The Smiling Elephant

17 Classic Nashville Restaurants - Nashville - The Infatuation

"This little family-run restaurant has long been a neighborhood fixture—even before it opened, the original owner worked in Melrose out of an auto repair shop on the same plot of land as the restaurant’s current location. Plus, the Smiling Elephant crew is related to the chef behind Suzy Wong's House of Yum and International Market, so they're a part of Nashville's royal family of Thai food. The menu features all the classics, and the excellent pad thai is light and fragrant, trading the sticky-sweet iteration you might find at other joints for an herb-forward sauce, fresh vegetable textures, and bouncy rice noodles. The pad kra pao features a beautiful amount of thai basil, and everything can be served with eye-watering “Thai spice.” No matter your heat preference, Smiling Elephant delivers every time." - bailey freeman, jackie gutierrez jones 2, ann walczak