Best Burgers in Nashville Before Burger Week: Our Search Begins
Nashville Burger Week is coming up July 6–12, 2026, so we decided to start preparing the only logical way.
By eating a bunch of burgers.
Burger Week is one of Nashville’s best food events of the summer. For one week only, more than 60 local restaurants across Nashville offer $8 burger specials, and you can use the official Burger Week app to find participating restaurants, check in, earn points, vote for your favorites, and win prizes.
So before Burger Week gets here, we started our own little search for the best burger in Nashville.
Parts 1 and 2 are now live on our YouTube channel, and so far we’ve tried four very different local burger spots:
No official ranking, we’re just trying local spots, sharing what we liked, and helping you build your own Nashville Burger Week list.
Our rating system is simple and Nashville-inspired:
I like it.
I love it.
I want some more of it.
Watch Part 1: Dominic’s + Cledis
Watch Part 2: Brown’s Diner + Dreamburger
What Is Nashville Burger Week?
Nashville Burger Week is a citywide burger event where local restaurants offer special burgers for $8 during one week in July.
For 2026, Burger Week runs July 6–12.
The fun part is that it’s not just the same basic cheeseburger everywhere. Some restaurants keep it classic with smash burgers and diner-style burgers, while others go all in with one-of-a-kind creations you probably wouldn’t normally order.
You can check out participating restaurants, find specials near you, check in when you visit, earn points, vote for your favorites, and try to win prizes!
Basically, it’s a good excuse to eat your way around Nashville for a week!
Dominic’s was our first stop, and it was a fun one to start with.
It’s a locally owned bar and grill in Hermitage with a laid-back feel, good energy, and burgers that are worth paying attention to. They also do half-off burgers on Mondays for dine-in, which is good to know if you’re ever looking for a casual burger night outside the main Nashville core.
We tried two burgers: the Bavarian Burger and the Signature Patty Melt.
The Bavarian Burger was the limited-time April burger of the month and was created by one of our friends, so we had to try it!
The burgers at this stop were truly delicious. It had that messy, flavorful, bar burger thing going on, and it was the one we kept coming back to during our other tours!
If you’re in Hermitage, or you’re willing to get outside your usual Nashville food neighborhoods, Dominic’s is a solid local stop to add to your burger list!
Next up was Cledis in The Gulch.
This place has a lot of personality. The interior is quirky and decked out in 80’s nostilgia, the drinks are colorful, and there’s enough randomness in the decor to make it memorable without feeling like it’s trying too hard.
We tried a couple drinks too… the Smurf Piss and the Adult Soda!
The Smurf Piss came out in a large bag, kind of like a capri-sun for adults! And the Adult Soda was especially wild: Whiskey, peanut butter, Coke, and actual peanuts on top! Not subtle, but definitely memorable.
For the food, we tried the Italian Stallion, the Cledis Burger, and the White Queso Fries
The Italian Stallion was the standout for us. Fried mozzarella, pepperoni, marinara sauce, all on a burger. It sounds like a lot, and it is, but it worked.
This place got a love it from us.
Cledis is a good stop if you want something fun, casual, and a little different. And if you’re already in The Gulch, it’s an easy one to work into a night out.
Part 2 of out tours started at Brown’s Diner, which is a Nashville classic.
Brown’s has been around since 1927, so you’re not just going for a burger. You’re going for a little piece of Nashville history.
It has that old-school dive feel that you can’t really fake. Nothing about it feels overly polished, and that’s part of why people love it.
We tried the 1927 Classic Cheeseburger, the bacon Crumble Smash Burger, and the tots and onion rings
This was the most classic burger experience of the series so far.
Not every burger needs to be wild or overbuilt. Sometimes you just want a simple cheeseburger in a place that feels like it’s been there forever.
Brown’s has that.
It’ll celebrate 100 years in 2027, which is crazy. Nashville has changed a lot, but Brown’s is still there doing its thing.
Also worth noting: Brown’s is listed as one of the participating restaurants for Nashville Burger Week, so this could be a good one to keep on your list for July!
Stop 4: Dreamburger in East Nashville
Dreamburger was the last stop in Part 2, and it was a strong finish.
It’s a food truck in East Nashville near Vinyl Tap, and it has a completely different feel from the other spots we visited.
Simple setup. Smash burger style. Very East Nashville.
We tried: the Dreamburger and the California Dreamin’ Burger
This was one of our favorite stops so far.
Both burgers were good, but there’s something about a food truck burger done well that just hits differently. Dreamburger was simple, flavorful, and easy to like.
No extra gimmick needed.
If you’re already in East Nashville, this is a great one to add to your list, especially if you want to pair it with a Vinyl Tap stop.
How to Make the Most of Nashville Burger Week
Burger Week can get overwhelming because there are a lot of options.
Over 60 restaurants is great, but nobody needs to eat 60 burgers in a week. Or maybe you do. We’re not judging.
Nashville Is More Than Hot Chicken, Country Music, and Broadway!
We love hot chicken and Broadway has its place, but Nashville’s food scene is so much bigger than that.
You’ve got old-school diners, neighborhood bars, food trucks, new restaurants, burger joints, and local spots all over the city.
That’s part of what we like about making these videos. And if you’re thinking about moving to Nashville, that stuff matters more than people realize.
Thinking About Moving to Nashville?
This is the kind of thing we love showing people about Nashville.
Yes, we help people find apartments. But part of finding the right place is figuring out what kind of day-to-day life you want here.
We’re licensed agents, and our apartment search service is completely free for renters! We help people narrow down neighborhoods, compare apartments, and find a place that fits how they actually want to live.
