Otto’s Ditch Gluten Entirely

Otto’s, a West Nashville bar and restaurant, completed a full menu conversion to gluten-free items this September. General Manager Bode Craig led the effort to remove gluten from every dish, a shift driven by the dietary needs of staff members and regular patrons. The restaurant has won the Best Neighborhood Bar award in the past, but Craig emphasizes the food program as much as the drinks.

The kitchen stopped serving seitan, a plant-based meat substitute made with gluten, to finalize the transition. Craig’s team replaced it with a marinated tofu prepared in-house. This change followed a prior initiative where Craig ensured all spice blends were gluten-free, giving the kitchen more flexibility to accommodate customers. Craig describes the work as tedious but manageable, noting he spends four and a half to five hours one or two times a week prepping ingredients. The menu now features both gluten-free soft-shell and hard-shell tortillas.

Craig states that Otto’s is a restaurant first, despite its reputation as a bar. He acknowledges the establishment occupies a space between a dive bar and an upscale venue. “We straddle this limital line of, 'Are we a dive bar or are we kind of like an upscale something?'” he said. “Our cocktail program is high-end. I take it very seriously, so might as well take our food just as seriously.”

The menu remains small due to limited storage space, with a focus on tacos, nachos, and drinks. The restaurant keeps dishes on the menu for long periods, adding only occasional chef’s specials. Tuesdays feature a two-for-$5 taco special, a price Craig notes sounds like a typo in the current economy but is accurate.

Alongside the food changes, Otto’s introduced three new cocktails. Veneer! contains rum, oloroso sherry, lime, and grapefruit. The name references an episode of the TV show Frasier. Blonde Spritz #6 is made with an Italian botanical aperitif, Sarti Rosa aperitivo, and cava. Midnight Kazoo Festival combines bourbon and forest herbal liqueur, finished with cinnamon. Craig describes the last drink as an Old Fashioned defined by beauty and simplicity.

A permanent mocktail called the Wildflower Spritz was also added for guests who do not drink alcohol. Craig says the changes stem directly from guest feedback. “Everybody is welcome here; it’s a no-judgment zone,” he said. “That’s how we quickly became everybody’s home away from home. We’ve had many engagements, many engagement photos. We had one wedding. We have just a ridiculous amount of regulars and some that we kind of just call family now.”

Craig notes that staff and customers have formed close bonds, with employees attending book clubs and movies with patrons. The restaurant describes its clientele as a community rather than just a customer base.