Where to Eat and Drink in WeHo

Excuse the construction and find your way to the Nashville’s hot new dining scene in WeHo

Every few years, the axis of Nashville’s culinary scene seems to shift—it’s veered from Midtown to 12 South to Germantown to East Nashville over the years. Now, Wedgewood-Houston is taking its turn as new eateries seem to open (or be announced) each week—even as construction around the neighborhood is still underway. It’s taken years but the repurposed May Hosiery Mill is now a bastion of cool thanks to the exclusive Soho House—it will also soon be the site of big-name newcomers like Pastis (New York) and Momotaro (Chicago)—while Live Nation and the luxury-leaning co-working space The Malin now operate nearby. I recently spent a few days embedding myself with the creatives there (dodging a few construction barriers along the way) to find out where the city’s food scene is headed next.

Our Top Picks in WeHo

Come for the Comfort Food

There’s no shortage of bar fare here, from burgers to pizzas to sandwiches. Gabby’s Burgers & Fries remains a solid option for lunch but you can now add Lucky’s 3 (for loaded hot dogs), Wedge Pizza Pub (decent straight-forward pies), and Good Times Full Service Bar (loaded burgers and wings) to the roster of new favorites. My pick is Dicey’s Pizza & Tavern where you can grab half of an exceptional Italian sub with a generous simple salad for just $10. Nearby, a new location of Hero also feeds your lunchtime needs with crispy chicken sandwiches and doughnuts, of course.

Find Your New Favorite Craft Beverage…

The concentration of brewed and distilled beverages in WeHo is only gaining strength: Joining the tasting rooms at Corsair and Jackalope Brewing Company’s The Ranch, you can now sip your way through the offerings at Nashville Craft, Diskin Cider, and Fait La Force Brewing Co., which shows off an impressive array of housemade Belgian styles, plus the option to order pastas and pizzas from neighboring Il Forno.

…Or a Clever Cocktail

Bastion still stands as one of the city’s best cocktail bars, especially if you’re there for the daily punch and a platter of nachos. But within a block or two you can bar hop between Never Never, Ernest Bar and Hideaway, pH Nashville, and Flamingo Cocktail Club, which transitions from dance party to yoga and sound bath studio on the weekends. During the daytime, Americano Lounge is the place to take your day from flat white to espresso martini.

Grab and Go

Nashville’s mini-market scene is booming and I’m here for it. WeHo boasts Hippo Bodega for sake, pastries, dry goods, and natural wine (there’s also Pink Door Cookies conveniently situated next door) and iggy’s market, opened inside the pasta-focused restaurant of the same name from brothers Matthew and chef Ryan Poli, for dried pastas and sauces. Not far from there, The Loading Dock is home to Killjoy, a small but mighty non-alcoholic beverage shop where samples abound and the n/a beer and wine selections are vast. For fresh breads and sweet treats, there’s the ever-reliable Dozen Bakery as well as Humphreys Street, where you’ll find coffee with a conscience.

Sit and Stay

By far one of the best tasting menu meals in town can be found at the restaurant hidden inside Bastion—chef Josh Habiger has a James Beard Award nomination to show for it. But there are also memorable plates of pasta and wood-fired pizzas to be had at Il Forno, while the chef’s counter at iggy’s is seriously one of the most fun seats in town right now. Izakaya and sake bar Present Tense now offers one of the city’s only omakase experiences on weekend evenings while Mercado by Butchertown dishes out tacos, pozole, and seafood downstairs; tucked away upstairs is the oyster and cocktail bar Ramone’s where you can soak up the city views—without a hint of the construction dust below.  

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