The easiest shortcut when writing about Nashville food is to spend 800 words on hot chicken and biscuits and call it done. That version of Nashville exists and it’s worth eating. But the actual food landscape of the city in 2025 reflects what happens when a population doubles in 15 years and brings its eating habits with it. The international food scene here is real, it’s rooted in immigrant communities rather than trend-chasing, and it’s producing some of the most interesting restaurants in the South.
The Kurdish Factor
Nashville has one of the largest Kurdish communities in the United States, concentrated primarily in Antioch and South Nashville. This is not a minor footnote. Kurdish restaurants have been operating in those neighborhoods for decades, largely unknown to visitors who stay north of I-440. If you want lamb kebabs, dolma, and flatbread that have no connection to tourism or trend-setting, Antioch delivers. The community predates Nashville’s restaurant boom by a generation.
The Japanese Moment
Nashville’s Japanese food has reached a level where national food press pays attention. Noko in East Nashville holds back-to-back James Beard Award semifinalist nominations. Kase x Noko runs a 14-course omakase next door. Sushi-san from Chicago landed in 12 South in 2025 with Master Chef Kaze Chan operating the kitchen. Bad Idea in Wedgewood-Houston runs a Lao-Japanese influenced menu that has nothing to do with conventional sushi. The wood-fired approach at Noko in particular represents Nashville doing something with Japanese technique that isn’t just a copy of what works in New York or Los Angeles.
Latin and Mexican Depth
This is where Nashville’s food scene often surprises people who expect honky-tonk fare and nothing else. Maíz de la Vida, started by Julio Hernandez with pandemic stimulus money, earned a James Beard 2025 semifinalist nomination. Mas Tacos Por Favor grew from a beloved East Nashville food truck into a brick-and-mortar at 732 McFerrin Ave without losing its identity. Yayo’s OMG (Original Mexican Gourmet) has been running since 2011 and still produces one of the better tacos in the city. Dos Santos brings a more upscale approach to Latin cuisine. The significant Latino community in Nashville is the foundation underneath all of this, not a trend.
Middle Eastern and Persian Presence
Epice handles Lebanese cuisine at a level that would hold up in a city with a much larger Lebanese community. Noôsh brings Persian food to a dining landscape that has very few competitors in that category. Neither restaurant is chasing a trend. Both reflect communities that have been part of Nashville for longer than the current boom.
The Broader Landscape
Arnold Myint’s International Market covers Pan-Asian territory with more range than any single-cuisine restaurant. Woodlands handles Indian vegetarian cuisine well. Mama Yang opened in Germantown in 2025 with Taiwanese food. Boqueria brought Spanish food into the Fifth + Broadway complex. Rolf & Daughters has been doing sophisticated seasonal pasta long enough that it’s no longer new, just reliable and good.
The point is not that Nashville rivals New York for international food diversity. It doesn’t. The point is that the assumption of a city locked into Southern cooking has been wrong for at least a decade, and the immigrant communities who drove that change deserve acknowledgment before the restaurants that benefited from their presence get all the credit.
Sources
- James Beard Award semifinalist lists 2024 and 2025
- Nashville Scene food coverage of Maíz de la Vida, Noko, Bad Idea
- Eater Nashville on international restaurant openings 2024-2025
- Nashville Kurdish community profile, Nashville Post
- Mas Tacos Por Favor brick-and-mortar at 732 McFerrin Ave