Azadi International Food Market & Bakery

This is my go-to spot for ground beef, steaks, lamb chops, and plump chicken wings. The prices are well below what you will pay at bigger chain stores, and the butcher will cut and grind your meat while you wait if requested. They also have a lot of fresh meat (including goat) already pre-packaged. They also have a ton of spices and fresh bread baked daily. I never would have known about this spot if not for asking an old international associate where he got his lamb chops from, and he said his family has been going here for years. Now I can say the same.

One of the best shop for halal meat. Initially I thought butcher guy was rude , but after he had his food (at 11 am ) , he was nice and friendly. We bought the whole backleg and meat was nice. The shop itself having various regional(Middle East) grocery collection. Shop and product management is nice. I haven’t tried their bread but when I was there it looks yummy. Many people came and bought their bread. Price of the meat is also average. Location of the shop is right on the junction. Appearance of the shop from outside looks not clean and little intimidating. But once you are in staff and store are welcoming. I will definitely come back and suggest to my friends. Be friendly with the staff and they will do so 👍.

I had a very disturbing experience at this market. I personally found food items on the shelves that were past their expiration date, and some products appeared to have new labels placed over old ones. This raises serious concerns about food safety. When I tried to address this with the staff, the situation became worse. The employees were aggressive, disrespectful, and unprofessional. I also witnessed behavior that felt discriminatory and racially biased toward certain customers. No customer should feel unsafe—either from consuming expired food or from being treated with hostility. I strongly recommend that management and health authorities look into this store.

A nice, little international/ middle Eastern/ halal grocery. They sell fresh meat, and other usual grocery stuff. The meat was fresh, and good. I was looking for some Indian spices. They have a lot of different spice varieties, however, not all Indian spices. I was specially looking for brown/ big/ black cardamom which was not there. They have some fresh produce/ vegetables and frozen stuff too. Overall, nice.

I have no words to express the gratitude to have this market in my local area, anything that you would think you can only get online, is here, service quality is unheard of

Very nice little market, they had a lot of cool food. They had frozen sections with a lot of cheese, cured meat. Fun sections for nuts and candy. Many fruits choice, snacks, and interesting favors soda. They also had vegetables too. The owner was nice and friendly.

I was deceived honestly, for small burek one cheese one meat $ 15, when I buy two whole pieces in Michigan for $ 7, and I know why...I will not say anything, but charging me for baklava was put on receipt ....SHAME SHAME

Gorgeous dessert/bakery counter, friendly service, and it tastes just as good as it looks.

Their products its always so fresh and good the staff are so friendly and nice greeting ppl with smile always

Shwarma chicken and lamb! Wow! Amazing amazing bread makers and such friendly service.Yelp did a an article on Kurdish establishments so we went on a quest for the best Shawarmas and breads and grocery stores. This was one of our first stops. What a fun unassuming place. Walking in on a Saturday about 11 am there was a line in front, a line at the butcher and a line at the bakery. We oogled the aisles at the assortment of offerings and their very good prices. My son then started complaining about being hungry so we decided to return later. As I was leaving we said goodbye to the cashier. He asked if anything was wrong. I replied, no just have to feed my son. He nodded and we were off. 1/2 hour later we were back. This time no line. I asked about the lines. He stated it is normal but it does go fast. I can witness to that. I bought some bread and some sambusas (sp). 1 chicken, had a nice spice but the vegetable blew me away!!! So incredibly tasting I did not feel guilty it being a deep fried pie. We talked to the cashier about the bread. He asked if I went back to the bakery to see what was the freshest. I said I will be right back. I was and bought a few more packages. AMAZING and OMGosh, what a treat watching the bakers make the bread. Makes one wonder how far we have come to want to go back and see how much better authentic bread should and is still made. Should add, but I don't want to, they have a breakfast pizza with sausage in the am and it is limited. Oy...If you see me, get out of my way, I am not above cutting in line and paying you for it. Prices are very good, no dust, no questions on prices, everything clearly marked, (my pet peeve). How do you buy something not knowing the price? Chatted again with cashier about the store and our purchases. Really enjoyed our quick 2 trips in same day within 30 minutes of each other. Will be back for the amazing bread AND Vegetable Sambusas and sweet cashier. See pics of bread. HUGE bread - good for almost anything also made quick pizza for the kids who loved it. Soft yet had a nice chew to it a few days later. Stayed Fresh! I am in Carb heaven with the bakery and the cashier made the experience great too!

This was some of the most delicious bread ever. I got a delicious lamb and cheese flatbread for $2 and a six pack of pita breads for another $2. I saw some of the comments about the area and didn't understand. I guess there's some sheltered folks in town. I'm not from Nashville but I was totally comfortable here. Really, you should expand your borders more if this area worries you. The bakery was in the back. You really have to walk into the kitchen. Naan is sold by itself and pita bread is 6 for $2. The lady before me bought a box of 12 packs. That's 72 loaves. Take some home and your kitchen will be better than The Pita Pit for for a few days. I talked to one of the ladies. Eventually we figured out an order for me. You take your order to the cashier in front and pay.

Maybe going there during the "Off the beaten path" food crawl was not the best idea. It would appear the regular Cashier was off and had a frazzled replacement working instead. The woman in front of me asked to buy some Feta cheese and he looked at her and said "What is Feta?". He clearly did not want to be there. However, they do have a great selection of items you won't find anywhere else. The Kinder Bueno for example, which I am now obsessed with, is a "Kit-Kat" like Hazelnut Candy. I'd never seen it anywhere else BUT here and now it's all I want to eat. Well okay maybe not quite, but they are very good. If you are looking for uncommon or hard to find Middle Eastern products, Azadi probably has you covered.

My go to place for buying green olives! I do buy fresh meat from here sometimes better then the Walmart packaged ones. Price is reasonable as well!

Did you know Nashville has over 7000 Kurdish Iraqi immigrants? Do you know where they get their fresh / out of the oven / true to their roots / AMAZING bread? This is the place. From our observations, Azadi market is the most popular market in the neighborhood. Although most of the markets seem to have the same selection and are probably equally stocked, we liked Azadi for the friendly people and fresh bread. We bought two different kinds.. a large round flatbread, and small round loaves. Both were VERY cheap. Oh, and made by old Kurdish women. That does not hurt. So, give this place a shot. The people are friendly, the bread is amazing and served warm out of the oven, and it is really inexpensive. Wish it was closer, but then it wouldn't be such a find!

Don't be shy - go in here! There are super nice people running the market. Directions: Head to the back right corner of the market (might want to stop and peruse the halal meats counter though). You will see a hanging sign that says "BAKERY OPEN" with an arrow pointing the way. Following the sign you'll find a bakery area, complete with woodfired oven. If you want the lahmacun, you can ask for "meat bread" and they'll know what you want. I got 6 hot, fresh naan and the lahmacun for $4. Amazing!

My husband was on a quest. He insisted that we needed flatbread. I'm not one to question edible necessities so I played along. We had watched an episode of "Bizarre Foods America" hosted by Andrew Zimmern. The show spotlighted a Kurdish market and that was the very place my German had in mind for us to journey to. Boy am I glad we did! I was captivated by the selections of teas, spices, grains, nuts and dried fruits. We arrived about fifteen minutes before closing time so I didn't really get the opportunity I would have liked to really peruse all the items available. What we did get while we were there was amazing flatbread. My husband was well pleased. The owner, who also was the cashier for us as we left, told us to come in the morning when it is freshly baked. I cannot imagine how it could get any better than what we bought, but I'll definitely find out soon. We also came home with fresh pita (which I have practically stuffed with everything imaginable including more pita), feta and goat meat. The Halal butcher, the owner and my husband all laughed because I squealed with delight at being able to buy fresh goat with which to make cabrito tacos the next day. We are headed back soon and hope to be there when the bread is piping hot. I am sure not a single bit of it will make it home.

I spent an entire day looking for quince before waltzing in here and having the owner nonchalantly wave me to the back where we found boxes of the ancient fruit. The only other store I found them at was WF where one cost about the same as a pound here. Obviously this store sells more than quince. I look around and found a variety of products. They had a variety of dairy products: milk, cheese, yogurt drinks, butter, etc. There was also a butcher who sold different types of meat: goat, chicken, beef. They sold bulk nuts, flours, and snacks. In the back they had a bakery where women were making a flat bread. Before we left we picked up some samosas, which were very good. All in all, I thought this was a great market. They has a variety of regional products and I found the employees to be very helpful.

When I went there I asked them if they had fresh pita bread. They showed me the pita bread on the shelf and I said that I was looking for a pita bread that was made that day. The gentleman told me that they were made that day however I did not believe him. He took me around back to the bakery and asked me if I wanted a pita that had been made that day or if I wanted the pita bread that had been made in the last five seconds. I need of getting what looked like a big pita bread. The gentleman told me that it was actually a Lebanese flatbread. It looks like a big pizza crust. The gentleman told me that some people ask for the Lebanese flatbread to be cooked halfway and then they take them home and make their own pizza. I purchased some produce and other items to make homemade hummus. The staff could not have been nicer. I have since been back three times for the pita bread. This place is clean and the merchant is very fair and goes out of his way to help you. I highly recommend this establishment.

Nice market filled with specialty canned items, the Hummus is dirt cheap at $1.49 and tastes better than most of the refrigerated offerings at the regular grocery store. Nice selection of Halal fresh meat and produce. Excellent olive bar but the real wonder is the bakery. The freshest and cheapest Pitas and flat-breads you can find anywhere. A package of 6 still warm, freshly baked pitas costs 89 cents. The staff are very friendly and helpful. If you get there between 8 am and 12 pm, try one of the lamb pizzas for $1.49. They appreciate a phone call to order ahead especially if you are picking up several. After the first one, you will be ordering several.

Azadi is like any other world market, I know very little about the products on the shelves and that's what thrills me. I'm an insatiably curious person and I need ANSWERS. I am fascinated with all the cheeses, nuts, fruits, dried fruits, types of bread and grocery items. They are all potential delicacies just waiting to be discovered. I was sent by a friend in the know, (thanks Cathy,) to Azadi for their fresh, made in-house labneh, which I can now vouch for. Labneh, labnah or lebni is Greek yogurt strained of all its whey or liquid. It's often referred to as a cheese. A smooth spreadable cheese with the tartness of yogurt. The first labneh I had was a pre-packaged ubiquitous brand called Lebni. It's nice but it's not as thick and rich as Azadi's. There are many styles and brands to try. Azadi has an olive bar with very reasonable prices although little or no explanation as to what kind they are. I got a butter tub nearly full for less than four dollars. I suppose which olive is which is common knowledge to a middle easterner. I'm the bug eye'd goober asking too many questions. "Hey, what are these? What are those?" They also have a bakery, but their fresh bread sells out quickly in the mornings. Go early and watch the ladies roll out the dough and the fellow shifting bread in and out of the oven with a big paddle. Take some naan home, brush it with good olive oil, toast it in the oven then spread a piece with some fresh labneh. Never leave a middle eastern market without at least one pound of Turkish pistachios. Never.

Way off the beaten path for us, but we love trying something new and it was really fun to check this place out. We did not have the flatbread - will have to go back another time because it looks amazing. I did buy some feta cheese out of the case in front (not in the back where milk and yogurt are). It is sold in bulk and I got a fairly big block. I'm not sure what I expected, but it was seriously the best feta cheese I've ever had. And I've been to Greece twice. Hubby got a pile of dates and munched happily on them the next few days. Walk to the back and check out the bakery. Huge, with these cool ovens. Yep, next time we'll go earlier and get the flatbread. Ok, so that is not much to go on. But our experience was positive and we will be back!

Clean, Friendly staff, bread(naan) straight from the oven. I love browsing grocery stores from other cultures, like taking a trip abroad without busting out the passport. They have a wide variety of seeds and nuts as well was a great rice selection. Butcher shop was busy. It's easy to find and has more than ample parking.

go here for the nan, and the baklava, and the other pastries and baked breads. don't be scared by the parking lot or surrounding area, it's okay, they're more afraid of you than you are of them. :) seriously, put on your big kid pants, pull in the parking lot, go on in, grab stacks of the nan....make pizza with them, dip them in butter and fry them, shove it in your mouth, anything, everything!

Wonderful friendly people and a great selection of foods from the Middle East and beyond. Halal meat and chicken and a phenomenal bakery that makes incredible breads! Don't be afraid if you aren't from "the Middle East". Go and experience some new tastes and smells! The folks are nice and helpful! Oh and they have an awesome olive bar too. Yum!!

Featured on Andrew Zimmerman's show...I needed to check this place out. Let me tell you, the flat bread is to die for. They are absolutely huge and you get five in a bag for cheap! I mean I am always up for a new adventure, so since I travel to Nashville regularly, I had to check this place out. I also tried the sour pistachios and they were good treats too. The other small foods near the counter were good too. Must visit!

We stopped by after seeing this on the food network, and it was exactly as shown. We got some treats, some tea, explored the shelves for tons of diffrent regional items not normaly accesable in the grocery store. We got a package of Naan that was amazing, and thats the speaking point i will make here. It was only like $3, came with 4 or 5 large pizza size thin crust pads, and my wife and i have now made 3 home made pizzas using them and its the best crust! The variety of the deserts and hand made items were very large also. Just remember that this is an international market, so be prepared for that as its not organized like your kroger or publixs.

Very friendly stuff, all kind of international food. Reasonable prices. Excellent meat selection. Highly recommended.

Very friendly owner. Many options for grocery, and, best of all, fresh baked bread. I had thier lahamajoun and it was delicious. This place is great for middle eastern grocery shopping!

Wonderful fresh bread & halal meat. It can get crowded waiting for meat orders so Plan ahead or try to order ahead. Very friendly staff & there's an almost hidden bakery in the back where you can get a fresh Arabic style pizza on a freshly baked naan & very inexpensive ! Awesome treat while you shop or await your meat order. We drove in from huntsville & can't wait to go back again. Loves the store, felt like we were abroad somewhere so you have to be in that kind of mode. Fresh veggies and all sorts of cheeses, yogurts & spices for your middle eastern and Desi dishes.

I really wanted to like this place. I love to cook Persian food and I'm excited to learn more about Kurdish food. The store itself is OK. They have a lot of products I like (tons of spices, rice, dried fruits & nuts, beans of many varieties, torshi, yogurt, cheese, etc.). The merchandise is kind of haphazardly stocked and it's a cramped space but it's manageable. Unfortunately, my experience here was not great. There are three things that turned me off. First, few items have the prices marked. I don't like to buy things not knowing how much I'm going to pay for them. Second, the bakery situation is confusing. It looks like you're walking into a warehouse. I had no idea how to go about getting bread. There was a metal rack in the back with a few sad looking things on it. No pitas. Did they sell out already by 10:00 in the morning on a Sunday? I grabbed a package of barbari bread off the shelf. It looked OK but it's really stale. Finally, and most annoyingly, the people that work here are not friendly. When I went to pay for my stuff I noticed that there were some syrup sweets on the counter. I asked the guy what they were called and how I could buy some. He acted like he didn't really want to help me and actually laughed at me. I immediately wished I hadn't asked (they weren't that great anyway). Why would I want to try new things and spend money at a store if I'm going to be utterly confused, ignored, barely greeted when I buy things, and then made to feel stupid when I have a question? I know this store is not for me, that it's a grocery for the Kurdish population in Nashville. I get it. But I don't think that excuses rudeness. I can get 99% of the stuff in this store at Amazon without paying shipping. Don't think I'll be back.

You'll never know the true beauty of food and culture until you stole thru an international market. I found this bakery tucked into the back corner of Azadi International food market and bakery. They were making homemade Naan and pita bread!! Delicious!! I ate three pieces of the pita bread on the way home! This place will be a regular visit for me.

Me and my cousin spent hours and hours driving back and forth to this market because we found out that the milk we bought was expired 2 weeks ago. This happened with us a few times before and I'm sure this happened with other people too. We went there because "Halal" was on their door like a good sign, but their work doesn't fit their description. Whoever is responsible of their grocery and dairy is not doing a good job because their products is like playing lottery , you never know if you are getting a good one or not. I don't recommend this place to anyone and if you try to shop there you should make sure that the price and the expiration date is okay. The guy did gave our money back but with a cold " sorry" ; like it "happens, so ?"but it shouldn't be like that because no one would appreciate that kinda service. At last, I'm embarrassed to say that I'm from the same country as the owner of this market because we stand for greatness but this market doesn't. I hope no one judge us all the same.

I didn't feel comfortable. It wasn't very clean. The men stared a lot. There's a place next door that I tried and found it more welcoming and the bread was hot and delicious. It was called Newroz Market I believe. I had this delicious sandwich they made. They called it shawarma and it was phenomenal. I had two! I definitely suggest everyone on trying it!