Press

Pre-Game a Soccer Match at Wedgewood Houston’s First-Rate Restaurants and Bars

Eater
April 26, 2023

Writte By Kellie Walton

Wedgewood Houston, once a hub for factories and warehouses, has evolved into a trendy South Nashville neighborhood — so much so that it earned its own cringey nickname, WeHo. Much of the development here has retained its roots, with artsy bars and elegant restaurants transforming existing industrial digs.

The growth was marked most recently by the addition of Geodis Park, a 30,000-seat stadium home to Nashville’s Major League Soccer team, Nashville SC, as well as some fabulous local concessions like Mexican gem Alebrije and Prince’s Hot Chicken, the creator of the iconic Nashville hot chicken. The boom has brought fancy dining options but also dive bars that soccer spectators can spill into after a match. Here are the best bars and restaurants in Nashville’s Wedgewood Houston neighborhood.

1. Dicey's Pizza + Tavern

Pies range from classic (pepperoni or sausage) to creative, like a cacio e pepe pizza adorned with Parmesan cream and cracked black pepper or one loaded with hot pickles, bacon, and cheddar.

2. Earnest Bar + Hideaway

Ernest Hemingway’s favorite haunts can be found worldwide, and so can bars paying homage to the famous author and infamous drinker, including the industrial-chic Earnest Bar & Hideaway inside the historic Houston Station building. 

3. Bastion

Bastion is a Wedgewood Houston one-two punch, with an intimate, 24-seat reservation-only restaurant on one side and a casual cocktail bar on the other. 

4. Never Never

Tucked inside a former welding shop, Never Never is a cool, stripped-down spot for sipping cocktails and sharing uncomplicated food.

5. Gabby's Burgers and Fries

A self-proclaimed hole-in-the-wall, Gabby’s houses some of the best sloppy burgers in town, including one topped with house-made chili. 

6. Il Forno

Naples-born chef Egidio Franciosa and his wife, Jannah, turned a popular mobile pizzeria into this brick-and-mortar beauty with a sweet patio. 

7. Diskin Cider

Nashville’s first craft cidery, Diskin Cider comes from Pacific Northwest native Adam Diskin and his friend Todd Evans. 

8. Smokin' Thighs

Smokin Thighs, which also has a location in Sylvan Park, deviates from Nashville’s typical fried chicken and barbecue joints by serving nothing but chicken, smoked or grilled. 

9. Santa's Pub

Celebrate Christmas all year long at Santa’s Pub, decked out in colored lights and named after owner Elmer Denzel Irwin, who resembles Kris Kringle if he were a cowboy delivering drinks instead of presents.

Read the full story here