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The List · Rebuilt every week

The 50 best restaurants in Nashville.

Ranked from the full review record, not the marketing. Movement is against last week’s issue.

50ranked rooms
8.6top score
83K+reviews read
Weeklyrebuild cadence
By Cole Connelly, Editor at Large

Nashville does not agree on much, but its review record is clearer than its marketing. We scored every restaurant in the city on a single 10-point Insider Score built from the full body of its reviews, then corrected for what raw star averages miss: a 4.8 from forty reviews is not a 4.8 from four thousand. What survives that math is this list.

The famous addresses hold their spots only where they earn them. Just as often, the kitchens at the top sit in a strip-mall plaza or a quiet neighborhood corner, rooms that never bought a billboard. That is not a thumb on the scale. It is what the numbers said, and we let them say it. The full method is public: read exactly how the score is built.

The board covers the whole metro; for the suburbs the desk goes deeper, starting with the best restaurants in Brentwood.

The top ten

Issue № 137 · rebuilt Mon Aug 17, 2026

Nelson's Green Brier Distillery№ 01

Nelson's Green Brier Distillery

Distilleries Marathon Village $$
6 wks on the List
8.6Exceptional —
Noko Nashville№ 02

Noko Nashville

Japanese East Nashville $$$
6 wks on the List
8.5Exceptional —
Edessa Restaurant Kurdish Turkish Cuisine№ 03

Edessa Restaurant Kurdish Turkish Cuisine

Middle Eastern South Nashville $$
6 wks on the List
8.5Exceptional —
Monell's Dining & Catering№ 04

Monell's Dining & Catering

Southern Germantown $$
6 wks on the List
8.2Excellent —
House of India№ 05

House of India

Indian Franklin $$
6 wks on the List
7.9Excellent —
Graze Nashville№ 06

Graze Nashville

Brunch East Nashville $$
6 wks on the List
7.9Excellent —
Soy Bistro№ 07

Soy Bistro

Korean Brentwood $$
6 wks on the List
7.9Excellent —
TennFold Brewing№ 08

TennFold Brewing

Pizza Donelson $$
6 wks on the List
7.8Excellent —
Five Points Pizza№ 09

Five Points Pizza

Italian East Nashville $$
6 wks on the List
7.8Excellent —
Steamboys№ 10

Steamboys

Chinese Hermitage $$
2 wks on the List
7.7Excellent —
ƒ

How the List is built

Every restaurant earns an Insider Score from 0 to 10, built from its full review record and weighted for review volume, recency, and our editors’ read. The List is rebuilt every week from the live review record; the movement column shows each room’s change against last week’s issue. Full methodology →

Rows 11–50

The rest of this week’s List. Movement vs. Issue № 136.

RankΔRoomCuisineNeighborhoodScoreWeeks
№ 11 — Mitchell Delicatessen Delis East Nashville 7.6 6 wks № 12 — PennePazze Italian Sylvan Park 7.5 6 wks № 13 — Chrysalis Italian Franklin 7.5 6 wks № 14 — TailGate Brewery Breweries West Nashville 7.5 6 wks № 15 — The Catbird Seat New American The Gulch 7.5 2 wks № 16 — King Market Thai Antioch 7.5 6 wks № 17 — Bartaco Mexican 12 South 7.4 6 wks № 18 — Mas Tacos Por Favor Tacos East Nashville 7.4 6 wks № 19 — Skull's Rainbow Room Cocktail Bars Downtown Nashville 7.4 6 wks № 20 — 5th & Taylor American Germantown 7.4 6 wks WebIgniterNot ranking on Google? We'll show you why.Free quick SEO audit for local businesses.Get the free audit → № 21 — Five Points Pizza - West Nashville Pizza Sylvan Park 7.4 6 wks № 22 — Arnold's Country Kitchen Southern The Gulch 7.4 6 wks № 23 — Mcnamara's Irish Pub and Restaurant Irish Pub Donelson 7.3 6 wks № 24 — Pelato Italian Germantown 7.3 6 wks № 25 — The Optimist Seafood Germantown 7.2 6 wks № 26 ▲1 Peg Leg Porker BBQ The Gulch 7.2 6 wks № 27 ▲1 The Loveless Cafe Brunch Bellevue 7.1 6 wks № 28 ▲1 Rolf and Daughters New American Germantown 7.0 6 wks № 29 ▲1 Red Pony American Franklin 6.9 6 wks № 30 ▲1 Henrietta Red New American Germantown 6.9 6 wks The GuidesEvery guide, one index.Cuisines, occasions, neighborhoods, all ranked.Browse the guides → № 31 ▲1 Oak Steakhouse Steakhouses The Gulch 6.9 6 wks № 32 ▲1 Sperry's Restaurant Steakhouses Franklin 6.9 6 wks № 33 ▼7 Cork & Cow Steakhouses Franklin 6.9 6 wks № 34 — Milk & Honey New American The Gulch 6.7 6 wks № 35 — Urban Grub Southern 12 South 6.7 6 wks № 36 — Chauhan Ale & Masala House Indian The Gulch 6.7 6 wks № 37 — The Chop House New American Hendersonville 6.6 6 wks № 38 — Culaccino Italian Franklin 6.6 6 wks № 39 — The Southern Steak & Oyster Southern Downtown Nashville 6.3 6 wks № 40 — Mere Bulles Restaurant and Events Venues & Event Spaces Brentwood 6.3 6 wks The Tip SheetFive rooms worth knowing, every Friday.The new opening, the sleeper, the one worth booking.Get the Tip Sheet → № 41 — Stoney River Steakhouses Franklin 6.0 6 wks № 42 — The Pancake Pantry Brunch Hillsboro Village 6.0 6 wks № 43 — Noir Kitchen & Cocktails Soul Food Downtown Nashville 5.9 6 wks № 44 — Geist Cocktail Bars Germantown 5.7 6 wks № 45 — Husk Southern Downtown Nashville 5.6 6 wks № 46 — Virago Asian Fusion The Gulch 5.6 6 wks № 47 — J. Alexander's Restaurant New American Sylvan Park 5.4 6 wks № 48 — Prince's Hot Chicken South Southern South Nashville 5.2 6 wks № 49 — Butchertown Hall Gastropubs Germantown 5.2 6 wks № 50 — Bolton's Spicy Chicken & Fish Southern East Nashville 4.6 6 wks

About this ranking

How is this ranking calculated?

Every restaurant earns an Insider Score from 0 to 10, built from its full review record and weighted for review volume, recency, and our editors' read. The same method is applied to every kitchen in Nashville.

How often is the list updated?

It is rebuilt every week from the current review record, so a room that slips or surges moves with the numbers.

Why do lesser-known restaurants rank so high?

Because the data puts them there. The score does not know where a restaurant sits. A neighborhood counter and a marquee dining room are measured exactly the same way.

Five rooms, every Friday.

The new opening, the sleeper the score just flagged, and the one room worth booking this week. Free.