The April Hit List: 5th & Taylor, Lyra, Family Tacos, and More

Classic Sunday supper dishes get the fine dining treatment at this Germantown restaurant, where dishes like black-pepper dumplings with asparagus, mornay, and truffle offer a different take on Southern food. The restaurant is pleasantly casual, however, with a large patio that’s perfect for sipping rosé with friends while enjoying longer spring days.  

Dining Status: Dining room and patio are open.

It’s wood-fired everything at this East Nashville restaurant, where the menu is centered around an ample hearth. Almost everything is kissed by fire at some point, from ember-roasted trout to the grilled broccolini with roasted-stem pesto. It’s an ideal place to grab an early dinner on a cool spring night, where you’ll be warmed by both the hearth and the hospitality of married owners Nick and Audra Guidry. 

Dining Status: Dining room is open. 

Though its first location is in Brooklyn, this restaurant is the real deal when it comes to Cajun food. The two founders met as roommates at LSU, spawning a restaurant serving fried shrimp poboys, a variety of gumbos (including a recipe from one of their grandmothers, of course), hurricanes and daiquiris, and more. They even bring in the bread for their poboys from Leidenheimer’s in New Orleans, a feat only true poboy fanatics will appreciate.

Dining Status: Dining room is open; takeout and delivery are available. 

A modern Middle Eastern lunch or dinner on the patio at Lyra is one of the harbingers of spring in East Nashville. Whipped baba ganoush with fresh pita and a bountiful hummus salad topped with roasted vegetables and herbs is the ideal lunch for those looking beyond Nashville’s typical fried or bun-swaddled lunch options (we’re looking at you, burgers and hot chicken). There’s also a generous selection of wines by the glass from regions around the world, and cocktails with Middle Eastern flavors like cardamom, Aleppo pepper, and za’tar. 

Dining Status: Dining room and patio are open; takeout is available.

There’s a retro oasis on the fourth floor of the Fairlane Hotel downtown. There you’ll find chilled shrimp cocktail, beef tartare, and oysters Rockefeller, all on offer in a low-key but glam environment. Led by chef Kristin Beringson, the kitchen turns out midcentury classics starting at 3 p.m. happy hour through dinner. Grab a seat on the lounge-y terrace for a happy hour cucumber gimlet by the firepit, or dine inside, ensconced in a tufted leather banquette. 

Dining Status: Dining room is open.

There’s a little bit for everyone on the menu at this uber-casual South Nashville hangout, from nachos and fish and chips to cheese curds and patty melts. It’s all very fresh, however, taking pub grub up a notch, with drinks to match. Wines by the carafe, classic cocktails (from Manhattans to margaritas), and a good selection of beers on tap make it an excellent destination for patio lunching, brunching, or dining under the cover of night. 

Dining Status: Dining room and patio are open; takeout and delivery are available.

A Jewish delicatessen has opened in the former home of Marché, bringing an influx of matzoh-ball soup, whitefish salad, and bagels, glorious bagels. There’s breakfast all day, including a classic New York bodega-style bacon, egg, and cheese on a roll and Bloody Marys, plus open-faced reubens, pickle plates, and chopped liver for lunch. Named after the owner’s grandfather, Shep’s is bringing much-needed Jewish deli realness to Nashville.

Dining Status: Dining room is open; takeout is available now, delivery will be available soon. 

Nestled next to the LeQuire Gallery on Charlotte Ave. is Family Tacos, the aptly-named business run by chef-owner Susy Gomez and her husband. Gomez, a native of Cuernavaca, Mexico, is serving tacos filled with crispy carnitas, barbacoa, al pastor, and more, alongside burritos, tortas, and tamales. Dining is all outdoors on tables corralled by a cute white-picket fence, served out of a little silver trailer. There’s also breakfast all day, which is a boon for anyone taking the Charlotte corridor to work downtown (or just anyone who loves a burrito stuffed with chorizo and potatoes before noon). 

Dining Status: Patio is open; takeout is available by calling 615-840-8115.

Sicilian-style sfincione — the island’s particular pizza specialty — is the star of the menu from chef Michael Hanna, whose pop-up has recently found a permanent home at boutique hotel Vandyke Bed and Beverage. But everything on the short menu is a winner, from the beurre blanc poached broccoli with walnut bagna cauda and grilled rapini to the fried shrimp arancini with lemon aioli. A slab of of sfincione topped with mortadella, pistachio cream, and Sicilian olives is perfect to share at brunch or dinner on the turfed, enclosed patio at VanDyke, preferably with a bottle of frizzante.

Dining Status: Dining room and patio are open; takeout and delivery are available.

Chef (and Chopped judge) Maneet Chauhan’s vibrant Indian restaurant is alive and kicking over on Charlotte Ave. Its menu of Indian street food —chaat — is bursting with flavors from sweet and sour to tangy and hot. Try a shrimp skewer with mustard oil, turmeric, ginger, and garlic, or a thick, luxurious saag curry with creamed spinach and garam masala. Cocktails are equally ready to energize the palate; the pani ‘rita includes tamarind, chaat masala, lime, mint, and chile. Head over for lunch, brunch, dinner, and happy hour.

Dining Status: Dining room is open; takeout is available.