Eating Nashville: The best bites we ate and the biggest restaurant surprises of 2023
We eat out a lot. A whole lot. That's because we're always on the hunt for the best restaurants in Nashville for our annual Top 25 Restaurants list, our list of the best cheap eats in the city and our regular review column, Eating Nashville, where we try some of the newest restaurants in the city.
From steakhouses to healthier cafes, we've seen a huge slice of what this city's restaurants have to offer. Here are some of the best dishes we tried this year, plus more of what we learned in a year of eating.
Our favorite bites of the year
Mack: A few dishes stand out to me in a year of dedicated eating, not all of which have made it into print, so this is a fun exercise.
One of my most memorable dining moments was the first bite of a perfectly seasoned and fried chicken leg at SS Gai (1101 McKennie Ave Bay 3), which made such a satisfying shattering crunch that was so loud it could have been a sound effect.
Brad: Oooo, I'm with you, Mack! That fried chicken is unlike any I've had before. My fave bite of the year, by far, was the Japanese A5 wagyu steak at Oak Steakhouse downtown (801 Clark Pl.). I know, I know, so bougie!! But that was a flavorful, buttery, salted, melt-in-my-mouth bite I'll probably never forget.
Here's another — Mack, I know you skew toward savory, so I'm happy to eat ALL the desserts! I want to start with my fave for the year, the fruit cobbler at Chef Sean Brock's Audrey (809 Meridian St.), his homage to his Appalachian grandmother.
Here, bakers use cornmeal biscuits instead of flour, and that one swap alone makes for a more rich, interesting cobbler. So fresh and delicious, and they nail the perfect fruit-cornmeal ratio. This is truly an elevated Southern comfort food.
Mack: I don't know, I'm a bit obsessed with the kakigori at Locust (2305 12th Ave S.), especially when there's sweet egg yolk and passionfruit involved. Speaking of Locust, I'd be remiss not to mention the split lobster with the perfect butter-poached claw meat tucked back into the shell.
Brad: More and more, I'm finding sides and starters more interesting than entrees. A super-tasty example: the Brussels sprouts with pomegranate seeds at the Old Hickory Steakhouse in the Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center (2800 Opryland Dr.). That pop of citrus adds tart, bright notes to perfectly roasted sprouts.
Mack: Who eats entrees anymore? Joking! Kind of. I've always been a small plate eater. One of my favorite food moments this year was sitting at the bar at Xiao Bao (830 Meridian St.), sipping my way through their super-fun natural wine list, eating Ora King salmon crudo, and inhaling in an unladylike way a dish of beef fat fries that tasted just like McDonald's used to make.
While I love Kisser's comforting noodle dishes and chicken sando, bring on the onigiri and inari. And I could sit and eat kushiyaki, wagyu gyoza and o-toro sashimi at Two Ten Jack (1900 Eastland Avenue, Suite 105) all night long (and doing so remains one of my favorite date nights of 2023).
Brad: Romance makes everything taste richer, n'est-ce pas? Speaking of which, I'm in love with Pinky Ring Pizza (414 Gallatin Pike S.) in Madison — and I'm sad to say my favorite bite there this past year, porchetta pizza, has been retired from the menu. RIPorchetta. But I'm also obsessed with the new topping combos added just a month or so ago.
Some of Nashville's best restaurants are tucked away gems
Mack: Sylvan Park's answer. (132 46th Avenue N.) really impressed me this year. Tucked away in a residential neighborhood with more strollers than bachelorettes (that's a good thing), this restaurant fills up early with locals who come for craft cocktails and a menu that's comfortable, seasonal and just plain good.
Brad: Yes indeed, answer. is a wonderful neighborhood hang with incredible food. Another, with a completely different look and feel, is the Turkish/Kurdish restaurant Edessa (3802 Nolensville Pike). Tremendous kabobs and cornish chicken and mouth-watering lamb dishes, and the magic really happens on the weekends, when the place is packed with dozens of families from Nashville's large Kurdish community.
But restaurants in the middle of it all can be great too
Mack: Going downtown can be annoying. There's the parking situation and, of course, the people spilling from Broadway can be ... a challenge. But we've found plenty to eat in the center of the city that doesn't just cater to the masses.
JW Marriott's Bourbon Steak (201 8th Ave S, 34th floor) continues to fire on many levels and, not for nothing, has the best view in the city. It's so lavish, so over-the-top that I almost don't want to like it. But I do. Because for all of the pomp and circumstance, it's also just very, very good.
And as far as restaurants I didn't want to like that proved me wrong, Sinatra's Bar and Lounge (222 4th Ave N.) would be at the top of that list. The pork secreto? Amazing. Even the meatballs were outstanding.
Brad: Start spreading the news (I couldn't resist) — Sinatra's is legit! But if I'm going downtown and I have a few extra bucks, I'm hitting Italian restaurant Yolan (403 4th Ave S.) in The Joseph hotel every time. The decor and feel is a bit awkward — imagine tucking fine dining into the middle of a hotel lobby — but the food is exceptional. Spend the money on the gnocchi with truffles. Delizioso!
Just a few blocks away, Adele's (1210 McGavock St.) is a celebrity chef (Jonathan Waxman) spot that really nails the farm-to-table thing. And I love that the space used to be an old car repair shop.
Mack: Yep, Yolan is one of my favorite spots in the city. In fact, we do Italian pretty well in Nashville. But what are we missing? We have a separate story on what we hope for in 2024. Check it out.
What do you think? What did we miss? What did we get right? What are your faves? Reach Brad Schmitt at brad@tennessean.com. Reach Mackensy Lunsford at mlunsford@tennessean.com.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Nashville food: SS Gai, Oak Steakhouse, Audrey top list of fav bites
