If you are working out what to eat in Nashville, start with hot chicken, add a meat-and-three plate, biscuits and barbecue, and match each to the part of town where it is easiest to try.
Most wrong turns come from assuming the classics live in one spot or never change. This guide separates the myths from what holds up. It pairs well with how to find authentic local food when traveling, which sets out the broader approach for any trip.
Nashville’s food reputation, corrected
Chef Dung Junior Vo, writing a Nashville dining guide for the James Beard Foundation, says the city might be synonymous with hot chicken and country music bars. That association is fair, but it is a starting point rather than a menu. Eater’s Nashville dining guide adds that hot chicken now appears in formats from bao buns to tacos to pizza, and that biscuits and barbecue are easy to find by the bucketful. Chef Vo’s own list also includes chicken lad na, wide rice noodles in a savory gravy with chicken and vegetables, a reminder that a good Nashville meal is not always Southern.
| Common assumption | What holds up | Planning use |
|---|---|---|
| Nashville food means hot chicken and nothing else | Hot chicken is the best-known association, but biscuits, barbecue, meat-and-three plates and noodle dishes such as chicken lad na sit alongside it | Treat hot chicken as one stop in a multi-dish plan, not the whole trip |
| Hot chicken is always the same plate | It is sold in other formats citywide, including bao buns, tacos and pizza | Pick the format that suits you; a classic plate and a twist can both be worth ordering |
| Biscuits and barbecue need a special trip | Both are easy to find across the city | Fold them into whichever neighborhood you are already visiting |
| Lower Broadway is where to eat | Its many honky-tonks make it a party destination, while Germantown is described as home to some of the most nationally recognized restaurants | Use Broadway for the music scene and choose a restaurant neighborhood for dinner |
The descriptions above come from the James Beard Foundation’s Nashville guide and Eater Nashville’s dining guide.
Hot chicken: more than one place, more than one format
Hot chicken is the dish most visitors have in mind, and it is worth eating in its simplest form at least once so you know what the other versions are riffing on. The formats Eater lists make it easy to taste it a second time in a different style. If you try a taco or a bao bun after a classic plate, you learn whether you like the heat itself or the way it is served.
East Nashville’s go-to
For East Nashville, Seeing Tennessee’s East Nashville restaurant guide calls Bolton’s the go-to place for hot chicken, and notes it offers a non-spicy option. That detail matters if your group includes someone who wants the chicken without the heat. Nobody has to sit out the meal or order something unrelated.
Check before you go
Hot chicken restaurants change. Eater notes that Prince’s Ewing Drive location is permanently closed, while other Prince’s locations still operate, so confirm the address before you set off. A Nashville foodie guide on Come Join My Journey also reports that Parson’s Chicken and Fish appears to be permanently closed. Old recommendations are where a printed or bookmarked list tends to fail, so verify any hot chicken spot the same day you plan to go.
Meat-and-three: a plate format, not a single dish
A meat-and-three is a way of ordering rather than one recipe: you choose a meat main and build the plate from a list of sides. It suits visitors who want to sample several Southern staples in a single sitting, and it suits groups with mixed tastes, since everyone assembles a different plate. The same Come Join My Journey guide lists meat and three in the same breath as hot chicken, biscuits, brunch, donuts and Tennessee whisky, which is a fair summary of how visitors tend to think of the city’s food.
Eater points to Wendell Smith’s on Charlotte Avenue for a meat-and-three plate with a side of nostalgia. For a more social version, Eater describes Monell’s in Germantown as traditional Southern fare in a casual, family-style setting that is unlike any other in town. Choose Wendell Smith’s if you want the plate format itself, and Monell’s if the shared-table experience is the draw.
Biscuits and barbecue across the city
These two are the dishes least tied to a single neighborhood, which is why they are easy to fit around a day of other plans.
Biscuits
Biscuits can be a plain side or a main event. The Small Bag Big Appetite Nashville guide describes Biscuit Love’s bonuts as balls of fried biscuit dough tossed in sugar and served with lemon mascarpone and blueberry compote. The same writer arrived around 9 a.m. and waited about 45 minutes. That is one visit rather than a rule, but it is a fair warning that popular brunch spots can have a line even in the morning, so decide whether the dish is worth the wait or whether to go earlier or on another day.
Nashville barbecue
Barbecue is available citywide. The same blogger ordered the pulled pork and brisket at Edley’s and rated both as great, a sensible pairing if you want to compare a pork and a beef version on the same tray. The blogger also notes that Martin’s BBQ has three locations in Nashville, so you can fit it into several routes. Because neither spot is tied to a single district, order barbecue wherever your day takes you instead of making a special detour.
Where to eat by neighborhood
Matching a dish to a neighborhood works best for hot chicken and sit-down Southern food. Barbecue and biscuits do not need that mapping, as shown above.
- East Nashville for variety. Seeing Tennessee’s author says East Nashville seems to be home to a greater proportion of the best restaurants than any other part of the city. That is one writer’s view, but it fits the range there: Bolton’s for hot chicken, Peninsula for Spanish and French dishes in a small, intimate spot on Eastland, and Dino’s, described as the oldest dive bar in East Nashville and known for its burger.
- Germantown for a dressed-up night. This community just north of downtown is home to some of the most nationally recognized restaurants in Nashville, according to Eater. Eater’s guide lists Rolf and Daughters here, Philip Krajeck’s neighborhood restaurant with multiple best-restaurant awards, as well as Monell’s family-style Southern dining.
- Lower Broadway for the bars. Eater says the area’s many honky-tonks make Nashville an iconic party destination. Go for the music and atmosphere, then eat at one of the restaurant districts above.
If you only have time for two areas, pair East Nashville for casual meals with Germantown for a long, sit-down dinner, and add Lower Broadway only if the music scene is part of your plan.
What a meal costs
Prices in the guides vary widely, so it helps to know the range East Nashville covers. At Dino’s, the Small Bag Big Appetite blogger ordered burgers at $6 and fries at $3, along with cold beers at the counter. Seeing Tennessee reports a lunch special of two slices plus a drink for under $11, and a single slice at $4.75 at a pizzeria in the same guide. At the other end, the same guide says Peninsula is on the pricier side but fair for the quality of the food.
These are individual writers’ figures from particular visits, so treat them as a guide to the range and check current menus. The practical lesson is that East Nashville lets you mix a cheap counter lunch with one expensive dinner, which is easier on a budget than eating at restaurants of a single price level all trip.
Planning the rest of the trip
Pick the dish that fits each part of the day instead of trying everything at once: biscuits in the morning, a meat-and-three plate or hot chicken for lunch, and a Germantown or East Nashville dinner. If you enjoy comparing city food guides, What To Eat In San Diego: Your 2026 Local Food Guide To Tacos, Seafood, And Neighborhood Eats – Bionicbites takes the same neighborhood-by-neighborhood approach to a very different city. And if the barbecue discussion leaves you curious about a different style of meat-centered meal, How To Eat Korean BBQ Like A Local: A Simple Step-By-Step Guide For First-Timers (2026) – Bionicbites walks through ordering and cooking at the table.
Frequently asked questions
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| What food is Nashville known for? | Hot chicken is the signature, usually mentioned alongside country music bars. Biscuits, barbecue and meat-and-three plates round out the visitor’s list. |
| Where can you try hot chicken in Nashville? | Bolton’s is the go-to in East Nashville and offers a non-spicy option. Hot chicken also appears citywide in formats such as tacos, bao buns and pizza. Confirm that any spot is still open, since Prince’s Ewing Drive location has closed and Parson’s Chicken and Fish is reported closed. |
| What is a meat-and-three? | It is a plate format in which you pick a meat main and assemble the sides yourself. Wendell Smith’s on Charlotte Avenue and Monell’s in Germantown are two places Eater points to. |
| Which neighborhoods have the best food? | East Nashville is one writer’s pick for the greatest share of top restaurants, and Germantown has some of the most nationally recognized ones. Lower Broadway is better known for its honky-tonks than for dining. |
