What is the best bar in Germantown?

February 19, 2026

Germantown’s bar scene is anchored by two very different places, and which one is “best” depends entirely on what you want from a bar.

Bearded Iris Brewing

101 Van Buren Street. If the question is which place has the best drinks, Bearded Iris wins without much argument. Founded in 2015 and opened in February 2016, Bearded Iris has become one of the most respected craft breweries in Nashville. The Germantown taproom is the original location and production facility, where you can watch beer being brewed while drinking it. The focus is on hop-forward beers IPAs, DIPAs, Triple IPAs, and New England IPAs along with rotating fruited sours and stouts. The taproom sits on the Cumberland River Greenway, which means people regularly roll in after runs and bike rides, creating a casual energy that does not feel performative. Happy hour runs daily from 4pm to 6pm: $2 off drafts, wine, and cocktails. The patio has board games and pitchers of beer. It is cashless. For a non-tourist bar experience in a city overwhelmed by tourist bars, Bearded Iris is close to ideal.

Von Elrod’s Beer Hall and Kitchen

Located a few blocks from First Horizon Park, Von Elrod’s is deliberately Oktoberfest-scale: 38 beers on tap, served in one-liter steins if you want, with an outdoor beer garden, communal tables, house-made sausage, and slow-smoked BBQ. The concept comes from founder Jason Brumm’s vision of combining a fresh butchery program with a proper German-style beer hall, and it works. Happy hour is Wednesday through Friday from 3pm to 6pm at $5. Thursday evenings feature $10 Big Steins from 4pm until close. Weekend brunch includes Big Ass Mimosas served in one-liter steins, which is either appealing or alarming depending on your Saturday morning disposition.

Von Elrod’s draws a younger crowd and gets loud on weekends. It is not the right choice for a quiet conversation. It is the right choice for a group that wants to drink a lot of beer in a fun room.

The case for the restaurants

Germantown’s best “bar” experience is arguably the bar seating at its best restaurants. Henrietta Red keeps walk-in seating at the communal bar, where the happy hour involves discounted oysters and the bartenders are knowledgeable about wine. Rolf and Daughters has a bar and communal table section that accepts walk-ins. Sitting at the bar at City House on a Sunday evening is one of the better ways to spend two hours in Nashville. These are not “bars” in the conventional sense, but they serve drinks as well as any bar in the neighborhood and the food makes them worth the time.

Sources

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