10 best Nashville restaurants we wish made USA TODAY's Restaurants of the Year list
The USA TODAY Restaurants of the Year 2025 list features 44 restaurants from temples to fine dining to seafood shacks on the Florida coast. And this isn't just another listicle.
Just as they did for the inaugural year, USA TODAY Network food journalists from across the country for the second time pooled their expertise to assemble a list of the restaurants they love the most — and actually have dined in. The result: a comprehensive nationwide list made by people who live in the communities of the winning restaurants
Bad Idea represents Nashville and is one of two Tennessee restaurants to make the list, and for good reason; it's a very good place to dine (and drink).
There are, of course, many other restaurants worth celebrating in the Nashville area.
Presented in alphabetical order, here are 10 other spots that we wish were on the Restaurants of the Year list.
What's the best restaurant near you? Check out USA TODAY's 2025 Restaurants of the Year
Bad Idea review: Nashville restaurant focused on Lao cuisine, wine, named one of best in U.S.
2013 Belmont Blvd., Nashville, 615-297-4453, im2nashville.com.
This creative and flavorful Thai restaurant has the seal of approval from the Thai government's Ministry of Commerce, somewhat of a Michelin nod in the Thai world. Try the impossibly umami-rich vegan mushroom larb, dumplings, fun cocktails and anything fried, from whole fish with punchy Thai sides to Hat Yai-style chicken. The classics are fantastic, but the inventive chef-driven dishes might be better. You can't lose.
Book your reservation now on OpenTable
747 Douglas Ave., Nashville, kisserrestaurant.com
This Japanese restaurant is a media darling for its deliciously comforting dishes including hand-pulled udon, slightly smoky grill-kissed onigiri and fried chicken katsu or egg salad sandwiches on milk bread. Locals love it too, and line up with seemingly the rest of the country to eat in the tiny dining room, at the counter or even in the hallway where the restaurant owners set up tables to handle the crowds.
See last year's list: Check out USA TODAY's 2024 Restaurants of the Year
1008 Fatherland St., Nashville, limoeatery.com
Limo made a splash this year for its comfortable and beautifully executed Peruvian food from chef Marcio Florez. Highlights include the jalea, a dish of fried fish, shrimp, calamari, yuca, plantains and mussels, and the chupe de camarones, a shrimp bisque that's a masterful treatise on the European influence on Indigenous Peruvian food.
Book your reservation now on OpenTable
2200 Osage Loop, Franklin, januarytn.com
One of the best restaurants in Middle Tennessee is hidden in an exclusive inn called Southall, set among gorgeous grounds. The bar is exceptional and so is the service, but the restaurant really comes alive as soon as the food hits the table. The kitchen is piloted by chefs Andrew Klamar and Nate Leonard, and their collective talent is evident in beautifully prepared but playful modern-American dishes that lean on produce grown onsite.
608 Eighth Ave. S., Nashville, maizdelavida.com
A food truck turned bright brick-and-mortar restaurant has quickly made its mark on Nashville after opening this fall in the exploding Gulch neighborhood. Expect Mexican food, elevated while it leans on the tradition of heirloom corn, an integral part of chef Julio Hernandez's heritage. The duck mole is extraordinary, but you'll be just as happy scooping up warm farmers' cheese with hand-made tortillas. For fans of the food truck: Yes, it's still parked in front of Chopper, don't worry.
Book your reservation now on OpenTable
701 Porter Road, nokonashville.com
Fire is at the heart of this pan-Asian restaurant, where executive chef Dung 'Junior' Vo and his crew turn out nearly aggressively large wood-fired tomahawk ribeyes next to refined plates of crudo with delicate garnishes and fresh lobster bao buns dressed with garlicky aioli. It's all fun, not too serious but very, very good. It's affordable luxury in a neighborhood setting.
Book your reservation now on OpenTable
1035 W. Eastland Ave., peninsulanashville.com
The Tennessean's No. 1 pick for the best restaurants in Nashville in 2024 is a truly exceptional foray through the food of the Iberian Peninsula, but in a way you'd never expect. Think maitake mushroom broth with pine that you'll think about for months. Or a beet roulade that could be the best thing you eat all year. Or mussels that are nothing like you'd expect, but rather fried somehow ethereally light and sauced with sweet summer peppers and crisp sage. None of it makes sense. But it's all incredible.
Book your reservation now on OpenTable
605 Mansion St., stvitonashville.com
What do you get when you cross Sicilian home-style pizza that became a take-home darling during the pandemic with exceptional but rustic hand-made pastas and delicate modern-Italian dishes? The small but mighty St. Vito Focacceria has become a must-visit in the Gulch district. Sit at the bar and enjoy the show if you can. But make reservations while you still can — Chef Michael Hanna's first brick-and-mortar is really taking off.
620 Taylor St., tailornashville.com
Chef Vivek Surti's Indian-inspired tasting menu is absolutely crammed full of memorable dishes that never shy away from heat or flavor. Tailor's fried squid with corn bhel and sweet and spicy pepper chutney was an absolute knockout in a summer of memorable meals. This dinner party-style restaurant changes with the seasons, but always starts with incredible Indian-inspired snacks and ends with a lovely spice-heavy cup of chai.
In The Joseph hotel, 403 Fourth Ave. S., yolannashville.com
Fine-dining Italian is not hard to find in the culinary world, but such a restaurant executed to this level is. Highlight dishes have included spaghetti alla chitarra with ramp pesto, sweet corn and crab risotto and the always perfect cacio e pepe. The desserts here are gorgeous and not to be missed.
Book your reservation now on OpenTable
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See the entire list of USA TODAY Restaurants of the Year 2025 here:
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: 10 Nashville restaurants we wish made USA TODAY Restaurants of the Year
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