Updated on February 15th, 2021
I love breakfast. Not brunch. Breakfast. American, English, continental it does not matter. Any meal that combines maple syrup, bacon, and a lot of butter cannot be wrong. The Nashville breakfast scene has so much to offer for the breakfast enthusiast. I dragged Andy out of bed every morning to try something new, and we stuffed ourselves so full that we didn’t have a proper lunch the entire trip.
A few general Nashville breakfast tips before we dig in:
- Check Open Table or Resy to see if you can make a reservation ahead of time.
- When it comes to breakfast, the early bird gets the worm. The earlier you are willing to get up, especially in this party town, the less likely you are going to have to wait.
Pancake Panty
- Nowait App? No
- Reservations? No
- Take Out Available? Yes, online ordering is available
- What to Eat: Bacon and Eggs with Buttermilk or Sweet Potato Pancakes. Try the cinnamon cream on the sweet potato pancakes!
The Pancake Pantry was my favorite breakfast in Nashville. Perfect scrambled eggs, super crispy bacon, and the pancakes. Oh the pancakes! I have eaten at some famous pancake joints but these took the “cake” (insert groan here). Fluffy, huge, and perfectly cooked they were heavenly. My eyes are always bigger than my stomach, especially when it comes to breakfast food but I ate every darn bite.
Located in the Hillsboro Village area, Pancake Pantry is a super popular Nashville breakfast spot that does not take reservations. You will either need to wait in line (sometimes up to an hour), or go early. You can check out their live webcam to see what the line looks like before heading out! We went at 7:30 on Sunday morning and were seated right away. It was a perfect breakfast before we drove to Mammoth Cave National Park.
The Loveless Cafe
- Reservations? Yes, Open Table. However, not available every day.
- Take Out Available? Yes, online ordering is available.
- What to Eat: Biscuits. Hashbrown Casserole. Ham.
I initially wasn’t so sure about driving “all the way out” to the Loveless Cafe. What in the world was I complaining about 30 minutes for! I would probably drive a few hours for the hashbrown casserole alone. If you like cheese and potatoes (and really who doesn’t), you will feel the same way. Super cheesy, and creamy!
The Loveless Cafe is probably most famous for its biscuits, which are served with homemade preserves. My favorite was the blackberry and Andy liked the peach. These biscuits are so good and insanely buttery. Really, you don’t need to add butter to them. You can taste it. Andy had the country ham and said it was delicious.
We went mid morning on a Tuesday and there were plenty of open tables but I would recommend making a reservation anyway.
Five Daughters Bakery
- Nowait App? No
- Reservations? No
- Take Out Available? Yes, online ordering is available.
- What to Eat: The 100 Layer Donuts! Pick your flavor.
We had been walking around the 12 south area for an hour or so, when we got to the top of the hill and there sat the cutest white and blue building. Best part, it was a bakery! There isn’t much that gets me as excited as a good pastry so we decided to jump in the very long line at Five Daughters Bakery.
Donuts!! They have a large selections of flavor options, and seasonal options that rotate. So many choices and the nice guy behind the counter was insanely patient while I tried to choose. He didn’t seem flustered at all even though there were probably 25 people in line behind me. We chose speculoos and king kong 100 layer donuts. This wasn’t my first time having a croissant style donut but this was the best version I’ve had so far.
Don’t be deterred by a long line. It moves really quickly. They have it down to a science.
Update February 2021: Five Daughters now has 3 Nashville Locations!
Biscuit Love
No Wait App? No- Reservations? No
- Take Out Available? Yes, online ordering is available.
- What to Eat:
Bonuts !!
Biscuit Love has three locations in Nashville. One in the Gulch, one in Franklin, and the one we visited in Hillsboro Village. We went for the bonuts, Biscuit Loves semi-famous take on a biscuit donut hybrid. They are topped with lemon mascarpone and blueberry compote and are little pillows of greatness. They can sell out fast so if you want to try them you should probably get your butt out of bed, trust me it will be worth it.
We also tried the princess and the wash park. I would highly recommend the wash park but probably not the princess. It was just a little too greasy for my taste but would probably be great as hangover food!
If the line is long, use their app to order take out!
Marche Artisan Food
- No Wait App? No
- Reservations? No
- Take Out Available? Yes, by phone only.
- What to Eat: Their menu changes regularly but we had the croissant french toast and savory tart with spinach and bacon when we were there.
We had to add at least one Nashville breakfast spot that offers a little hair of the dog because most people have to work through a hangover after a night on Broadway. Marche Artisan Food has great mimosas and other breakfast friendly alcoholic beverages.
Their menu is more refined than our other choices but just as delicious. They do lean a little more toward the brunch side of the spectrum but since they serve food starting at 8am every day I won’t hold it against them. Everything we ate was delicious and the drinks were also very good.
It is really hard to have a bad meal in Nashville, so I’m sure we have missed a few great Nashville
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