What are Nashville’s best spots, according to Nashvillians? We’ve got their takes! We asked some of our favorite City Cast Nashville podcast guests from this year to share what spots, eateries, and places are the best of Nashville. Here are a few of their answers:
🏕️ Best Escapes
Percy Priest Lake Campsite: “If you ever want to get away, go to Recreation.gov and rent you a campsite. The little waves of Percy Priest will come right to your feet. I do camp sometimes, but I'll also rent the site and just stay for a few hours.” — Nicole Valentine, executive director of Napier Kitchen Table
McCabe Park and the Richland Creek Greenway: “I go there every single day, pretty much. It's a very peaceful feeling to me. They have a little creek. If you've never been there, it's around 3 miles of a walk, but it's just within the city.” — Fitness coach April Moore
Shelby Bottoms: “My wife and I live in East Nashville. It’s the closest place we can go to get away from traffic, to get into nature. It’s beautiful for picnics and walks.” — Zach Lykins, executive director of Trinity Community Commons
🏈 Best Sports Bar
No Quarter: “A fun place to go and watch sports. They've got amazing pinball games, and they have this rotating tap situation where they're always getting new fun beers in.” — Soccer Moses, Nashville SC's unofficial mascot
😋 Best Restaurants for Kids
El Fuego Restaurante, Rosepepper Cantina, and East Nashville Beer Works: “I am married and have a 3-year-old. He loves to ask to go to a restaurant. A Mexican restaurant is always going to be his favorite because he loves chips. He loves East Nashville Beer Works because of the playground, which I love because that means I can continue to sit and sip on my beer while he is playing on the playground.” — Allie Wallace, Open Table Nashville
🌱 Best Nursery
Bates Nursery & Garden Center: “I think Bates has a really good selection at a fair price. I think there's other nurseries that are maybe a little bit more differentiated. But I think Bates has a really good selection.” — Julie Gardner, manager of Cheekwood's greenhouse
🍽️ Best Restaurants
Limo Peruvian Eatery and King Tut’s: “Limo in East Nashville is an amazing restaurant, well-run, high-quality food, and a great environment if you want to have a nice drink and great quality food. King Tut’s on Nolensville Pike — beautiful place, very organic, featuring Middle Eastern food.” — Martha Silva, co-executive director of Conexión Américas
Voodoo Gumbo: “My husband is very interested in Voodoo Gumbo in Bellevue. He is obsessed with their seafood, and we will be going back there because his birthday is approaching and he's going to hit it as many times as he can.” — Erin Williams, director of hubNashville
Sonobana Japanese Restaurant and Grocery: “My wife is a great, fantastic cook. Cooks better than 70% of the chefs here in Nashville — but not better than me. And we only go to places where we can't cook the food. So we both love sushi, and we go to Sonobana sushi restaurant. Fantastic.” — Big Al of Big Al’s Deli
🎣 Best Fishing Spot
Shutes Branch Recreation Area: “I love taking my 8-year-old daughter fishing. She loves to fish. Our number one spot is Shutes Branch Recreation. We have a blast.” — Brandon Crofton, NDOT pothole patch specialist
🌃 Best Night Out
Brown’s Diner, The Belcourt Theatre, and Ryman Auditorium: “I'm in the Belmont-Hillsboro area. So, you know, we walk to Brown’s Diner a lot, old school, and we go to the Belcourt. They're all within walking distance. We go to the Ryman sometimes two or three times a week.” — Cathy Strahan, traveling children’s librarian
🤓 Best Trivia
Acme Feed and Seed and Corner Pub: “If it's the audio setup where everything just sounds beautiful, that's going to be Acme Feed and Seed downtown on 2nd. Do a Monday night game there on their sports bar level, that's the second floor. But the Corner Pub Brentwood is probably my favorite right now of the places that I actively host at in the city.” — Long-time poll worker (and bar trivia host) David Reeves
🍻 Best Brewery
East Nashville Beer Works: “My wife and I are big proponents of East Nashville Beer Works. We're brewery people, and we're cider people, and drinking people. I live in Lebanon, Tennessee, and they built one out here by us. We have an even better commute to get our pizza and our beer, which is excellent.” — Jacob Hendrixson, engineer of The Escape Game
