After opening Frankies Pizzeria in East Nashville this past summer, the Frankies’ vision for Nashville expanded to a flagship restaurant called Frankies 925 Spuntino. The space, which is situated in a former mattress factory within the Laurel and Pine development, features Italian-American dishes carried over from their Brooklyn location, including Sicilian-style meatballs with pine nuts and raisins, cold ribeye with sea salt, and a ricotta cheesecake.

Word’s spreading fast about the fried chicken at SS Gai — it’s some of the best in town. You’ll find the Thai chicken shop in bay three of the Wash, a restaurant incubator in East Nashville. There are two versions of the bird on the menu: gai tod (fried) and gai yang (smoky grilled). Both come with sticky rice, fried shallots and garlic, tamarind chili and fish sauce, chili vinegar, and a generous portion of local veggies on the side. Start with some of the grilled peanuts or the spicy mango in fish sauce before diving into the main course.

Alex Burch, an advanced sommelier who’s led the wine programs at Bastion and Henrietta Red, and Colby Rasavong, a 2022 StarChefs Rising Chef Award recipient, have brought Lao cuisine and a dizzying array of fantastic wine to East Nashville. Starters like nam khao croquettes segue into scallop-stuffed crepes with nam prik blanquette and bucksnort trout served alongside turmeric crepes. You can count on a perpetually full glass thanks to the 3,000 bottles in the custom-made wine cellar.

Pat Martin (Martin’s Bar-B-Que Joint and Hugh-Baby’s) is at it again, this time, with a traditional Southern breakfast joint in Donelson. Breakfast starts at 7 a.m. with sock sausages, mill-ground grits, pancakes with hickory syrup, and pecan cinnamon rolls. SweetMilk will also bake a limited number of cast iron-baked biscuits every day using White Lily Flour, so consider getting there on the earlier side to snag a few to go with the restaurant’s housemade raspberry jelly.

This moody Atlanta import has made a splash in the Gulch, where it resides in the former Colt’s Chocolate factory. The menu embraces all things Spanish, doting on the savory slices of ham imported from the Iberian peninsula of Spain, Spanish cheeses ranging from the popular manchego to more obscure options like the KM 39, bacon-wrapped dates, pork cheek tacos, and a suckling pig that feeds over six people and requires 72-hour notice to prepare. “Jamon happy hour” is offered Monday through Friday with reduced prices on charcuterie, snacks, and sangria.

Wedgewood-Houston’s on a roll this year with another new opening, this one courtesy of chefs Ryan and Matthew Poli. This time, the brothers are laser-focused on Italian cuisine with a 70-seat main dining room centered around a large open kitchen. From there, guests can watch as the chefs prepare housemade brioche garlic bread with whipped cheese, Maine crab tortellini, and seaweed garganelli with Japanese green chiles and scallop bottarga. Gluten-free pasta is also available as a substitute for most dishes.

Owned by Wes Taylor (Patterson House and M Street) and Matt Ramos (Yolan and Red Pebbles Hospitality), Common Ground’s new Berry Hill location is the second for the enterprising duo. Situated near Geodis Park, the restaurant is poised for pre-game sips and snacks like a seasonal bruleed peach dish with goat cheese and black cherry vinaigrette, arancini with duck confit, and Black Hawk Wagyu smash burgers. Cocktails include the Don’t BNA Hole with bourbon, amontillado sherry, lemon, cinnamon, watermelon, orgeat, and mint, and five varieties of espresso martini.

The adult beverages in Capri Sun-like pouches might seem like irreverent fun, but the Asian tapas at Mi Kitchen have serious culinary chops. Situated in a strip mall in Franklin, the warm, modern interior is lined with booths of boisterous customers sharing plates of crispy fried chicken in a Korean-inspired sweet and spicy sauce, tsi-ran dry rub lamb chops, edamame truffle dumplings, and bowls of japchae (stir-fried sweet potato glass noodles) with mushroom and shredded chili skin.