Boqueria Fifth + Broadway — Restaurant in Nashville-Davidson

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times…

This was shaping up to be one of my top restaurant experiences, halfway through it suddenly went downhill fast.

I ordered the Chef’s tasting menu and was loving their selections in the first several courses, other than some fried potatoes (which were delicious, but were no more fitting in a Spanish tasting menu than baked beans would be).

The Iberico pork, which they are most proud of, was every bit as wonderful as they proclaim it to be. Pro tip: take it slow. This meat must be allowed to rest on the tongue for the full depth of flavors to arise. It truly is incredible.

The croquets were delightful, along with the undercoating of a fruit jam. The craftsmanship and design involved in this course was very appreciated.

Next up was a lamb skewer. Flavorful and tender, this was top quality lamb, beautifully prepared.

Up until this point, my only complaint would be the constant chill breeze across my back. The facility lacks a buffer door so each new customer brings the weather with them.

Then something happened…

What made matters worse is, by the end, it became apparent that people were not being honest with me.

I wasn’t overly pressed for time, enjoying a relaxing morning before headed home. After the lamb course, things got weird.

I hadn’t noticed any delays, but twice over a 10 or so minute period I was apologized to for the delay, with the reasoning the next course takes extra time to cook properly. Sounds great.

After further delay, another waiter shows up with a hanger steak salad (which was everything a hanger steak could and should be - buttery and tender). I asked if this was part of the tasting menu, the gentleman said it was added.

This clued me in I was caught up in a crisis. A major one, if the size of the consolation prize is any clue.

My intuition tells me I never received the originally planned course. I ate half the salad, not wanting to stuff myself. When my waiter picked it up, he informed me the final course was dessert and I had a choice between a churro and French toast.

Strange options for a Spanish tasting menu, right? Sugared bread, or sugared bread? Not much of an option. No creativity in rolling a slice of bread in sugar.

Frankly, I was shocked. I would have been happier with a simple scoop of ice cream. I took two bites of the toast and pushed it aside.

This is where the things became undeniably concerning: from the time I received the consolation hanger steak to the time I selected the French toast to the time I received this ‘dessert’ to the time I finally had a chance to ask for my check was an overly excessive amount of time.

Something was happening behind the scenes. Some sort of food crisis seems to have occurred. Paired with some other crisis of timing.

As I started with, the first 65% of my dining experience was over the top perfect. Which set up the back half to be even more disappointing.

The apologizing by the waiter and manager before I even had recognized any delay is the biggest clue that something strange was happening.

I’ll still go out of my way to enjoy their amazing food again someday. Sharing my story is not to complain, but to raise awareness that it is always best to just be honest. Did the chef have a heart attack? Kitchen catch on fire? Someone got the runs? Whatever it may be, just be straight with me.

Particularly when I have chosen the Chef’s tasting menu experience, I have chosen to partake in an intimate experience between restaurant and customer.

Whatever the reality behind the scenes may have been, you should absolutely pay these fine...

Our Boqueria re-do last night was exceptional. It honestly felt like we were eating at a completely different restaurant!

Upon arrival, the welcome we were given by the hostesses was warm and friendly, and we were quickly greeted by our server, Sarah, just a few moments after sitting down. Her service throughout the night was spot on.

For drinks, I chose the Sangria Rosada (again), while my husband had the Margarita de Siesta. The sangria was much more fruity this time around, and the margarita was delightfully smoky.

As for the food, both taste and timing were fantastic. Dishes were served in pairs with enough time in between as to not be rushed. We were actually able to slow down and savor every plate's flavors. Additionally, dirty plates were cleared by Sarah after each set of tapas had been finished -- something that didn't happen the first time we were here. Having a clean plate each time new dishes arrived was a nice touch.

Although our first batch of the Mushroom Croquetas came out ice cold in the middle, manager Nate had the kitchen make a new, hot batch immediately and they were delicious. My husband I aren't typically big fans of mushrooms, but we could've eaten those little golden fried truffles of creamy goodness all night. Don't skip them!

The Patatas Bravas were everything a potato should be -- crisp and salty on the outside, pillowy soft on the inside. The salsa brava that dressed them was rich, slightly spicy, and chock full of smoked paprika. I was pretty darn close to licking the bowl clean! The same could be said for the Pollo Rustido, which was garnished with a bright, fresh, and perfectly tart salsa verde. Both the Pintxos Morunos (pictured below) and the Espárragos Con Romesco were excellent as well. Our meal came to a sweet close with the cinnamon-sugar dusted Churros con Chocolate and a bitter Cortado.

Evan and his team absolutely made good on their word to give my husband and I the kind of dining experience we should've had the first time. We were refunded in full for our previous poor experience and enjoyed last night's meal on the house. This kind of customer service is rare in any industry -- let alone the restaurant business -- and we are incredibly grateful to have been extended it by the Boqueria staff.

We are happy to say that Boqueria is now a place we will be more than glad to bring friends and family. Can't wait for our next trip...

The restaurant was practically empty, which made the disorganized service even more baffling. Drinks came out well after our food — and by the time the two vodka shots finally arrived, our meals were already cold. To make matters worse, the shots had been sitting visibly on the bar for about 10 minutes. I eventually went inside, confirmed they were ours, and personally brought them out to our table myself — because apparently no one else was going to.

My mother asked for some sugar. It wasn’t on the tray. I returned to the bar and politely asked a young man for some. He repeatedly insisted that the sugar should be on the tray — but it wasn’t. I had carried it out myself and knew exactly what was on it. The bar has a direct line of sight to our table, and it was obvious nothing was missed. Still, he continued to argue, and after going back and forth multiple times, I finally said, “I don’t know how else to ask nicely — can I please just have some sugar?” His response? “Dude, calm down.” That’s a great way to escalate a problem, especially when I was already handling it more patiently than most would.

At that point, I asked to speak with the host, who also turned out to be the manager. After explaining everything, sugar miraculously appeared at our table. I asked for the check, expecting some meaningful gesture of accountability. Instead, they applied a laughable 10% discount — despite us being served cold food, no drinks, and having to fetch our own shots.

In the end, we didn’t touch the food or the shots. We only consumed the bottled water and two beers we ordered when we first sat down. The manager removed everything from the bill except the water and beer — then told us, “You’re free to go.”

This wasn’t just poor service — it was a complete failure on every level, especially considering there were only two other tables occupied in the entire restaurant. Zero stars would still feel generous for such an unprofessional and disorganized operation. We won’t be returning, and I strongly advise others to...