🍽️ Restaurant Run of the Week: HoneyFire Barbeque

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If you haven't heard of HoneyFire BBQ yet, it's time to get familiar. What started as a flagship location in Bellevue back in 2018 has grown into one of Middle Tennessee's most exciting locally-owned BBQ concepts, with locations now in Bellevue, downtown Nashville inside the Assembly Food Hall at Fifth+Broadway, and their newest spot on Old Hickory Boulevard in Brentwood. This isn't a chain pretending to have soul; it's a family-owned operation built around honey-based homemade sauces and rubs, slow-smoked meats, and a genuine commitment to Southern hospitality that you can actually feel when you walk in the door.

The concept itself is worth understanding before you go. HoneyFire takes the best of American regional BBQ traditions and pulls them all under one roof: Texas brisket, Kansas City sweet sauce ribs, Memphis pork sandwich with slaw on top, Alabama white sauce, and ties it all together with their own modern Nashville twist. Every sauce and rub is honey-based and made in-house, and the meats are slow-smoked the right way. No shortcuts, no gimmicks. They've also built out a serious whiskey program that lands them on the list of Nashville's top bourbon bars, which is a very welcome bonus when you're waiting on a plate of smoked meat.

I made it out to the new Brentwood location recently, and the setup works really well once you get your bearings. One side is a bar area, the other is a counter-service setup where you order your food, a smart split that gives the space two totally different vibes under the same roof. The atmosphere was great from the jump, the kind of place that feels lively without being loud and like somewhere you'd actually want to stay for a while. The bar side was still finding its footing, as you'd expect from a new location, but the beers were cold and good, and that's what matters most while you're waiting on BBQ.

Being a new location, there's naturally some settling in still happening, and that's completely understandable. What was already clear is that the bones of this place are solid. The space is clean and well-designed, the staff is friendly, and the food coming out of that kitchen is the real deal. Give them a little time to get into a full groove, and this is going to be one of the go-to spots in town.

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• 📍Location: Brentwood, Bellevue, Downtown

• 🍴Recommendation: Burnt Ends, sit at the bar

• ⭐️ Highlight: Food, atmosphere, hospitality

🔎 Last Eaten Review: 3 Meat Platter

The three-meat plate is the move for a first visit, and the burnt ends alone make it worth ordering: smoky, caramelized, and tender all the way through. The sausage was solid, the chicken the weakest of the three, but nothing to complain about. On the sides, don't skip the mac and cheese. HoneyFire puts a Hatch chili spin on it that gives it just enough kick to make it genuinely memorable, and honestly, it might have been the most surprising thing on the table. The green beans rounded it out nicely. A really strong first showing from a kitchen that's clearly not messing around.

🍖 Check them out: https://honeyfire.com/

Have a great day!

Hueston Nelson | Publisher | The Nashville Grapevine