Travel Guide // Nashville

I love writing travel guides, but sometimes it feels like recommendations are easier to offer for places where one doesn’t reside? You’re too close, too sentimental perhaps, fond of places for reasons that have more to do with memories than actual merit.

Which is probably why I’ve been putting off doing a Nashville travel guide even though you guys have asked me for one roughly four billion times. But with Antiques & Garden Show happening this week, it seemed like time to share my Nashville favorites anyway, biased though they may be.

To note, this is not an exhaustive list. I am not a travel journalist nor am I a food writer. This is also not a kid-focused guide. (A different list entirely!) But I am a frequent hostess to out-of-town guests, and when I have friends visiting Nashville, these are the places I love to take them:

WHERE TO STAY // Obvs my guests usually stay at a v. exclusive B&B (that would be my house), but if they prefer a hotel we always recommend The Joseph (pictured) which is downtown enough to be walkable but far enough from the Broadway melee to be pleasant. The rooms are very comfortable, the staff is attentive & the rooftop pool has a great downtown view. The Four Walls bar and Luogo restaurant on property are also good.

If proximity to Broadway is not for you, 1) I hear you, and 2) stay at Soho House Nashville (Wedgewood-Houston) to be in the heart of the hottest neighborhood in Nashville.

COFFEE & SUCH// Clearly, you’re going to need a proper whole milk cappuccino while you’re in town. These are some of my favorites:

Crema Coffee Roasters (Downtown) is a classic, third-wave coffee shop that reminds me of Blue Bottle, Ritual & Sightglass in San Francisco.

Dose (West Nashville; pictured) makes terrific coffee, but the thing you’re really there for is the life-changing egg & cheese biscuit.

Dozen Bakery (Wedgewood-Houston) makes v.v.v. good bread & pastries, but don’t sleep on their coffee drinks or the buttered half baguette with luscious scrambled eggs for breakfast.

Roze Pony (Belle Meade) is an excellent all-day cafe & serves that rose cardamom cappuccino I’m always blathering on about.

Cafe Babu (Wedgewood-Houston) is a relative newcomer serving perfect capps & croissants from Village Bakery in chic, Bedrock-inspired environs.

WHERE TO VISIT //

Cheekwood Estate & Gardens (pictured) is one of my favorite places in all of Nashville. The gardens are exquisite, but do make sure to book tickets for the mansion to view the art collection (both permanent & rotating exhibitions).

Hike the Warner Woods Trail in Percy Warner Park.

See at show at the Ryman Auditorium, even if you’re not all that into the band that’s playing. It’s such a special experience just to see a show here.

If you must visit a honky tonk, go to Robert’s Western World at an off-peak time (like Friday lunchtime or a weekday evening). Order a PBR & enjoy the show.

LUNCH //

Epice (12 South; pictured) is an elegant, modern Lebanese spot & my favorite “nice” weekday lunch. Their menu is a great mix of shareable appetizers and protein-forward salads perfect for a ladies’ lunch. 

Redheaded Stranger (East Nashville) makes tacos so good you’ll understand why you waited in line for them once you take a bite. The breakfast burrito is also legit, as are the totchos. (I mean!)

Dozen Bakery (Wedgewood-Houston).  This is probably a controversial take, but Dozen serves the best chicken salad sandwich in town. I said what I said.

Roze Pony (Belle Meade).  When meeting a friend for lunch, I default to Roze Pony 90% of the time, because it’s convenient & you can get french fries on the side with your cobb salad, a ladies’ lunch must if you ask me.

Mas Tacos (East Nashville) A low-key, order-at-the-window, taqueria experience that speaks to my Californian soul. The fish tacos and pozole are the stars, but honestly, everything on the menu is excellent.

Peg Leg Porker (Gulch). If BBQ is on your list, this is the droid you’re looking for. Everything is delicious. There are no bad choices here, except not getting the banana pudding & I don’t even like bananas!

DINNER //

Locust (12 South; pictured) serves the most exciting food in Nashville. If you can’t score a coveted reservation, try swinging by on Sunday evenings for first-come, first-served bites & drinks.

Iggy’s (Wedgewood-Houston) is such a great balance of food & vibes, where you can eat fabulous pasta (plz don’t skip the garlic bread) while listening to Snoop Dogg.

Husk (Downtown) Elegant, seasonal Southern cuisine in a restored Victorian surrounded by the restaurant’s edible gardens. Brunch is also lovely.

Folk (East Nashville) Folk serves excellent thin-crust pizzas, but don’t sleep on their inventive first courses and non-pizza entrees (like a ginormous Chicken Milanese).  

Sperry’s (Belle Meade) If you want a classic, #iykyk Nashville experience, Sperry’s is the one. An old-school steakhouse with clubby vibes, stiff drinks, and one of the only salad bars I’ve seen I recent memory?

International Market (Belmont) Absolutely delicious (and James Beard-nominated) Thai food in a decidedly low-key setting. Do not miss the dumplings, Taylor’s Rice or the Thai Fried Chicken (preorder because they sell out!). 

Frankies Nashville (East Nashville) is the second location of the famed, New York-based Frankies Spuntino. Expect pristine Italian classics and the most beautifully-sliced prosciutto in town.

Superica (Gulch) OMG, a chain restaurant made the list? It sure did, because Superica’s margaritas and queso are the best in town. (Are we fighting?) My family goes there ALL THE TIME even though it’s not even remotely close to our house. 

DRINKS // There are many excellent bars in Nashville, so this is less a “best of” list & more just the places I personally love & visit most.

Just upstairs from The Optimist is Le Loup (Germantown), a chic little cocktail lounge & raw bar. Larsen orders a Vesper here, which he only does at certain places. (It’s a major compliment.)

Bastion (Wedgewood-Houston) is a v. fancy restaurant on one side & a cool bar on the other. Don’t forget to order the nachos!

Score a coveted seat at the bar at Sperry’s (Belle Meade) for a stiff martini, shrimp cocktail & old school vibez.

Attaboy (East Nashville) has no menu, takes no reservations, and serves the best craft cocktails in town.

Pearl Diver (East Nashville) has a great drink menu, cool vibes, an outdoor patio that is FUN when the weather cooperates & takes reservations if being a planner is your kind of thing.

This is more of an after-cocktails kind of thing, but no one has ever been mad about capping off their evening with a burger, cheese fries & a PBR at Dino’s (East Nashville; pictured).

SHOP //

Emerson Grace (12 South) is the best boutique in town, stocking Isabel Marant, Hunter Bell, Ulla Johnson, and the best Mother denim selection I’ve ever seen irl.

Sid & Ann Mashburn (Germantown; pictured) is such a welcome addition to the Nashville shopping scene. Shop for Ann’s classic cool pieces yourself, shop Sid’s perfectly-cut apparel for your favorite guy, and then go to Le Loup down the street afterwards for drinks.

Reed Smythe (West Nashville) is a singular store, selling artisanal home goods with Southern stories. If you’ve been eyeing the Kasbah Tables in my den, this is where I found them!

Schumacher Heartland (Wedgewood-Houston) has an exquisitely-curated selection of homewares, design books, and tabletop items (think hand-painted pottery and embroidered linens).

Gaslamp Too (Berry Hill) is not a fancy antiques shop, but I promise you will find some treasures at v. reasonable prices. My favorite place for a solo stroll!

Parnassus Books (Green Hills) is an independent bookstore owned & run by famed author, Ann Patchett. An absolute treasure. 10/10 recommend.

Nashville is absolutely spoiled with excellent children’s stores: Plaid Rabbit for traditionalists, Patch for classic cool, and Magpies for the perfect mix of sweet smocked baby things & sparkly tween girl flair.