"This East Nashville brewery already has a home on our best big group dinner guide, and it works as a birthday spot for a lot of the same reasons. First, pizza has historically fed the birthday masses —shoutout to those elementary school skating rink parties—and Smith & Lentz has one of the best pies around town, using sourdough-fermented dough with bubbly and crispy mozzarella on top. There’s plenty of room to stretch out with your friends, too. Grab one of the picnic tables, order some pepperoni or cacio e pepe pies, and—because S&L also happens to be a great brewery—a few pints of their crisp German pils or Mosaic IPA for the obligatory birthday toast." - jackie gutierrez jones 2, ann walczak