Hey y’all (ha – just dying to say that!). I just got back from an incredible trip with my girlfriends to Nashville and man, we were in love with that city! Nashville has topped my bucket list for the longest time, so of course I jumped at the chance to spend some time with sweet friends in the incredible music city. We spent five days there, but I swear we packed ten days worth of fun into that short time frame. If you head on over to my Instagram, you can check out some of the trip favorites under my “travel” story highlight and today I’m going to dive into more details for anyone looking to pack their bags and head to one of my favorite southern cities.
Where to Stay
The six of us stayed in an Airbnb in East Nashville and it was PERFECT! If you are going with a bigger group, I definitely recommend renting a house. We ended up Ubering everywhere we went, and Ubers were a bit pricey, but if you are splitting them between a larger group, it’s the way to go! You won’t get the space and amenities we had downtown for the price.
If you’re traveling in a smaller group, I would love to stay closer downtown or in the Gulch. The areas are so cute and you will be nice and close to everything.
Where to Eat
In all seriousness, I think we are pro’s after our week of endless eating – ha! I will be eating straight lettuce for the next month to recover from that, but the food in Nashville is DELICIOUS. Here were some of our favorites:
Biscuit Love
Lines are long, but the wait is WORTH IT! Biscuit Love is the perfect southern brunch place. The interior is so cute and the food is shockingly amazing. I’m not much of a biscuits and fried chicken kind of girl (raised in the Midwest…) but when in the south, right? I gave the East Nasty a shot and it was so good. Also some of the best iced coffee ever! This place is a must.
Pinewood Social
I’ll chat more about Pinewood Social down below in “Where to Play,” but aside from its adorable bowling alley, the food is amazing! Even if we didn’t come to play, I would absolutely go back just for the food! My sweet friend and I went halfsies on the Lobster Mac n Cheese with a rich gruyere sauce and Roma Crunch salad with the best roasted tomatoes and they were both amazing! I also got the Slippery Slope cocktail with Prairie Vodka, lemon, grapefruit liqueur, cacao, hibiscus, and sparkling wine – definitely the best cocktail I had all trip!
Bartaco
Bartaco had the CUTEST atmosphere and was the perfect spot for a mid-day lunch/snack stop. The tacos are all perfectly prepared with rich and delicious flavors. After such a filling breakfast that morning, I stuck with a single taco and a side and got the portobello taco with queso fresco and a side of their grilled corn which came topped with on lime, cotija cheese, cayenne pepper – oh my goodness was it good! If you make your way there, the grilled corn is a must – off the cob, of course.
Frothy Monkey
After reading so many great reviews on the Frothy Monkey, we knew we had to go. It is located in between all of the 12 South boutiques, making it the perfect stop for sips. My latte was one of the best I have ever had! I got the Hummingbird latte which was crafted with house-made pecan syrup, a hint of banana and then topped with cinnamon and dried pineapple garnish. AMAZING! All of the food also looked incredible and their menu looks fantastic. But our stomachs could only fit so much…
Moto Cucina + Enoteca
Moto Cucina + Enoteca was our first meal in Nashville and it did not disappoint – well, aside from the fact that we didn’t see any celebrities (its known for its frequent celeb spottings). The place is so intimate, yet open and airy, and I loved the decor. I got the Gnochetti with ricotta fondue and truffles and it was amazing! I tried my friend’s Pappardelle Bolognese and that was also amazing. Highly recommend Moto for a nice night out on your Nashville trip!
The Pharmacy
After our visit here, The Pharmacy earned a place on my top five favorite burgers list! Their menu is so unique but they still have the basics if that’s what you’re looking for. Oddly enough, I ordered the Stroganoff Burger, which does not seem like something I would typically order, and I absolutely loved it! SO good! Their sweet potato fries complimented it perfectly. I also got the Aspall Perronelle’s Blush Cider which had blackberry and apple skins and it was fantastic! They have a pretty expensive brew and cider list. When I go back (because I definitely have to) I would love to try their pear cider.
Where to Drink
We had so much fun exploring the different parts of Nashville and learned so much about the unique vibes of each neighborhood. The two places we went out were Midtown and Downtown (Broadway). Midtown has a much more relaxed vibe and a lot of unique and interesting bars. Downtown has your classic honky tonk bars with incredible live music and a classic Nashville vibe. We had so much fun in both places!
Midtown
Clyde’s on Church
As I’ll talk about below, we did a Pedal Tavern bike tour and Clyde’s on Church was our first stop. I LOVED this bar so much! It has such a unique interior filled with cool couches, string chandeliers, ceilings covered in old records and a mix of exposed brick and wood trim. The vibe was very relaxed and they had lots of foosball and ping pong tables which is always a great time.
Tavern
The Tavern was our last stop on our Pedal Tavern bike tour and was also really relaxed. It has a much more sophisticated feel compared to Downtown, but still casual and relaxed. This is a great place to go to hang out and chat with friends. Their menu also looks fantastic!
Kung Fu Saloon
We visited Kung Fu on our last night in Nashville and it was such a fun space. The entire venue is filled with all of the games you could think of. We went on a week day night, so it wasn’t that busy, but the locals told us on the weekend it gets packed!
Broadway
Dierks Bentley’s Whiskey Row
Broadway is SUCH a good time and it is a total must for your Nashville trip. Dierks Bentley’s Whiskey Row was so much fun and has surprisingly good food if you’re looking for a late-night snack or dinner while you’re out – my mac n cheese did not disappoint. (Yes, I had a lot of mac n cheese on this trip. I have a lot of it in life in general.)
Honky Tonk Central
In full disclosure, I have a bit of a grudge against Honky Tonk Central… Honky Tonk was our first bar we visited in Nashville and my wallet was stolen… That’s quite a story in itself. If you ever get your wallet stolen on vacation and don’t know how the heck you’re going to fly home, send me a message. I’ve learned quite a lot – ha! BUT, that horrible situation aside, we had a BLAST until that happened. I won’t let one bad person ruin the experience. Honky Tonk is a classic Broadway bar with three floors and lots of live music. It’s a great time, just keep your hand on your bag at all times anywhere. When places get packed, pick-pocketing gets a whole lot easier.
Florida Georgia Line House
If I could only recommend one bar to your, FGL House would be it! We went here three times and just couldn’t stay away! It is so much fun. The downstairs has live music with a relaxed and very open atmosphere. The upstairs is like a country club and an absolute blast. It does not disappoint!
Tin Roof Broadway
We watched the BEST live music at Tin Roof Broadway. The place is such a cute and classic Nashville bar and we had such a great time watching the best female vocalist rock it. Such fun vibes!
Where to Play
12 South Boutiques & Murals
The 12 South neighborhood of Nashville has the cutest boutiques you have to visit if you love good interior design and fashion. The boutiques range from high-end to affordable. Here are a few of the boutiques we visited:
- E. Allen
- Parish
- Blush
- Draper James (an absolutely MUST visit! This is Reese Witherspoon’s adorable shop – it’s the CUTEST!)
- Emerson | Grace
Between all the boutiques is also Amelia’s Flower Truck which is seriously the cutest thing ever (and such a good photo-op!).
Also in 12 South are so many of the pretty Nashville murals you see all over Instagram like the angel wings and the I Believe in Nashville wall. We had so much fun taking pictures by all of these!
Acme Feed & Seed
Acme Feed & Seed is such a fun place of three floors of food, drinks and live music. We came during the day, so it was much more relaxed, but definitely started to fill up as we were leaving around 6. There are also lots of cute photo ops!
Pinewood Social
I chatted about the food at Pinewood Social above, but the rest of the place is also so much fun! It has the cutest bowling alley I’ve ever seen which was such a fun time! In the summer, they also have the an adorable patio and pool outside. I’d love to come back and visit that.
Pedal Tavern
One of our favorite things we did on our trip was the Pedal Tavern Midtown bike tour! This totally took me by surprise – I was excited for it, but had no idea how much fun it would actually be! If you are coming to Nashville with a group, this is a must! You ride through the streets of Nashville on a huge bus-like group bike while sipping whatever drinks you choose to bring and you learn lots about the city. You also make stops at a few bars which is a blast. We learned so much, had such a good time, and left with a few new friends we met on our group bike.
Wow – we are finally to the end! I had such an incredible time in Nashville with these pretty ladies and can’t wait to go back! If you have any Nashville questions or any other recommendations, drop them below so we can all keep learning together. Thanks for reading and if you’re heading to the country music city, I hope you have an absolute BLAST!
This is such an incredible post, girl!! The photographs are all beautiful, and I SO want to try some of the food places now, especially bartaco! The FGL house sounds super cool too. Definitely making me want to visit Nashville now!!!
Jocelyn | lifeinaleotard.com
Awh thanks so much! It was such a fun trip and I couldn’t recommend Nashville more. You’d love it!!