Which restaurants is Nashville missing? From Nando's to Portillo's here's what people want

• We asked readers to weigh in on the restaurants they wish we had in Nashville.
• Several Austin-based eateries made the list as well as some other regional favorites.

What do Torchy's Tacos, Nando's and Alamo Drafthouse have in common?

None of them are in Nashville and readers wish they were.

The opening of Whataburger in 2021 and the recent announcement of looming In-N-Out Burger locations coming to Nashville checked off two big boxes of restaurant chains missing from Music City. So what else are we not eating locally? Surprisingly, quite a bit.

Readers' answers varied from regional restaurants drawn from childhood hometown memories to Nashville classic staples like Rotier's and Bound'ry, which are no longer in business. Some readers don't want any more chains, but rather more local and regional small businesses. We hear you on all of the above.

Here are some of the top answers we got from readers on social media about the restaurants they wish we had.

1. Torchy's Tacos

Torchy's is one of several eating establishments readers know from Austin, Texas. Founded by Austin-ite Mike Rypka as a food truck, Torchy's and its slogan "Damn good tacos" have grown from one food truck to 90 locations across the country. The only Tennessee location currently is Memphis.

The Torchy's menu includes breakfast tacos, bowls, sweets, sides all hand crafted from fresh ingredients and, of course, an array of margaritas ranging from a house frozen or rocks to the Camarena Cooldown, made from Camarena silver tequila, blue curacau and freshly-squeezed lime juice.

Eating Nashville:Which are the best (and worst) chain restaurants? Our power rankings.

Reader @meaganmoore tweeted, "We are long overdue for @torchystacos." @Vivian_E_Jones agreed.

Torchy's did not respond to our request for information about a possible Nashville location.

First Day:Whataburger opens first Nashville location in Hermitage

In-N-Out:'Animal style' coming to Tennessee: What we know about In-N-Out Burger's plans

2. Alamo Drafthouse Cinema

The second Austin-based establishment to make the list is Alamo Drafthouse.

Part movie theater, part beer joint, the Drafthouse goes beyond bar food and offers a full, multi-course menu prepared from scratch. Wash down your "Royale with Cheese" Burger with a custom-crafted cocktail or craft beer delivered to your seat. Each location has more than 30 beers on tap in addition to local microbrews, a full selection of handcrafted cocktails, bottled beers, soft drinks and "award-winning" milkshakes.

Nashville resident @travhaney replied to a Tweet, saying: "This is 1000 percent the answer. I left Austin in 2015 and my heart is still missing a piece. I heard BIRMINGHAM has one?! Nuthin against Birmingham, but WHYYYYYYYYYY …. Pick us."

With 26 locations across the country and "more to come" according to the cinema's web site, could Nashville be on the radar? We reached out to Alamo to see if Nashville was being considered for a future location, but didn't receive a response.

3. Anything but another restaurant chain

@acooke1978 said in a tweet she didn't want another national restaurant chain. "Let regional restaurants stay regional and special when you visit. I know I sound cranky, but seriously… that’s what’s fun about traveling the country."

@ColtonJPL agrees.

"We have too many chains already. Need more local less corporate," he tweeted. @StarrChildtha1 tweeted "Nothing more. Small business restaurants. No chains."

4. Deeper international options

@mtpassiknow on Twitter would love to see @nandosUK, which is described on its Twitter page as being "the home of legendary Afro Portugese flame-grilled PERi-PERi Chicken." Sounds delicious. Nando's has 45 locations in Illinois, Virginia, Texas, Maryland and Washington D.C., but when you type Nashville into its location finder it comes up empty. Can you Door Dash a meal from Chicago?

Along those lines, @armyvetmom2 would like more ethnic restaurants that serve Persian, Iraqi, Greek and Eastern European food in Nashville.

Options:OSH brings flavors of Uzbekistan to Nashville's table

Mediterranean:This Mediterranean bowl restaurant is opening its first Williamson County location this fall

5. A little nostalgia from home

@johngrecowrites tweeted that he would love to see Duchess Restaurants in Nashville. Duchess, which has 12 locations scattered across Connecticut, has been a staple there since 1956.

@DennisJBurnside wishes Nashville had a Pappasito's Cantina. Pappasito's has 24 locations in Texas and one in Georgia, according to the eatery's web site.

@nikkinopressure and @jlblueskies both mentioned Portillo's as a dream restaurant for Nashville. Known for hotdogs, burgers and salads, Portillo's locations are scattered across the country, but there are none in the deep south outside Florida and Texas.

@AnnMcnairy noted "If we are going with nostalgia & bringing things back - Ireland's if for nothing else, the steak biscuits! Swensen's for their major ice cream sundaes & their fruit salad."

Not seeing an option here you wish we had? Tweet us at @Tennessean.

Melonee Hurt covers growth and development at The Tennessean, part of the USA TODAY NETWORK - Tennessee. Reach Melonee at mhurt@tennessean.com.