Drink Up: Vibe-Hopping at Nashville Watering Holes

Snack & Sip

Why drink on an empty stomach when you can have quality food in the bar or brewery environment you’re searching for? Each of these spots provides a delectable dining experience while still offering excellent cocktails.

• Twilight Tavern (5303 Charlotte Ave.)
• Urban Cowboy (103 N. 16th St.)
• Lauter at Southern Grist (754 Douglas Ave.)
• Smith & Lentz (903 Main St.)
• Le Loup (1400 Adams St.)

Bring Your Cool Co-Workers

Your super-cool co-worker asks if you’d like to grab a quick drink. The mixture of wanting to maintain professionalism and needing a break after a hard day’s work pushes you toward a chill bar environment — calming atmosphere, pleasant ambience, carefully crafted drinks and a tame yet enjoyable scene.

• GreenHouse Bar (2211 Bandywood Drive)
• Reunion (105 S. 11th St.)
• Cherries (839 Dickerson Pike)
• Otto’s (4210 Charlotte Ave.)
• Harriet’s Rooftop (710 Demonbreun St.)
• Old Glory (1200 Villa Place, Unit 103)

Obscure Extracurriculars

Whether it’s a date or a hang with your friends, sometimes it’s nice to switch up the typical bar routine of playing darts or chatting at a table. Activity bars give you and your chosen company the chance to try something new or revisit a nostalgic niche. 

• Up/Down (927 Woodland St.)
• No Quarter (922 Main St.) 
• Game Terminal (201 Terminal Court)
• Tee Line (106 Duluth Ave.)
• Bad Axe Throwing (652 Fogg St.)

The Kids Are All Right (to Bring Along)

No need for a sitter — just a designated driver when you’re hanging out at a bar with kid-friendly hours. Some of these spots have activities for your kiddos, but each has a safe environment to relax in. (Just be sure to check online for any guidelines these locations may have.)

• Pins Mechanical (1102 Grundy St.)
• TailGate West (7300 Charlotte Pike)
• East Nashville Beer Works (320 E. Trinity Lane)
• Pinewood (33 Peabody St.)
• Tennessee Brew Works (809 Ewing Ave.)

Post-Prohibition Pubs 

Whether or not they identify as a speakeasy, each of these spots evokes a vintage feel. They all feel somehow both underground and upscale. The moody atmosphere makes these bars the perfect options for a date night or post-event drink. 

• Attaboy (8 McFerrin Ave.)
• Red Phone Booth (136 Rosa L. Parks Blvd.)
• The Fox Bar & Cocktail Club (2905B Gallatin Pike)
• The Patterson House (1711 Division St.)
• Bar Sovereign (514 Fifth Ave. N.)

A Drink Is Worth a Thousand Words

When you enter a bar with a carefully created aesthetic, you can’t leave without taking tons of pictures. It didn’t happen if there isn’t any evidence, right? The attention to detail transports you to the West Coast, a Korean bar, a tiki hut or even a 1930s gin joint, all within your own city. 

• Coral Club (604 Gallatin Ave., Suite 217)
• Pearl Diver (1008 Gallatin Ave.)
• Tiger Bar (2909 Gallatin Pike)
• Babo (1601A Riverside Drive)
• Hubba Hubba Tiki Tonk (922 Main St.)
• Chopper Tiki (1100B Stratton Ave.)

Let’s Dance 

For a crowd with stage fright, sometimes it takes tequila to tango. You don’t have to be a fiendish two-stepper to shake off your worries with a fabulous group of people. Just show up in your dancing shoes and let loose.

• The Underdog (3208 Gallatin Pike)
• American Legion Post 82 (3204 Gallatin Pike)
• Dee’s Country Cocktail Lounge (102 E. Palestine Ave.)
• Canvas (1105 Fatherland St.)
• Rosemary & Beauty Queen (1102 Forest Ave.)
• Miranda Lambert’s Casa Rosa (308 Broadway)

Sing Like the Pros

Anyone sounds like a pro on the karaoke stage once the crowd’s had a couple of drinks. It doesn’t matter whether you live for the applause or to applaud — come live out your American Idol dreams at any of these beloved karaoke bars.

• Fran’s (2504 Dickerson Pike)
• Ms. Kelli’s Karaoke Bar (207 Printers Alley)
• Santa’s Pub (2225 Bransford Ave.)
• The Lipstick Lounge (1400 Woodland St.)
• Cross-Eyed Critters Watering Hole (101 20th Ave. N.)

Cool With a Dash of Tourism

You just found out your friends are coming into town, and they all want the “Nashville experience.” Though some of these places are on Lower Broad, each of them has a special something that keeps locals coming back. 

• Robert’s Western World (416B Broadway)
• The Nashville Palace (2412 Music Valley Drive)
• Pushing Daisies (570 Broadway)
• Ophelia’s Pizza & Bar (401 Church St.)
• Skull’s Rainbow Room  (222 Printers Alley)

Hangover Outposts

It’s the morning after a night out, and you’re feeling the consequences. Heavily. All you want is some breakfast food and potentially a bit of hair of the dog. These outposts provide fresh air, delicious hangover food and even cocktails — if you’re up for round two.

• Redheaded Stranger (305 Arrington St.)
• Dino’s Bar & Grill (411 Gallatin Ave.)
• Brown’s Diner (2102 Blair Blvd.)
• Mother’s Ruin (1239 Sixth Ave. N.)

Neighborhood Haunts

Warning: You will inevitably see someone you know. Locals have loads of beloved bars, but there’s a handful that stand out from the crowd. Any bar that enhances a sense of community is worth giving a shot.

• Duke’s (1000 Main St.)
• The Villager Tavern (1719 21st Ave. S.)
• The Rum Room at Riddim n Spice (2116 Meharry Blvd.)
• Inglewood Lounge (3914 Gallatin Pike)
• Schulman’s Neighborhod Bar (1201 Porter Road)
• Lakeside Lounge (921 Woodland St.)
• Batter’s Box (43 Hermitage Ave.)
• Village Pub and Beer Garden (1308 McGavock Pike)
• The Centennial (5115 Centennial Blvd.)
• Neighbors (multiple locations)

More Than Beer

Watering holes don’t begin and end with typical spirits and beer. Whether it’s absinthe, mead, sake or cider, each of these spots offers something a little different.

• The Green Hour (1201 Fifth Ave. N.)
• Honeytree Meadery (918 Woodland St.)
• Rice Vice by Proper Sake (3109 Ambrose Ave.)
• Diskin Cider (1235 Martin St.)

Drink Up: Classic Cocktails, Great Frozen Drinks and More

Plus we explore how cannabis-infused beverages are impacting local breweries and go bar-hopping by vibes