A working East Nashville brewery that pours its own lagers and bakes its own pizza, a short walk over the river from downtown.
Smith & Lentz Brewing sits at 903 Main Street in East Nashville, a few blocks from the Five Points crossroads. It opened in 2015 and has built its name on clean lagers and pilsners rather than chasing the highest-gravity trend. A 2020 tornado tore through the neighbourhood and the building; the brewery rebuilt and came back with a full kitchen, wine, and ice cream alongside the beer.
The room
The taproom keeps the industrial bones of a working brewery: tanks in view, long communal tables, a roll-up door that opens the space to the street in warm months. Per the brewery's own site, the rebuild leaned into hospitality, and the room now runs as a neighbourhood spot as much as a production floor. Regulars on Google Maps reviews flag the pizza and the patio as the two reasons they keep a tab open here.
The Main Street address puts it inside the Five Points orbit, walkable from the bars and restaurants that define East Nashville rather than the honky-tonks across the river. Nashville Guru lists it among the city's core independent breweries, and the room reflects that working identity: it is a place to drink the beer where it is made.
What to order
The pilsner and the hop-forward IPAs are the house signature, and the kitchen turns out wood-fired pizza built for a pint. Order a flight if it is a first visit, then settle on the lager that the brewery has staked its reputation on. Pair a pie with a fresh pour rather than ordering a cocktail; the draft list is the point, and the beer is brewed on site. Prices track standard Nashville taproom rates for a pint and a shared pizza.
Beyond the flagship pilsner, the rotating board moves through seasonal lagers and hop-forward releases, so the list rewards a repeat visit more than a single stop. The pizza menu anchors the food, with pies built to share across a table. BeerAdvocate tracks the lineup, and the consistent note is balance over novelty.
What regulars say
Across Google Maps and Yelp, the repeated praise lands on three things: the clean lagers, the pizza, and the patio in warm weather. The common complaint is limited indoor seating when the weekend crowd arrives. Reviewers who rank it highly tend to be lager drinkers who value a brewery that keeps its core beers tight rather than chasing the rarest release.
Who it's for
It is for beer drinkers who want the source rather than a long cocktail list, and for East Nashville locals who treat it as a default weeknight table. Families and dogs share the patio early; the room tightens up on weekend evenings. Skip it if you came for a polished cocktail program, since this is a brewery first. For more of the category, see craft beer in Nashville.
Best time to go
Weekday evenings and weekend afternoons are the calm windows, before the patio fills. The taproom opens at 5pm midweek and at noon on Friday and Saturday, so an early Friday pour is the insider slot. For more of the neighbourhood, start with our Nashville bar guide and the wider craft beer guide.
The address sits at 903 Main Street, an easy walk or short ride from downtown across the river, and the brewery keeps later hours on Friday and Saturday than midweek. For drinkers building an East Nashville crawl, it pairs naturally with the other independent breweries in the neighbourhood, and the on-site kitchen means a session here does not need a separate dinner stop.
Pair the visit with nearby rooms: Bearded Iris Brewing Nashville, Southern Grist Brewing Nashville, all worth a stop in Nashville.
Sources: Smith & Lentz official site (2026); Nashville Guru; Yelp reviews; BeerAdvocate; Google Maps reviews.
