12 Best Restaurants in Tennessee, USA

This is dinner theater on steroids—you, and several thousand other people, get to eat a finger-lickin' good (as in, you don't get eating utensils) four-course meal while live animals kick up the dust on the arena floor to the accompaniment of dramatic music, lighting, and pyrotechnics. The pace is quick; the service is quicker. In a sequence timed tight as traffic signals on a four-lane highway, you'll watch rodeo clowns pick on cute girls in the audience, kids chase chickens running in all different directions, knights jousting on horseback, and a chorus of glittery-costumed actors sing rousing patriotic music. Overall, it's well worth the money—and maybe a plastic spoon in your pocket, just for good measure. Vegetarian meals are available by advance request.

The seasonal flavors of eastern Tennessee's farms come to life over the wood-fired grill at this chef-owned ode to Southern cuisine, where the menu changes weekly. One decadent constant is a sous-vide farm egg appetizer with gnocchi and chicken confit. Pair it with a house-made pasta or a hearty protein (pork loin with okra, corn, and tomatoes is a winner). Bar seats let you watch the focused action in the open kitchen, where dedication to the craft is obvious. 

This Memphis institution serves sophisticated dishes from a multi-course tasting menu in an ornately decorated dining room Downtown. Nightly creations might include beef tenderloin, or Chilean snapper with portobello mushrooms on a horseradish reduction. Desserts include baked Alaska (sponge cake topped with ice cream and meringue, then baked) and crème brûlée. Afternoon tea is served Tuesday through Saturday from 2 to 3, but you'll need to make a reservation 24 hours in advance.

Folks flock to this busy restaurant in the heart of East Memphis for the USDA prime steaks served with sizzle and a pat of herb butter. If beef isn't your thing, they also serve salad and seafood. Either way, be sure to save room for bread pudding. There are five separate dining rooms, plus eight private rooms for small parties. A pianist plays Monday through Saturday in the Cellar Lounge, and a retail store sells meat and other items.

This Overton Square classic, located in a half-timbered house with an elegantly appointed dining room, serves delicious crepes (try the hot chocolate dessert crepe) and salads and excellent grilled chicken, salmon, and swordfish.

A reconstructed English Tudor–style building in Belle Meade is home to this elegant steak and seafood house. This is steeplechase country, and the framed paintings hanging among the lush draperies in the dining room show equestrian themes. A double fireplace separates the bar–lounge area from the columns, wood paneling, and wall hangings in the banquet room. Choose from no fewer than seven fresh fish entrées nightly, plus Alaskan king crab, lobster tail, steaks, and chops galore; there are also gluten-free options. Reservations are recommended but not required. The setting is upscale, but the dress code isn't; business casual or even jeans will do just fine.

In the kitchen here, four-time nominee for Best Chef in the Southeast, Daniel Lindley, choreographs his culinary pas de deux with fresh, locally sourced ingredients and refined technical skill to present an elegantly balanced menu that is unquestionably en pointe with his loyal dining audience. Pad your wallet and prepare your palate for upscale Southern preludes like smoked trout hush puppies with Benton's bacon remoulade. Seafood dishes, by the way, are fresh as a ballerina's bouquet. And muscular entrées like Wagyu beef zabuton steak are outfitted with colorful accompaniments such as potato gratin, Brussels sprouts, and king trumpet mushrooms. Vegetarian selections are thoughtfully orchestrated too.

A beautiful and historic 24-room town house built in the 1840s is the setting for this unique restaurant. The house retains much of the home's original decor, and dinner is served among fireplaces, oak floors, antiques, and paintings. Specialties include homemade crab bisque, crab cakes, and sweet-potato fries.