15 restaurants in Middle Tennessee visited by Guy Fieri on ‘Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives’

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) – Many food lovers have put their trust in Guy Fieri’s opinions when it comes to learning about the best diners, drive-ins and dive bars to indulge in a good meal.

The Mayor of Flavortown has some beloved go-to eateries in Middle Tennessee. More than a dozen have been featured on his popular Food Network show, “Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives.”

Here’s list of restaurants in Middle Tennessee that Fieri has visited during the show’s 45 seasons.

Graze

Fieri skipped the meat on this visit! Graze, a family-owned and locally-sourced vegan restaurant, is located in East Nashville on Eastland Avenue. The vegan eatery was featured in a season 34 episode and showcased their club sandwich spin and meatless chorizo.

Fattoush Café

Found on Charlotte Avenue, Fattoush Café is known for serving up a classic Greek cuisine such as salad, falafel, gyros and baklava. In a season 34 episode, the café showed Guy Fieri how to make they’re beloved lamb shank.

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Nicky’s Coal Fired

Welcome to Nicky’s Coal Fired! An Italian joint featured on season 34 that serves grandma’s meatball recipe and righteous coal-fired pizza. The restaurant is located on Centennial Boulevard in West Nashville.

Riddim N Spice

The Mayor of Flavortown featured Jamaican brothers Kamal Kalokoh and Rashean Conaway on a season 34 episode. The dishes featured showed Jamaican specialties with their on special twist. Fieri tired the barbeque jerk jackfruit, snapper and peas and rice.

Soy Bistro

Located in Brentwood is Soy Bistro, a family-owned and operated restaurant that serves Korean cuisine. Things got spicy during the visit as Fieri got a taste of the bistro’s chicken and bulgogi. Some house favorites on the menu are bibimbap, gochujang chicken and Spicy Pork Bulgogi.

Mas Tacos por Favor

Mas Taco por Favor is easily one of Nashville’s favorite eateries. In fact, Fieri loved it so much that he visited twice! In the show’s first season, Fieri enjoyed the shop’s holiday tamales and quinoa tacos. As for the pozole verde soup? He says, the “depth of the broth is ridiculous.” Yelp ranked the restaurant as one of the highest-rated taco shops earlier this year.

Center Point Pit Barbecue

At Center Point Pit Barbecue, owner Robert Duke smokes his pork until in turns “black as night.” However, Fieri learned that the Hendersonville BBQ joint’s holiday ham is unlike any other. After a four-day brine and a six-hour smoke, the ham is sprinkled with sugar and torched, resulting in a delicious “ham brittle.”

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The Grilled Cheeserie

This food truck features unique versions of a good ol’ grilled cheese sammie and churns out delicious cheesy concoctions. According to Fieri, the Pimento mac and cheese had him “dreaming of childhood.” If you prefer to dine inside, the food truck also has a brick & mortar restaurant on Belcourt Avenue in Hillsboro Village.

Martin Bar-B-Que Joint

Martin’s Bar-B-Que Joint, which has several locations across Middle Tennessee, has been featured on Triple D three times. In a season 9 episode, the Mayor of Flavortown learned the “whole hog” literally means roasting a 200-pound hog in its entirety.

The meat at the BBQ chain is hit with a signature blend of spices, then cooked over hickory wood for 24 hours. The succulent meat also serves as the filling for the sliders, which made Guy Fieri a fan. He called the pork “beyond juicy and moist and flavorful.” In 2022, Mashed said the bar-b-que chain had the best ribs in the Volunteer State.

Phat Bites

During a visit featured in season 18, Fieri fell in love with the Donelson restaurant’s Love Life Salad. The salad was served on a bed of kale with black-eyed peas, Christmas lima beans, black beans, split lentils, red quinoa, pecans, dried cranberries, gold raisins, plums, mangoes and a citrus vinaigrette

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55 South

Located in downtown Franklin, 55 South serves up traditional Southern dishes like the Nashville Hot Chicken and the Chicken and Sausage Jambalaya. However, the “wood smoke component” of the char-grilled oysters topped with garlic-lemon and Parmesan was the highlight for Fieri.

Caffee Nonna

Caffe Nonna, serving rustic Italian meals, is located on Murphy Road in the Sylvan Park area. Nothing on the menu is more rustic than the Lasagna Nonna. The Triple D episode highlighted the delectable eight-layer dish filled with butternut squash, spinach, pasta, ricotta and sautéed Swiss chard, and finished off with two sauces and lots of cheese.

Athens Family Restaurant

Near Belmont University, Athens Family Restaurant aims for the “best quality for the money.” As Fieri learned, that meant giant bacon lamb burgers made with their “love spice” blend, gargantuan Greek suzukakia meatballs and kotopita, a tasty chicken turnover Guy called his kind of breakfast.

Jamaicaway

Tucked into the Nashville Farmers Market is an all authentic and homemade Jamaican eatery. The silky ackee and salt-fish intrigued Fieri in the season 10 episode, and he enjoyed the crunchy fried chicken with mango chutney sauce.

Café Rakka

Café Rakka is no ordinary restaurant. Rather, it’s a “Nashville-Mediterranean-Indian experience in Music City,” according to Fieri. During his visit in season 10, Fieri recommended the filet mignon kebabs, cooked on a sizzling Himalayan salt block for a flavor-packed meal.

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There were other spots in Middle Tennessee that made the list but have since closed, which includes Savarino Cucina and the iconic Arnold’s Country Kitchen — both which were in Nashville.

To see where Fieri has dined in Tennessee, click here.

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