Best road-trip restaurants in Tennessee
Start here: 89 route-useful dining stops in Tennessee, grouped by town and filtered by cuisine or price. This is the curated road-trip layer, not every restaurant in the state.
Updated 2026-07-01. Check current hours, reservations, and seasonal closures before you go.
10 spots of 89 · Clear filters
Maryville1
Memphis5Town guide →
Downtown and citywide Memphis smokehouse favorite since 2002, drawing crowds for its dry-rubbed ribs and pulled pork near the Civil Rights Museum.
The smoky downtown Memphis rib institution for the riverfront stretch of the Great River Road.
Award-winning Memphis pit legend since 1977 known for barbecued Cornish game hens and ribs smoked over charcoal.
Family-run cinderblock Midtown institution since 1972, revered for its chopped pork sandwich piled with tangy mustard slaw.
Midtown Memphis smokehouse credited with inventing barbecue spaghetti, serving ribs on Texas toast since the early 1970s.
Nashville3
Award-winning family barbecue known for brisket burnt ends and the Tuck Special. (12 South)
Whole-hog West Tennessee pit barbecue smoked over hickory from Pat Martin. (Downtown)
Carey Bringle's acclaimed spot for Tennessee dry-rubbed ribs and its own whiskey. (The Gulch)
Tellico Plains1
Build a trip around Tennessee dining stops.
Save catalog-backed stops to My Trips on the web now. The iOS beta is testing the on-road companion: verified check-ins, badges, shared trips, and your growing map of America.