Nashville Trip: Three Great Places to Eat in Nashville!

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Our weekend getaway to Nashville went fantastic!  We headed down after work on Friday evening and got checked in to our hotel.  Saturday morning we got up bright and early and made our way down to the Crossfit Regional Games.  That was an all-day event – (fun fun fun event), but we were ready for a night out and some seriously good food.

Three Great Places to Eat in Nashville

We debated and debated on what to eat. We narrowed it down to five different places and finally settled on The Pharmacy. Luckily, I research everything TO DEATH and knew it would be a long line and they don’t take reservations.  BUT – we could use the No Wait app.  This app allows you to put yourself on the waitlist without being present!!  It tells you how many customers are ahead of you in the queue.  (Ours said 42 when I got on it!)  Then, it tells you an estimated time that you should arrive to be seated.  Ours said 6:42 pm.  We arrived around 6:35, and only waited about 10 more minutes.  It was great!  You can even watch it count down to when it’s your turn.

The Pharmacy in Nashville

Once we were seated, I ordered a local craft beer.  I ordered Chicken Scratch, an American Pilsner by Little Harpeth Brewing.

I also settled on the Cheese Burger and fries.  This Cheese Burger has yellow cheddar, swiss, and muenster cheeses, tomatoes, and roasted garlic aioli.  I can’t even tell you HOW GOOD it was!!!!

I’m already planning another trip to Nashville so I can eat more places, and return to the Pharmacy.  This place is well known in Nashville, obviously, because even our Uber driver started talking about how much he loved pharmacy burgers when he picked us up!

While we were waiting for our (very short) time to eat at The Pharmacy, we noticed The Sweet Bean across the street.  How can one ignore signs inviting you to spin your OWN cotton candy?  Well, not me.  After eating, we made our way across.

The Sweet Bean in Nashville

(Editor’s Update: I’m sad to update that The Sweet Bean is closed. I hope it will one day open again soon.)

The setting of The Sweet Bean was magical the moment you set foot into the door.  It’s small, full of whimsy, and gives you the feeling of being a kid again.  There are colorful places to sit, games on the tables, a huge cotton candy machine, and a variety of candy to buy.  You can also get hot chocolate, fresh-to-order coffee, and even chocolate-covered bananas.

I researched it a bit later to find out the owners are a husband and wife duo.  The location, “The Barn,” is a turn-of-the-century carriage house re-built in the ’50s to accommodate advances in transportation.  All the wood removed during renovations was restored and reused.  The framed 1951 Dick Tracy comic on the wall was found in the foundation, and an old Tennessee license plate from 1952 is also displayed on the wall.

I chose bubble gum flavor cotton candy.  They started up the machine, gave me a quick demo on how to use it, and off I went – making about 3 HUGE balls of cotton candy that they bagged up for me to take with me.  It didn’t really make it to the hotel room!  It was so delicious!  My friend got the blue raspberry flavor, and I don’t think hers made it too far to the hotel room either!

Five Daughters Bakery 

The next morning, we knew we wanted to return to Five Daughters Bakery.  Five Daughters Bakery is a family business, owned and operated by Isaac and Stephanie Meek along with their five daughters in Franklin, Tennessee.  

They have several locations, two being in Nashville.  This place is SO GOOD that we often say we’d drive the 3+ hours to get the donuts they serve.  Between the four of us, we got 12 donuts.  Of course, we got a few of the staple flavors: Maple Glaze, Vanilla Cream (my personal favorite), Chocolate Sea Salt, and King Kong (Maple Bacon).  

THESE DONUTS!!  Just take a little taste of heaven and put it in your mouth, and that’s what they taste like.

I already want to go back and take a culinary tour of Nashville, but I’d repeat all three of these!  Have you been to Nashville, and where do you like to eat when there?