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Delia Jo Ramsey/Eater Nashville

11 Great Latin American Restaurants in Nashville

Step aside, tacos — empanadas, arepas, and pupusas are ready for their close up

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Latin American dishes are a bit tricky to track down in Nashville — it’s still a small (but quickly growing) scene. That just means there’s plenty of room for opportunity. It’s time to explore what Music City has to offer in the realm of flaky Cuban empanadas, pork-stuffed Salvadoran pupusas, and cheesy Venezuelan arepas. For this map, Eater focused on restaurants with South American and Caribbean menus.

*Note restaurants are not ranked but are listed geographically.

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Caracasville

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This buzzy little kiosk at the Nashville Farmers Market churns out Venezuelan classics that keep locals coming back for seconds and thirds. This no-frills operation produces some seriously good eats—including the arepas, and sweet cornmeal pancakes stuffed with savory fillings like cheese, avocado, pork, and beef. Feel free to wash down the cachitos and golfeados (sticky buns) with some chicha, a traditional Venezuelan drink made from rice and condensed milk.

Salsa Puerto Rican and Latin Cuisine

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While a variety of dishes from around Latin America and the Caribbean line the menu here, Salsa Puerto Rican is careful to not leave off some the beloved staples from its namesake territory. Mofongo — deep-fried green plantains mashed together with shrimp or beef — shares the menu with pastelon, crisp, roasted pork and tembleque (coconut pudding) for dessert.

Merengue Cafe

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The crowd favorite in Berry Hill offers an array of Dominican, Puerto Rican, and Cuban cuisine. A menu featuring mofongo, tostones, picaderas, and empanadas offers plenty of choices to explore the regions represented. Ask for the spicy jalapeno sauce on the side to add a kick.

Merengue Cafe/Facebook

Pupuseria Reina La Bendición

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Salvadoran cuisine is the focus of this bright blue eatery off of Nolensville Pike. All of the food here is made to order, including sweet and crispy nuegados, savory beef shanks, and hearty pupusas liberally stuffed with pork, cheese, and beans. Make sure to load up on their curtido—a perfectly sharp accompaniment to the rich main dishes.

Panca Peruvian Restaurant

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Visit the strip mall on Nolensville Pike for a taste of Peru in Nashville — from classic lomo saltado to roasted chicken with yuca and plantains. Peruvian ceviche and sodas are also available, plus Chicha morada — a beverage hailing from the Andean regions of Perú made from corn culli — a purple corn that grows abundantly in the region.

Delia Jo Ramsey/Eater Nashville

Madera Cafe

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At this bright, wood-paneled spot in Plaza Mariachi, there is no shortage of Mexican-style dishes on the menu. But take a closer look at some of their entrees. Latin American dishes like arepas, ceviche, carne asada, and trifongo—a variation of Puerto Rico’s classic mofongo featuring a mound of mashed plantains, yucca, bacon and chicharrón topped with a marinated protein—jockey for hungry patrons’ attention. Tropical cocktails abound—from a classic mojito to the cantaloupe-friendly meloncito.

Back To Cuba Café

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Those looking for a hot and spicy dish to torture their palate come away from Cuban cuisine a bit disappointed. Instead, the country’s dishes embrace bright notes of citrus, sautéed onions, garlic, and plenty of rich pork fat to liven up the meal. And at this cafe off Trousdale Drive, it comes in the form of flaky empanadas stuffed with a variety of fillings, croquetas, marinated pork dishes, sweetly fried plantains, and the insanely energizing colada (Cuban-style espresso).

Los Churrascos Guatemalteco

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The restaurant’s namesake steals the spotlight at this Guatemalan haunt, but there’s plenty on the menu to choose from. Carnivores get the royal treatment here in the form of the parrillada chapina, a dish brimming with roast meat, chicken, ribs, pork chops, shrimp, tilapia, chorizo, a baked potato, and rice and beans. Apart from that, a spicy camarones a la diabla, and fried chicken come served with a side of Russian salad.

La Cocina Dominicana

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Dominican classics are the focus in this no-frills eatery located in a gas station (yes, a gas station) on Nolensville Pike. Chicharron de pollo, chimis, and carne de res guisada (a Dominican beef stew) are served alongside arroz con habichuelas and the mashed boiled plantain favorite, mangu. La Cocina Dominicana also serves up a selection of creamy milkshakes made from tropical fruits like papaya and mamey.

Las Americas Pupuseria Y Taqueria

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Part grocery store, part eatery, Las Americas has a deft handle on Central American fare, including the Salvadoran pupusa, a thick corn tortilla stuffed with savory fillings like cheese and pork. The whole pescado frito (whole fried fish) is also a standout—but be sure to ask for it with a side of their curtido, a cabbage relish that’s been fermented with vinegar.

La Cucharita Colombian Restaurant

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Two words: Bandeja paisa. In Colombia, this traditional dish is meant to fuel workers for the long day ahead. Although after consuming all of the beans, rice, eggs, avocado, plantains, chicharron, arepa, chorizo, and beef that comes with this dish, a nap might be more in order. Might be a good idea to order a cup of coffee to go with the gut-busting fare here—and maybe a few empanadas and pan de bono for the road.

Caracasville

This buzzy little kiosk at the Nashville Farmers Market churns out Venezuelan classics that keep locals coming back for seconds and thirds. This no-frills operation produces some seriously good eats—including the arepas, and sweet cornmeal pancakes stuffed with savory fillings like cheese, avocado, pork, and beef. Feel free to wash down the cachitos and golfeados (sticky buns) with some chicha, a traditional Venezuelan drink made from rice and condensed milk.

Salsa Puerto Rican and Latin Cuisine

While a variety of dishes from around Latin America and the Caribbean line the menu here, Salsa Puerto Rican is careful to not leave off some the beloved staples from its namesake territory. Mofongo — deep-fried green plantains mashed together with shrimp or beef — shares the menu with pastelon, crisp, roasted pork and tembleque (coconut pudding) for dessert.

Merengue Cafe

The crowd favorite in Berry Hill offers an array of Dominican, Puerto Rican, and Cuban cuisine. A menu featuring mofongo, tostones, picaderas, and empanadas offers plenty of choices to explore the regions represented. Ask for the spicy jalapeno sauce on the side to add a kick.

Merengue Cafe/Facebook

Pupuseria Reina La Bendición

Salvadoran cuisine is the focus of this bright blue eatery off of Nolensville Pike. All of the food here is made to order, including sweet and crispy nuegados, savory beef shanks, and hearty pupusas liberally stuffed with pork, cheese, and beans. Make sure to load up on their curtido—a perfectly sharp accompaniment to the rich main dishes.

Panca Peruvian Restaurant

Visit the strip mall on Nolensville Pike for a taste of Peru in Nashville — from classic lomo saltado to roasted chicken with yuca and plantains. Peruvian ceviche and sodas are also available, plus Chicha morada — a beverage hailing from the Andean regions of Perú made from corn culli — a purple corn that grows abundantly in the region.

Delia Jo Ramsey/Eater Nashville

Madera Cafe

At this bright, wood-paneled spot in Plaza Mariachi, there is no shortage of Mexican-style dishes on the menu. But take a closer look at some of their entrees. Latin American dishes like arepas, ceviche, carne asada, and trifongo—a variation of Puerto Rico’s classic mofongo featuring a mound of mashed plantains, yucca, bacon and chicharrón topped with a marinated protein—jockey for hungry patrons’ attention. Tropical cocktails abound—from a classic mojito to the cantaloupe-friendly meloncito.

Back To Cuba Café

Those looking for a hot and spicy dish to torture their palate come away from Cuban cuisine a bit disappointed. Instead, the country’s dishes embrace bright notes of citrus, sautéed onions, garlic, and plenty of rich pork fat to liven up the meal. And at this cafe off Trousdale Drive, it comes in the form of flaky empanadas stuffed with a variety of fillings, croquetas, marinated pork dishes, sweetly fried plantains, and the insanely energizing colada (Cuban-style espresso).

Los Churrascos Guatemalteco

The restaurant’s namesake steals the spotlight at this Guatemalan haunt, but there’s plenty on the menu to choose from. Carnivores get the royal treatment here in the form of the parrillada chapina, a dish brimming with roast meat, chicken, ribs, pork chops, shrimp, tilapia, chorizo, a baked potato, and rice and beans. Apart from that, a spicy camarones a la diabla, and fried chicken come served with a side of Russian salad.

La Cocina Dominicana

Dominican classics are the focus in this no-frills eatery located in a gas station (yes, a gas station) on Nolensville Pike. Chicharron de pollo, chimis, and carne de res guisada (a Dominican beef stew) are served alongside arroz con habichuelas and the mashed boiled plantain favorite, mangu. La Cocina Dominicana also serves up a selection of creamy milkshakes made from tropical fruits like papaya and mamey.

Las Americas Pupuseria Y Taqueria

Part grocery store, part eatery, Las Americas has a deft handle on Central American fare, including the Salvadoran pupusa, a thick corn tortilla stuffed with savory fillings like cheese and pork. The whole pescado frito (whole fried fish) is also a standout—but be sure to ask for it with a side of their curtido, a cabbage relish that’s been fermented with vinegar.

La Cucharita Colombian Restaurant

Two words: Bandeja paisa. In Colombia, this traditional dish is meant to fuel workers for the long day ahead. Although after consuming all of the beans, rice, eggs, avocado, plantains, chicharron, arepa, chorizo, and beef that comes with this dish, a nap might be more in order. Might be a good idea to order a cup of coffee to go with the gut-busting fare here—and maybe a few empanadas and pan de bono for the road.

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