Nashville's Stylish Cafe Is A Combination Restaurant And Cocktail Bar For Coffee Lovers And Bar Hoppers Alike

Nashville is best known for its spirited live music scene, especially downtown along Lower Broadway's Honky Tonk Highway, and big, country music-themed attractions like the wildly lavish Gaylord Opryland Resort. But great cities also depend on another kind of third space: welcoming places outside home or work that offer room to relax and connect with others. Cafes are popular third spaces, and one of Nashville's off-Broadway bests is Stay Golden, a stylish cafe-meets-bar with an inventive drink menu.

Tucked away in West Nashville's The Nations neighborhood, Stay Golden is most known for its coffee, offering balanced brews and espresso classics from cortados to lattes (the Cuban is a favorite among customers). But the menu doesn't stop there. Stay Golden offers a lineup of rotating and signature "augmented" coffees (like the Warmer Currants — a spiced cranberry, cream, and chocolate coffee creation) and coffee-based cocktails (such as the coffee old fashioned with Belle Meade bourbon). "We pull shots, combine them with sugar and seal them up in the fridge for a day or two," co-founder Nathanael Mehrens said in an interview with Daily Coffee News. "Then we can use it in all sorts of things like iced coffee drinks and cocktails without having to worry about dilution. It's a game changer."

Opened in 2018, the cafe was founded by the team behind Matchless Coffee Soda (an inventive, fizzy, caffeinated beverage served on tap at Stay Golden) and Steadfast Coffee, an early purveyor of Nashville's third-wave coffee culture. They also drew inspiration from Crema, a top-rated cafe and one of the city's original coffee roasters. Stay Golden roasted its own beans on site until 2021, when the roastery spun off into its own company, Good Citizen, which still provides proprietary blends for the cafe. 

Though coffee is what most reviewers rave about at Stay Golden, a full bar is also available, along with a beverage menu that includes coffee-based or coffee liquor cocktails along with a lineup of prosecco-themed favorites. Warm up with an Irish coffee that blends Bushmills Irish whiskey with Demerara and filter coffee, topped with a creamy float, or try the Southern-style espresso martini combining coffee flavors, bourbon, and Amaro Pellegrino. Brunch-goers can opt for classic bloody marys and screwdrivers, Aperol spritzes, or mimosas — including seasonal specialties like pineapple or spiced cranberry, spiked with gin. Going with a buddy? Order a whole carafe to share and stay golden.

If you just want a simple beer or wine, Stay Golden's got you covered. Choose from a locally crafted blonde, IPA, or even a saison, or opt for a glass of rosé or red. This is definitely a different bar atmosphere than the one you'll find at, say, Miranda Lambert's Tex-Mex Casa Rosa in the heart of Broadway, but it's a welcome change of pace away from the Honky Tonk Highway and a great way to stay refueled during a Nashville adventure.

Stay Golden is more than coffee and cocktails — though it excels at that. It's also a brunch destination, a patio hangout, and a community hub designed to foster relationships. The atmosphere is casual, yet cozy, with floor-to-ceiling windows; exposed industrial ductwork; and a palette of whites, golds, pine woods, and Tiffany blues. Guests order at the counter, and then have the option of grabbing a seat inside or heading out to the shaded patio. Be warned: It gets busy on weekends.

Stay Golden's food is as thoughtful as its coffees, with gluten-free options available. Guests especially recommend the from-scratch buttermilk biscuits, and one past visitor even advises ordering extra to-go. Other dishes include the signature Country Grammar, which piles fried chicken, sausage gravy, and a local egg onto one of those fluffy biscuits. Meanwhile, biscuit breakfast sandwiches come stacked with souffléd eggs, seasonal jams, and proteins like chicken or bacon. Of course, you can also order everything Nashville hot. Breakfast tacos, yeasty waffles, salads, and dishes like a "golden potato casserole" round out the menu, and on weekends, you can order the Green Eggs and Ham in a verdant chimichurri hollandaise. Then, along with your specialty coffee, you can order a pitcher of mimosas or regular coffee with bottomless refills.

There are a few kinks to work out. Some reviewers say entrées could include sides for better value, while others feel the spot leans a bit touristy — though that's not unusual in Nashville, a top tourism city. Regardless, guests praise the owners for being gracious and responsive, clearly aiming to live up to the cafe's name. Stay Golden closes at 3 p.m. daily, but it opens at 7 a.m. on weekdays and 8 a.m. on weekends, so plan accordingly, and make it an early one!