Nashville restaurants and chefs recognized at last night’s MICHELIN Guide Ceremony

We are thrilled to announce the following Nashville restaurants and chefs recognized at last night’s MICHELIN Guide Ceremony. This ceremony marked the debut of the MICHELIN Guide for the American South and a defining milestone for the region’s culinary industry.

“MICHELIN’s nod to Nashville affirms what locals have long known: Music City is a culinary destination. The creative spirit that drives our world-class music scene also inspires epicurean innovation,” says Deana Ivey, President & CEO of Nashville Convention & Visitors Corp. “We’re proud of our chefs and restaurants who work tirelessly to shape Nashville’s diverse food landscape, which amplifies our reputation, fuels tourism, and invites the world to a table where Southern hospitality meets culinary ingenuity.”

One MICHELIN Star Restaurants 

Bastion (Nashville; Contemporary cuisine)

Walk through the buzzy cocktail bar to find this stylish restaurant in the Wedgewood-Houston neighborhood. Bastion offers a single tasting menu featuring contemporary Southern cooking that is approachable yet playful. Dishes arrive in waves, and the product focus is on full display in a stunning plate of yellow peach and tomato with strawberry miso mayo and mozzarella marshmallows, and in a summery pairing of candy-striped agnolotti filled with squash accompanied by a luscious bowlful of creamed corn. Black cod poached in champagne butter over kohlrabi noodles is topped with a parsley salad with bacon for a clever dish. Southern chess pie is bested with sake lees and cantaloupe sherbet for a terrific finale.

Locust (Nashville; Contemporary cuisine)

Reservations are a must at Chef Trevor Moran’s compact, Japanese-influenced seafood spot. There is a simple elegance and a clear attention to detail in these dishes, all designed for sharing. Beef tartare hand rolls, a house classic, always delight. From there, explore more of the seafood like Maine diver scallops with shaved green apple. A Japanese omelet with shredded Jonah crab is simple but spot on, but don’t skip dessert. The ever-changing iterations of their kakigori may present a block of the finest, powdery shaved ice filled with a dense passion fruit cream and caramelized honeycomb, then draped with rich milk foam and crowned with a confit egg yolk.

The Catbird Seat (Nashville; Contemporary cuisine)

Originally opened in 2011, this prized perch has ushered in a new chapter with its relocation to the top floor of the Bill Voorhees Building. Headed by husband-and-wife chef duo Andy Doubrava and Tiffani Ortiz, there is a youthful, maximalist vibe to this cuisine, and a degree of dedication to locality, seasonality and preservation. The meal is built around an array of stimulating small bites that may include such morsels as an elegant take on a chicken wing, here deboned, stuffed and dressed with sauce Perigord. A wee bowlful of crisped lamb neck set atop creamy Carolina Gold rice and dressed with candy cap mushroom-infused broth and pickled radish pods is yet another tempting possibility.

Bib Gourmand Restaurants 
Kisser
Peninsula
Redheaded Stranger
Sho Pizza Bar
SS Gai
St. Vito Focacceria
Uzbegim

Michelin Sommelier Award (Sponsored by Franciacorta)
Alex Burch, Bad Idea

2025 Recommended Restaurants
Arnold’s Country Kitchen
Audrey
Bad Idea
Cafe Roze
Folk
Hattie B’s Hot Chicken
iggy’s
International Market
Rolf and Daughters
Shotgun Willie’s BBQ
Tailor