Nudie's Honky Tonk — Restaurant in Nashville-Davidson

The Wyck Recommendation: Nudie’s Honky Tonk (Nashville) Rating: 3.8/5 Cadillacs Above, Punk Below, and a Shot in Between

Intro Scene There’s a vintage white Cadillac hanging sideways off the wall like Elvis parked it drunk and forgot. That’s your cue: this place does not deal in subtlety. Three floors up, a rooftop with a view. Downstairs, a band is screaming into the neon-soaked abyss about love, whiskey, and some guy named Hank. Welcome to Nudie’s where country, rock, and chaos try to coexist... and occasionally collide.

What Was Ordered Whiskey neat. Some things don’t need garnish. We skipped the food because when the band’s wearing “MODERNITY HAS FAILED US” jackets, mozzarella sticks don’t feel like the move. Though a drink named “Bedazzled Elvis” exists somewhere on the menu. Choose your fighter.

Service Commentary Bartenders work with cold efficiency quick pours, fewer words. If you're expecting southern charm, bless your heart. If you tip well, they’ll nod. If not, prepare to be ghosted harder than your Bumble date. Service isn’t bad, just burnt out.

Vibe Check Every floor is its own animal. The first floor? Wall-to-wall bodies, live country-rock fusion with some pop punk sneaking in. Second floor? A more classic honky-tonk vibe less mosh pit, more awkward two-stepping. Rooftop? DJs and daylight-drenched selfies. Nudie’s has no chill, and not all of it works. The crowd is equal parts bachelorette tribes, frat retirees, and country fans who peaked in 2011.

The Space Itself Three stories of music, memorabilia, and what feels like barely controlled mayhem. Each level has its own bar and band. The infamous Cadillac looms over the first floor stage. Historic Nudie suits (rhinestone cowboy fashion icons) line the walls. Rooftop offers views of Broadway’s neon artery and a bit of breeze if the night feels too thick.

About the Neighborhood Smack dab in Lower Broadway’s honky-tonk district. You're surrounded by neon bars, cowboy boot shops, and tourist traps that sell twelve-dollar hot dogs. Parking is near-impossible. Uber or scoot your way in. Ryman’s a stone’s throw. So’s Tootsie’s, AJ’s, and The Stage. Think of it as Las Vegas for country fans who left their shame in another state.

Hits & Misses ✓ Three floors = three musical identities ✓ Rooftop DJ gives you a breather ✓ That Cadillac is peak Americana weird ✓ Great for photos, people-watching, and blackout singing ✗ Drinks are overpriced and occasionally mysterious ✗ Bar staff can be cold unless tipped like royalty ✗ Packed like a sardine rave after 9PM ✗ Not ideal for introverts or clean white sneakers

Before You Go Expect three levels Main Floor: Country and rock covers (loud) Second Floor: Rotating live bands, more classic honky-tonk Rooftop: DJs and chill views ID at the door, even if you look 40 and broken Bathrooms? Prepare for a line and lowered expectations No cover charge (usually), but bring tip cash for bands and bartenders

Broadway Culture Decoder Nudie’s is named after Nudie Cohn, designer of rhinestone cowboy suits. That’s why this bar is dripping in sparkle and swagger Unlike some spots, Nudie’s mixes genres. You’ll hear Shania, Garth, Journey, and maybe Metallica in a single set If someone spills beer on your boots, that’s the tax for existing on Broadway past 8PM

Insider Tips Want to breathe? Go early, before 6PM, or stick to the rooftop See the Cadillac? Look up on your way in—it’s real Sound sensitivity? Bring earplugs. No shame Fashion tip? Cowboy boots are fine. Flip flops are a death wish

Wyck Rating Matrix Category - Score / 5 - Notes Music Quality - 4.4 - Energy is high, but can feel cover-band-y Service - 3.2 - Efficient but indifferent Atmosphere - 4.9 - Visually legendary, vibe depends on crowd Crowd Vibe - 3.6 - Loud, wild, sometimes exhausting Food and Drink Value - 2.7 - Drinks are expensive, no standout bites Cleanliness - 3.5 - Surprisingly okay for the circus it hosts

Final Verdict Nudie’s is what happens when a country bar throws a glam-rock tantrum and no one tells it to stop. If you’re only hitting one...

I’m going to preface this review with this: there seems to be a theme in the 1-star reviews that this employer should pay attention to.

12/22 we just landed in Nashville for the first time and obviously wanted to check out bars on Broadway. Showed up in a group of 5 women, even though the bar was empty we decided to stay a bit and grab some drinks. We had a female bartender with dark hair that didn’t want to give us the time of day and had a terrible attitude. My friend asked for a lemon with her drink, the bartender gave her a lime and to which my friend said, “sorry can I get a lemon slice” and the bartender looked like we were asking for gold… if the bar was busy, that would’ve been more understandable. And then when I asked for a shot of pendleton she told me it was $28… not sure if that’s true but holy hell that’s way over priced. The lady was incredibly rude as far as bartenders go at a 21-er bar, so I wrote “bad service” on my receipt, already deciding that I’ll never come back to this bar. This angered her and she came over to confront me about it - all I can say to that was she was extremely unprofessional. She went and told the male bar manager with dark hair and a ponytail, and he had her back. I turn around and go about my business trying to enjoy my evening after that weird encounter.

It keeps going…

I turned away from the bar and took a photo. As soon as I did this the bar manager comes storming up to me asking to see the photo I took. I refused to show him (he’s not a cop) within my rights, and to that he kicked me out. I didn’t take a picture of him or the female bartender but now I wish I had so I could post their faces.

Again, this all happened the night of 12/22. Terrible service, terrible management - he had no sort of conversation with me as to why his female bartender wanted us gone - again, we wrote “bad service” on the tab because she gave TERRIBLE service.

The security was great, and apologized to us about the whole thing when we told them what happened. They were kind and did an excellent job deescalating. Give them a raise!

If you are a semi-attractive female - AVOID the female bartender with dark hair, again, working 12/22. She sucks and this bar’s management is garbage. Disgusted at their service. I’m very disappointed that I gave any of my money to this place.

*employer - watch your tape and ask the female bartender about these reports. I’ve seen multiple accounts within these reviews with similar situations. She may be having a bad...

My significant other and I were visiting family in Nashville Tennessee, and they said we have to visit Nudie's before flying home on the 2nd of October 2023. The experience was one to remember about NOT visiting Nudie's ever again, and especially sharing what actually happened. We were dancing on the rooftop about 7 feet from our Corona beers on the table next to the dance floor. The security woman grabbed our 2/3 full beers to pour them out, and I said hey we're still drinking those 2 beers. Could you replace our beers as we were still dancing on the floor? She said sure, 6 minutes had gone by and I asked here male partner if he could drop our beers off we're to take a break from dancing. The male security person said he would take care of the matter. 7 minutes later the Nashville Tennessee police showed up to have me escorted off of the property. The officer said he had received a report of an upset male on the rooftop, and they wanted me to be removed from their establishment. I was in SHOCK, like really Nudie's you need the money that bad to pour drinks out, and have your guest keep buying drinks. I'm embarrassed for you to say the least. Rather than make this a lasting memory of Nudie's I left with my significant other, and we said the level of unprofessional behavior was unbelievable. The male security person made a false report about my behavior just to flex his weak authority. I simply wanted the owners of Nudie's to know how their security staff operates, and their lack of training shows to say the least. This matter could of been resolved by simply replacing our 2/3 beers, and we would have still been dancing on your rooftop. My background is in Quality Assurance, and I've worked 29 years in that field up until I retired. So, to experience this level of untrained personnel is most concerning to me.

I could only hope that the owners of Nudie's has been unaware of their security staff...