8 Nashville restaurants where you can get the best bowl of soup for winter weather
Here in Middle Tennessee, we've entered what can be reliably considered soup weather. It's a chilly season that's also busy as heck ― and we could all use a bit of extra comfort right now.
What makes a good soup is a subjective matter. If you have broth on hand and an array of extra vegetables, rice and/or noodles, you can toss together a serviceable version without a whole lot of effort. These soups, however, are something special, all selected because they require an extra amount of talent and technical know-how, and they have plenty of oomph to help fill you right up.
East Side Pho
It's hard to know where to start at East Side Pho when you have soup on the brain. The beef pho is always a great bet, with its collagen-rich beef bone broth and top-notch top round. The chicken pho is deliciously comforting, especially with the addition of housemade garlic chili crisp. But don't sleep on the Bun Bo Hue with its dumplings and deeply flavorful pork-beef broth with a touch of extra heat.
1101 McKennie Ave./www.eatesp.com.
More: What you'll find to eat at The Wash, East Nashville's newest micro food hall
DegThai Street Food
Not much beats Tom Yum Gai, with its tropical aromas of kaffir lime leaf and lemongrass in the winter. DegThai has that. But arguably better is the Thai restaurant's Tiew Tom Yum Goong, a ridiculously rich, hot and sour noodle soup with jumbo shrimp, kaffir lime and plenty of chilis, garnished with enoki mushrooms and cherry tomatoes, heated to nearly bursting in the hot, rich broth. You need this in your life.
3025 Nolensville Pike/www.degthaistreetfood.com.
Otaku Ramen
This OG Nashville ramen house has plenty of noodle dishes from which to pick, including a limited-time, special Szechuan miso ramen, made with pork bone broth, pork belly and serrano and Szechuan peppers for a tongue-tingling, spicy finish. Vegetarians rejoice: Otaku's triple garlic ramen is meat-free, yet packed with plenty of umami.
See all three locations at otakuramen.com.
SS Gai
SS Gai in The Wash is best known for its killer fried chicken with fresh vegetable garnishes. But for most of the winter, the fried chicken kiosk also turns out a warming North Vietnamese chicken soup called khao soi.
"It’s quite a process and a labor of love," Emma Biard told The Tennessean. "Ours is a rich broth, finished with a layer of coconut cream, chewy egg noodles and lots of delicious textural components like raw shallots and fermented mustard green stems."
1101 McKennie Ave./www.ssgainash.com.
Kisser
Everything about this restaurant is comforting, including its adherence to seasonal cooking that comes across in a homey this-is-just-what's-in-the-garden way. We love, for example, the roasted kabocha squash salad with mizuna and a honey-miso vinaigrette, which would make the perfect preamble to one of two brothy, comforting hand-pulled noodle bowls on the current iteration of the menu. Choose from spicy miso udon with confit duck and spicy red miso broth and beef tataki udon with maitake mushroom and dashi broth. Yes, please.
747 Douglas Ave./www.kisserrestaurant.com.
Spicy Boy's
In terms of gumbo in Nashville, it's pretty hard to beat the deep onyx, roux-fortified version at Spicy Boy's, that lively house of Cajun Culture tucked into a renovated East Nashville home. Grab a cup of hot gumbo and some sloppy-good, gravy-topped debris fries and pretend you're in warmer climes.
924 McFerrin Ave./www.spicyboysnashville.com.
Mas Tacos Por Favor
There are few things more satisfying when the weather turns colder than a rich, meaty green chile stew. At Mas Tacos, the kitchen serves up a spicy and bright version with tomatillos, green chilies, chicken and hominy, all topped with avocado, radishes, cabbage and cilantro — so you can get your warm comfort and your vegetables too.
732 Mcferrin Ave./my-site-107153-101644.square.site.
Black Dynasty Secret Ramen House
This noodle shop, located within Beard Iris Sylvan Supply, is no secret to west side ramen lovers. Vegans can get in on the Jiro Kei ramen, but we're partial to the "Hellfire-style" miso tonkatsu with its deliciously creamy pork bone broth, soy egg, jalapeno and chili crisp. If that doesn't warm you up, what will?
4101 Charlotte Ave. Suite 40/blackdynastyramen.com.
Mackensy Lunsford is the senior dining reporter for The Tennessean. Reach her at mlunsford@tennessean.com.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Nashville restaurants: Where to go for the best Nashville winter soup
