Bad Idea — Restaurant in Nashville-Davidson

I walked in with a foul mood after getting the ‘single guy treatment’ at another restaurant and walking out. (“One for dinner?? We only have space at the tiny bar, with high stools designed to torture children and single men who just want to pay to be treated like crap and be a spectacle while constantly having to shift while eating due to people ordering drinks and breathing on the back of his head. Follow me.” …You’re only 30% filled at best and that’s not counting tables outside…no thanks. So, found Bad Idea after a quick search and drove over. Walked in and held the door for two couples who were 1-3 steps behind me. ONE of them was gracious enough to acknowledge that I’d arrived first and allowed me to greet the host. So, yeah, not in the best mood and prepared to walk.

My guy offered me a seat at the bar (which wasn’t crowded) but I probably too curtly declined and without skipping a beat, he took me to a proper table. I had no idea what to expect and became fascinated by the wine and drink menu before even getting into the food menu! But the food menu…WOW!!! Nothing else like it!! I narrowed down my choices just as my server appeared and we had a quick discussion.

Shortly, I had a favorable orange wine in hand and relaxed. In no time I had a small plate of food with flavors that had depth and nuance that were like nothing I’ve had before. Just as I finished it, my next plate arrived with a couple of quick hints from the server (chef?) and my flavor experience continued. My original server dropped by after I finished and I had to check the desserts. The Durian Mille-Feuille intrigued and we discussed drinks. I wasn’t so sure of her suggestion, but we went with it and I wouldn’t say that it necessarily paired well as added a couple of more dimensions to the dessert course. Wouldn’t change a thing.

I deliberately didn’t mention many dishes or drinks in this review because to me, the service was the star and your meal journey should be as unique as mine. Go, have a great experience and be blown away with the flavors and textures while being treated with truly excellent service. (Apologies for not recalling the staff members’ names. I interacted with 3 lovely people and they all were...

The best meal I've ever had.

I've been to a lot of places in my time, but this took the top spot away from my two best experiences: 404 Kitchen (Nashville) and Spago (Beverly Hills). Thats hard to do. Let me explain...

The building is an old church. It was very spacious, and well decorated. Completely original, unlike other places which try to adhere to the trendy aesthetic that comes with high end cuisine. My wife is an interior designer, and she raved about everything involved.

Next up, the service. We had Gary as our waiter, who we initiall thought was Matty Matheson 😄. Well, lets just say we weren't disappointed, as Gary knew the menu up and down, was super friendly, and was perfect at every step. If I had my choice of having Matty or Gary involved in my meal, I'd now choose Gary every time hands down. The guy was a natural and made the experience great. (The other staff were great as well.)

And last, let's talk about the food. Everything, and I mean everything, was original. The thought and prep that went into every dish was mind blowing. There was no ordinary, ALL of it was individually extraordinary. No weak spots. It is Loatian-inspired, so most of it had an Asian flair, but not all of it. I can't believe I'm saying this, but the bologna sandwich was my fave. It's not your recession special at Robert's.... No no no, this is something entirely different. Mind blowing. The foie de crenard (sp?) was another stand out. I hate to call out just one or two things, they were all individually amazing. I would take Gordon Ramsey here if I knew him and were trying to impress him. 😄

Overall, in my 25 years in Nashville, this took the cake. The whole package. They made it look easy and were chill in doing so. That was certainly part of the allure to it all. The look, the feel, the food. Worth taking my time out to review. This is not an ordinary 5 star review, this is the #1 place in Nashville as far as im concerned. Hope to go...

We decided to try Bad Idea on a recent trip to Nashville after seeing it in the NYT. It was...a bad idea. We had a large group and tried many dishes. On the positive, service was decent and gracious. The space is lovely.

The food, however, was a huge disappointment. At best, some dishes were "OK," others were frankly gross. Of the starters, the scallop crepe, apparently a signature dish, had a weirdly gelatinous texture, and an unremarkably mild flavor profile. The rice pudding was a bowl of nondescript mush, the only standout the chili paste. A few others were tried as well - all leading us to wonder if our restaurant choice was truly a bad idea.

An amuse came mid meal, an egg custard with salmon roe. The roe must have been bad, it was so fishy rendering that small bite inedible, and me nauseous. Of the large share plates we had the Chicken 5 ways, the steak wraps, and fried fish wraps. The steak itself was decent and tasty, but that is table stakes for a restaurant of this caliber. The fish, allegedly deboned, nonetheless contained bones but no flavor.

Some of the chicken 5 ways were OK, but presentation was downright comical. A sausage served alone on a plate in it's dark brown very phallic form. A single chicken wing placed alone in a bowl as part of a shareable meal had us in hysterics. For even two people, as the dish is presented, how is a couple to nibble on a small single chicken wing? Much less a group that is sharing to taste? Another was offered at an up-charge, naturally. The soup was decent, the breast as well. Of note: multiple pieces of the serving ware were quite worn and chipped (i.e. handles of the soup crock).

It was a meal we suffered through, not ordering more drinks so as not to prolong the experience. Ordering dessert was clearly not an option. I was nauseous for hours after. Perhaps it was an off night, but I won't return...