Anatolia Turkish Restaurant — Restaurant in Nashville-Davidson

I worked at a wonderful Turkish restaurant for a while as a waitress. Me and one other employee were the only non-family members that worked there. I truly felt like family, and learned how to cook many foods! They made everything from scrap and fresh!! I make my own hummus, moussaka, etc. So yeah… I am very particular with Turkish food! I will say, this restaurant met any and all expectations. I ordered the appetizer platter and a garden salad. The appetizer platter included: stuffed grape leaves, fillo dough rolls, and hummus served with rose petal jam and pita bread. A perfect trio! They also brought out perhaps the best bread I've ever had with oil and seasonings to dip it it. The grape leaves have pine nuts in them. I have to admit, I wasn't a big fan of that.They have loads of seasoning in them, which made them very flavourful, more than any I've had. I'd give the grape leaves a 4 out of 5, mainly due to the pinenuts. (If you like your grape leaves warmed, tell them, they serve them slightly chilled.) But they were delicious none the less. The fillo dough rolls were amazing! I loved the feta they use to make them! The hummus was as good as my own. That says a lot, since I am very picky with hummus, to the point I do not prefer store bought hummus. I asked for ranch dressing for my salad, but the waiter encouraged me to use their dressing that is made there, fresh. He said they do not make their ranch, and emphasized it would not be as good as their dressing. I'm glad I took his advice! The vinegar and oil combo, and whatever else they put in it, was perfect! I love the pride they took in preparing the salad. The lettuce, cucumbers and tomatoes were sliced perfectly. NO huge chunks of lettuce to contend with, or large pieces of tomato that needed to be cut into pieces. (While I am NOT that picky, having waited tables for years, I know many are, and this matters to some! Just covering all bases for my review!) The diligence in their food preparation is commendable and thoughtful. I did not have the hot rose hip tea, but my companion did and loved it! It smelled amazing! The atmosphere is relaxing and perfect for a date or out with the family. The staff is very helpful, friendly and efficient. This restaurant will now become a tradition when my friend and I drive into downtown Nashville. FINAL THOUGHT: If you appreciate great, authentic Turkish food, and desire an intimate and delightful environment, with a great staff, this...

Let's talk about one of the hottest restaurants in Nashville. Anatolia maintains magnificent ratings including a 4.3 on Yelp, a 4.4 on Google, and a 4.5 on TripAdvisor with nearly 1,500 combined reviews at the end of 2024! In fact, a few years after the Ustunkaya brothers opened the establishment in 2003, it started burning up the user-drive platforms. That was sufficient to inspire its addition to my local restaurant bucket list. It only took me 20 years to get there. I blame Nashville for opening up so many incredible eateries!!

Having eaten in various regions of Turkey, I can confirm that the food at Anatolia is very authentic! The interior is quite pleasant, dare I say even romantic. The menu is extensive and provides a superb sampling of the varied flavors of Turkish food. Having sampled a little bit of everything, I'll provide my opinion. This should assist in your selection process from a such a vast menu of tempting options.

The Stuffed Grape Leaves, Fillo Dough Rolls, Kunefe dessert, and complimentary fresh warm bread are all pretty good. The lamb chops are very good, tender and beautifully cooked with mild Turkish spices. But it's the olive oil dip with spices that comes with the starter bread that's among the most amazing things you'll eat here, as well as the spectacular rice that accompanies many of the main dishes! And the hummus may just be the best in the entire city of Nashville! That's their greatest dish!

Pro tip: Pour some of that complimentary dip into the hummus and it's pure magic! Anatolia is a great spot for the adventurous eater curious about Turkish food and has similarities to Greek food for reference. I was especially impressed that when I ordered the Kunefe dessert at the beginning of the meal, something that takes 20 minutes to make fresh, my waiter cleverly put in the order so that it came out just as I was finishing my main course. Nice! They also offered a free Turkish tea to a woman awaiting a to-go order that didn't come out until seven or eight minutes after she had arrived. I love their hospitality and...

I was let down by this establishment- they are not kind people. Or at least the people working the night my friend and I attended.

We were seated and you could tell the staff were arguing on who would take our table, our server was very curt, we had barely gotten out what we wanted and he would take off (I would say I think I want xyz and before I could ask what would you suggest the dude was gone) - he did not tell us about the specials that night - nada. No conversation was made - I was hopeful since it is a small place it would be more of a personal dining experience. We were hoping to try a multitude of things but after the first interaction decided against it because we obviously werent going to get the same experience as the other patrons.

We ordered the hummus ( which was good ), spinach stuffed chicken, the lamb kabobs and finished with baklava - everything was just okay - not very flavorful - the baklava was decent. We ordered basic stuff to see if it was going to be good. If you can't make the basics why would I come back and try more elaborate dishes. . . but I guess that made us targets for ridicule. Each time we ordered you could hear the back end laughing about what we chose - it was literally each time our server left our table there would be an uproarious amount of laughter.

Also, the front end person and a back end person were always picking at each other - and there was a lot of drama going on that you could tell and HEAR! For the type of atmosphere (it's a very small restaurant) you would think that would be under control.

I would suggest trying this place out - maybe for lunch, they might be nicer at that...