/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/70763659/Beef_with_Carrots___Onions.7.jpg)
Nashville’s dining scene in 2022 continues to rebound, maintaining a path of recovery that began last year with the near-weekly opening of new restaurants, bars, and coffee shops. To know which are worth visiting, here Eater tracks Nashville businesses to open in 2022, including an all-day cafe by celebrity chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten; a prix fixe seafood restaurant serving 14-course tasting menus; and a one-stop-shop for ice cream, sundaes, (spiked) milkshakes, cocktails, and breakfast sandwiches.
Below is a running roundup of the notable restaurant and bar openings to know each month since January 2022, arranged (mostly) chronologically. This list will be updated often; if there’s an opening in your neighborhood that we’ve missed, please let us know at nashville@eater.com.
:format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/24070043/Commence_Suckdown.jpg)
September
Scout’s Pub
A Franklin-based hospitality group opened Scout’s Pub on Wednesday, September 28, bringing a family-friendly, community-focused bar and restaurant serving modern pub food and seasonal craft cocktails to Nashville’s Midtown neighborhood. It’s the second location for Scout’s Pub, which first opened in Franklin in 2016. Located at 101 17th Avenue S., Scout’s Pub Midtown is open daily for lunch and dinner and serves weekend brunch Saturday and Sunday.
The Co-Op Frosé and Eatery
The rapidly growing number of Charleston-born Co-Op Frosé and Eaterys across the now includes Nashville, with one now open in Hillsboro Village. The Co-Op, a shop and cafe mini-chain originally opened on Charleston’s Sullivan’s Island in 2012, serves coffee, breakfast, sandwiches, and of course, colorful wine slushies, at 2005 Belcourt Avenue, in a space with hot pink, flamingo-themed decor from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily.
Almost Friday Sporting Club
A new sporting club has opened downtown, a spot that aims to combine sports bar, music venue, and restaurant with a distinct nod toward the bro culture behind its founding — like the “Fratpuccino,” a frozen drink with vodka, cold brew, and cacao; and an admittedly awesome-sounding chicken tender tower. It’s a restaurant from Almost Friday Media, a group that runs popular Instagram accounts @friday.beers and @almost.friday. The huge space at 415 4th Avenue S has a dance floor, gaming area, an indoor-outdoor “Suckdown Station,” and a VIP room for gameday parties. buyouts, friends can gather to eat, drink, party, and play the Almost Friday way.
July
June
East Nashville’s McFerrin Park neighborhoods home to Sean Brock’s newest restaurant, what the famed chef calls his most ambitious restaurant to date. Dinner entails 20 or more courses over two to three hours. The menu, which Brock plans to change twice a season, is divided into five “acts”: canapes, water, land, dessert, and petit fours, and emphasizes “extreme seasonality,” according to the release. Brock’s lab, first introduced with Audrey, A plays a “huge” role in menu development, with machines like an ultrasonic homogenizer and microwave extractor that will help produce ingredients that can be used at the “peak” of their quality. June is located above Audrey, Brock’s most recent restaurant, in the same Meridian Street building, and seats around 32 guests across nine tables.
Rice Vice by Proper Saké Co.
After five years running his Proper Sake Co., Byron Stithem has opened his first bar at 3109 Ambrose Avenue. a gorgeous East Nashville space serving a revolving selection of sakes brewed onsite, koji beers, highballs, ferments, and food from hot pop-ups like Fox Den Izakaya, Alebrije, and Kisser. Eventually, dumplings will be available on nights when there isn’t a chef pop-up. It’s now open Wednesday through Sunday, 4 to 10 p.m. on weekdays and 1 to 10 p.m. on weekends., with plans to expand hours soon.
Wildcat BBQ
Every Friday and Saturday night you can find Wildcat BBQ, the new venture from Brandon Frohne (Forage South), at Nashville Jam Cafe in Berry Hill. A mashup of Southern barbecue and tropical influences, staples include brisket, sticky chicken wings, and spareribs, sides like corn and blueberry salad and spicy watermelon, and specials like a Hot Ruffle Lumpia, a Filipino lumpia filled with smoked brisket, spicy noodles, cabbage, cheese, and chiles, fried and served with pepper jelly toyomansi sauce. A live music lineup will change weekly.
June
Layer Cake Social Club
This four-level bar and restaurant that opened in Sobro in early June is admittedly social media and bachelorette-friendly, aiming to provide a “choose-your-own-adventure” mix of different experiences on each of its floors: the ground floor bar with a pub menu and occasional live music; a full-service dining room serving a hodgepodge of cuisines, a clubby rooftop, and the Cherry Lounge, an invitation-only cocktail lounge. Layer Cake is just the beginning of Milkshake Concepts’ rollout in Nashville, the first city Sheikh has expanded to outside of Dallas. It has plans to bring three additional restaurants to the city.
May
5 Points Diner and Bar
The diner is the latest from WOW Hospitality, opened in East Nashville in mid-May, a huge restaurant with a VIP area, an elevated bar dubbed the Rainbow Loft. It follows a familiar popular formula, serving craft local beer, “boozy frozens,” and “frunch,” Friday brunch, but the menu is a fun mix of classic diner food like meatloaf and burgers and inventive twists on Southern staples, like goat cheese tartlets and tabasco-fried pickles.
Dicey’s Tavern
Dark, loud, and fun is the vibe at this new all-day neighborhood bar and cafe, with subs, salads, and tavern-style pizza to accompany the atmosphere. Opened at the end of April, it offers a nice reprieve from the hyper-chic, stylized establishments nearby (think Soho House). This is the best new spot to grub on satisfying, carb-filled nosh, cold beer, natural wine, and frozen drinks.
April
:format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/23398450/DSC07761.8.jpg)
Acqua by RJ Cooper
James Beard Award-winning chef RJ Cooper opened his second Germantown restaurant at the end of March, right next door to his swanky American restaurant Saint Stephen. Acqua offers an Italian-style progressive tasting menu of 14 to 16 courses that are all seafood (aside from one) served in a bright, minimalist space. Reservations are required for Acqua’s pricey, fine-dining format ($150 per person), but ties are not.
March
Spicy Boy’s
Spicy Boy’s is now serving Cajun and Creole classics like shrimp po’boys, chicken and andouille gumbo, Natchitoches meat pies, and beignets in a historic East Nashville home, debuting in the Maxwell neighborhood on March 5. The restaurant, at 924 Mcferrin Avenue, comes from Baton Rouge-native and Loyola graduate Justen Gardner Cheney — a full bar serves frozen daiquiris, a Louisiana restaurant essential. Spicy Boy’s is open Tuesday through Sunday from 11 a.m. to midnight.
The Nashville Sundae Club
The Gulch neighborhood now has a one-stop-shop for ice cream, sundaes, (spiked) milkshakes, coffee, cocktails, and breakfast sandwiches with The Nashville Sundae Club (335 11th Ave S., Nashville). The all-day cafe from the group behind Adele’s and 404 Kitchen serves a menu split into three sections: “The Ice Cream Club” (banana split sundaes and Fruity Pebbles milkshakes); “The Breakfast Club” (muffins, cinnamon rolls, eggy sandwiches, cappuccinos, and lattes); and “The Cocktail Club” (Old Fashioneds, frose, and mimosas). Opening hours are Wednesday and Thursday from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Friday and Saturday from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m.; and Sunday from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.
The Pink Hermit by Jean-Georges
Michelin-starred restaurateur Jean-Georges Vongerichten opened his dainty, morning-to-night cafe, The Pink Hermit by Jean-Georges, a casual counterpart to his Drusie & Darr, the Hermitage hotel’s months-old flagship restaurant. The versatile cafe, open weekdays to start from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. (231 6th Ave N., Nashville), brings downtown grab-and-go coffees, pastries, and takeout-friendly sandwiches and salads, as well as a sit-down dinner menu designed for pre-and post- theater meet-upsbar snacks, French wines by the glass, and cocktails like a raspberry lychee bellini and a Plymouth gin cucumber martini.
February
:format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/23398367/xTFNJPYs.jpg)
Boqueria
The highly-anticipated Nashville outpost of Spanish tapas spot Boqueria landed in late February, bringing its famed menu of pan con tomate, grilled octopus, patatas bravas, and paella de mariscos to downtown’s behemoth dining and retail destination Fifth + Broadway. The 6,800 square foot, 150-seat restaurant at 5005 Broadway Place is open Sunday through Thursday from 11 a.m. until 10 p.m. and Friday and Saturday until 11 p.m.
The Electric Jane
The Electric Jane is a “collaborative dining and live entertainment experience” from hospitality veterans Jason Scoppa and Sam Bakhshandehpour. Located at 1301 Division Street in the Gulch, the restaurant promises a “high-energy” power brunch alongside eclectic and expansive dinner and late-night menus, with dinner options like tuna crispy rice, steak tartare, edamame falafel, and Parisian gnocchi. Electric Jane opens for dinner at 5 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday, and for brunch on weekends 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
January
:format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/23398404/17b6bee6_f996_4e30_972a_178af2e5f576.jpg)
Velvet Taco
Velvet Taco, the ever-expanding popular Dallas-based taco mini-chain, opened in Nashville January, bringing a rainbow of quirky tacos and queso — all available late-night and via drive-thru — to Midtown. For those who dine in, there are also margaritas on offer, plus a fun heated patio for people-watching. Velvet Taco Midtown is open Sunday through Wednesday from 11 a.m. to midnight and Thursday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 2 a.m.