Rolf & Daughters
AUTHOR BIO: Eric Barton is editor of The Adventurist and a freelance journalist who has reviewed restaurants for more than two decades. Email him here.
This year, Nashville officially joins the ranks of American cities eligible for the Michelin Guide—a watershed moment for Music City’s gastronomic ambitions.
With inspectors already visiting and sampling around town, I scoured Nashville to pinpoint the 12 places most deserving of Michelin’s attention. Below are the restaurants that combine consistency, creativity, craft—and a soulful sense of place worthy of recognition.
Sure, it might seem odd that no restaurants on this list rise above one star, especially in a city like Nashville that’s so well known for its restaurant scene. But that’s a product of the kind of restaurant Nashville produces: chef-driven spots that care more about what’s on the plate than the thread count of a server’s apron. You’re generally not going to find in Nashville the frou-frou tasting menus and outrageously attentive service that Michelin is known to love—and the city is better for it.
So, if you’re looking for the Michelin-quality restaurants in Nashville, here’s how to prioritize your next meals.
Arnold’s Country Kitchen
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Nashville’s iconic meat-and-three spot—an institution since 1982—Arnold’s is more than just reliable Southern cooking; it’s the beating culinary heart of the city. From tender roast beef plates and syrupy-candied yams to savory greens and chess pie, every element echoes generations of devotion. The service is unfussy and sincere, the lines long, the loyalty fierce. It’s comfort food elevated by consistency and chemistry—no gimmicks, just heart.
What it deserves: Bib Gourmand
Audrey
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Founded by Sean Brock in 2021, Audrey’s kitchen is now overseen by chef Sam Jett, who’s continued what has earned Audrey so much praise: Southern-rooted fare served with polish and personality. Everything feels cultivated: biscuits that flake spectacularly, bold vegetables, seasonal desserts, warm hospitality. The food isn’t flashy, but it’s consistent and spirited—exactly the kind of approachable excellence Bib Gourmand was made for.
What it deserves: Bib Gourmand
Bastion
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Bastion pulls off a rare trick: it’s both one of Nashville’s liveliest bars and one of its most serious fine‑dining rooms. Up front, the nachos and punch cocktails draw a crowd that feels more honky‑tonk than haute cuisine. But step into the small back dining room, and you’ll find Josh Habiger’s tasting menu, among the city’s most thoughtful cooking that’s confident without being showy. The staff keeps things warm and unfussy, even letting guests spin their own records while they eat, a touch that makes the whole thing feel less like a stage play and more like a dinner party where the chef just happens to be brilliant.
What it deserves: One Michelin Star
The Catbird Seat
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Nashville’s most theatrical fine-dining experience—relocated atop the Bill Voorhees Building—feels like dinner theater in motion. Diners circle a small kitchen where Andy Doubrava and Tiffani Ortiz orchestrate a tasting menu that pivots from snack to statement piece, from playful trompe-l'œil to deeply technical precision. The glow of the room bets on anticipation; the flavors—from pigeon with pear to peanut‑butter‑and‑jelly salad—linger beyond the plate. It’s both performance and precision.
What it deserves: One Michelin Star
City House
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Tandy Wilson’s Germantown institution marries Tuscan-style technique with Southern sensibility, anchored by wood-fired pizzas, elegant pasta, and farm-driven produce from Tennessee growers. The flavors are rooted but never predictable—burnt ends pizza, ingeniously sauced ragù, seasonal vegetables dressed with subtle herbs. What feels like a neighborhood fixture is actually a quietly ambitious kitchen maintaining high standards year after year.
What it deserves: One Michelin Star
Husk Nashville
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In a stately renovated mansion, Sean Brock’s reinvention of Southern cooking comes with nuance and flair. Forget the stereotypes: fried chicken crackles with layered fats, hush puppies hum with spice, even pig’s ears in lettuce wraps exhibit finesse. The dining room hums with refinement, service is polished, and ingredient sourcing—from heirloom grains to heritage meats—is treated like sacred ground. It’s the most compelling case in Nashville for elevation via authenticity.
What it deserves: One Michelin Star
Kisser
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The Japanese comfort-food café from Leina Horii and Brian Lea has become a sensation in East Nashville. Udon noodles pull like perfect freshly spun silk; egg salad sandwiches rest on the pillowy yield of house‑baked milk bread. Dishes are unpretentious yet exacting: beef‑tataki udon, neatly folded onigiri, crisp yet balanced katsu. Remarkably, it accomplishes technical precision at daylong volume in just 40 seats—comfort you can count on.
What it deserves: One Michelin Star
Locust
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Trevor Moran—formerly of Noma—has fashioned a tasting menu kitchen that feels global in vision yet rooted in the human scale: savory dumplings meet fermented vegetables, kakigōri shines beside tiny tartare. The result is a tight sequence of elegant, cerebral dishes with soulful resonance. It isn’t Nashvillean; it’s Nashville’s window on the world—curated, smart, restrained, and quietly bold.
What it deserves: One Michelin Star
Noko
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Noko is the restaurant you recommend without hesitation—the rare spot that impresses every type of diner, from picky friends to out‑of‑town visitors you actually like. The menu leans Japanese, with wood‑fired dishes and crudos that feel polished but never precious. There’s a clean, minimalist aesthetic to the space, the kind that makes the food pop even more, and the service hits that sweet spot of being attentive without hovering. Every dish feels deliberate and singular—flavors you won’t find anywhere else in town—which explains why one visit inevitably leads to planning the next.
What it deserves: One Michelin Star
Peninsula
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Jake Howell’s Iberian‑inspired East Nashville gem has quickly risen to prestige—windows open onto vibrant neighborhood life while nose-to-tail Spanish‑leaning plates arrive in composed harmony. His selection of jamón, bright vegetable pickles, crisp sequenced tapas, and heavenly rice dishes reflects a chef who deeply understands balance. His recent James Beard Award for Best Chef in the Southeast speaks volumes.
What it deserves: One Michelin Star
Prince’s Hot Chicken Shack
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Since 1945, Prince’s has ruled over Nashville’s signature spicy fried chicken—deeply crispy, then dusted into layers of heat and flavor, served atop soft white bread to soak up the drippings. The ritual, the burn, the flavor cascade—it’s visceral dish that anchors a city. It earns reverence not for polish but for staying power and influence: this is the quintessential Nashville hot chicken.
What it deserves: Bib Gourmand
Rolf & Daughters
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In the former-industrial charm of Germantown, Philip Krajeck puts out pasta plates and creative small dishes that are deserving of all the high acclaim he’s received. He makes bucatini and cavatelli with impeccable shape and depth; dry-aged meatballs rest in dandelion gremolata, beets are balanced with puffed quinoa and yogurt. The service is attentive, wine list exploratory, the crowd mixed—from chefs to design-savvy locals. It’s a quietly serious, inventive dining room.
