Eat Burgers and Fries at Joyland (Nashville)

Last updated: 4/17/24

Joyland is a bright and colorful burger joint located in East Nashville. The restaurant is a project by Sean Brock, a James Beard award-winning who is known for his high-end spots like Husk, the Continental, and Audrey.

That doesn’t mean that Joyland serves high-end burgers though. It’s more of a casual place with just your basic burger, fries, and milkshakes. I’m always up to try a good burger, and I was curious about checking out one of the few restaurants by Sean Brock in Nashville that I haven’t been to yet.

Here’s what you need to know about Joyland!

Great Atmosphere and Even Better Food at Joyland

Joyland has been part of the restaurant scene in East Nashville for a while now. My most recent visit to Joyland was prompted when my husband and his mom saw Joyland featured on the Netflix show Somebody Feed Phil (season 6, episode 5–for those who are wondering).

The restaurant on Woodland is very low-key. The walls and booths have bright primary colors similar to a lot of fast-food burger restaurants except that there’s a lot of white space to offset the bold hues.

The menu is fairly simple. There are just four different burgers on the menu (including a vegan burger) and a hot dog. And just a couple of sides as well. You place your order at the front counter, and someone brings it out to you when it’s ready. At least that’s what happened when we were there, but I’m not sure how they find you when it’s more crowded. The perks of going anywhere in Nashville on a weekday is that you’ll usually find fewer crowds.

I tried out the JoyBurger Deluxe while my husband and his mom tried out the CrustBurger they had seen on the Netflix episode. My burger was delicious. It wasn’t too greasy, and you could tell that the burger meat was freshly grilled.

My family was very excited about the CrustBurger. I passed on trying the CrustBurger because of the onions, but I was told that the combination of the onions with the cheese was so good.

As far as price goes, our burgers were reasonable for a Nashville burger shop that isn’t a fast food chain. I’d suggest getting the combo because when you include the fries and the drinks, the total is actually a little cheaper than similar burger places in the area.

Here are a few of the things I really appreciated about Joyland in addition to the quality of the food.

Highchairs were available for small children (love when this happens!)
Outside seating had a wall separating it from the street
It’s possible to get several of the menu items gluten-free

The only downside to Joyland is that there’s no dedicated space for parking. We managed to snag a street parking spot, but you could end up having to park pretty far away. This is a common problem in parts of East Nashville.

Overall, the experience at Joyland was good. We’ll absolutely be headed back to Joyland again. And, next time I’ll be trying out one of the milkshakes!

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Joyland is located at 901 Woodland St, Nashville, TN 37206. See Joyland’s website for the menu and hours.

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