🍽️ Restaurant Run of the Week: Urban Grub

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What once was a little carwash on the corner of 12th and Gilmore is now one of the more interesting restaurant experiences in Nashville. Urban Grub opened in April 2012 and has been a fixture in the 12 South neighborhood ever since, outlasting trends, new competition, and the wave of change that has reshaped that stretch of town over the past decade. The fact that it's still one of the best seats in the neighborhood more than a decade later says everything about how well this place was built from the beginning.

The space itself is genuinely cool. Private cabanas, fire pits, a beer garden with an indoor-outdoor bar, and custom design details around every corner that make it feel like there's always something new to notice. It's the kind of place that works equally well for a leisurely Saturday brunch on the patio or a dinner at the bar on a weeknight when you just want great food and good service without a lot of fuss. The bar in particular is a great spot to settle into; the service is attentive and friendly in a way that feels genuine rather than scripted, and the kind of place where you don't feel rushed.

The menu is built around Southern traditions with a serious upgrade in execution: fresh fish and seafood, smoked and grilled meats, fresh shucked oysters, and a rotating selection that gives you a reason to come back and try something new. The raw seafood bar is one of those things that catches your eye from across the room and makes you wish you'd planned ahead to spend more time with it. It's the kind of feature that sets Urban Grub apart from most restaurants in Nashville, and on a warm Nashville night on that patio, it looks exactly as good as it sounds. First time there, absolutely worth building a meal around it.

Brunch and dinner both hold up equally well here, which is not something every restaurant can pull off. Urban Grub manages it without feeling like two different places wearing the same name. Whether you're coming for eggs and cocktails on a Sunday morning or settling in for a full dinner, the kitchen and the staff show up the same way every time. In a neighborhood that's lost some of its best originals lately, Urban Grub is exactly the kind of place worth protecting. Make a reservation, grab a spot at the bar, and stay a while.

PARTNER SPOTLIGHT

RIFE HEADWEAR

• 📍Location: 12 South

• 🍴Recommendation: Honestly, everything

• ⭐️ Highlight: Atmosphere, quality, drinks

🔎 Last Eaten Review: Double Cut Pork Chop

This thing was so tender it almost didn't feel real for a pork chop. The agave and grain mustard give it a great savory base, but the smoked peaches are what make it. That little bit of sweetness against the savory flavor of the chop just works, and it works really well. One of those dishes you don't stop thinking about on the drive home. If you're going to Urban Grub and you see it on the menu, just order it.

🥩 Check them out: https://www.urbangrub.net/

Have a great day!

Hueston Nelson | Publisher | The Nashville Grapevine