The Veggie Cafe has finally opened in East Nashville.   We made our first visit on Saturday night and had a great dinner.    It is located at the corner of Porter Avenue and Riverside Drive at 1601 Riverside.   Plenty of parking and not an overly small place.

I am sure there were some people who walked in and waited to be seated, not the case.  Go to the front counter and order then find yourself a table.  There’s even a comfy couch and chairs to relax in.

We both had the vegan meatloaf with green beans and turnip greens and my daughter had a bagel with roasted red pepper hummus.   Vegan mashed potatoes were available earlier in the day and there was macaroni and cheese as a side choice, but it is not vegan.  All menu items are marked V and GF for Vegan and Gluten Free making choices easy.  The extremely happy and attentive staff is ready for any questions you have about the menu.

The meatloaf was not what I expected, a good mix of grains with a tomato topping that didn’t overpower and the vegetable sides were very fresh, excellent. The hummus was very good as well and topped with sliced tomatoes, cucumbers and sprouts with sliced apples and strawberries on the side.   We wanted to try the dessert.  Cookies,  apple crunch and muffins were on the menu, all vegan, but there were none available.   I did not carry a camera in, so no food pictures.   I’ll remedy that next visit.   Overall, a great dinner for $20.

From what I understand menu items will vary so I am eager to return to see what else joins the meatloaf, tofu reuben, sandwiches and wraps.   Dawn, the owner, told me plans were to soon open for brunch on the first Sunday of each month and starting in April to open for breakfast.  I am not sure how often I would be able to make it for breakfast but I would love to see how they create a tofu scramble.

The only full-time vegetarian and vegan restaurant should be around for a long time.  I am already wanting to try it again.