A local favorite, Adele’s brunch brings out the best of the menu’s highlights out for a Sunday feast. The buffet is loaded with the restaurant’s tried-and-true favorites: JW chicken with salsa verde (named for partner chef Jonathan Waxman); a pecorino-laced kale salad; whole-roasted pig at the carving station. There’s also a house-made yogurt station and a solid variety of pastries, plus cocktails like Adele’s Milk punch — cognac and black rum infused with citrus and spices — or rosé sangria. At $28 per person (plus additional for beverages, tax, and gratuity), it’ll carry you through the end of the weekend.
Barcelona Wine Bar
An airy space lined with barnwood and exposed brick, Barcelona Wine Bar is a solid option for groups, but you can have a more intimate meal on the patio or back room, too. The tapas-style menu is full of traditional Spanish favorites: gambas al ajillo, albondigas (meatballs) and paella to be shared. (Go for the paella mariscos, which gets loaded with shrimp, mussels, clams and squid.) Things get creative on the brunch menu, available Saturdays and Sundays from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., where the kitchen mashes together Latin and Southern flavors. There’s hot chicken and churros, shrimp and polenta, or the brunch bocadillo filled with pork belly and a fried egg.
Biscuit Love
Born of a beloved local food-truck concept, Biscuit Love is the brick-and-mortar extension of chef-owners Karl and Sarah Worley’s passion for biscuit-focused Southern fare. Order at the counter, choosing from a selection of breakfast and lunch items, like the Lily, which is a biscuit-fied version of French toast, or a Wash Park, a burger between biscuits. John’s Ham Bar offers a selection of regional cured hams served with cracker-like beaten biscuits. Waits can get heavy on the weekends at all of the locations, but there’s a selection of curated local merchandise to browse while you wait.
Josephine
A 12 South institution, Josephine is known for its relaxed, rustic atmosphere and elevated comforting classics. Chef Andy Little marries his own love of Pennsylvania Dutch cuisine with Southern ingredients, and during brunch, that means crab cakes with mixed greens and a lemon-mint vinaigrette, or the Josephine benedict with poached eggs, scrapple and country ham napped with hollandaise. His wife, Karen, puts together a stellar wine list — look for sparkling wines and whites by the glass, or opt for a low-alcohol cocktail like The Sully, with Pimms, Chareau Aloe Liqueur, ginger, lemon and cucumber.
M.L.Rose
A buzzing craft beer and burger joint, M.L.Rose has built a loyal following since opening in 2008. Now with three locations, they’re known for doing inventive and genuinely delicious burgers all the time, as well as destination brunch on Saturdays and Sundays. That’s when you’ll find draft and cocktail specials, like two-for-one Bloody Marys and mimosas, as well as the egg-and-bacon-topped Good Morning burger and “The Recovery” waffle fry, which smothers piping hot fries with three types of cheese, bacon and two eggs. The Papi breakfast burrito is filled with a smoky chorizo, eggs, queso, and hash browns, and is topped with chile verde and pico de gallo. There’s also a selection of salads, fries and cinnamon-sugar doughnut holes for dessert.
Liberty Common
Why wait until the weekend when you can brunch every day? A stunning modern take on a brasserie, Liberty Common combines French sensibilities with Southern ingredients — think grilled trout over grits and pickled duck eggs (similar to deviled eggs). Brunch is available every day 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m., with a menu that has a full range of sweet and savory flavors. The waffle Madame is a hearty open-faced number of Black Forest ham and gruyere topped with a sunny-side egg. They’re also known for the crackly-skinned fried chicken, which gets a dark golden crust and the hint of herbs de Provence — try it on a biscuit sandwich or with a malted waffle. An extensive spritz menu is on-hand all day as well — pair your meal with a refreshingly sweet Honeytree mead spritz.
The Mockingbird
This two-story modern American diner puts a fun spin on global fare with a melting pot of a menu. Brunch here is served Saturdays and Sundays, when chef Brian Riggenbach takes liberties with classics, like serving a gigantic breakfast taco and grits swirled with huitlacoche. Dig beneath the pun-y names to find a range of international flavors — a dish called Flock Yes is a chicken-fried chicken thigh with chorizo gravy. The Mockingbird is also known for its cocktails, especially the punches — order a Teapot Tizzie, and the seasonal concoction for four arrives in a teapot, with your choice of booze.
The Sutler Saloon
The Sutler Saloon smartly combines Nashville’s favorite meal with its favorite type of music during Bluegrass Brunch each Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. The saloon’s calling card is its menu of updated signature Southern classics. It’s packed with great choices like cheddar-scallion cornbread waffles served with buttermilk fried chicken and a cinnamon-bourbon syrup. The breakfast tacos are a stand out, as are the hash plates — go for the green chile chicken piled with potatoes, peppers, onions and a fried egg. For another taste of Nashville, order up the Whisper Creek coffee, enhanced with the locally made sipping cream spirit.
Marsh House
With its contemporary Art Deco motif, the sun-drenched corner of Marsh House at the base of the Thompson Nashville hotel is a buzzy daytime spot. It helps that the restaurant serves brunch every day — both hotel guests and locals can find their ideal midday meal here, whether that be Johnnycakes with salmon and crème fraiche or the Broken Yolk sandwich set between slices of brioche with belly ham, smoked onion, kale, and pickled peppers. Pastry chef Lisa Marie White melts hearts with her cast-iron cinnamon rolls and crème brûlée croissants. And, from Friday through Sunday, the offerings amp up with bottomless Champagne.
Geist
The exposed brick and wooden beams at Geist reveal the historic building’s original use as a blacksmith shop, and also provide a charming retreat. There’s a champagne garden on the patio, open year-round, and on Saturdays and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., the restaurant does a fine list of brunch fare. Start with a prosecco mimosa before moving on to lox on a house bagel with caper cream cheese, or a meat and cheese board loaded with a broad selection of cured slices. From there, go with the shrimp and grits topped with a poached egg or the eggs benedict with house-cured ham — both are hearty and satisfying.
Chaatable
Like the streets of India where chef Maneet Chauhan and her husband, Vivek, drew their inspiration, Chaatable is a busy, colorful world where good aromas mingle in the air. It’s a casual space with a u-shaped bar and thousands of thin bangle bracelets decorating one wall. They serve brunch on Saturdays and Sundays, offering a menu that’s balanced with both sweet and savory options, some of which are familiar brunch dishes that get an Indian spin. So, avocado toast is amped up with mint and tamarind; eggs are wrapped in a crispy potato coating; and aromatic saffron French toast is laced with garam masala caramel. Add a Karma coffee for a relaxing buzz.
8th & Roast
8th & Roast has been roasting and brewing coffee for Nashvillians for years on the south side of town; they recently added a second location on Charlotte Avenue where you can now find brunch every day from 7 a.m. until 2 p.m. To go alongside their selection of coffees roasted in-house, find a made-to-order list of dishes, like a bowl of loaded stone-ground grits mixed with stewed tomatoes, bacon, cheese and herbs. Or splurge on one of their hearty “Things on Toast,” like the avocado version topped with pickled red onion and fresh herbs, or the ham and eggs, which comes with a layering of sliced coppa, spring lettuces and a citrusy hit of Meyer lemon.
Stateside Kitchen
Beneath a soaring glass atrium, Stateside is a sexy, modern brasserie, with black and white tiling, sea-green banquettes, and lush greenery throughout. A long white bar set with low-backed blue bar chairs stretches down one wall and on Saturdays, the dining room fills with brunching visitors and locals alike. Hear that? A local DJ gets things moving for the daytime service. Plates of cornmeal waffles loaded with crispy fried chicken, and griddled crepes with whipped ricotta and berry compote top the tables alongside cocktails like the It’s 420 Somewhere, a CDB-infused cold brew with Amaro and chocolate oat milk.
Stay Golden Restaurant and Roastery
Born by a team of coffee experts, Stay Golden delivers on its name, with a full-service restaurant, coffee bar, on-site roastery and even a cocktail bar on the second floor. Meticulous in brew methods, the team pours an excellent cup — go with their rotating seasonal espresso or ramp things up with a coffee cocktail, like the Through the Woods, made with Matchless Coffee Soda and gin. The chef-driven menu means that dishes change seasonally, but you can’t go wrong with the savory leavened waffle drizzled with hot honey butter and hickory syrup and topped with an egg, or the brunch burger, made with beef from local outfit Porter Road Butcher and topped with a fried egg, bacon and Dijon remoulade.
Saltine
With hints of Creole and Gulf coast influence, the menu at Saltine is seafood-heavy and full of flavor and spice. Grab a seat inside the sprawling dining room where a modern nautical motif includes the long tentacles of an octopus painted along the walls. During brunch on Sundays from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., you can start with a platter of raw oysters, most of which come from the Gulf, before tucking into entrees like a blue crab and asparagus scramble, which gets a ladle of hollandaise and a side of potatoes, or an omelet loaded with shrimp and avocado.
Sinema Restaurant + Bar
Set in a historic 1940s-era theater, Sinema lives up to its locale. A grand lobby with a curved staircase leads to an upstairs bar and dining room, and velvet tufted booths and exposed brick walls can be found throughout. Weekends find the place bustling from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., which is when they offer bottomless brunch. Stations are set throughout the space, each with its own bounty: a biscuit bar with seemingly endless toppings, a decadent waffle bar on the second floor, a panini station and more. You can also order off the menu for chilaquiles or Fruity Pebbles French toast. Also bottomless? The extravagant Bloody Mary and mimosa bars on each floor.
etc.
Chef Deb Paquette is known for reaching broadly and beyond flavor boundaries to create inspired dishes. At her Green Hills restaurant, etc., brunch is an affair. There’s orange-fig bread with ginger goat cheese to start. Then it’s on to the show-stoppers: A gluten-free pecan waffle with coconut yogurt and grilled pineapple; crab cakes topped with a poached egg, hollandaise, and a tuft of greens coated in a sauce of poblano and pumpkin seeds; and a bistro steak and eggs with dots of red gravy and a side of chimichurri potato hash. If there’s room for more, indulge with frozen baby doughnuts dipped in a warm mocha-spiced sauce.
