312 Pizza Company — Restaurant in Nashville-Davidson

I'll start with a quote from my dining companion on this one as well: "it was good, but it's not something I would just drive to Nashville for." I agree with this statement. After the hour drive to Nashville (seriously, this traffic thing is awful), we arrived and surprisingly/thankfully found a parking spot fairly easily. We walked up and found that you have to ring the doorbell if you want to dine in, so we did. We chose our own high top by the windows and were greeted fairly quickly. After placing orders for waters, though, our server disappeared, apparently adjusting TV channels on all TVs, for quite some time. Knowing the pizzas take a long time to cook, we were anxious to place an order. (We later overheard a table say they had ordered ahead. Very smart people there lol.) When he returned, we ordered the dough nuggets and marinara as an appetizer. We also ordered our pizzas then: the Daley Supreme Deep Dish and the State Street Gluten Free. I knew I was eating the deep dish no matter the possible barley consumption, but I wanted to also try the gluten free to be able to tell you about it. When the dough nuggets arrived, we both honestly thought they'd accidentally brought an order of calamari but accident (which was not on the menu lol) but quickly discovered it was just the way the dough nuggets looked lol. They were good, but that greasy good that tells you, as an older person, you're probably going to pay for it later lol. The garlic Parm (I think) dusting on the top was delicious. Nancy said the plate needed more marinara for that amount of nuggets, but we couldn't even finish the nuggets! I guess the amount was accurate. When the pizzas arrived, there was of course the beautiful cheese pull moment. Nancy had been expecting a different look, as she had another idea of Chicago deep dish in her head. It's not a thing that happens a lot in our area, so it's to be expected. I honestly haven't had anything but a supposedly more authentic Chicago chain that used to be in Louisville, KY, but that's okay. The GF pizza looked as expected, though. The Chicago for me was good. I did eat the whole slice with a fork and knife. The cheese had that great pull, the marinara had that tomato bite. The sausage was great and paired well. The bell peppers were a bit more raw than I expected, though, and the mushrooms were few and far between. The crust was crisp but also chewy in a pleasant way. The gluten free was also good, though Nancy said something about it tasted off (and she said it might be that she doesn't like cooked spinach? She's not sure). I thought the crust was well executed, though (for me) the sauce was light and the cheese heavy. Maybe I just like them saucy. The Chicago was the winner tonight for me, which I did kind of expect. I do know I am already paying for the grease level on those very good dough nuggets, though. But I do agree with Nancy: it's not one I would drive to Nashville to go to like I do another joint, but I also prefer NY style pizza. Take that as you will, but it was good and you should try it, especially if you love...

I came in and sat at a high top in the bar area. The owner said hello and talked about how this is his family’s place and using his grandmother’s recipes! But after that, it took a good five minutes for anyone to come to my table even though there was an employee lounging at the bar. I finally got my order taken, got the vegan pretzels (they were very tasty!) and ordered a deep dish pizza. I had to try multiple times to flag down my server to put in the pizza order, it was beginning of the dinner time and all of the servers seemed bored even though I wasn’t the only customer in the restaurant and none of us were getting much attention. After 10 minutes, I was able to order the pizza, only then does she tell me that deep dishes can take an hour to make, I still wanted it and didn’t mind waiting, but like if I’d known, I would’ve ordered it at the same time as the appetizer. No one ever introduced themselves, said their name, for being a family place, the servers were all pretty closed off and only mandatorily friendly. The girl at the bar who was an employee but not working was sitting at the bar almost the whole time. The normal bartender only seemed to pay attention to the room when a man sat at the bar and then all the attention was on him. The employee sitting at the bar said she was a well server bartender, I almost thought she was a manager since she was out of uniform and telling all the other servers what to do. She had a very loud conversation with the patron at the bar about pets and parents DYING and CREMATION! That’s so not appropriate for a restaurant or for the workplace. I had to move tables after that thoughtless conversation, because I tell you, this lady was LOUD. I’m sure the whole restaurant could hear her talking about cremating people. 🤢 the deep dish pizza was good, it was definitely light on the sauce though 🥲 I took most of it home, it’s very filling! I’d come back, though hopefully when none of those servers are working. The owner checked in on me again at the end of my meal and thanked me for coming and supporting their family spot. He was kind and friendly and the reason I...

Ayyy, now listen heah, ‘cause I ain’t gonna say dis twice. I walk into 312 Pizza, right heah in Nashville, an’ lemme tell ya somethin’—dis place? Dis place is da real deal. You step through da door, an’ BAM—you’re hit wit’ da smell o’ fresh tomato sauce so rich, so deep, it makes ya wanna cry tears o’ joy. An’ dis ain’t no store-bought nonsense, nah nah nah—dey grow deir own tomatoes. Yeah, ya heard me—homegrown! Fresh, juicy, sweeter den a dame whisperin’ sweet nothin’s in ya ear.

Now da service? Oooh, fuggedaboutit! Da guy bringin’ da pizza? A gentleman. A real stand-up kinda guy. Brought dat pie to da table like he was presentin’ da Mona Lisa. An’ just when I’m tinkin’ dis place can’t get no bettah—da owner herself comes ova. Yeah, yeah, da boss woman. Talks to us like we go way back, like we’re family. Dis ain’t some cold, corporate joint—dis is a place wit’ a soul.

An’ da people? Oh, ya got all types in heah. Families, couples, bunch’a folks celebratin’ birthdays—den I see dis guy. Covered in ink, got dat whole “I play guitar in a band dat probably robbed a bank once” kinda look. But den? Da guy belts out ‘Happy Birthday’ like he’s Sinatra himself! I nearly fell outta my chair! Right den an’ deah, I knew—dis guy? He coulda been my Uncle Tommy. Da kinda guy who’d teach ya how to fix a car wit’ one hand an’ make da best Sunday gravy ya ever had wit’ da otha. Dis joint’s got dat kinda magic.

Now lemme tell ya about da PIZZA. Da deep dish? Ooohhh mama mia! Dis ain’t no pizza—dis is an EVENT. It’s got da kinda cheese pull dat makes ya re-evaluate ya whole existence. Da sauce? Like an angel kissed it. An’ da crust? Fuhgeddaboudit. Crispy on da outside, soft on da inside—like a good wiseguy who knows when to throw hands an’ when to hug his mother. An’ if ya prefer a regular thin crust? 312 does dat too. An’ guess what? It’s just as perfect. You can taste da love, da tradition, da history.

I’m tellin’ ya right now, if ya don’t go to 312 Pizza, ya makin’ da kinda mistake dat people regret for da rest o’ deir...