated Tudor-style house, they offer fresh Mexican-inspired cuisine in a bright casual space. If the weather’s nice, check out their beer garden and outdoor margarita bar.

Quality ingredients and uncommon preparations come together at Nicky’s Coal Fired for a unique pizza and Italian food experience. While coal-fired pizza is their specialty, Nicky’s also offers house-made pasta and delectable Italian desserts.

If your idea of homestyle Southern cooking includes entrées like chicken and dumplings, sugar-cured ham and turnip greens, or chicken-fried steak and mashed potatoes, you're in the right spot. The grains and grits originate next door at the mill that has been in continuous operation since the 1830s. Think about that while you're chewing a chunk of corn bread, or watching a baseball-size scoop of ice cream melt on top of a made-from-scratch pie while listening to an old-timer pick his guitar on the porch.

This Mexican bakery serves up fresh tres leches, bread pudding, cheesecake, and a host of other pastries so flaky you’ll get almost as much on your shirt as in your mouth. Grab a Mexican Coca-Cola to complete your sugary snack.

The original Hillsboro Village location opened in 1961, but this newer SoBro location brought the Pancake Pantry's signature scratch-made breakfasts—pancakes, omelets, and waffles—closer to the Downtown masses. Don't miss the irresistible homemade maple syrups; if you're not in the mood for breakfast, there are a range of sandwiches and salads, too.