Nashville’s plant-based dining scene has matured into a tight cluster of independent kitchens that take the Vegan Society UK definition of veganism seriously, building menus that exclude animal products and prioritize local produce. Diners reading Eater Nashville or scanning the Happy Cow vegan directory will find a handful of names that surface year after year for quality and consistency. The three operators below have each cleared the seven-year mark in a city where rents and labor pressure shutter newer concepts quickly, and each carries a distinct point of view: raw food prepared at no more than 118 degrees Fahrenheit, fully plant-based comfort cooking with soy-free and gluten-free accommodations, and a bistro program built around Bells Bend Farms and other Middle Tennessee producers.
Quick Comparison #
| Firm | Credentials | Focus |
|---|---|---|
| Sunflower Cafe | Berry Hill plant-based kitchen since 2012, sister Sunflower Bakehouse in Donelson opened September 2019, Happy Cow vegan directory listing | Fully plant-based comfort menu with soy-free, oil-free, and gluten-free accommodations sourced from Bells Bend and local farms |
| Avo | Nashville Scene 2015 Best New Restaurant and Best New Vegetarian Restaurant Reader's Poll, Matthew Kenney trained chef de cuisine Jessica Rice | Raw plant-based cuisine prepared at 118 degrees Fahrenheit or below inside OneC1TY shipping container restaurant |
| Graze | Food Network Diners Drive-Ins and Dives December 2021 feature, East Nashville full-service plant-based bistro since April 2016 | Plant-based bistro and bar with brunch, dinner, and cocktail program including fully plant-based bar |
1. Sunflower Cafe #
Sunflower Cafe opened in 2012 in the Berry Hill neighborhood at 2834 Azalea Place, behind the IRIS Motel, and has run a fully plant-based menu since day one. The cafe describes its program as one of the most extensive plant-based menus in Nashville, with vegan burgers, barbecue plates, soups, salads, Philly-style sandwiches, tacos, nachos, wraps, and grain bowls all built without animal products. The kitchen accommodates soy-free, oil-free, and gluten-free diners on most items, which matters for guests following the B12 supplementation guidance that the Vegan Society recommends alongside an otherwise dialed-in plant diet.
Berry Hill plant-based kitchen with broad allergen accommodations #
The Azalea Place location runs Monday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. and is closed Sundays. A Heat-and-Eat weekly meal prep program lets regulars stock the refrigerator with vegan entrees by the container, and the cafe takes catering for offices and events. Reach the team at (615) 457-2568 for catering quotes or weekly prep sign-ups. The menu rotation pulls fresh, local, and organic produce when seasonally available, a sourcing pattern that aligns with the small-farm distribution coming out of Bells Bend Farms, Old School Farm, and Greenhouse Farms in surrounding Davidson and Cheatham counties.
Berry Hill flagship plus Donelson Bakehouse sister site #
Sunflower Cafe expanded in September 2019 with Sunflower Bakehouse, a vegan restaurant and gluten-free bakery at 2414 Lebanon Pike in the Donelson area. The Bakehouse complements the Berry Hill flagship by adding dedicated gluten-free baked goods, which the Azalea Place kitchen does not produce in-house. Together, the two sites give plant-based diners in Nashville a south-of-downtown anchor and an east-airport-corridor anchor under the same ownership, and the staff at either location can route catering requests across both menus.
https://www.sunflowercafenashville.com/
2. Avo #
Avo opened in June 2015 inside the OneC1TY development at 4 City Boulevard, Suite 104, in a converted shipping container that has become a recognizable piece of the Charlotte Avenue corridor. Co-founders Jessica Rice and Susannah Herring built Avo as Nashville’s first raw plant-based dining concept. Rice, trained in California under Matthew Kenney, runs the kitchen as chef de cuisine; Herring also owns Hot Yoga Plus, with studios in Nashville, Memphis, and Oxford, Mississippi. The menu is 100% plant-based and naturally gluten-free, with most dishes prepared without ovens, gas, fryers, or range hoods, and held at or below 118 degrees Fahrenheit to preserve enzymes and heat-sensitive nutrients.
Raw-prep restaurant rooted in Matthew Kenney technique #
Rice’s training shows up in plating and layering on dishes that move beyond the salad-bar stereotype of raw food: lasagna built from thin-sliced root vegetables, rich plant-based soups, and Asian-inflected entrees that read as hearty rather than austere. The restaurant lists locally sourced and organic ingredients as the default whenever the growing season cooperates, and the kitchen partners with regional nonprofit groups for periodic community events. Avo took both Best New Restaurant in the Nashville Scene’s 2015 Best of Nashville Reader’s Poll and Best New Vegetarian Restaurant in the Writers’ Choices that same year, which gave the concept early credibility outside the dedicated plant-based audience.
OneC1TY container village location and contact #
Walk-in seating is the norm inside the container footprint, and reservations work best for groups of four or more. Call (615) 329-2377 to book or to ask about private events. Avo sits inside OneC1TY’s mixed-use campus at 3000 Charlotte Avenue, with public parking shared across the development, putting the restaurant within a short drive of Sylvan Park, The Nations, and West End Avenue corridors. The OneC1TY directory page maintained by the property lists Avo alongside other independent operators on the campus.
3. Graze #
Graze opened on April 27, 2016, at 1888 Eastland Avenue in the Lockeland Springs section of East Nashville, and is co-owned by Melanie Cochran, John Cochran, Nick Davis, and Callie Foley. Davis runs the kitchen as head chef while Foley manages front-of-house, and the team has positioned the spot as East Nashville’s plant-based bistro and bar. The menu reads as approachable rather than ideological: brunch plates, full dinner service, a cocktail program, and a happy hour built to draw in both committed vegans and curious omnivores who happen to live in the surrounding neighborhood.
East Nashville plant-based bistro and bar program #
Brunch runs daily until 3 p.m., and the dining room is open Monday through Friday from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Happy hour runs Monday through Friday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., which is a wider window than most full-service bistros offer in the East Nashville corridor. Call (615) 686-1060 to inquire about catering or private events, or email the team at [email protected] for booking questions. The bar program is fully plant-based alongside the kitchen, so dairy-free guests can order across the cocktail and food menus without flagging modifications.
Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives feature and catering #
Graze drew national exposure when Food Network’s Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives featured the kitchen in December 2021, and the segment continues to surface in travel coverage of Nashville plant-based dining. The team takes catering for offices, weddings, and private parties through the same Eastland Avenue kitchen, and the staff can route dietary questions through the contact email above. With Sunflower Cafe anchoring south Nashville and Avo holding the Charlotte Avenue corridor, Graze gives east-side residents a full-service plant-based dinner option that does not require a cross-town drive.
https://www.grazenashville.com/
Reference Notes #
- The Vegan Society UK defines veganism as a way of living that seeks to exclude all forms of exploitation of, and cruelty to, animals for food, clothing, or any other purpose, which separates strict vegan menus from vegetarian menus that may still include dairy or eggs.
- Eater Nashville and the Nashville Scene have provided ongoing plant-based coverage of the three operators above, including the Wild Cow lineage piece in early 2024 that maps how the local vegan scene grew.
- The Happy Cow vegan directory lists Sunflower Cafe, Avo, and Graze among its Nashville entries, alongside their hours and menu notes.
- Raw food preparation as practiced at Avo holds dishes at or below 118 degrees Fahrenheit to retain enzymes and heat-sensitive nutrients per standard raw-cuisine protocols taught in the Matthew Kenney curriculum.
- Local sourcing partners cited across plant-based menus in Middle Tennessee include Bells Bend Farms, Old School Farm, and Greenhouse Farms.
- B12 supplementation is widely recommended for fully vegan diners by the Vegan Society and by registered dietitians, since reliable B12 sources are rare in unfortified plant foods.
- Soy-free and gluten-free accommodations vary by kitchen; Sunflower Cafe lists soy-free, oil-free, and gluten-free options across most categories, and Avo’s menu is naturally gluten-free.
Selection Methodology #
The three restaurants above were selected from the broader Nashville vegan and vegetarian field using these filters: minimum seven-year tenure on Nashville-area work, verifiable editorial recognition or trade-body credential on file (Nashville Scene Reader’s Poll, Food Network Diners Drive-Ins and Dives, Happy Cow vegan directory listing, Eater Nashville coverage), brand-name anchor with verifiable address visible on the restaurant’s own website, and a published menu that maps to customer expectation around plant-based dining. National rollups without local lineage and pop-up operations without verifiable street address were excluded.
Frequently Asked Questions #
Q: How do these kitchens handle cross-contact for strict vegan and gluten-free guests?
A: Sunflower Cafe runs a fully plant-based kitchen with soy-free, oil-free, and gluten-free accommodations on most items but does not produce dedicated gluten-free baked goods on site (those route to the Donelson Bakehouse). Avo’s kitchen is fully plant-based and naturally gluten-free with no animal-product handling. Graze is fully plant-based, so cross-contact with meat, dairy, or eggs is not a kitchen concern, though wheat-containing items share the prep surface.
Q: What does raw-prep at 118 degrees actually mean for the eating experience?
A: Raw cuisine holds ingredients at or below 118 degrees Fahrenheit to keep enzymes and heat-sensitive nutrients intact. The result at Avo is dishes that read warm rather than hot, with techniques like dehydration, marinades, and cold extraction replacing the saute, grill, and roast. Expect lasagna built from shaved root vegetables and entrees that arrive room temperature to lightly warm.
Q: Are any of the three restaurants paid placements?
A: No. The three profiles above are editorial selections drawn from publicly verifiable sources. No firm sponsored placement.
Q: Is the bar program fully plant-based at each location?
A: Graze is the only one of the three with a full-service cocktail bar, and the entire program is plant-based, so dairy-free and honey-free guests can order across the menu without modification. Sunflower Cafe does not run a full bar. Avo’s beverage program emphasizes raw juices, smoothies, and tonics that align with the raw kitchen.
Editorial Note #
This guide was published on 2026-05-11 and reflects research current as of that date. Verify licenses, phone numbers, and current business status before engaging any firm.