Nashville has four restaurants on Yelp’s national "Top 100 Places to Eat" list for 2026. When I first heard the news, I reached out to ask what sorts of criteria are involved in being chosen, because some of these lists can be a little opaque about how they decide who is included.
I was impressed to hear that there is no pay-for-play element to Yelp’s rankings, but both the volume of reviews and the ratings are taken into account when picking the top 100. In a surprising but welcome detail, all restaurants on the list are also checked to make sure they have a passing health score. That’s always good to know.
With an exceptional Asian-inspired menu and great service, Noko leads with its heart
So without further ado, here is the quartet of Nashville restaurants that made the list:
Noko Nashville (No. 24)
Degthai (No. 28)
Monell's Dining & Catering (No. 84)
The Butter Milk Ranch (No. 93)
I’d say that’s a solid list of locally owned favorites, and it’s pretty impressive to note that they represent 4 percent of the national list — tied with New York and trailing only Las Vegas and Houston in the number of listed restaurants.
But before we break our arm patting our own back, I would point out that Noko — our top-ranked restaurant — finished one rung below Rock N’ Potato, a Vegas food court spot that brags of its “celebrity-inspired baked potatoes” that include the Fleetwood Macdaddy and Chuckberry Fried Chicken.
So. Yeah, that puts it in perspective.
The Nolensville Pike spot offers authentic, fiery Thai entrées
In other listicle news, local food writer and content producer Matt Moore scored a dream gig — compiling a list of the top 20 chicken wing restaurants in the South for Southern Living — and he recognized the home team advantage when he chose two Nashville spots for the list.
Noble’s East actually scored the cover shot of the January-February issue, and Moore waxed rhapsodic over their version of tiny hot chicken: “Their version is smoked low and slow, hit with their proprietary dry rub, flash fried, and dunked in homemade mud. They serve it properly: over Bunny brand white bread with dill pickle chips and a house ranch that’s good enough to bottle.” I concur that those are some pretty special wings, and if you haven’t tried them yet, get over to Noble’s East Nashville or Central-Metrocenter locations soon!
Moore also called out Brother Z's Wang Shack on Dickerson Road — he’s not wrong about that Honey Gold sauce!
