Athens Family Restaurant — Restaurant in Nashville-Davidson

I'm from the Northeast so forgive this review based on my experiences coming from a better food Culture. I come from another world when it comes to food, so some Nashville native folks may love it here, but if you're from a major city up north (or places like Tarpon Springs in Tampa) or even places internationally known for it's food culture (Or if you're a world traveler), this place will disappoint like many southern restaurants tend to do. They charge a lot for mediocre diner Greek food, and most of It doesn't come with a side. The Gyros and souvlaki are highly priced and inferior compared to what I've had in Greek restaurants in other cities, and they don't even come with a side of fries or a Greek salad without a high charge. (If you buy a wrap, it comes with nothing ...plus a side of fries is almost $3.00 which were soggy and NOT worth the extra money because the feta and oregano were hardly apparent on them, besides the fact that they weren't crispy) I found out after-the-fact that Guy Fieri was here on "Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives". I can't help but assume that Guy knows what cities do food the best, and Nashville is NOT one of those cities (which are fightin' words unless you know better)...yet, I imagine you could be interested in this place if you don't know better because you've never had quality Greek, or have never been to Greece. If you're comparing Greek food in Nashville, than assume it's the best....However, I'm REALLY burned out on fake and inaccurate reviews down here and the disappointment/dissatisfaction that follows, so I'm doing a service to other people in my situation. If you're spoiled because you know amazing authentic Greek food, than just remember that before you come here so you're not disappointed. The food isn't bad, but it's not going to exceed your expectations unless they are already lowered.....and get ready to pay high prices for Diner food, unless you don't expect anything with it. I mean they charge almost $6.00 for a very mediocre "mini Greek salad" that has bad reviews from other people. (Mini doesn't equate to "side salad") That's silly and bad business in my opinion. And for the record, I NEVER review places on this unless I feel VERY upset/disappointed or VERY pleased. (I tend to be too laid back to be upset enough to leave any negativity behind but I'm tired of wasting my money and time) And this review is not from a disgruntled customer/employee, or a friend of a competitor. I'm just epically tired of trying new places in a new city, and being chronically disappointed. Feels like I'm chronically wasting money at this point. This review is for the other transplants from superior food cities looking for hope, and looking for food that was comparably good to what they are used to. This isn't that place... and once you are warned what you are getting here, then this place will meet your expectations and you will enjoy it.....After all, I doubt Guy Fieri would go to a place that didn't do something right.... ;-) (Also, don't quote me on prices, but they don't have the prices on their website menu...

My wife, my sister-in-law, her husband and I had dinner together here before going to see Rain perform at The Fisher Center of Belmont University. Athens Family Restaurant (AFR) was very conveniently located directly across the street from this venue, so we were able to use The Fisher Center's free parking at a nearby parking garage just around the corner, so I cannot speak to the parking available to customers of restaurant, but the Fisher Center's parking was ample, and we had no trouble finding a good place to park.

None of us had been to this restaurant before, but we knew we liked Greek food and it had good reviews, and we couldn't beat the convenient location.

AFR has both indoor and outdoor dining. We sat just inside the entrance in an area that was enclosed by glass so that you could easily see out onto the street and see the Fisher Center across the street, which is a beautiful building, so the view was pleasant.

The atmosphere inside was informal and casual, typical of a mid-level restaurant or diner. Nothing to rave about, but nothing to complain about either.

Now we come to the best part, the food. We'd all had good Greek food before, but none of us could stop talking about how good the food was here. I had ordered a combo platter with gyro meat and chicken souvlaki, their seasoned fries and a Greek salad. My wife had ordered the Greek salmon. Everything was delicious, without exception, the portions were huge, and the prices were very reasonable. The food was so good that even the lighter eaters of our group left nothing behind on their plates at the end of the meal.

There was some slight confusion with the orders - two of our orders had the side from one person's order on the other person's plate. We were able to fix it ourselves by simply transferring the food between plates. Other than that, the service was very good, so I gave it 4 stars out of 5.

All four of us were very impressed with this restaurant. We felt this restaurant was a great find. This is our new favorite Greek restaurant, and we would come here just to eat, even if we weren't seeing anything at the Fisher Center. Very highly recommended to anyone who...

Our family enjoyed our experience at Athens Family Restaurant. To be honest the place was not what I was expecting.

I was thinking it would be a Greek menu equivalent of the Anatolia restaurant on White Bridge Road, but was surprised to find out it is actually a family style restaurant as it’s name implies.

Not only does Athens Family Restaurant have the basic Greek staples of beef and lamb, they also serve american style dishes. There is a weekly special menu on which there was nothing Greek. Soup, Pasta, Burgers, Souvlaki, Shank, Salad, Seafood, or Chicken there is something for everyone.

We ordered htipiti and bread for our ορεκτικό. If you have not had this greek appetizer spread, you may confuse it with with a variation of hummus at first glance...how do I know? It’s what I was expecting. While also delicious, think more along the lines of a spicier pimento cheese with a creamier texture. A couple olives made the last bite fun.

One kid got a Greek salad, another a gyro, and my wife and I both got the Bifteki platter.

The γυρο was huge and came with fries. The μπιφτεκια was tender, juicy, and the yogurt was good. The platters came with salads as sides and had tasty tomatoes, cucumbers, and feta cheese on them. The bread was soft, pliable, and good- but I would be surprised if it was baked in house.

I let the waitress pick my other side and she picked some sort of potatoes. After they were all eaten I unashamedly picked up the cup and drank the remaining creamy, soupy, juice which actually bordered a potato soup.

The service was awesome. At one point our waitress sat at our table with us and at another she told our kids with a motherly resound “I will bring you more sprite and doctor pepper when your food comes so you don’t fill up on drinks.” It was as if she read mine and my wife’s minds.

I didn’t eat any of the baklava so I can’t tell you about it’s taste or texture. However, I can tell you none that my family ordered made it home with the leftover bread and gyro.

Stop in and eat at this place at least once, and ask to sit in...