HOW TO SPEND A 24-HOUR STAYCATION IN NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE

Nashville has long been a travelers’ destination as a nexus for the American country music industry and home of the South’s most rollicking honky-tonks. And while the city’s impressive lineup of musicians strumming from sunrise to sundown still attracts live music fans in droves, Nashville has evolved its offerings far beyond boot scootin’: it’s a culinary destination whose influence has expanded exponentially in recent years.

No Nashville visitor will ever leave the city hungry — cafes around town are slinging biscuits and gravy every morning, taste buds get tested with scorching hot chicken, and it’s a choose-your-own adventure experience at classic meat and three plates or one of the city’s tasting menu restaurants. With so many inviting options in town, building out the perfect itinerary can be a daunting task, but this 24-hour staycation guide distills the city’s quintessential dining destinations for travelers and locals alike.

8 a.m.: Breakfast at Loveless Cafe or Cafe Roze

There’s no better cure for a honky-tonk hangover than a good old fashioned country-style breakfast. Rise early and head slightly out of town to Loveless Cafe, an iconic roadside motel-turned-restaurant that’s home to some of the best biscuits and jam in town. In a warmly curated dining room where tables are lined with red, black, or blue checkered tablecloths, diners pore over favorites like country ham and eggs with red-eye gravy, omelettes packed with barbecue pulled pork, cinnamon raisin French toast, and fried chicken and waffles. If lighter fare is preferred, East Nashville’s Cafe Roze offers grain bowls, smoothies, and pepita-pocked avocado hummus toast in an industrial-chic setting.

9:30 a.m.: Coffee and pastries at Butter Milk Ranch

Nashville’s 12 South neighborhood was made — quite literally — for daytime strolling. Swing by Butter Milk Ranch, which offers both a grab-and-go pastry counter and dining room seating, for a mid-morning caffeine kick and a hot, foldy croissant sandwich shaped like a cube. Then, walk off the morning’s feast along 12th Avenue, popping into the boutiques and antique shops that line the street. The strip is known for its art crawl potential, too, meaning coffee can be followed by an impromptu photo shoot in front of some of its kaleidoscopic murals.

11 a.m.: Lunch at Kisser or meat-and-three at Arnold’s Country Kitchen

In recent years, Nashville chefs and restaurants have found themselves at the top of nationwide award lists — including Eater’s Best New Restaurants in 2022. The latest to make headlines is East Nashville’s Kisser, a 2024 James Beard Award finalist and New York Times’ 2023 Restaurant List nod serving Japanese curries, ramen, and other comfort food. Come early and prepare to wait because the first-come first-served dining room fills up quickly. For more Southern-style comfort food, Nashville’s tried-and-true Arnold’s Country Kitchen is back after a brief hiatus and has resumed serving a rotation of mains and sides including meat loaf, roast beef, chicken and dumplings, turnip greens, and much more. The restaurant nabbed a James Beard Award of its own in 2009.

2 p.m.: Hot chicken stop at Prince’s or Bolton’s

Hot chicken has become as intricately identified with Nashville as country music. While there are countless restaurants in town serving their take on the classic, plan to pay a visit to the original: Prince’s Hot Chicken. The story goes that Thornton Prince’s girlfriend (always unnamed in legend) caught wind of the flirting — or more — that he was doing outside of their home. She whipped up a fried chicken dinner using the hottest spices she could find as payback, only to have her plan backfire spectacularly. Thornton loved and sought to replicate it — and so Nashville hot chicken and its folklore was born. If you can’t make it to the original, hit the downtown outpost inside Assembly Food Hall, then cool off with a cold beer on Broadway after.

Bolton’s Spicy Chicken and Fish is another Nashville classic, if one hot chicken stop is not enough. This East Nashville shack serves up the heat without frills (none are necessary), and the fish plate — fried catfish and whiting are available — is sometimes even better than its co-headliner.

After hot chicken hunger games and before happy hour: Nap

5 p.m.: Cava and oysters happy hour at Henrietta Red

Nashville may be landlocked, but it’s still possible to find quality seafood and raw bars around town. Germantown’s Henrietta Red is best known for its daily happy hour at 5 p.m., which includes $2 oysters and discounted pours of cava, rosé, and draft beers. Share a small plate — maybe the smoked fish rillette, beef tartare kicked up with Calabrian chile, or Poppy’s caviar dip — and toast among friends before gearing up for dinner, or two, if you’re crawling, and a night on the town.

7:30 p.m.: Dinner reservation at Bastion or Noko

Bastion is an intimate 24-seat dining room in Wedgewood-Houston serving a rotating tasting menu nightly at $125 per person. Ever since chef Josh Habinger garnered a James Beard Foundation Awards nod of his own in 2023, reservations here have been hot. Bastion’s “Big Bar” is located next door, with a full bar and a kitchen serving nachos only (and, yes, they’re really good nachos). For an experience a little more casual but no less buzzy, head to East Nashville’s Noko, a fusion restaurant serving wood-fired fare from bone marrow to charred vegetables, as well as a massive tomahawk alongside tuna crispy rice, crudo, and Japanese comfort food from chef Dung Vo.

10 p.m.: Robert’s Western World or Off-Broadway drinks at Mother’s Ruin

After a whirlwind food-focused day in Nashville, it’s time to hit the town at night: Broadway is always bustling with neon-lit honky tonks blaring live bands into the wee hours of the morning. While a stop in any promises a good time, many locals claim Robert’s Western World as their favorite. While it doesn’t entice visitors with the flashing name of a country music star, the bands are always excellent, the beer flows generously, and the snacks are cheap and filling (try the fried bologna sandwich).

When it’s time to deviate from Broadway, Germantown’s Mother’s Ruin has become a neighborhood hotspot with a line often meandering down the block. Expect finely crafted drinks made by rowdy bartenders and a good-and-greasy food menu offered until 1:30 a.m.

After a night out on Broadway: Monell’s

It’s a little known secret that Monell’s, a Germantown staple, reopens at midnight on Saturdays for a “Midnight Country Breakfast.” The buffet-style extravaganza includes its classic fried chicken with all the fixins’ like grits and biscuits and gravy, served until 3 a.m. to soak up any questionable decisions from the night before.

Need (even more) dining inspiration? Check out Nashville’s essential 38 restaurants and hottest new restaurants.

2024-07-02T17:45:30Z dg43tfdfdgfd