Nashville’s most exciting restaurant debuts are serious attention-grabbers—we’re talking gilded steaks, world-record-setting bars, and reservations that are snapped up weeks in advance.
These are the reservations that locals are chasing after right now. Read on for a guide to Nashville’s six best restaurant debuts of 2023.
Iberian Pig – Nashville (The Gulch)
Get ready for jamón happy hour. Since its September opening, groups have flocked to this multistory Atlanta import, which Eater Nashville dubbed a “Spanish tapas wonderland.” The menu is an ode to the Iberian Peninsula and features roasted carrots in coconut milk and hard-to-find Galician cheeses. But the golden ticket here is the pork-heavy section, including hits like bacon-wrapped dates and a suckling pig that takes a whopping 72 hours to prep. Plan to take your hungriest friends to do justice to the food at this sceney tavern.
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Supper Club on Belcourt (Hillsboro Village)
A swanky new steakhouse made its way to Nashville’s Hillsboro Village this fall after gaining a loyal following in Memphis. The restaurant’s claim to fame is the gold-wrapped tomahawk steak, but Supper Club on Belcourt proves it’s not just a one-hit wonder with excellent Southern-accented dishes like short ribs and grits, bacon-wrapped filet, and—of course—collard greens on the side. Add a breathtaking dining room with opulent touches like flamingo wallpaper and a DJ that spins throwback tunes every weekend, and you’ve got one of the hottest new hangout spots in town.
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Evelyn’s (Midtown)
Nashville’s famed Hutton Hotel is already a go-to for visiting celebrities like Jimmy Fallon and Garth Brooks, and adding its eagerly anticipated signature restaurant in September has only upped the ante. Evelyn’s—serving staples like corn chowder, Nashville hot fish and chips, and snapper—is named for 20th-century philanthropist, hotelier, and overall superstar Evelyn Sharp. The mid-century modern restaurant embodies her perfectly: It’s classy, art-forward, and all-American.
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Noko (East Nashville)
Scoring a reservation at this East Nashville hotspot is practically a professional sport. But once you’re in, prepare to be floored in its dimly lit, campfire-scented space that opened in March. There’s a reason Noko made OpenTable’s top restaurants of 2023 list and landed a glowing review from The Tennessean: The phenomenal Asian-accented menu comes from executive chef Dung “Junior” Vo and includes wood-fired delicacies including bone marrow and a 42-ounce tomahawk ribeye, plus equally inspired cocktails that will knock your socks off, like an ube colada and a wagyu fat-washed old fashioned.
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SS Gai (East Nashville)
SS Gai lives inside The Wash, a micro-restaurant space in East Nashville, and opened its doors—or windows, to be precise—in May. Owners Chris and Emma Biard were inspired by their honeymoon in Southeast Asia when it came to their spectacular Thai chicken, and that’s exactly why this pint-size spot is a runaway hit. Their tiny but mighty menu stars grilled and fried chicken paired with sticky rice, fried shallots and garlic, housemade chile-tamarind sauce, and seasonal vegetables. Slinging fried chicken is a bold move in a city that takes pride in its own version, but SS Gai’s coconut-milk marinated masterpieces prove it’s a force to be reckoned with.
Humble Baron (Shelbyville)
This Shelbyville bar and restaurant debuted in March and sits next to Uncle Nearest Distillery, which pays tribute to the lost history of Jack Daniels’s original mentor and first master distiller, Nathan “Nearest” Green. So it’s only fitting that Humble Baron put the tiny town on the map in a big way: It’s home to the world’s longest bar that measures a whopping 518 feet. Uncle Nearest spirits dominate the drinks menu and pair well with snacks like ahi tuna crudo and a lobster roll drenched in Tennessee lemon butter. Lucky for you, you’ve got 202 bar stools to choose from at this stunning record-breaker.
Tried them all? Check out other options here.
Kellie Walton is a food, drink and travel writer based outside of Nashville. Follow her adventures and eats on Instagram at @kellieewalton.
