City House — Restaurant in Nashville-Davidson

I was drawn to this place with the lure of Kentucky Whiskey and Bourbon, but enchanted by the entire experience. Southern Food and Italian, not Southern Italian. And here I was all ready to pour down. Good thing my people know me better than I know myself they are becoming more and more foodie by the day and it's great for any out of towner to be shown the ropes by someone who had never used chop sticks before meeting me. Thanks George, you've come a long way and I'm glad you scouted this for us.

Literally half the whiskey's, bourbons I'd never seen or heard of, but wanted to. I'd recently had some bad run ins with the "white dog" and figured it would be better to try something "homegrown". Prichard County White Lightning which unlike most corn whiskey uses white corn instead of yellow. A twist and cringe and a whisper "smoove" and my run in with the white dog was over. Prichards Double Chocolate was complex, slightly undertoned with cacao. Eagle rare 17 yo was the best and priciest, right up there with single malt scotches imo. Velvety, spicy with a controlled sweetness.

So with all this liquor you bet their cocktails were good. Many, single named proprietary coctails like the Samson (sloe berry gin, lemon soda, bitters, grapefruit and vermouth). Now we slowly move into the Italian part of the night.

House curing slami, parm. Lonza, garlic and lemon. Octopus, fennel and fregola. All of these should be found in an upscale Italian restaurant. They have a pizza with peaches and buttermilk cheddar which turned my head twice. I'd never seen anything like it. House made ham, chilies, scallions, wow. The pizza crust was a little weak, but in the spirit of firsts I was willing to pass on that as they do use a stone wood fire oven.

For dinner I split the Half chicken because the celery heart, pecorino and garum dressing sounded enticing. Fermented fish paste in Nashville? Loved the chicken it was perfectly seasoned, but the garum to me tasted more like steaksauce and tasted better on the tri tip which is split than the chicken. Tri tip was crisp, not over powered by the lemon on Worcestershire. Cooked night and hot and not BBQ's like many tri tips.

Service is excellent, loved being schooled on the drinks by the server no less. It's got great décor and a very rooted feeling. You can feel the Italian and the sense the country throughout. I do love how much of what they do is done in house like the ham and salami, herbs and spices I'm also told. Price is up there, not a normal night out for drinks or food level. Open kitchen keeps you entertained a little bit. I don't recall, but someone got a fresh cracked egg on their pizza nearby.

I was extremely jealous by the Sunday menu which is once a week and unique to Sunday only. Boy do they expand their culinary skill adding more to the already diverse menu. The # of snacks they offer on Sunday is like double what they usually do. Nashville is not longer just music, but I may write a country song about City House.

Protip: come for the Sunday menu which is unique and...

First let me say that my server, Michael, was excellent. He checked on me several times and was patient enough to explain the entrees that I was interested in.

Secondly, the food here is delicious. There were interesting mixtures of flavor and texture. For instance, I got the scrapple appetizer. I was afraid it would be over salty but it was not. It was just right. It was with a small amount of tiny watermelon chunks, red onions and I believe mint. These flavors are really good together.

My entree was pork sausage with a salad made of mustard greens and a sweet mustard dressing. There were some other elements that I cannot remember at the moment. However the pork sausage was delicious as it was made locally I believe from a Franklin Tennessee farm. This was also very delicious with a great mix of flavors.

My dessert was an apple dumpling with buttermilk ice cream and I believe they called it oatmeal sprinklings or something like that. It was fairly good but didn't reach the level of deliciousness as my appetizer and entree.

So all the food is delicious and I had a great server. And you want to know why I gave it a three-star rating? I almost gave it a four-star rating but a couple of elements I felt needed attention.

First, if I spend $35 on a meal that does not include tips, I pretty much want to leave there feeling stuffed. The quantities are incredibly small. I'm pretty sure I could have eaten it all again during the same sitting. It's not like it was a white tablecloth and Candlelight restaurant. Yes, I know I would have spent even more at a place like that. But the quantities were just too small for what I ordered. I did see some other entrees go out that had a little more food on them such as pasta dishes but there probably wouldn't have been enough to take home.

Secondly, where I sat and I believe probably in the whole room where I sat, was incredibly noisy. At least half the kitchen was located in this same room and it was interesting to watch those guys move like machines. But it would have been hard to have a conversation with someone next to me. Whenever dishes got stacked and dropped and such it was just over the top. Most restaurants are a bit noisy but this one was just up a level.

Thirdly, and this one had a small effect on the rating, was that it took quite a while to get my dessert out. I had watched them prepare the dessert I ordered while I was eating my entree. So I knew what to look for. After at least 10 or 15 minutes, Michael noticed that they had not brought it out and let a fire under someone because they immediately started making it. However they didn't leave the dumpling in the oven very long and it was barely lukewarm. The warmness of an apple dumpling is what makes it so good with ice cream so that dessert just didn't meet my expectations.

If you are okay with smaller quantities of food for the price, you will love...

I recently dined at CityHouse in Nashville and had a largely enjoyable experience, with just a couple of minor setbacks. As visitors from out of state, we were excited to check out what this local gem had to offer—and for the most part, it lived up to the hype.

The Food:

We started with two pizzas, and they were both a hit. The crust was perfectly thin and crisp, with the right balance of chewiness in the center. The toppings were fresh, flavorful, and well-balanced. Honestly, these pizzas were some of the better ones we've had in recent memory—simple but elevated in taste.

The drinks were equally enjoyable. Both cocktails we ordered were creative and well-balanced, with bold flavors that complemented the meal. It’s clear the bar staff takes pride in crafting drinks that go beyond the typical cocktail menu, which was a nice touch.

For dessert, we opted for the lemon cake and cheesecake and they did not disappoint. They were flavorful, well-executed, and left us feeling satisfied but not overly stuffed. It rounded out the meal on a great note.

The Experience:

While the food was definitely a highlight, the overall dining experience had a few mixed moments. The general manager, who we had the pleasure of meeting, was incredibly knowledgeable about the menu and gave us great recommendations. We truly appreciated his warmth and passion for the food. He made us feel welcome, especially since we were from out of state, and his enthusiasm for what CityHouse offers made our visit more enjoyable.

However, the initial impression when we first arrived wasn’t quite as positive. The hostess who greeted us wasn’t particularly warm or engaging, which created a bit of an awkward start. Thankfully, this was quickly forgotten once we were seated and taken care of by the rest of the staff, who were professional and friendly.

Overall Thoughts:

CityHouse in Nashville is a solid dining option, offering delicious food, tasty drinks, and a cozy, inviting atmosphere. Despite the less-than-welcoming first impression from the hostess, the fantastic food and the knowledgeable general manager more than made up for it. If you’re in the area and craving some great pizza and creative drinks, CityHouse is definitely...