Best Nashville Restaurants | Our Nashville Bucket List!

By Brad and Holly Lauritzen on April 22, 2022

Finding the best restaurants in Nashville has become a fun passion project of ours! Moving to Nashville from Austin, we knew we wouldn’t have a shortage of restaurants to try. We’ve put in a lot of hard work (kidding, kidding) to test out all of the amazing food Nashville has to offer and today on the blog, we are sharing our current list of best restaurants in Nashville for your next try!

Just in case you’re new to the blog, hi there! We are Holly and Brad of the DIY and Design blog Our Faux Farmhouse. We are a family of 6 who recently moved here from Austin, Texas for a change of scenery.

We are also owners of Urban Sips + Sweets which is located inside The Factory at Franklin. Let’s be real, this is the number one place on our Nashville bucket list! We love it so much, we brought it from Texas to Tennessee!

Let’s dive into this list, shall we?! These are in no particular order – it just depends what you’re in the mood for.

Our List of Best Restaurants In Nashville:

Date Night In Nashville:

General Jackson Showboat
The Twelve Thirty Club
Blanco Cocina + Cantina
The Mockingbird
Perry’s Steakhouse

Casual, But Elevated:

The Hampton Social
Sadie’s

Casual and Family-Friendly:

Hogwood BBQ
Nash Family Creamery
Flour and Forge (Food Truck)
Lady Bird Taco
B.B’s Que and More
Redheaded Stranger

The Hampton Social

I know I said these weren’t ranked, but this may be our favorite! This super cute restaurant totes their modern coastal cuisine and fun atmosphere. The food is incredible, but the overall vibe is one of a kind! Don’t skip this one!

What we love to order:

Avocado corn pizza
Shrimp tacos
Brussel sprouts

Trust us – add this to your itinerary!

General Jackson Showboat

This was SO cool! We had some friends come into town and this was something we had heard amazing things about…General Jackson Showboat! This is a complete dinner and a show experience that will create such special memories, From sailing in Downtown Nashville to listening to the vocal prowess this city is known for, General Jackson’s Showboat is the perfect evening to have with friends or family. Don’t forget to order a soda boot!

The Twelve Thirty Club

A favorite date night spot! Fun fact – it’s owned by Justin Timberlake and Sam Fox, creator of Fox Restaurant Concepts. With this combination, you know it’s going to be good!

The Twelve Thirty Club has three areas – an upscale honky tonk on the first level, the dinner area which they call the Supper Club, then the rooftop for amazing Downtown Nash views. 10/10 for food and fun!

Blanco Cocina + Cantina

When looking to try a new taco spot in Nashville, Blanco met and exceeded all the expectations we had. It’s actually right next door to The Twelve Thirty Club on Broadway .The vibe is fun, friendly, and has great food to match. It’s not as upscale as The Twelve Thirty Club which can be nice for a more casual meal.

Their guacamole and nachos are to die for!

The Mockingbird

We took the whole fam to The Mockingbird to try out and it was very tasty – so tasty it earned a spot on our bucket list! If you caught this on stories, we didn’t see any other kids during our time there haha! It wasn’t exactly the most kid-friendly restaurant in Nashville, but the staff was so kind and accommodating.

The Mockingbird is a very popular brunch spot (I imagine you’d see more families earlier in the day!) but for dinner, it was more upscale. The patio is just darling – we will be back for brunch!

Perry’s Steakhouse

Wow wow wow! Best pork chop of your LIFE is at Perry’s Steakhouse. Perry’s is your fancy, special occasion restaurant. It’s upscale and over-the-top in all the best ways! I can’t say enough good things about it. When you decide it’s time to splurge on dinner, come here and thank me later.

Sadie’s Nashville

This is one of our newer finds and we are SO glad we gave it a try! It’s so nice to have a completely different cuisine than your traditional American or BBQ restaurant, especially in Nashville. Sadie’s is just as beautiful and trendy as it is delicious. This definitely makes it onto our list of best restaurants in Nashville!

Don’t forget to order the halloumi appetizer for the table if you choose to go. You will not regret it!

Must Haves:

Halloumi appetizer
Chicken Harissa Pita
Chicken Kebab

Hogwood BBQ

This is our neighborhood spot in Franklin! I’m a sucker for pulled pork nachos and these are the best I’ve found….so far! Don’t worry – I’ll keep you updated.

Nash Family Creamery

This is a really special place for our family. I see us making a lot of memories here and brining every friend and family member that makes the trek to visit it.

This is a family-owned restaurant and creamery which makes it just that more awesome. The kids have been asking to go back!

Must Haves:

Pulled Pork BBQ Quesadilla
Pecan Pie Ice Cream

Flour And Forge (A Food Truck)

Probably the only food truck I would literally *run* to. It’s so, so good. Each pizza is a large personal pan so my recommendation is to order a few and share! It’s fun to “stalk” the truck on IG to see where they are off to. Anytime we can catch them – we do!

Lady Bird Taco

Last, but certainly not least, Ladybird Tacos tagline, “A little bit of Texas in Tennessee” certainly does not disappoint! It’s family-friendly, casual and perfectly tucked away like the gem it is!