Healthy Paleo, and Gluten Free Nashville Restaurants Part 2

Growing up in the Nashville neighborhood of Oak Hill,  I was very familiar with the restaurant options around town. Unfortunately the culinary scene was not as diverse as today and definitely did not have the healthy paleo and gluten free choices now available.

A few years after I graduated from University of Tennessee, I felt an urge to go west so I moved to California in 2005, where I discovered a passion for healthy living and became a Paleo foodie. On family visits back home I kept up with the expanding choices in Nashville and things seemed to be looking up.

I moved back to Nashville with my husband in 2015 and I started a tasty exploration, looking for for more Paleo and gluten free options. After exhaustive research I am happy to report there are expanded healthy options that can accommodate the gluten free eater.

I wrote a post about my favorite restaurants here and here but I wanted to expand the list since I have tried so many new places since returning to Nashville full-time.  Here are some of the places that I keep going back for more….

Healthy Paleo, and Gluten Free Nashville Restaurants Part 2

Vui’s Kitchen: Berry Hill $$

This casual Vietnamese restaurant in Berry Hill is very gluten free and Paleo friendly. They have a rice noodle dish called pho made with slow cooked bone broth. Also great salads and my favorite thing, the fresh spring rolls. The owner is knowledgeable about making alterations to keep dishes gluten free. I have been so many times and am never disappointed because you can get full without breaking bank, plus not feeling like crap afterwards.

fresh spring rolls at Vui’s Kitchen

 

Smiling Elephant: Melrose $$

This is one of my best finds because back in San Francisco we ate Thai food once a week but have not found anywhere we really liked here. Of course I can’t get enough papaya salad. This place has chicken curry and Pad Thai, also a pork larb dish served with lettuce wrap that a friend of mine really likes. You can see the pictures from our recent trip to Thailand on Instagram under #grassfedthailand.

Pad Thai with Shrimp

Chicken curry and Pork Larb

 

Little Mosko’s: SoBro $$

I am crazy for this breakfast and lunch place because it sources  ingredients from local ingredients. Also the husband and wife chef/ owners are super informed about gluten issues. They even have a separate toaster for you if you are celiac and they make awesome gluten free bread. Try the awesome salads that change with the seasonal ingredients.

Seasonal Salads at Little Mosko’s

Bar Taco: 12th South $$

Has amazing gluten-free food that is affordable and fresh. My favorite is the shrimp lettuce wrap taco that is bursting with lime and cilantro. They also have a good chicken soup with a tasty broth. It is fun to sit outside and people watch along 12th ave South. They have a cool al carte menu that you can write your items on as if you were at a sushi place.

 

Appetizers at Bar Taco

 

NamaSushi: Elliston place $$

This nice new sushi place has a great gluten free menu. I went on a my birthday and it was really fun. They had an awesome seaweed salad too.

Nama sushi rolls from the gluten free menu

Farm Burger: West Nashville $$

This is a chain with awesome burgers that are grass fed and sourced from small farms. The highlights are roasted bone marrow and a superfood kale salad with nutritional yeast. They also have gluten free buns and sweet potato fries.

Farm burger with gluten free bun and a burger over kale salad

 

 

True Food Kitchen: Green Hills $$

This one is not opening until 2018 but I am already licking my chops. I visied this location in Dallas and was so exited by the bountiful paleo and gluten free options. I started with a crudite platter then a bison burger over spaghetti squash with mozzarella and tomato sauce. It was a wonderful and so filling. An even better reason to eat there is that it was affordable and sourced well.

Crudite platter

Bison burger over spaghetti squash with melted mozzarella at true food kitchen

 

Otaku Ramen:  Gulch $$

This has some awesome noodle dishes that can be made with gluten free noodles (made with keto miracle noodles!!). They told me their broth has some traces of gluten in the broth so this is a great option for the not so super sensitive to have their noodle fix. They also have a great gluten free seaweed salad with crab.

Chicken ramen with gluten free noodles

 

Love Peace and Pho: Melrose $

This place also makes their rice noodle soup with great care and time. I love the toppings of fresh basil and cilantro and bowls bowls are very filling and budget friendly.

Rare beef pho at Peace Love and Pho

Epice: 12 th South $$

I love this mediterranean restaurant, of course since I wrote a book called Mediterranean Paleo Cooking.  They have a great outdoor eating space and an open kitchen that is beautiful. I loved the grilled meats, veggies and tahini sauce. Also I had a ground beef and eggplant dish that was awesome. You really can’t go wrong and the plates were filling and not over priced. I could go back and eat here over and over.

Funk Seoul Brothers:  Franklin $

This great out of the box place is such a welcome change of pace for this California girl. They have a make your bowl where you pick your base of rice or kale, protein, and sauce, even toppings. They offer many gluten free sauces, yeah!

Sushi Poke bowls at Funk Seoul Brothers

Etc.  Green Hills $$

Etc and Etch are sister restaurants by Chef Deb Paquette. I had an awesome meal here of sweet potato vermicelli and Asian flavors with a seared beef.  It was awesome, maybe leave off the blue cheese smear next time….If you ask for gluten free they will help you out. The parking is pretty tight so just do the valet or walk a few blocks.

Beet and goat cheese sandwiches

Gluten Free sweet potato noodles with seared beef

 

Etch: Sobro $$

I had a great Thai Curry at Etch, where the menu is labeled with gluten free items. It is downtown and they have free valet parking with validation. They source with local ingredients and have a lot of healthy choices.

Thai Curry at Etch

 

Box: Bongo Java: Waverly Belmont $

I ordered the gluten free avocado toast and added two over easy eggs. It was really good. I would probably skip the cream cheese if I ordered it again. I also had an almond milk latte and it was not too sweet and extra hot, just the way I like it.

Avocado toast at Box

Little Octopus: Gulch $$

This Caribbean inspired place is awesome for gluten free and Paleo eaters. They have tosotones which are fried plantains and make great dip chips. Also they had a tangy ceviche topped with crunchy potato sticks. Above, my friend Marnie from Resplendent Healing tried the shashuka, which was very hearty. (Pictured below)

Music City Brisket Truck See Schedule $

We had a good meal here when we went to an event in Franklin.  I had the brisket taco in corn tortilla and Grass Fed Chef ordered the Brisket loaded fries. A portion of the proceeds go to Death Row Dogs Tennessee which rescues unwanted dogs which makes spending money here more fulfilling.

The best news is that Nashville has more and more healthy gluten free and Paleo options opening up everyday. Did I miss out on your favorite? Leave a comment of what healthy Paleo or gluten free place you like in Nashville.

Visiting Music City? 

Come stay at our airbnb and see, but don’t move here, the housing prices and traffic are already too much!

Here are my other posts about Nashville:

Nashville Coffee Shops

Nashville Paleo part 1

Nashville Farmers Markets

Hip Donelson Restaurants 

Things to do on a budget in Nashville

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