Puckett's Restaurant

This Southern comfort food restaurant and live music venue started as a small-town grocery store in Leiper's Fork before growing into one of Nashville's most recognizable dining institutions. The downtown Church Street location brings the same formula to the heart of the city — a big, lively dining room with a stage, a menu built around classic Tennessee cooking, and live music running every night. Southern Living named it one of Tennessee's Top 5 Local Restaurants, and regulars tend to order the brisket, shrimp and grits, meatloaf, pimento cheese ball bites, and chicken and sausage gumbo. The food is honest and straightforward rather than flashy — this is the kind of place where you come for the full experience as much as the meal itself. Worth knowing going in that it draws a mix of locals and visitors, and the live music adds a lot to the atmosphere if you time your visit right.