Shoney's — Restaurant in Nashville-Davidson

Although the food bar pretty much always offers good, fresh food, we had stopped going to this Shoney's before the pandemic started. The reason concerned the volume of the ambient music.

In 2019, during a delicious dinner, we had asked our wait person if the music could be turned down a bit, as, not only were we were having trouble hearing each other talk, the volume was very distracting and uncomfortable. She answered that the manager insisted that the current volume level was where he wanted it, and that NO ONE was to turn the music down. If anyone did so, they would be in big trouble.

This sounded a little strange to us, but we decided that their having the music very loud was more important to them than the comfort of their customers, and decided not to go back.

Fast forward to April 8, 2022. We are starting to eat out again, and decided to check out the Donelson Shoney's again to see if the aforementioned manager still had a stranglehold on the music volume.

When we walked in, no music was playing at all, and we were delighted. We had just gotten seated when some top-40-type music began to vibrate the tables and our tracheae. We live some distance away, so did not want to drive to another restaurant and try to get seated at dinnertime, so decided to ask them to turn down the volume. Our wait person went over to the manager and asked her if the music could be turned down. Our understanding was that she agreed to do so, but she never did.

We decided again that the 20-25 minute drive to this Shoney's is simply not worth the assault on our ears.

Another problem with the music played here is that it is more appropriately played at a teeny bopper's party than a restaurant which serves primarily people over 30--and many over 60. Such loud, age-group-inappropriate music seems incongruent with most of the clientele. Let me be clear, though. I actually like loud music--when I'm at a concert, or on my car radio when driving alone. However, the volume in this restaurant is several decibels higher than any other restaurants we patronize.

I truly do not understand the perceived (apparently by management, at least) necessity of playing loud, obnoxious music that drowns out conversations at customers' tables.

We will not be back, at least for a while, and, if we go back, we won't be fooled again by silence when we walk...

Went to the only Shoney's left in Metropolitan Nashville with my friend this morning for their well renowned breakfast buffet. Overall, it was a good experience. The buffet was loaded, as you would expect. Scrambled eggs, O'Brien potatoes, sausage links, breaded chicken strips, grits, fresh fruit, biscuits and two different gravies, with and without meat, bacon, cheese sauce, mushrooms, salad, and even fried bologna for those that like it. I was pretty pleased with the selection available, but there were no pancakes or waffles available on the buffet, that had to be ordered from the menu, and that's the only criticism to be had with regard to the food, which was outstanding. It was super busy, and while they did their best to seat us as quickly as possible, there were way too many people crowded at the front door and the front desk for my liking; I would've liked to have seen some form of social distancing or better organization at the front entrance. Masks were worn by those operating and handling the food and the buffet bar, but not by the hostess or the servers. As for the service, our waitress was nice, but it was clear she was hampered by being responsible for too many tables. She was very quick to garner our drinks (my ginger ale had very little ice, but that's nitpicking, I suppose), but after our first trip to the buffet and finishing our first plate of food, she already brought the check. I guess she didn't think we were having seconds lol!!! In any event, after ten minutes, we got our seconds at the buffet bar, sat down and ate, and she came back 20 minutes later to see if we needed anything. We never saw or heard from her again. As a matter of fact, once we were done eating, my friend and I sat at our table for another 30 minutes or so talking while we waited for her to come and take our check, but to no avail. Ultimately, we left enough cash for the check with tip and just got up and left. So I'd say the service, while I'm sure she meant well, wasn't the best, but wasn't the worst. Overall, 4/5 for the food, 3/5 for the service and 3/5 for the ambiance/experience. I hadn't been to Shoney's in well over a decade, so it was great to dine there...

The service was incompetent and rude. Upon entering, we waited for 5 min at the door to be greeted. The employees saw us (two ladies) but were on their phones. We did not get a "Welcome, Good Evening or any other type of polite greeting. The hostess only greeting was "We accept only credit or debit cards.. NO CASH.. but we prefer our tips to be in cash. Y'all still want to eat here?" We were told the buffet was the only menu option available. She pointed to a table and said, "Sit here". We got the buffet. I had a choice of dried-up baked chicken or dried up baked fish. There were only 2 pieces of fish available. The salad options looked like they'd been out all day. I got mashed potatoes and green beans. Not many options available. It was completely disgusting. My husband asked for unsweet tea and I asked for coffee. Not a single person offered refills or came by to check on us. They were not busy.. the ladies working were on their phones or talking to each other. We waited for the check for 15min. My husband got irritated and pulled his wallet out and sat it on the table in a very conspicuous way. Our plates were stacked up with empty cups and used napkins on top. Still we waited. Finally, an employee came by with our check and told us our tip options were if we put the tip on the card (18% and up) but reminded us that they preferred cash tips even though the restaurant does not take cash. She stuck her hand out for the tip. Really?

The Shoney's up north are much better... good food (both in quality and variety), good service and they take cash as well as card. The buffet there is well taken care of. We are happy to tip a server who does his/her job. Not happy to have a rude, incompetant worker demand a tip from us. Sadly, it appeared as though one of the lazy, rude employees was...