Piccadilly Cafeteria in Nashville

I've eaten a lot of meals in Nashville, but my trip wouldn't be complete without mentioning a friendly little place I discovered one hungry day and was subsequently drawn back to no less than five more times. Piccadilly Cafeteria is just that, a cafeteria. After wandering past a promising line of down-home choices, I grabbed my tray, picked an entree, and then played mix-n-match with dozens of sides. I went for some old favorites (like sweet, crunchy broccoli salad with bacon and raisins) as well as a new, seasonal item called Carrot Souffle (a side and dessert in one, capable of delivering a swift sucker punch to the best pumpkin pie).

Piccadilly Cafeteria seemed quite popular with the senior crowd, but with daily $4.99 specials for a complete meal like Chicken and Dumplings, Beef Stew, and fat Chicken Tenders, hungry folks of all ages should storm Piccadilly walls en mass. Funnily enough, young people accounted for the second most represented group where we ate. Calling all families: As a bonus, on certain days kids can get a full meal for 99 cents!

Sure, I liked the simple, homey food (a lot!) and loved the prices, but our servers really made Nashville's Piccadilly Cafeteria feel like home. It was like having dinner with my grandma, "Would you like more...?" "I'll grab you some napkins," "Did you get plenty to eat?" When we left for the last time, one of them even hugged and kissed us goodbye saying, "Love ya." We'd only been there a week! Now I'm generally a fan the accessible yet non-intrusive waitstaff, but every now and then it's so nice to feel loved. Piccadilly Cafeteria serves that up by the heaping spoonful, for tummy and soul alike. It's not some glamorous eatery, but with so much to gain and so little to lose, it's really worth checking out.