Nashville's bar scene splits down the middle. Broadway is the country-music tourist strip; East Nashville and Germantown are where locals drink. The Patterson House opened in 2009 and gave the city a serious cocktail bar; everyone else followed. The 10 below cover both sides — you should visit one Broadway honky-tonk and several non-Broadway rooms in the same trip.
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The 10 best bars in Nashville
01 · Nashville
Midtown
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Speakeasy · Reservations
Nashville's reference cocktail bar. Reservation-only after 7 PM. The room that taught Nashville about serious cocktailing.
Order: A Bacon Old Fashioned (their signature)
02 · Nashville
Printer's Alley
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1948 · Burlesque
Restored 1948 Printer's Alley supper club. Live burlesque on weekends, jazz combo nightly. Vintage Nashville.
Order: A Manhattan + the late show
03 · Nashville
Broadway
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Honky-tonk · Live country
The most authentic Broadway honky-tonk. Live traditional country bands, no cover, cheap beer. The Broadway you actually want.
Order: A PBR + recession-special fried bologna sandwich
04 · Nashville
Broadway
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Honky-tonk · 1960
Operating since 1960. Where Willie Nelson, Patsy Cline, Kris Kristofferson all played. Walls covered in country music memorabilia.
Order: A Bud + watching whatever band's on stage
05 · Nashville
East Nashville
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Live music · Local
East Nashville live-music bar. The bands are excellent; the dance floor is small but used. Locals' Nashville.
Order: A whiskey + the Monday night honky-tonk dance
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06 · Nashville
East Nashville
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Dive · Late-night
East Nashville dive bar. Tallboys, late-night DJs, cheap shots, everything Broadway pretends to be without the cover charge.
Order: A High Life + a shot
07 · Nashville
Gulch
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Bluegrass · 1974
Operating since 1974. The world's most respected bluegrass venue. Beer-and-music format, drinks are basic.
Order: A beer + the Sunday bluegrass jam
08 · Nashville
Downtown
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Three floors · Restaurant + bar
Three-floor restaurant with one of Nashville's most polished cocktail bars on the ground floor. White-tablecloth surroundings.
Order: A Sazerac at the long bar
09 · Nashville
East Bank
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Bowling + cocktails · All-day
All-day room — café, restaurant, bowling alley, cocktail bar. The east-bank Nashville drinking room.
Order: A patio cocktail + bowling
10 · Nashville
Marathon Village
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Distillery taproom
Corsair's distillery taproom. Try whiskeys you can't get elsewhere. Tours available; the bar pours all the unusual barrel-aged spirits.
Order: A flight of their experimental whiskeys
More Nashville bars by categoryCocktail, live music, hidden gem — the full Nashville index.
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Broadway vs East Nashville
Do one Broadway bar (Robert's Western World, Tootsie's) for the country-music context, then leave. The serious drinking is across the river in East Nashville (Pinewood Social, The 5 Spot, The Crying Wolf) or in Germantown (The Patterson House nearby). Skull's Rainbow Room in Printer's Alley is a separate evening of its own.
