My Top 5 Favorite Spots for Food in Nashville

Biscuit Love

​Visiting Nashville last year met all the expectations I had of a lively city filled with an insane amount of musical talent. What I was not expecting was all the amazing food. I can’t even pick a favorite place, because nearly everywhere we ate blew me away. That’s why I wanted to dedicate a whole post to the food of Nashville. If you’re ever in Nashville, here’s what I recommend:

Hattie B's

Hattie B’s. I didn’t even know until I started researching for this trip that Nashville’s specialty is “hot chicken.” I was pretty excited about this, because there was a time in my life where the spicy chicken sandwich was my go-to order at any fast food restaurant. I even ranked them in my mind of who had the best (Wendy’s is amazing; Burger King’s is trash). But the Nashville hot chicken sandwich is a whole other thing. The chicken is coated in this dark sauce that not only is spicy, but had a distinct “Nashville hot chicken” flavor to it. So if Nashville natives consider their city to be the best city in the world for a hot chicken sandwich, many of them would consider Hattie B’s the best hot chicken sandwich money can buy. And it didn’t disappoint. My nose was running by the time I was finishing my sandwich, but it was so worth it. If you’re planning to stop at Hattie B’s on your next Nashville trip, though, keep in mind that the line was out the door at lunch time, and finding a place to sit wasn’t easy. Eating here might take more time than a less popular lunch spot, but it’s well worth it, so just plan accordingly.

Acme Feed and Seed. We went to Acme Feed and Seed twice. The first time was for Sunday brunch, and it was such an amazing place to go during that time. They had a live band playing that was sort of a hipster bluegrass band, which I am all about. I ordered the chicken and waffles, and they might have been the best chicken and waffles I’ve ever had. The second time we went was just to stop by for drinks, because we’d heard about their frosés (frozen rosé), and that is right up my alley. Of course they were amazing, but this place just had a really great vibe to it, which is why we went twice. It’s a great place for food or a great place to just hang out and have a drink if you need a break during your day or if you’re killing time before a show.

Five Daughters Bakery. This place was adorable! Anyone who knows me well knows that I am a sucker for doughnuts. I almost wrote that I’m a sucker for a good doughnut, but nah, I’ll even eat the ones from QuikTrip. That’s how much I love doughnuts. But that doesn’t mean I don’t know an exceptional doughnut when I taste one. What I love about Five Daughters Bakery (other than the adorable aesthetic) is that they have so many creative flavors of doughnuts. Any time I’m in a doughnut shop, I always feel torn, because I want to try all of them, but I get full after approximately 1.5 doughnuts. Unfortunately, I can’t remember which doughnuts I ended up getting, but fortunately, they were good enough that I’d say you’d be safe trying any of their options if you’re ever there.

Five Daughters Bakery

Emmy Squared. My mind was blown by this place. I know I said before I couldn’t pick a favorite restaurant in Nashville, but this one is at least tied for first. We’d heard good things about it before we went, but we clearly didn’t do enough research, because we almost didn’t get a table. It’s a really small place, and since it was raining, they were limited to their indoor seating. Even though it has a pretty casual vibe in aesthetic, it’s definitely the kind of place where you should make a reservation. We did not. Luckily, we told them we could eat quickly, and they gave us a table. And I’m so glad, because their pizza was beyond words. My friend who I was traveling with ordered a hot chicken sandwich, and it was also really good, but a slightly different vibe than Hattie B’s. Although we didn’t know that at the time, because Emmy Squared was actually the first place where we had Nashville Hot Chicken.

Biscuit Love

Biscuit Love. Another place where we had brunch. This place also had a really cute aesthetic. That might be a theme in Nashville just because the city has so much tourism, but that’s just a theory. As you can probably tell by the name, biscuits are kind of their thing there. I’m not a biscuits and gravy fan at all, but they had so many options for different kinds of biscuits, including sweet options, and even some non-biscuit menu items. Plus they had mimosas, so I was on board.

Basically, Nashville is full of amazing food. And if anyone who read this post goes to Nashville without at least trying one of these restaurants, an angel loses its wings. So. Do with that what you will.