With people around the country rearranging travel plans and looking for destinations a bit closer to home, we’ve rounded up our favorite destinations, activities and attractions in Nashville that locals and visitors are sure to love. Start your Nashville Staycation here!
10 Take-Out Triumphs We Love to Eat at Home
We know it’s tough eating at home, and we’re here to help. Practically overnight many of our favorite restaurants pivoted to a carry-out concept, but it can be tricky to discern what will travel well on an unfamiliar menu. We’ve compiled a list of 10 dishes that translate exceptionally well in a take-out format, to help elevate your next night in!
6 Fun Social Distancing Activities in Nashville
Nashville moved into Phase 1 of its reopening plan on Monday, May 11 and with segments of life beginning a shift toward the new normal, we have a few more options for entertaining ourselves while maintaining social distancing. In this initial phase, retail shops and restaurants can open at 50% capacity, while all entertainment venues remain shuttered in an effort to curb close social contact. Not everyone will feel comfortable going into enclosed spaces away from home, so here are six creative ways to get out of the house and have a little fun, while still maintaining social distancing in Nashville.
Nashville Restaurants Offering Curbside Pickup and Delivery amid COVID-19
As Nashville adjusts to a new “normal” amid the COVID-19 pandemic, which hit days after the March 3rd tornado, it’s more important than ever to shop and eat locally to support small businesses throughout Nashville. Luckily, many local restaurants have pivoted to curbside pickup and delivery services, allowing us to eat out while otherwise staying home to do our part to flatten the curve. We’ve aggregated a list of our favorite choices for a celebratory meal, family-style meals, and restaurants with grocery selections too. No matter how you’re faring in this quarantine, we’ve got you covered.
Best Team Building Activities in Nashville
Hard work at the office is best balanced with some fun team-building time away from the office. Rather than hanging out at another happy hour, try a team-building activity that fosters camaraderie and conversation. These active outings are memorable whether you’re looking for a unique team-building event, an experiential incentive for sales and commission-based employees, or a space away from the cubicles to celebrate a team accomplishment.
Best healthy lunches in Nashville
While Music City is a home for Southern staples like biscuits, fried chicken and barbecue, there are a slew of healthy lunch choices tucked away on some unsuspecting menus. If you know where to look, Nashville’s wide range of restaurants deliver a variety of healthier options from fresh crunchy salads to hearty grain bowls, plus everything in between. Check out our guide for some lighter, healthier options around town, even if your pals are heading out for tacos, pizza or barbecue.
Last-minute gift ideas for food lovers
The holidays are around the corner, and the most wonderful time of the year can easily devolve into the most stressful time of year if you’re still shopping. Do you count among the stressed-out Santas searching for last-minute gifts? If you have any food lovers in your life—and let’s be real, who doesn’t have a food lover in their life?—this list offers plenty of last-minute inspiration.
Our last-minute gift guide includes multiple price points, too, so regardless of your budget, you’re sure to find a winner for the food lovers on your list.
Things to do in Nashville this winter
Looking for things to do in Nashville this winter? The neon lights and live music in downtown Nashville beckon anytime of year, but in the winter months, Nashville burns even more brightly, with light displays, party-friendly igloos and lots more.
Below, we’ve rounded up some of the best wintertime activities in Nashville, sure to ensure that the holiday season is merry and bright — whether you’re entertaining a crowd, or looking for a place to escape the family mayhem.
Walk Eat Nashville guides Today Show hosts around East Nashville
The 3rd Hour of the Today Show broadcast live from Nashville, and Walk Eat Nashville Founder & CEO Karen-Lee Ryan had the opportunity to guide NBC’s 3rd Hour Hosts Sheinelle Jones and Dylan Dreyer around East Nashville.
“It was such a pleasure to introduce Sheinelle and Dylan to East Nashville,” Ryan said. “I started my walking food tour company in East Nashville five years ago, and I love introducing folks to this historic neighborhood packed with small business and chef-driven restaurants. It was wonderful that 3rd Hour focused on so many small businesses around Nashville, and it was an honor to be part of it.”
The best breakfast in Nashville
Brunch gets the bulk of the glory, but Nashville restaurants are grinding out grade-A breakfast every morning, too, in every corner of the Music City. Biscuits, breakfast tacos, bagels and everything in between — picking the best breakfast in Nashville isn’t easy. Which is why we’ve made a long list.
Below, we’ve broken down our best Nashville breakfast restaurants by fast-casual and full-service joints, so whether you need to grab something to go or are looking for somewhere to settle in for a breakfast meeting, you’re covered.
Nashville barbecue worth bragging about
In its list of The South’s Best BBQ Joints In Every State 2019, Southern Living magazine, on behalf of its readers, said a Nashville barbecue spot was the very best in Tennessee. (A few months later, Southern Living’s writers reiterated the praise, too, naming Nashville barbecue spot Peg Leg Porker among the Top 50 Barbecue Joints in the South.)
Unsurprisingly, quite a few internet arguments kicked up in the wake of a Nashville barbecue No. 1 slot. (Memphians don’t take their barbecue prominence lightly.) For our part, we don’t take Southern Living readers’ opinions as an invite to argue about which Tennessee city delivers the best barbecue, so much as support of one of our tightly held local-food beliefs: Nashville barbecue has gotten so, so much better.
Aside of a few outliers, Nashville barbecue wasn’t all that much to brag about, even a decade ago. In 2019, we’re working with grade-A barbecue that stretches across Nashville and across the low-and-slow spectrum, from Texas-inspired ’cue to pork that nods to our neighbors in Memphis.
Since we love barbecue, and we eat a lot of it on our food tours, we’re thankful for the improvement. If you’re new to Nashville, visiting Nashville, or just out of Nashville barbecue practice, here are a few of our local favorites — spots that are all praise-worthy, and that we go to for different specialties when we’re having different cravings.
The best late-night food in Nashville
Nashville’s nightlife is about far more than just live music and line dancing. We have an accompanying late-night food scene sure to satisfy any craving. The bars beckon downtown Nashville revelers with neon marquees and thumping odes to country’s greatest hits, but the brightest stars on Broadway just might be hidden away on a menu.
In tribute to the growing dining scene in Nashville, we’ve pulled together a list of our favorite late-night food options. Whether you’re looking to delve into the chaos or find a quieter spot for a midnight snack, this should help you sort out where to get a great, late meal in Nashville.
Welcome the new Walk Eat Nashville food tour guides
Food is sustenance, but food is also a story. The culture that informed its preparation, the background of the ingredients and chefs that brought it to life — there’s so much more to a great dish than what’s on your fork.
This is what we aim to impart with Walk Eat Nashville food tours. We don’t want you to leave a tour just knowing where you can find memorable dishes in Nashville, but knowing who’s crafting that cuisine, what their influences and inspirations are, how their creations and interpretations fit into the background of the area. We want to share stories. Which is why we’ve always worked with storytellers.
The best outdoor dining in Nashville
Now that Lower Broadway is dotted with rooftop bars, Nashville bustles with outdoor dining and drinking destinations. Even with all the sky-high hangs around town, sometimes staying bit more grounded holds the most appeal. We’ve rounded up a list of our favorite patios for outdoor dining around Nashville, sorted by neighborhood. Peruse this guide, then prepare to sit, sip and savor the rest of the summer away!
Standout Ice Cream treats in Nashville, and other cool desserts for hot days
With the official start of summer here, and Nashville temperatures rising, we’ve been on the hunt for delicious desserts that cool you down. Get out and enjoy some of Nashville’s best ice cream and other cool desserts to beat the heat, whether you’re heading out on Broadway or cozying up in a dive bar.
Where to eat in Nashville for a meal deal, every day of the week
Music City’s restaurant scene is booming, and with new spots opening weekly, figuring out where to eat in Nashville on any given day can be a challenge. If you’re hoping to be gentle on your wallet: Add a difficulty level.
The good news: You have help. We’ve scoped out the best meal deals in Nashville, from newer additions to Nashville favorites, from pizza to sushi to tacos. Whatever you’re craving, and whenever you’re headed out to find it, you can grab a great Nashville bite that won’t break the bank.
The Walk Eat Nashville family is growing
For nearly five years now, Walk Eat Nashville has kept an overall focus on giving our guests a broad but intimate (and always delicious) Nashville food experience, visiting restaurants and artisans that excel at what they do, and have compelling stories to tell.
As Nashville’s food and restaurant scene has grown significantly, and consistently, so has our mix of Nashville food tours. In recent months, we’ve added more of Nashville’s best eateries to our food tour lineup, introducing guests to excellent bites, beautiful buildings and fascinating people.
Among the latest Nashville eateries we’ve been proud to partner with:
Best Downtown Nashville restaurants to satisfy any lunch craving
Downtown Nashville’s restaurant scene has seen unparalleled growth over the last few years, so much so that it can feel impossible to keep up with the changes. Just a few years ago, there were only a handful of great options for lunch Downtown; now, Lower Broadway bustles with celebrity-backed honky-tonks and out-of-town chain outposts. If you’re not looking to spend the afternoon in a honky-tonk or a franchise, though, a number of local Downtown restaurants are offering up the flavor and spirit of Nashville in their own unique way, too. Here’s a list of our favorite spots to grab lunch Downtown, ranging from creative global fare to traditional, down-home cooking.
The best biscuits in Nashville
Sometimes the simplest things bring the greatest joy, and when sampling Southern cuisine, that can mean biting into a fluffy, feather-light biscuit, warm from the oven and covered in butter. Biscuits may be topped with jelly, jam, pimento cheese, or covered in sausage gravy depending on where you go. They’re definitely a Southern staple and if you’re looking to try some of the best in Nashville, here’s where you want to go (in no particular order).
Unique places to stay in Nashville
When you're traveling to Nashville for business, there's nothing unappealing about a regular hotel stay — standard lodging spots offer an unassuming, unsurprising space to decompress before heading to another meeting.
But when you're traveling for fun, there's an opportunity — for some of us, a compulsion — to indulge in a little more fun, staying in unique or unusual properties, personality-filled areas or locations with cool and unexpected amenities.
Different cities offer different levels of possibility on that front, but here in Nashville, we're fairly flush with fun places to stay, from historic lofts to stylish tiny homes. Looking for a more engaging place to crash for your next Nashville trip? These options below offer a lot more than a Queen bed and a Keurig machine.