Epice — Restaurant in Nashville-Davidson

THIS PLACE IS LUDICROUS. THEY COULD LEARN SOMETHING FROM OLIVE GARDEN - that should tell you something. Went with my family for our holiday celebration for the first time and had a terrible experience. From the moment we walked in, the entire restaurant staff stared at us awkwardly. They stared at us uncomfortably as if we were lost or didn't belong, perhaps because their atmosphere is for couples or smaller groups. As someone mentioned here, "Great place to go if you want to be discriminated." Glad to know we weren't the only people that felt discriminated.

Our server overlooked my entire family ONCE our food was brought to the table. Each plate was blah - tasted nothing like authentic Lebanese food. NOT ONCE were we asked if the food tasted good, even though it was clear we only took two bites off our plates. We never received a refill even when our server saw/heard us make that annoying sound when sipping empty glasses; however, she had no problem clearing the table while we were STILL seated. No dessert menu was offered, so why clear the table?! Awful restaurant etiquette. (By the way, the manager witnessed the whole thing - didn't do anything. It's a small place so you can see and hear everything.)

Anyway, as she cleared the table, I politely expressed how the kids DID NOT like the food (which she had recommended!), she replied, "well, would you like a take-out box?" Take what, dummy... the unflavored leftovers?? Obviously, she wasn't listening, and I was irritated, so I asked for the check - honestly wish I didn't lol. Overpriced! $300 dollars for uncooked, unpleasant-smelling food. In reality, we paid $300 for hummus because that was the only good thing there. Doubt we will...

Let me start off by saying that my dad owns a restaurant and that I'm very familiar with the importance of service in the food industry. Let me also state that I don't think I've left a negative review for any restaurant in the past couple of years. My buddy and I stopped by Epice for dessert after walking around 12th ave. The waitress came around to ask how we were and gave us some sort of appetizer and water (standard for every customer). We told her we wanted to see the dessert menu to which she asked with an attitude, "Are you guys not having dinner?" We said no, just dessert. Shaking her head and without saying a word, she took the menus away AND the appetizer dish (did she reuse it with other diners...did she just throw it away, ¯(ツ)/¯) . Her body language indicated that she was upset. She took maybe 5 or 6 minutes to bring back a dessert menu and just left again. Another 5 or 6 minutes later she came back and we told her what we wanted. A different waiter brought us the dessert, while the original waitress served every customer around us like she took it personally that we didn't want a full meal. We also noticed that unlike other diners, we were not offered napkins or refills on water. Like they wanted us out of there fast. The waitress never came back to check on us or ask if we needed anything (ran out of water and sat there with empty glasses). It wasn't a good experience and we won't be going there again. Either you respect and treat every single diner the same or you don't...

I think this has been my favorite meal during this visit to Nashville! We had a 7pm reservation and there was no delay on seating us whatsoever. We had the choice of sitting inside or outside on the enclosed patio with heaters. We decided to stay inside to experience more of the hustle and bustle. I love that feeling, of being in the middle of it all. The restaurant was really sleek, and minimal. I kind of felt like I was in a building in the Middle East again, especially with the quatrefoil lattice grill on the window. There were about a dozen tables inside, some counter seating, and a few tables outside. I recommend making a reservation!

Our server was great! He explained some lesser-known dishes to us, made recommendations according to portion sizes and flavor profiles, and gave us ample time to discuss. His attention-to-detail and ability to paint a mental picture of the food for us helped steer our choices. And, everything was phenomenal! The restaurant really lives up to its name "Epice" which means 'spice' in French. All of the dishes were perfectly spiced. Some restaurants over-complicate their food by mixing a bunch of flavors and aromatics that don't meld together. Not here! Not only that, but everything was perfectly cooked! I wish I had more time here! I really want to try their Beyrouti Tacos which are only served during the weekend. I guess I'll just have to make...