Smiley Thai and Sushi Restaurant — Restaurant in Mount Juliet

I've been keeping an eye on this place and waiting for it to open. It finally opened and every time I drove by it seemed the place was packed. My wife and I decided to give it a try Saturday night. Things didn't start off well. The place was packed and there were probably ~10 people waiting right inside the door for a table. A party of 4 walked out because nobody had even greeted them for over 10 minutes.

We continued to wait (we're pretty patient individuals and UK was playing on the TV!) I figured they were new, business was good and busy for a reason, we'd try to wait. Good things come right? They did.

We started with a Crazy sushi roll and a bowl of edamame. Sushi was great. They forgot the salt on the edamame but our server played it off well and pointed out the salt shaker on our table.

I'm on a pho kick so I got the chicken pho and was pleased with my order. They gave me a good amount of basil to put into it to my liking and their spice/oils tray was very good. I will say I did miss having some hoisin sauce to add in which I normally do at one of my other favorite local Thai places.

My wife decided to be a little adventurous and didn't go with her normal fried rice or pad thai dish and instead gave the massaman curry stew with chicken a try. I'm a big fan of massaman curry so encouraged her that if she didn't like it I'd eat and we'd get her something else. We were both a bit surprised in that the dish came out with a single chicken leg stuck in the middle of the bowl and there were no potatoes included.

I realize dark meat is generally the standard in many ethnic dishes, which the chef/owner confirmed when she came out to check on us. Not my wife's favorite and they were very quick to take it back and swap it out for some chicken breast pieces. My wife enjoyed the dish overall. Good flavor. Did miss not having any potatoes on it though.

In summary... newly opened business that appears to be doing very well and the employees are probably a bit worn out from their opening week. Be patient with folks if your a customer. Remember, you could be eating at home instead! I'm sure this place will continue to improve and service will also continue to...

Monday... a day off work for me. My wife works from our home as a Customer Service rep. I decided to get her some sushi for her lunch break which begins at 1:30 PM. I walked in the door of Smiley shortly before 1:00 PM. I was seated promptly and the staff was very friendly. I noticed that every other customer in the restaurant at that time appeared to be of Asian descent. This is an encouraging sign. I ordered Salmon Teriyaki Bento Box for myself to eat in and the sushi order to take with me for my wife when I left. The soup and salad portion of my order was quickly served to me. My waiter got into a conversation with the people at the table next to mine. They talked for a good while. Then a waitress joined that conversation speaking in the Asian language that was the norm for them. I saw that my to-go order of sushi had been prepared and was set aside. I had drank all of my glass of water. The waiter finally noticed it and brought out a bottle of water for me. He also placed my to-go sushi in a plastic bag and placed it on my table. He rejoins the conversation with the couple sitting next to me. Time passes. A different staff member sees me sitting at my table with my to-go order sitting in a plastic bag on the table and asks if I am ready for my check. I let her know that I had ordered an entree that had not arrived yet. More time passes. At 1:25 PM it is time for me to GO. I ask my waiter to skip the Bento Box and I will pay for the soup, salad and sushi. The staff suddenly got in a big hurry and brought out my Bento Box and the bill for my order. I now do not have time to eat. I could tell by the temperature of the food that it had all JUST NOW been prepared. I hurriedly took some bites and had to leave about half of the meal because I did not have time to eat it and get my wife's lunch sushi back in time for her meal break. I am very...

Like any new place I go to, I will do my research and study the menu. So I was aware of the prices and ready to throw down some cash and try this place out. Everything me and my husband ordered was top notch, service was quick and the staff friendly. We ordered like we were feeding an army. Here's a break down of what we ordered and my thoughts about them

APPETIZERS Grilled Gyoza - 5 pieces w/ soy sauce I like my Gyoza crispy but the flavor on these are what makes them so tasty. Crispy pork - nice pork portion w/ Sticky rice and this dipping sauce that just brought everything together. Tuna Tataki- nice seared Tuna portion, if you don't like raw fish don't order but if you do you can't go wrong ordering this. Wonton soup - 3 little wontons served in a delicious broth with peas and other seasonings, wontons were full of flavorful meat . Very tasty Tom Kha w/ chicken soup - flavorful, creamy, delicious, for a small bowl of soup there was an abundance of ingredients you got in every spoon full. I never knew it was supposed to taste like this my expectation of Tom Kha has definitely been elevated I've never had it taste so good. House salad - The sauce is so yum that they actually have sm and lg bottles for purchase. Side of Fried Rice w/ pork - for being just a side of rice the portion of it felt like I ordered a main dish. Very delicious as well

SUSHI ROLLS WE ORDERED 4 SPECIALTY ROLLS kanisu Dixie Rock N Fuji REGULAR ROLLS Eel Octopus Nigri Squid Nagri All of the rolls were so packed with fresh ingredients, flavor and topped with enough sauce you didn't need to have any side sauce to dip them in .

I highly recommend SMILEY THAI & SUSHI. The quality and portions were well worth every penny we spent on this fine...