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Tennessee is famous for having some pretty damn good BBQ, especially in Memphis. But if you can’t get to Memphis, Nashville has plenty of options to experience tasty Southern BBQ. Much like my quest to find Nashville’s best hot chicken, I equally wanted to find the best BBQ in Nashville.
So far, we’ve visited four BBQ joints in the Nashville area and we’ll definitely be adding more when we return (if you have any recommendations for us to add to our list, please drop us a comment below!). Each BBQ joint we’ve visited has their strong suits and I can’t say that we had a bad meal at any spot!
In this post, I break down each BBQ joint in terms of the meats we tried, the sides, and the ambiance/hospitality. While the meats are really the stars of the show, sides and Southern hospitality are equally as important to me in making sure the whole experience is worthy.
Martin’s Bar-B-Que Joint
410 4th Ave S, Nashville, TN 37201
https://www.martinsbbqjoint.com/
First up on the list is Martin’s – a BBQ joint that will likely be on most BBQ fanatics’ must-eat-at lists!
We showed up to Martin’s in Downtown Nashville a few minutes before opening and queued up in line. I highly suggest coming right at opening so you don’t have a long wait. The friendly staff took our order and off we went!
Meats
At Martin’s, we decided on an order of the ribs and brisket and they were both solid choices! The ribs were moist with a great smoke flavor and a tasty dry rub, which is the style of ribs that we prefer. I can definitely say these are the best ribs we’ve had in Nashville thus far.
The brisket at Martin’s also takes our top spot for brisket in Nashville. Awesome flavors and incredibly moist and juicy! For added flavor, their Jack’s Creek BBQ sauce is available on every table and I highly recommend a few drops with the brisket for flavor enhancement.
Sides
Mac and cheese is one of my favorite side dishes, so we had to give it a try here to compare it to all the rest we had in Nashville. The mac was nice and creamy and had a good cheese crust on top!
We also got the hush puppies which were crispy on the outside, and warm and fluffy on the inside.
I wish we had also gotten extra sides of green beans and baked beans to try, but I’ll save that for the next visit!
Ambiance
The staff taking our order were super friendly and the servers were also very welcoming and chatty! We sat in the main dining area but I wish we would have wandered out to the beer garden for better lighting. The Downtown location is also centrally located and is the perfect jumping off point to explore and sightsee in the city.
Peg Leg Porker
903 Gleaves St, Nashville, TN 37203
https://peglegporker.com/
Next up is Peg Leg Porker, located in The Gulch neighborhood of Nashville. Peg Leg Porker gets its name from founder Carey Bringle, who lost a leg to cancer at a young age – hence the “peg leg” name. Here, they focus primarily on ribs and pulled pork for their meat offerings (though they do have half chicken and sausage options as well).
We visited on a quiet Wednesday afternoon (after the lunch rush) and had plenty of seating options available to us.
Meats
Not wanting to go overboard (we were also on a hot chicken mission the same afternoon we visited), we just went with one half rack of ribs to share. We enjoyed the dry rub-style of ribs and thought the seasoning was really good! I do wish there was a bit more of the smoke flavor coming through and our ribs were a little on the dry side.
Overall, it was still a good rack of ribs but Martin’s edges them out slightly.
Sides
The sides at Peg Leg Porker were all delicious! We tried the mac and cheese which was very creamy and made in a shells and cheddar style. I loved the smoked green beans and the pork rinds were fantastic. I’m not usually a big pork rind fan, but these were delicious! Really crispy and loved the seasoning. Exactly what you would expect with “porker” in the restaurant name.
Ambiance/Hospitality
Ambiance was as much as you’d expect from any BBQ joint – rugged and casual, and I enjoyed having the patio seating available to eat our meal outdoors.
The staff here was unfortunately the least welcoming of all the BBQ joints we visited. The girl taking our order seemed less than thrilled to be there and I did not feel a lick of hospitality. Of course, we were there for the food primarily but I would request more smiles for our next visit (because I really would like to try their pulled pork!).
Edley’s Bar-B-Que
2706 12th Ave S, Nashville, TN 37204
https://www.edleysbbq.com/
Edley’s covers a variety of BBQ styles – “a tribute to all things Southern” in their words – and takes our top spot for best BBQ in Nashville!
On our visit, we rolled in around noon on a Friday to the 12th South location and it was bustling. We were luckily offered a spot at the bar where we could not only enjoy a drink, but also get our food ordered without having to wait in the main food line!
Meats
At Edley’s, we tried two different meats – the brisket and the burnt ends. Both were delicious, but the burnt ends really stole the show. In fact, they are the main reason for us giving Edley’s our number one spot for best BBQ in Nashville! Burnt ends are actually a signature of Kansas City-style BBQ and are basically meat candy – so moist and full of flavor. I can’t imagine we will ever come back here and not order this.
The brisket was tasty and great overall. Not quite as good as the brisket we had at Martin’s but definitely not a bad second choice by any means!
Sides
The sides at Edley’s were all pretty much perfection. The grits casserole was our favorite and paired well with the burnt ends (though I think this side dish would pair well with any meat). The mac and cheese was creamy and I detected hints of nutmeg, which reminded me so much of my mom’s homemade mac and cheese. Nice and comforting!
The baked beans were excellent (maybe some of the best I’ve ever had), and the green beans were equally as fantastic. The cornbread was a nice bonus, though I felt it could have been a tad more moist.
Ambiance/Hospitality
We sat at the bar and had a great time with the friendly and attentive bartenders. I appreciated the fact that we could order our food from the bar while enjoying our drinks! We each got a spicy Bloody Mary and that spicy flavor bomb will wake you right up. It’s also the perfect remedy for a night out of drinking. Probably the best Blood Mary I’ve ever had!
Edley’s was already quite busy when we visited around 12 p.m. on a Friday. When we left a bit later, the line was out the door with people waiting to get in and order. BBQ joints are very popular in Nashville and I highly recommend trying to get here closer to opening so you don’t have to worry about long waits.
Papa Turney’s
3979 Bell Rd, Hermitage, TN 37076
https://papaturneysbbq.com/
Papa Turney’s is an honorable mention here as they technically aren’t in Nashville; rather, they are just to the east, about a 15-minute drive past the Nashville Airport. However, I think it’s close enough to Nashville for me to include it on this quest for the best BBQ in the Nashville area.
We visited Papa Turney’s fresh off the plane, wanting to dig right in to all Tennessee BBQ had to offer! While it wasn’t our favorite stop, it did have some highlights.
Meats
The winning meat for us at Papa Turney’s was the rib tips, which was on special that day. If you see it on the menu, give it a try! Our second favorite was the Smokin’ Hot Chicken (not hot whatsoever, so I’m not sure where the term comes from but it had good smoky flavor). Lastly, we also had the pulled pork and brisket which were both unfortunately way too dry (however, they did have some tasty BBQ sauce to moisten it up).
The meats such as the hot chicken, brisket, and pulled pork all come chopped and sandwiched between a white bread bun. To me, that’s just a bit too much bread and we ended up removing the tops off the buns. We were there for the meats and sides after all, not to fill up on bread!
Sides
The turnip greens are where it’s at! I was glad we actually ordered two sides of these with all the food we got. The beans were decent, but the mac and cheese left something to be desired. It was a bit dry and needed more seasoning.
Ambiance & Hospitality
Papa Turney’s is located right on the water at the J. Percy Priest Reservoir, and views are amazing! It’s a great spot to sit out on the porch on a sunny day and enjoy your BBQ. Everyone working here was also extremely friendly and welcoming. It was a prime example of that Southern hospitality we were looking for.
So, even though it wasn’t our top pick, I’d still love to go back and try their ribs, get some heaping cups full of their turnip greens, and enjoy the views!
I hope you enjoyed this rundown of our mission to find the best BBQ in Nashville! Please drop me your recommendations in the comments below on what your favorite BBQ spot is in Nashville and if we should add any other spots to our list.
Read Next:
- Where to Find the Best Hot Chicken in Nashville
- Nashville Travel Guide for Foodies and People Who Don’t Love Country Music
- How to Plan a DIY Nashville Distillery Tour: The Perfect Half-Day Itinerary
Great reviews, but just one thing: Hermitage is a neighborhood in Nashville. If you are anywhere in Davidson County, you are within the Nashville city limits.
Thanks for that Phillip! I wasn’t sure how to classify it based on the address, so that’s good to know.