Venice’s Best-Kept Dining Secrets
Escape the iconic Italian city’s crowds at coffee shops on quiet canals and taverns serving cicchetti to gondoliers.
WHEN I MOVED to Nashville from New York City in 2014, my knowledge of Southern cuisine mainly came from the movies of my youth: bleeding armadillo red velvet cake and fried green tomatoes. I had no idea what a “meat-and-three” was, or why people kept calling their chicken “hot.” Now initiated, I know that a “meat-and-three” is a counter-order soul-food spot where you choose your protein and three sides, and that hot chicken is, well, very spicy.
An influx of coastal transplants in recent years to an already-flourishing food scene has fueled the rapid growth of the city’s restaurant industry. Nashville’s proximity to exceptional farms has yielded a preponderance of farm-to-fork restaurants with ever-changing, yet reliably dynamic, menus.
I’ve assembled a diverse list of appetizing options from the upscale to the utterly informal — variety being my requisite in dining. Not just a town of cowboy crooners and wobbly bachelorettes, Nashville offers cuisine as varied as my palate. The city’s spirit of hospitality — exemplified in all of my recommendations below — is something I value wherever I go.
Breakfast and Brunch
Crema
A premium third-wave coffee roaster
Carbon neutral, zero waste, transparently sourced beans — but most importantly, Nashville’s best cup of coffee. Crema’s main location is downtown with a secondary small outpost in East Nashville, but their in-house beans are served in half the esteemed restaurants on this list. My go-to choices:...
Carbon neutral, zero waste, transparently sourced beans — but most importantly, Nashville’s best cup of coffee. Crema’s main location is downtown with a secondary small outpost in East Nashville, but their in-house beans are served in half the esteemed restaurants on this list. My go-to choices: a Rancho Carmen Ecuadorian pour-over and the avocado toast, which is perfectly balanced with goat cheese and red pepper flakes. Snag a bag of whole beans for an energizing Nashville talisman or a lovely gift.
Dozen Bakery
Come for the bread, stay for the pies
Located in the Wedgewood-Houston neighborhood, Dozen boasts the best loaf in Nashville, and I have driven across town using important “meetings” as a guise to buy their exquisite salted chocolate chip cookies. Their lemon lavender pie is a sleeper hit to bring to a party (even a party of one)....
Located in the Wedgewood-Houston neighborhood, Dozen boasts the best loaf in Nashville, and I have driven across town using important “meetings” as a guise to buy their exquisite salted chocolate chip cookies. Their lemon lavender pie is a sleeper hit to bring to a party (even a party of one). They’re open until 2 p.m., and their salami sandwich on pitch-perfect baguette with a (Crema) latte makes a killer lunch. Extra points for one of my favorite powder rooms in the city, thanks to the playful custom wallpaper from local designers New Hat.
Proper Bagel
A friendly and chic NYC-style bagel utopia
Just as it sounds: this is a legit bagel spot and a bit of a unicorn to find anywhere outside of New York City. Unsurprisingly, the business was started by a family of born-and-bred (get it?) New Yorkers. Their garlic-rosemary and egg breakfast sandwich served with applewood bacon, roasted...
Just as it sounds: this is a legit bagel spot and a bit of a unicorn to find anywhere outside of New York City. Unsurprisingly, the business was started by a family of born-and-bred (get it?) New Yorkers. Their garlic-rosemary and egg breakfast sandwich served with applewood bacon, roasted garlic, and rosemary cream cheese is the perfect morning salve after a late night out. I usually order a scooped-out spinach everything bagel with their classic chicken salad and honey mustard. Grab a Crema cold brew and a table in their sun-drenched minimalist dining space.
Cafe Roze
A stylish and laid-back all-day cafe
Hands down, I’ve logged more hours at Cafe Roze than every other restaurant in Nashville combined. Chef Julia Jaksic (formerly of New York’s Employees Only and Jack’s Wife Freda) created a laid-back, yet thoughtfully designed space. I typically order the green goddess salad with seared salmon and...
Hands down, I’ve logged more hours at Cafe Roze than every other restaurant in Nashville combined. Chef Julia Jaksic (formerly of New York’s Employees Only and Jack’s Wife Freda) created a laid-back, yet thoughtfully designed space. I typically order the green goddess salad with seared salmon and sip on a Roze latte (topped with tiny dried rose petals), while my daughter inhales what we both agree are the best french fries in town. The bar is always happening with lattes and turmeric steamers by day and memorable cocktails like “The Devil You Know” (which has bell pepper-infused tequila, lime, fennel liqueur, agave, and bitters) at night. Their sister spot, Roze Pony in the Belle Meade neighborhood, is a slightly more upscale location — the brasserie to Roze’s bistro.
Lou
Romantic Cali-Parisian dining with a natural wine bar
Lou is one of my favorite date-night spots, but the consensus among my friends is that brunch is the restaurant’s best meal. Perhaps it’s because they serve “breakfast wine” to accompany delectable chocolate maple and buckwheat pancakes or an enticing chorizo, pecorino, and egg breakfast sandwich...
Lou is one of my favorite date-night spots, but the consensus among my friends is that brunch is the restaurant’s best meal. Perhaps it’s because they serve “breakfast wine” to accompany delectable chocolate maple and buckwheat pancakes or an enticing chorizo, pecorino, and egg breakfast sandwich (great for sharing). Located in a 1930s Craftsman house in East Nashville with a heated, moody covered patio, Lou is the kind of place I step into and immediately feel 50% sexier. Chef Mailea Weger, a Californian by way of Paris, has recently returned to France from Nashville to open a new location of Lou in the 11th Arrondissement in Paris.
Lunch
Prince’s Hot Chicken Shack
A stone classic, unsurpassed
The birth story of this Nashville staple is as fiery as its flavor: In a fit of jealousy, Thorton Prince’s girlfriend sought to punish him for a late night out by over-peppering and -spicing his fried chicken. The plan backfired. Nearly a hundred years later, hot chicken is now as ubiquitous in...
The birth story of this Nashville staple is as fiery as its flavor: In a fit of jealousy, Thorton Prince’s girlfriend sought to punish him for a late night out by over-peppering and -spicing his fried chicken. The plan backfired. Nearly a hundred years later, hot chicken is now as ubiquitous in Nashville as cowboy boots. I always direct visitors to the casual counter-service mothership where those with brave palettes will find ultra-hot fried chicken. The recipe is a secret, of course.
Big Al’s Deli
A memorable meat-and-three with a personal touch
A classic Nashville meat-and-three run by soul-food maestro Al Anderson. It’s like eating at your favorite uncle’s house, if your uncle’s love language is fried catfish. Open for breakfast and lunch and serving takeout for dinner, menu standouts include Al’s heaping french toast platter and the...
A classic Nashville meat-and-three run by soul-food maestro Al Anderson. It’s like eating at your favorite uncle’s house, if your uncle’s love language is fried catfish. Open for breakfast and lunch and serving takeout for dinner, menu standouts include Al’s heaping french toast platter and the jerk chicken. Okra rice, turnip greens, and green beans are my recommended “three.” Tucked into an unassuming building in the Germantown neighborhood, the unpretentious interiors and charismatic owner create a very “old Nashville” vibe. Expect to sit among an eclectic mix of customers, from construction workers to lawyers, on their lunch break.
Xiao Bao
A trendy Asian-inspired noodle and bun spot
Initially serving Nashville out of a trailer parked at The Dive Motel, this delightful noodle and bun spot has graduated to an East Nashville location that feels like a retro diner married a hip dim-sum restaurant. Owners Duolan Li and Joshua Walker, drawing from their extensive travels in Asia...
Initially serving Nashville out of a trailer parked at The Dive Motel, this delightful noodle and bun spot has graduated to an East Nashville location that feels like a retro diner married a hip dim-sum restaurant. Owners Duolan Li and Joshua Walker, drawing from their extensive travels in Asia as well as Li’s Chinese heritage, have created a short but powerful menu where you can order one of everything. I love the biang biang hand-pulled noodles and okonomiyaki (add an egg) for lunch. The festive reflective party room lined with red banquettes, an expansive red illuminated bar, and a dynamic cocktail list ensures that dinner is as gratifying as lunch.
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Dinner
Locust
An award-winning restaurant where the chefs are your servers
Named Food & Wine’s Restaurant of the Year in 2022, Locust started as a dumpling and noodle popup and has evolved into a highly coveted, hard-to-pigeonhole restaurant with a constantly rotating menu and very limited hours (this experience must be planned months in advance, folks). Chef Trevor...
Named Food & Wine’s Restaurant of the Year in 2022, Locust started as a dumpling and noodle popup and has evolved into a highly coveted, hard-to-pigeonhole restaurant with a constantly rotating menu and very limited hours (this experience must be planned months in advance, folks). Chef Trevor Moran, hailing from another celebrated Nashville eatery, The Catbird Seat, and the illustrious Noma Copenhagen, has created a space where the Melvins are blasting from the speakers, the kitchen staff enthusiastically greets you from the open kitchen as you walk in, and — in lieu of waitstaff — all service is performed by the cooks themselves. The menu is rarely more than ten items long; standouts are the tuna cracker and beef tartare, with the critical option to add “too much caviar.”
Awash
Stellar authentic Ethiopian fare
There are but two choices to make — and no menu — at this tiny, unpretentious Ethiopian restaurant: vegetarian or meat. Zewditu “Zee” Dullo, the chef and owner, then presents your party with a platter of steaming injera topped with a variety of traditional Ethiopian dishes. Located on...
There are but two choices to make — and no menu — at this tiny, unpretentious Ethiopian restaurant: vegetarian or meat. Zewditu “Zee” Dullo, the chef and owner, then presents your party with a platter of steaming injera topped with a variety of traditional Ethiopian dishes. Located on Murfreesboro Pike, which is lined with dozens of international restaurants, Awash feels like a portal to another place and is easily one of my favorite spots in Nashville.
Slim & Husky’s
A neighborhood pizza spot
Started by three North Nashville-raised friends (one “slim,” the other two “husky”), their gourmet-style pizzas at their original North Nashville location were initially so popular that people queued up for an hour-long wait. Additional locations have since remedied the issue. Part of the fun is...
Started by three North Nashville-raised friends (one “slim,” the other two “husky”), their gourmet-style pizzas at their original North Nashville location were initially so popular that people queued up for an hour-long wait. Additional locations have since remedied the issue. Part of the fun is watching your pizza being made and then traveling through their unusual conveyor-belt oven. I like the Smokin’ Herb, featuring white sauce, spinach, mushrooms, and onions (with optional smoked chicken or salmon) — and be sure to add the balsamic molasses drizzle.
Drusie & Darr
Dining and a delightful afternoon high tea at the historic Hermitage Hotel
This is Michelin-starred chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten’s foray into Southern cuisine. Located in the famed Hermitage Hotel and named for the longtime hotel manager’s children, Drusie and Darr Hall, who grew up in the hotel in the 1960s, the restaurant opened in 2022 in concert with a massive...
This is Michelin-starred chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten’s foray into Southern cuisine. Located in the famed Hermitage Hotel and named for the longtime hotel manager’s children, Drusie and Darr Hall, who grew up in the hotel in the 1960s, the restaurant opened in 2022 in concert with a massive refresh of the property. Drusie & Darr is open from breakfast to dinner (and services all the in-room dining for The Hermitage). Dinner feels sophisticated and indulgent. I recommend the peppercorn-crusted beef tenderloin and passion fruit-baked Alaska. Bringing my daughter to the weekend tea service was one of the most enchanting mother-daughter dates we’ve ever enjoyed.
Bastion
Half boisterous bar, half tasting menu treasure
Bastion is the extroverted introvert of establishments: raucous bar in the front, upscale 24-seat tasting-menu restaurant in the back that is accessed through a hidden door. Chef Josh Habiger’s celebrated, ever-changing a la carte menu has included dynamo dishes such as the raw red snapper with...
Bastion is the extroverted introvert of establishments: raucous bar in the front, upscale 24-seat tasting-menu restaurant in the back that is accessed through a hidden door. Chef Josh Habiger’s celebrated, ever-changing a la carte menu has included dynamo dishes such as the raw red snapper with habanero and watermelon, and pork coppa with squash and sassafras. While dinner reservations are required, the laid-back bar features creative cocktails and a single menu item: the best nachos in town.
Rolf and Daughters
Farm-fresh food in a lively setting
Both of Philip Krajeck’s restaurants (see Folk, below) belong in my top picks for best dinner in Nashville. Rolf and Daughters, in Germantown, has a constantly changing menu driven by local agriculture. Long-standing favorites include the housemade sourdough bread with seaweed butter and the...
Both of Philip Krajeck’s restaurants (see Folk, below) belong in my top picks for best dinner in Nashville. Rolf and Daughters, in Germantown, has a constantly changing menu driven by local agriculture. Long-standing favorites include the housemade sourdough bread with seaweed butter and the divine heritage pork ragu. Rolf’s long communal table and festive outdoor patio make for lively group meals, but the attractive bar, exposed brick walls, and perfectly diffused lighting lure couples of all ages.
Folk
Innovative seafood and pizza with sleek decor
East Nashville’s Folk feels breezy and Scandinavian comparatively, but no less alluring. High-ceilinged and brimming with greenery and honey-colored wood paneling, Folk is known for its pizzas, but its innovative seafood is not to be missed, such as the trout with beech mushrooms and smoked...
East Nashville’s Folk feels breezy and Scandinavian comparatively, but no less alluring. High-ceilinged and brimming with greenery and honey-colored wood paneling, Folk is known for its pizzas, but its innovative seafood is not to be missed, such as the trout with beech mushrooms and smoked yogurt. Folk’s inviting marble bar features playfully named cocktails (“Jon Lawrence Is a Good Dude,” made with Chattanooga 91, pommeau, Pimm’s No. 1, and cherry vanilla bark) and an extensive wine list that includes sparkling and skin-contact options. No visit feels complete without a bite of their (now famous) clam white pizza.
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Our Contributors
Ivy Elrod Writer
Ivy Elrod is a multidisciplinary creative living in Nashville, Tennessee. Her writing has most recently been published in the new Playgirl Magazine. She is also an actress and a playwright, and was once the youngest Rockette at Radio City. She is now principal designer and founder of Wilder, an experiential showroom and contemporary design firm.
