Howdy Nash
Howdy Nash
The local's guide to plant-based dining in Nashville. Six spots that prove a meat town has a real vegan scene, vegan hot chicken included.
Nashville is a meat town. Hot chicken and barbecue run the food scene. But the plant-based side is real, and it has its own version of the local classics, including vegan hot chicken that holds its own.
This guide covers six dedicated vegan and vegetarian restaurants, where each one is, and what to order. Each spot below was checked as open. Menus change, so confirm hours before you go.
1200 Buchanan Street, North Nashville. The standout, in the Buchanan Arts District near Germantown. The Southern V is 100% plant-based and built around vegan Southern food: fried chick'n, chick'n strips, BBQ jackfruit, and sides that taste like a meat-and-three. If you only have one vegan meal in Nashville, make it this one.
4 City Boulevard, in the OneC1ty development off Charlotte Pike. Nashville's first fully vegan restaurant, open since 2015. Avo is the upscale end of the scene, a whole-foods, plant-based menu that skips fake meat and lets vegetables, grains, and bold flavors carry the plate. It started with raw food and still keeps some of those roots.
1888 Eastland Avenue, East Nashville. A vegan comfort-food spot on the Eastland strip, popular for both brunch and dinner. Expect breakfast bowls and burritos, a buffalo quesadilla, a hot tempeh sandwich, tempeh mac, and rotating daily specials. Casual, easygoing, and very East Nashville.
2834 Azalea Place, Berry Hill. A long-running vegetarian cafe in the small Berry Hill district. It is casual and build-your-plate, with a wide menu of vegetarian dishes and clearly marked vegan options. A reliable pick when a group mixes vegetarians, vegans, and the flexible.
513B Fisk Street, North Nashville. A vegan soul-food cafe near Fisk University, with a second location in Antioch. Vegelicious does plant-based versions of soul-food plates and comfort dishes, in a low-key, counter-style setting.
2421 Vanderbilt Place, on the Vanderbilt campus. A friendly vegetarian cafe on the Vanderbilt campus, open to anyone, and certified kosher. It serves breakfast items, paninis, wraps, salads, and daily specials, and it has been a campus-area fixture for over a decade.
Tasting and neighborhood food tours with local guides. Free cancellation on most bookings.
Howdy Nash is the free Nashville travel app. Find plant-based spots near your hotel, get walking distances, and ask the AI concierge what is good nearby.
For a true Nashville experience, The Southern V on Buchanan Street. It is fully vegan and built around Southern comfort food, including vegan fried chick'n. Avo is the pick for a nicer, whole-foods dinner.
Yes. The Southern V serves vegan fried chick'n in the Southern style, the plant-based answer to Nashville's signature dish.
Sunflower Cafe in Berry Hill and Grins on the Vanderbilt campus are dedicated vegetarian spots. The vegan restaurants on this list, The Southern V, Avo, Graze, and Vegelicious, are also fully vegetarian by default.
The closest dedicated spots to downtown are The Southern V and Vegelicious in North Nashville, both a short drive from the center. Many downtown restaurants and food halls also mark vegan dishes on their menus.
The Southern V, Avo, Graze, and Vegelicious are fully vegan, with no animal products. Sunflower Cafe and Grins are vegetarian, so some dishes use dairy or eggs, with vegan options marked.
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