Nashville has a real problem with coffee shops that treat pastries as an afterthought, pulling pre-wrapped muffins out of a box and stacking them next to the register. The shops worth going to for pastries are the ones where the baked goods program is genuinely separate labor, not a sideline.
Americano Lounge in Wedgewood-Houston makes everything in-house, and that includes the pastries. The owner, Cody Pellerin, built out the space himself, and the same from-scratch philosophy applies to the food menu. You’re not getting something that arrived on a truck. The result is a pastry case that reflects actual daily baking, and it holds up alongside a coffee program that’s serious enough to earn it.
The Dozen Bakery relationship
The most important pastry supplier in Nashville’s coffee shop ecosystem is Dozen Bakery, which functions as a standalone bakery and cafe in its own right but also supplies bread and baked goods to many local restaurants and coffee shops. Claire Meneely started Dozen in 2009 as a holiday cookie pop-up at Nashville Farmers Market and opened the brick-and-mortar in February 2015. By 2024 the bakery had become Climate Neutral certified and was supplying Crema as its coffee partner while Crema supplied the bakery’s coffee program.
Ugly Mugs in East Nashville and several other local shops stock Dozen pastries. When a coffee shop menu lists croissants or scones from Dozen, that’s a meaningful upgrade over the alternatives.
D’Andrews Bakery and Cafe in Nashville operates as a pastry-focused cafe where the owner David Andrews trained in New York City before returning to Nashville. The blueberry corn muffin, the oatmeal chocolate cookie, and the Jack Daniels honey brownie represent the range. This is the shop that Yelp consistently places in the top tier for Nashville pastries alongside coffee.
Where the biscuit sandwich matters
8th & Roast has built a specific reputation around its buttermilk biscuit sandwich: sausage patty, fried egg, and melted honey butter. The Infatuation describes it as something you cannot eat without sticky fingers and calls it “impossible to get out of eating.” The biscuits are made in-house and the sandwich arrives alongside the coffee program rather than being an afterthought to it. The Charlotte Avenue location is the largest and easiest to settle into.
Dose’s chive and goat cheese scone shows up in multiple reviews as worth ordering every time. The pastry program at Dose is tighter than at larger shops, but what they make is executed well. The Barcelona iced coffee and a scone is the standard order for regulars at the Sylvan Park location.
The full bakery experience inside a coffee shop
Frothy Monkey rotates seasonal house pastries at all its locations and functions as an all-day restaurant, which means baked goods appear on a breakfast menu with actual thought behind them rather than just sitting in a glass case getting stale.
Humphreys Street in Wedgewood-Houston and on Broadway pairs its pastry selection with a bright, high-ceilinged space that is specifically designed for lingering. The back patio at the Wedgewood-Houston location is described as looking like the Hamptons, which is aggressive Nashville boosterism, but the pastry situation is genuinely good.
For anyone who wants to visit the source rather than the distributor, Dozen Bakery itself at its Nashville location offers the full range in context: sourdough loaves, seasonal pastries, croissants, and coffee from Crema. The olive and herb sourdough has a following among regulars who come specifically for it.
Sources
- Nashville Guru, “Best Coffee Shops in Nashville”
- The Infatuation, “The 17 Best Coffee Shops in Nashville” (May 2025)
- Dozen Bakery, dozen-nashville.com
- Yelp, “Top 10 Best Pastries and Coffees in Nashville, TN” (2026)
- modernluxury.com, “Nashville’s Best Coffee Shops to Elevate Your Morning Routine” (November 2025)
- sixthcitymarketing.com, “20 of the Best Cafes, Bakeries, and Coffee Shops in Nashville” (February 2025)