Funky New Late-Night Spot Velvet Taco Brings Drive-Thru Tacos and Red Curry Coconut Queso to Midtown

Popular Dallas-based taco mini-chain, Velvet Taco, opens its second location in Nashville today, in the heart of the bustling Midtown neighborhood. Don’t expect typical taqueria offerings here — VT’s menu colors outside the lines with scratch-made cross-cultural twists, like its chicken and waffle taco (try it Nashville hot, of course), spicy chicken tikka tacos, plus vegetarian-friendly paneer and falafel-filled tacos.

Located at 1911 Broadway, Velvet Taco Midtown offers a 2,393-square-foot industrial-style dining room filled with modern, quirky, and collected decor. Concrete floors and exposed ceilings set the scene inside for a hand-painted mural paying homage to native Nashville musicians, while the exterior features an oversized record mural and an open-air patio surrounded by vibrant neon lights.

If the name sounds familiar, Velvet Taco opened a small location earlier this year inside the new Assembly Food Hall at Fifth + Broadway. But the new Midtown location is the first stand-alone building for the brand in Music City, and the first to roll out the full menu of more than 20 elevated, globally inspired tacos.

Then there are sides like queso made with red curry and coconut (there’s also a traditional queso blanco option for traditionalists), elotes, and slices of red velvet cake, as well as drinks such as margaritas. There’s also the crowd favorite Backdoor Chicken special — a steal of a $20 meal with a whole slow-roasted rotisserie chicken, tortillas, and sides. Beverages include local and Mexican beer, fruit-infused iced teas, and cocktails like the signature Kick Ass Margarita. Catering is also available through Velvet Taco Midtown.

Guests at the new restaurant will have weekly reasons to visit Velvet Taco for its delicious, limited-time Weekly Taco Feature, commonly known as the WTF. WTFs (52 per year) offer a variety of flavors inspired by international cuisines and local comfort food; they’re available for only seven days. The WTF lineup for the new restaurant’s first few weeks kicks off with the chicken cordon bleu taco through February 1. Future WTF features include surf ‘n turf, pork belly al pastor, and a taco take on an Italian sub.

The taco chain offers late-night dining hours, something Nashville definitely needs more of, and rolls out a new customer loyalty program with the opening, The Velvet Room. Velvet Taco Midtown will be open Sunday through Wednesday from 11 a.m. to midnight and Thursday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 2 a.m.

Velvet Taco was founded in 2011 in Dallas, Texas, and has since expanded to 30 locations in Texas, North Carolina, Georgia, Illinois, Tennessee, and Oklahoma.