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Nashville as a culinary destination: How the city’s food scene changed in 2025

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Andrew Thomas Lee
Locust's renowned kakigori shaved ice dessert
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2025 was a year of fundamental change in Nashville’s food scene. Our city is changing fast, and a food scene is often a directional indication of where it is headed.

Nashville’s food future: luxury.

Three things happened in 2025 that will change the food scene from mostly meat and threes and hot chicken to a destination for chefs looking to make their mark.

1. International recognition. The absolute peak of food awards is a Michelin star. Now, Michelin doesn’t come to every city, so being selected as part of the Michelin guide is an honor. Twenty one restaurants were added to the Michelin guide and three Nashville restaurants were awarded a prestigious Michelin star. The restaurants were Locust, Catbird Seat and Bastion.

The second biggest award in food is a James Beard Award. Chef Jake Howell, from the restaurant Peninsula won the James Beard Award for Best Chef: Southeast in 2025.

2. Luxury announcements. Nobu, Pastise, and celebrity chef Jose Andres announced that they will open restaurants in Nashville’s future. These are the Hermes and Louis Vuitton of the food world, signaling a luxury culture in the dinning scene that few other cities can boast. And additional high profile restaurant groups seem to make a new opening announcement every day. 

3. Growing media. To help keep up with the bevy of announcements, media has stepped in to serve an audience that is hungry for more food content. A vibrant social media ecosystem has grown to embrace the food scene. Accounts like @nashvillehiddengems @nashvillefoodfan and @xplr.nash boomed in popularity in 2025. And Nashville has long been an Eater city. Like Michelin, they are picky. They’ve chosen just 23 cities to cover, and Nashville is one of them. Their guides are must-follows.  

Maybe the best example of the evolution of Nashville’s food scene is in sushi. Just three years ago, sushi was seen as the city’s gastronomic Achilles heel. It was hard getting good sushi in a landlocked state. But the city is changing a lot, and fast. This year, the Tennessean announced that they had a new best restaurant in Nashville: Kase. It’s a sushi restaurant. 

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Justin Barney

Hi, I’m Justin. I was born in Milwaukee, WI. I started as an intern at 88Nine Radio Milwaukee and worked my way up to Music Director. There I started a segment called “From the Music Desk” where I interviewed over 500 artists including Thom York, Lizzo, Steve Martin, and Phoebe Bridgers. At 88nine I also got to speak passionately about the music I love on the radio, which is a true gift and I still get to do every day. There I also made a podcast called “Backspin: The Search for Milwaukee’s First Hip-Hop Song” which I enjoyed doing more than anything else I’ve ever done and was acclaimed in The New York Times. Highlight of my life. I love music, I love people and I love a good yarn. At the end of the day my goal is to tell stories that are as good as the ones my dad tells me. I’ll tell em on the radio, in print, or next to you at the corner bar.

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