The annual Country Music Association Festival is coming up next week during June 6-9. In preparation, we toured a few different celebrity owned restaurants and bars in Nashville to give you all the inside scoop on the best places to stop for a bite to eat in between jamming out to your favorite artists.
All of the bars we are about to mention were created and designed by the artists themselves, each with their own unique touch of their own personality and style. From colorful wallpaper, neon lights, and stages galore, these bar and restaurant combos are a must when visiting Music City.
Miranda Lambert’s Casa Rosa
Singer Miranda Lambert opened up her first Tex-Mex Bar and Cantina called Casa Rosa right in downtown Nashville. The honky-tonk is a four-level building with 3-levels of live music and a rooftop bar. The food and drinks here are fantastic.
Being the first woman to open a bar on Broadway, Miranda sure proved with her style and taste that women do it better. The bar is decked out with her own memorabilia like dresses and a guitar that guests can look at while enjoying their tacos and margaritas.
We visited the bar for food and drinks to give the restaurant a try on a recent trip to Music City. As a starter we got the Dip Trio, a selection of smoked tomato salsa, green tomatillo salsa, and guacamole with fried lime tortillas for dipping. We just couldn’t get enough, so we also ordered the Queso Fundido, a gooey mixture of queso blanco and shredded cheese with corn chips.
For our entrée we got Bistec Steak Tacos and a Casa Quesadilla with Chicken. The Bistec tacos had authentic marinated skirt steak paired with avocado crema, cilantro, red onion, caramelized onion, and fried jalapeños. The Casa Chicken Quesadilla was amazing, with shredded cheddar cheese, poblanos, crema, and sautéed onions.
We couldn’t go without trying something from her extensive and delicious looking drink menu. We ordered Miranda’s Classic Margarita and the winning drink, Gunpowder and Lead- a spectacular take on an old fashion. The Gunpowder and Lead may be best drink overall for the downtown bars. Miranda has 12 specially curated drinks on her menu along with dozens of other liquors and beers to choose from.
Eric Church’s Chief’s
Chief’s opened on Broadway in Nashville this April. After three years of collaborative effort between Church and Ben Weprin, founder and CEO of AJ Capital Partners, the historic building at 200 Broadway has undergone a remarkable transformation. Chief’s is an eclectically designed six-story establishment comprising a bar, music venue, and restaurant. You can see the time and care that Eric personally put into the bar on every floor in every space and this sets this one apart from the others on Broadway.
One of the most striking features of the bar are its stained-glass windows with iconic music stars that cover the front of the building. Artists like Dolly Parton, Johnny Cash, George Strait, Hank Williams Jr., Bruce Springsteen and Eric Church himself are immortalized with the beautiful glass displays. The walls are also covered in hundreds of different Eric Church posters and tons of Church’s own memorabilia.
Chief’s pays homage to Eric Church’s Carolina roots through a collaboration with Rodney Scott. Scott’s Whole Hog BBQ occupies the fifth and sixth floors, featuring its signature ‘Hell of a Q’ rooftop setting that offers panoramic views of downtown. Six different smokers are constantly operating, creating perfectly cooked meats and barbeque favorites for guests.
The menu features mouth-watering dishes like Pork Skin Nachos, a Catfish Sandwich, and Smoked Chicken Wings. If you don’t feel like sitting down to have a bite to eat, there is a one-of-a-kind walk-up window on the first floor serving Whole Hog BBQ goodness from breakfast until late in the evening.
Kid Rock’s Big Ass Honky Tonk Rock N’ Roll Steakhouse
Located on the corner of 3rd Avenue and Broadway, this Honky Tonk and Steakhouse boasts five floors, four stages, and six bars. The bar holds 1776 patrons. The first floor and mezzanine overlook a two-story main stage, and the fifth floor offers a breathtaking view of downtown Nashville, dare we say the best view on Broadway. The third floor bar is shaped like a piano with a unique design. On the live performance stages, artists pay tribute to Kid Rock by playing his songs most of the time. While we were there Stephen Kelly Hunt played with the John Stone band and then Dean James kept the party going into the evening with his brand of rock n roll classics.
The servers and bartenders were the most amazing hosts and I do love my 1999 Kid Rock music. We tried the Chicken Quesadillas, the 36 oz Tomahawk steak with sides of Loaded Baked Potato, and French Fries after watching it being prepared in the kitchen by their amazing staff of chefs. We even took a tour of the kitchen while the chefs prepared our gigantic steak to see the chefs in action. The portions were definitely a meal for you and two of your friends.
The winning dish for us was the Bad Ass Brisket Burger- amazing and we will be going back for this again since we’ve been craving it ever since we left. I of course had to try “The Bobby,” a cocktail mix of Vodka, Blue Curacao, Pineapple, and Sours. The cocktail really hit the spot after the savory flavors of our main dish.
Blake Shelton’s Ole Red
Named after one of Shelton’s songs, Ole Red is a two-story bar located on Broadway. The establishment has live music, full-menu dining, an array of cocktails, and a roof-top patio called The Lookout that was voted the best rooftop bar in Nashville. The menu has all of your favorite southern comfort foods and 10 curated liquor drinks.
We tried the Honey Bee Hot Chicken & Waffles and the Bar-B-Que Burnt Ends Appetizer. For dessert we had the classic Mason Jar Banana Pudding. The Chicken & Waffles had just enough spice with the Nashville Hot Honey Glaze and Bourbon Maple Syrup. The Burnt Ends were Smoked Brisket, Ole Red Bar-B-Que, and Coleslaw.
We tried two of the signature cocktails: Cherry Limeade and Some Beach. The Cherry Limeade was made with Ole Smoky Hunch Punch Moonshine, Fresh Lime Juice, and Cherry.
The Some Beach was made with Spiced Rum, Blue Curaçao, Banana, Fresh Lime Juice, and Pineapple.
During CMA Fest, Ole Red is transformed into Spotify House where fans can stop in to see their favorite country artists perform throughout the week. Make sure to arrive early for entry to see big name artists perform in this intimate setting.
Jason Aldean’s Kitchen + Rooftop Bar
Aldean’s Kitchen and Bar is located right on Broadway and boasts over 27,000 square feet with four levels and six bars. The main menu was created by Jason Aldean with Chef Tomasz Wosiak and focuses on Southern-style dishes like Jason’s Mac & Cheese, Southern Meatloaf, Country Cornbread, Chicken Wings, and a Nashville Hot Chicken salad.
We tried the Hot Chicken Salad, which was made with the perfect ratio of spice to crisp and crunchy lettuce. The salad was made with crispy hot chicken, mixed greens, pickles, celery, bacon, bleu cheese crumbles, and ranch dressing. This is our pick if you want to spice up your lunch or dinner.
This location has the largest outdoor patio on Broadway and features two floors of live music every single day. The mezzanine level of the bar has a gift shop where you can find memorabilia and merchandise to memorialize your stop. You may even get lucky and get to encounter one of Aldean’s occasional surprise performances.
The alcoholic drink menu features 12 specially curated cocktails, all donning names of Aldean’s songs like Burnin’ It Down made with Wild Turkey Longbranch, Demerara, Aromatic Bitters, Orange Peel, and Cocktail Cherry or Small Town made with Maker’s Mark, Hot Honey, Whiskey Barrel Aged Bitters, and an Ice Sphere.