Summer Guide 2025: 11 of Nashville’s Best Patios

“Go outside!” It’s the command of the Scene’s Summer Guide and of parents everywhere. When the weather is good and the living is easy, there’s a push to get out and enjoy it. 

Some folks are more indoorsy-outdoorsy. They want to be outside, but not camping or hiking or swimming in the lake. For them and … well, anyone who enjoys some fresh air, we have this list of 11 of the best patios in the city. These are outdoor spaces where you can sit and have a leisurely cocktail or meal (or both) and often enjoy the comfort of a ceiling fan or a mister, all while taking in a view of the summer sky. 

Chestnut Hill’s Il Forno has long had a patio that makes you feel like you are in Europe, miles away from the frustrations of home. The restaurant, which in reality is just blocks from Wedgewood-Houston, recently expanded its patio, and now it’s even more of an oasis. Nestle under the shaded canopy, admire the decorative murals and sip an elderflower spritz while waiting for your antipasto, pizza and pastas. 

Getting a reservation at Noko in East Nashville can take some diligent planning and creative “notify me” settings on the OpenTable app. But its new-and-improved covered patio is available for walk-ins only, so take your spontaneous self over to the Asian standout and feast on shishitos, burnt-ends lettuce wraps and a wood-fired market catch. If you do need to wait for a table, there are lounge chairs around a firepit to help you pass the time.

Former chef Jeff Roscoe (who also worked at 5th & Taylor and Bourbon Steak) has cooked up a more casual menu at Perfectly Fine, The Nations’ all-day-every-day cocktail bar and restaurant. The patio is a two-level affair, with a beer garden, a covered room to keep you dry during inclement weather and cocktails on tap.

If you’ve driven up Third Avenue South in the past seven months, you’ve seen people milling about on a patio that is vaguely industrial, vaguely Mediterranean. That’s Cafe Babu, and there’s a reason the Chestnut Hill stop is so popular. The cozy patio offers room to taste the day menu (coffees, sandwiches and wine) and the night menu (flatbread, cocktails and mocktails) with a stylish backdrop. 

Schulman’s Neighborhood Bar has two different spaces that can be considered patios. There’s the unequivocally outdoor seating on the Greenwood Avenue side of the building. And then there’s the covered back patio, which is a hidden slice of Palm Springs in Nashville, with its pastel colors, natural light and second bar. It has all the friendly vibes, decently priced drinks and delicious sandwiches of the indoor bar, but with summertime vibes. 

The Gulch’s new V Modern Italian is a swanky 7,000-square-foot spot with marble, brass and velvet highlights. Its patio, which wraps around the restaurant and can seat 76 people, is plush and lush and carries the vibe from inside to the outside. Grab a cozy corner bedecked in greenery, and order some of chef Stefano Ciotti’s Italian dishes or one of the cheekily named signature cocktails. V offers Aperitivo Hour and late-night DJ sessions on the weekends.

Germantown’s Spread Market and Larder patio might be small, but it is mighty. Grab one of the two tables on the patio and kick back with a sandwich, cinnamon roll or a tin of fish. The market is best-known for things to go, but its new wine program allows you to buy any bottle at retail price and pay a $5 glass fee to drink on the patio (or at the indoor wine counter — but save that for non-patio weather).  

East Nashville’s Reunion Bar has partnered with döner kebab truck New Berlin to bring German, Turkish and Canadian dishes to its patio, which is tucked away behind the Five Points bar. The multilevel patio will offer the food-truck eats seven days a week, with late-night service on Fridays and Saturdays. That’s in addition to cocktails, beers and wines available from Reunion, which offers “extended happy hour” on weekdays from 2 to 7 p.m.

One of the first things Bret Tuck did when he bought the beloved Brown’s Diner was build a massive deck. The Brown’s building was once an old trolley car, and the deck is designed to feel like a trolley platform. While the deck may be new, and while it significantly increases the dining and drinking space at Brown’s, the vibes and menu are classic.

When you think about it, is there a better patio in the city than the massive Band Box at the Nashville Sounds’ First Horizon Park? You can buy advance berm tickets for $10. You can sip frozen drinks, play Jenga, watch the baseball game and feast on a menu designed by chef Andy Little: smoked chicken nachos, mozzarella sticks (with pepperoni sauce!), lemon basil hummus, and funnel-cake-brown-butter soft serve that is served inside a helmet. 

Just like how warmer weather is temporary, so is City Winery’s new pop-up patio bar. Themed Barrels in Bloom, the tucked-away space offers a special themed cocktail menu in a garden-esque setting. It gets bonus points for having the floral vibes along with views of the skyline. The patio is open to the public; no need to have tickets to a show (although you certainly can hang before you catch an act).

Summer Guide 2025: Go Outside!

Nashville’s roadside animal landmarks, some of the city’s best patios and more reasons to get outdoors this season