What Is East Nashville Known For?

2 min read

  • 3 sections
  • 1 table
  • 4 sources cited

East Nashville is known for its neighborhood restaurants and bars, its historic homes, and its parks along the Cumberland River. The food and drink reputation is easy to see in the current guides. The Infatuation’s East Nashville restaurant guide, updated October 5, 2026, is titled “The 27 Best East Nashville Restaurants” (The Infatuation, East Nashville restaurants). In its citywide guide to the best bars, 11 of the 21 picks carry the East Nashville label (The Infatuation, best bars). The area lies east of downtown across the Cumberland River, with Gallatin Avenue as a main thoroughfare and neighborhoods such as Historic Edgefield, Lockeland Springs, and Inglewood (Wikipedia).

What It Is Known For

Theme What the sources show
Restaurants Kisser, Noko, Folk, Lockeland Table, Peninsula, Bolton's Famous Hot Chicken & Fish, and Cafe Roze are among the 27 in The Infatuation's East Nashville guide
Bars Attaboy, Dino's Bar & Grill, Martha My Dear, Skinny Dennis, Mickey's Tavern, and others in the citywide bar guide
History the Great Fire of March 22, 1916, destroyed over 500 houses and left over 2,500 people homeless; tornadoes struck in 1933, 1998, and 2020 (Wikipedia)
Neighborhoods Historic Edgefield, Lockeland Springs, Shelby Park, Shelby Bottoms, and, in greater East Nashville, Highland Heights, Cleveland Park, McFerrin Park, and Inglewood (Wikipedia)
Parks Shelby Park, 361 acres along the river, with playgrounds, a dog park, ball fields, and two golf courses (Wikipedia)

The park details are from Wikipedia’s Shelby Park article.

Recovery as Part of the Story

The neighborhood has rebuilt more than once. In the 2020 tornado, an EF-3 by the time it reached East Nashville, Five Points was hit particularly hard, and two pedestrians were killed by debris (Wikipedia). In 1998, at least 300 homes in East Nashville were damaged.

Where to Start

  1. For dinner, pick from the best restaurants in East Nashville.
  2. For a walk, start at Five Points, the area hit particularly hard in 2020, and continue into the residential streets.
  3. For a weekend, see what East Nashville is like on a weekend, and for outdoor time, Shelby Park.

Related posts:

  1. What Time Zone Is Nashville In? Nashville is in the Central Time Zone. From the first Sunday in November to the second Sunday in March it runs on Central Standard Time (UTC−6), and for the rest......
  2. What Do You Eat With Hot Chicken? The plate comes with two companions already: the white bread underneath and the pickle chips on top, which Wikipedia names as part of the dish's traditional presentation (Wikipedia). Beyond that,......
  3. What is Nolensville Nashville? Nolensville is a separate town in Williamson County, southeast of Nashville, not a Nashville neighborhood. It was established in 1797 by William Nolen, a Revolutionary War veteran, and incorporated in......
  4. How Far Is BNA Airport from Downtown Nashville? BNA is about 8.7 miles by road from the terminal to Lower Broadway, and about 8.4 miles in the other direction, since the route differs by direction. Without traffic the......
  5. Is Downtown Nashville Safe at Night? Downtown Nashville at night is a busy, crowded entertainment district, and the risks visitors plan for there are the ones that come with crowds and alcohol. Phones and wallets go......
  6. Is East Nashville Expensive to Live In? It depends on which part of East Nashville and what kind of home, and the area is large enough that a single average hides the range. Greater East Nashville spans......
  7. Is East Nashville Gentrifying? By the accounts of longtime residents and the reporters who have covered it, yes, and for years. In 2018, Scalawag published a story titled "Fighting to Save a Gentrifying East......
  8. Is East Nashville Good for Families? For a family visit, yes, especially if you plan around Shelby Park and a few kid-friendly places to eat. Shelby Park, about three miles east of downtown along the Cumberland......
  9. Is East Nashville Safe? East Nashville is too big to answer as one place. Wikipedia describes the core of East Nashville in ZIP code 37206 as a collection of smaller neighborhoods, each with its......
  10. Is There Vegan Hot Chicken in Nashville? Yes. Vege-licious Cafe at 513B Fisk St. lists "Nashville Hot Fried Chicken" on a menu it describes as 100% vegan and gluten-free, alongside a soul food plate and desserts (Vege-licious......
  11. What Are Nashville’s Oldest Buildings? One of the oldest historic houses you can visit is Travellers Rest, a plantation house that judge John Overton built in 1799. Wikipedia describes it as a two-story structure with......
  12. What Are the Best Meat-and-Three Restaurants in Nashville? Start with Arnold's Country Kitchen at 605 8th Ave S. The Infatuation's Nashville meat-and-three guide, updated August 8, 2025, calls it "the gold standard." It says that after a brief......
  13. What Are the Best Restaurants in 12 South? For a special occasion, start with Locust at 2305 12th Ave S, which The Infatuation tags for special occasions and drinks with a light bite. For brunch with children, The......
  14. What is Donelson Nashville? Donelson is a Nashville neighborhood about 6 miles east of downtown along U.S. Route 70, named for John Donelson, a co-founder of Nashville and father-in-law of Andrew Jackson (Wikipedia). It......