Midtown Cafe — Restaurant in Nashville-Davidson

I have eaten here twice. The first time when apartment hunting about 3 months ago and the second time yesterday with my son. The staff are friendly from the entrance back to the kitchen. I met the weekend manager this time (Larry) who went out of his way to talk to me and my son about the establishment and answered my questions about the food and recipes/ingredients. We are at the bar (which has an amazingly large selection of drinks for what you would expect for a Cafe) and was greeted and served by Mr Charles Santana. I was told he was new but he served us like an old pro. I had Artichoke Lemon soup and a sandwich. The corned beef on the Ruben was plenty and the dressing and sauerkraut just the right amount. It was a delicious sandwich. I substituted mashed potatoes for fries and that was a good thing. The mash was homemade. The soup was probably the best I’ve had ever. If you like artichoke soup this would be my top spot. For desert I had coconut cake that they didn’t make (but they make the other deserts) and it was amazing. They get it from a local bakery. The cake was much like my homemade coconut cake (my dads and grandma’s recipe) but I didn’t have to make it. I got a to go desert too—for my wife. I did try it when I brought it home. It was Crème Brûlée. It was just as good (almost lo) as my wife’s version. But again we didn’t have to make it. We will be having both deserts again! My son had a chicken puff pastry dish and crispy broccoli. I tried his meal and it was delicious too. The food is made fresh not frozen. The ambiance is friendly and inviting. The staff clearly take pride in helping this to be one of Nashville’s favorite...

I got the chicken and biscuits with a side of a pancake.

The service was respectful, quick, and had a personal touch that was really nice.

The high point on the plate was the chicken. It was glistening, cooked beautifully, and the portion of chicken inside was satisfying.

The problems across the plate was the flavor, and I'm being very critical because of the price point. If you're going to charge me $18 for two biscuits I want something that has personality, something I'll remember when I leave.

The biscuit was fine but tasted quite like a less buttery chik filet biscuit. The gravy was fine but lacked a punch. I also found it being served in such a small cup to be cumbersome. The grits were good. The poached eggs were a huge let down because they hadn't been sufficiently dried. I broke open the first yoke in the bowl and got a mouthful of water. I'm not sure if the eggs were seasoned either (because of the water), but they tasted completely bland. The pancake was esthetically pleasing but lacked in both flavor and texture.

Overall I prefer a chik filet biscuit and pancakes from a diner. If I had paid $11 for the plate it would have...

My husband and I skipped a conference dinner to spend our last night in Nashville together. We chose to dine at the Midtown Cafe because it had great ratings, and was in walking distance of our hotel. We were not disappointed!

Our server, Stephanie, was honest in her reviews of different dishes and steered us towards great choices with some really good modifications!

We started with the artichoke and lemon soup, which was absolutely fantastic, especially when served with the delectable mini biscuits and butter. My husband ended up getting the sea scallops over lobster Mac, while I chose the chicken and pastry, but opted for a side of red potatoes. We both had our asparagus grilled as per the recommendation of our server, and it was perfectly prepared!

Definitely make reservations. You can dress up or dress more casually for this restaurant but I would definitely recommend not wearing a hat or hoody. We were both wearing jeans and I had on a casual sweater while my husband had a button-down shirt. Nothing fancy but definitely not gym-wear or...