Eat to the beat
Breakfast/ brunch
Henrietta Red
A fresh and contemporary addition to Nashville’s food scene, this airy restaurant and bar is the perfect spot to blow away the cobwebs with a bloody mary and delectable raw bites from the oyster bar.
Marché Artisan Foods
Owned by renowned local chef Margot McCormack and her partner Heather, this casual cafe in Five Points in East Nashville was voted the city’s best for brunch 12 years running — that’s every year it’s been in business.
Butcher & Bee
Emblematic of the city’s modern foodie overhaul, this industrial chic restaurant’s brunch offering of dips, mezzes and sourdoughs are perfect for the glutenfree and vegan crowd, while the whipped feta with fermented honey will change your life!
Lunch Prince’s Hot Chicken Shack
Do as Southerners do at this beloved city landmark, which was established more than 70 years ago and is considered the birthplace of Nashille’s fiery staple food. Served plain or mild, that you don’t need taste buds of steel to enjoy, right up to XXX Hot — which might just leave some of you without any taste buds!
Arnold’s Country Kitchen
Serving traditional “meat and threes”, everyone from lunching local tradesmen to NFL stars can be seen swinging through this canteen- style local institution, which has served Nashvillians for close to 40 years. Don’t trust us? Trust Dolly. The country goddess counts herself as a regular.
Edley’s Bar- B- Que
Melt- in- the mouth, slowcooked smoked meats are carved before your eyes at three locations across the city, but you’ll have to get in quick — the tantalising brisket is such a big draw it often sells out by the middle of the afternoon.
Evening meal
Tailor Nashville
A potential romantic treat, culinary creator Vivek Surti’s forward- thinking “South Asian- American” food is served in an intimate dinner party setting, with eight to 10 courses, personally explained by the chefs.
Suzy Wong’s House of Yum This Asian restaurant is a stone’s throw from all the LGBTQ action on Church Street and offers drag
‘ n’ dinner performances on Friday and Saturday evenings, and drag ‘ n’ brunch on Saturdays and Sundays.
Rolf and Daughters
This Germantown hotspot offers exquisite small plates, sharing plates and mains from a modern and everchanging menu that often takes its taste cues from Italian and Asian cuisine.
Where to drink
Church Street
Have yourself a gay old time in the small cluster of bars and clubs just a five- minute drive or 20- minute walk from Downtown Nashville, including Tribe, Play Dance Bar and Canvas Lounge.
Broadway
Take your pick of the bands and beer on offer at the multitude of open- door honky tonk bars that line the city’s main thoroughfare. Line dancing optional. Touristy as hell but so what?
Wedgewood- Houston neighbourhood
Head to this former industrial neighbourhood to sample the best Tennessee home brews. In the middle of a huge rejuvenation, the old warehouses lining the streets south of Downtown are now home to earthy new breweries such as Diskin Cider, Jackalope Brewing Company, and Nashville Craft Distillery, where you can buy the produce and drink it right there.
Where to stay
Kimpton Aertson
Part of the InterContinental Group, this boutique hotel in Midtown boasts a roof- top pool overlooking Vanderbilt University and a yoga mat and 50in TV in each of the 180 rooms. And you can watch your food being cooked in the Henley, a modern American brasserie with a French twist. Or dine in more privacy with a few friends at the chef’s table in the kitchen.
aertsonhotel. com
AC Hotel by Marriott Nashville Downtown
Located in the heart of Downtown, the hotel is a few steps from the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum and the Ryman Auditorium. It has 209 rooms and an outdoor pool and bar. AC Kitchen is the place for Spanish- inspired breakfasts while the AC Lounge offers cocktails and tapas.
marriott. com