Ellendale's

Doesn't Recommend

smartypants2

Joined 4 years ago

FAKE REVIEWS AHEAD!!!. This is Josijo again, citysearch wouldn't let me post another review for the same sight...was just reading thru these reviews and realized, THEY ARE POSTING FAKE POSITIVE REVIEWS!!! I've been to Ellendale's for a holiday brunch before, and much like Karripinwheel says, it's a chaotic mess. The two times we've been(Easter and Thanksgiving) we've had our families in from out of town, so it seemed easier then cooking. We went there on thanksgiving of '07, and had to wait probably 30 minutes past our reservation, ON A COLD PORCH with tepid hot chocolate, and that decided for us that it was the last holiday we'd go there. Reading justmyopinion37122's review, it doesn't ring true. How would a regular customer know the number of reservations?...about the restaurant being on tv?...and the wording just smacks of smoke being blown up ones a$&. Plus they didn't even really comprehend what Karripin was saying...she didn't say Cracker Barrel was awesome -- just the opposite; she implied that CB kind of sucked, but you'd still be better going there then Ellendale's. To me it seems like someone connected w/the restaurant posted the review so the first review one will see when they get to the page isn't negative. Well, get crackin' fake review writers!!! You've got a lot of BS'ing to do to repair these TRUE reviews!!!

Doesn't Recommend

Josijo1

Joined 4 years ago

The place to dine if you want to waste your money. What the hell has happened to this restaurant?!?! My husband and I used to go there quite often over the years, and it's turned into a real disappointment. If you read this you're led to believe it's a steakhouse. If it is then focus on your meat! The cuts of steak are poor, compared to the price being charged. Last time I got the Prime rib it was PURE fat. Granted, one can expect a fattier cut, but not a piece(cold if I may add) that has at least 30% fat surrounding it. Maybe the chef could take 25 seconds and trim the fat off...pretty radical, I know. Of course, the chef can't even be bothered to use spell-check on the menu so what can you expect. To me, nothing says lack of caring like misspelling, because it takes no time to proof something, and it just makes you look like a lazy idiot if you don't. Can I point out the favorites I remember: soup DE jour...no, it's DU jour(learn your French if you feel inclined to use it, if not stick w/the complicated SOUP OF THE DAY!) , veneCian...where's that place? oh, you mean veneTian!, and my personal favorite, rouGfort...really? in that whole restaurant no one has ever heard of rouquefort!?! STUPID!!! (...just a sampling of the fun errors! Keep a menu, and when you're waiting FOREVER for your food you'll have something to do!!!) Now, back to the meat(or lack thereof) of it; as I've dined here over the years, the portions have got increasingly smaller, while the price has risen, risen, risen. My service the last couple of times I've been in there was lackluster at best, no one seems to care. Our food took a good 35-40 minutes to arrive, and was lukewarm when it did, and the most we could get was "well we've got a party upstairs that the line is working on' So, does that mean our 2 dinners don't matter? If that's the case then just be a catering hall, and you won't have to be bothered with our measly 2 ppl.

Anyway, don't go here. There's no need to, Darfon's is across the street and way better and cheaper.

Recommends

justmyopinion37122

Joined 5 years ago

Thanksgiving buffet at Ellendale's was outstanding!. I strongly disagree with the review below - the Thanksgiving buffet at Ellendale's this past Thursday was well worth the money. The selections at the various serving stations were outstanding and the food was delicious! The service was absolutely top notch as well. Apparently several others in the Nashville community like it as well as they had 1000 reservations that day and were featured on one of the local newscasts the night before. If the reviewer below uses Cracker Barrell as their barometer for good food, well that says it all about their taste and dining experiences.

Doesn't Recommend

Karripinwheel

Joined 5 years ago

You're better off going to Cracker Barrel. Because of the smallness of my family we decided to go out for Thanksgiving. After a lot of research I decided upon Ellendale's. I was very disappointed by the whole experience. Our 6 PM reservations (made upon the restaurant's request) were not honored until 6:45.

When we finally made it into the chaos, which was the buffet stations, we found nothing organized or labeled. Rolls were burnt, cranberry sauce was overpowered by lemon, seafood soup had no evidence of seafood except the smell, and finding vegetarian friendly foods was next to impossible.

The dessert bar was fitted for a wedding, not Thanksgiving and there was no trace of traditional pies so often associated with Thanksgiving.

Overall the experience was not pleasant and the food was okay but nothing stood out.

For the amount of money we spent, one could feed a small tribe.

You're better off going to Cracker Barrel.

Doesn't Recommend

hypoblurbia

Joined 5 years ago

Ellendale's has gone downhill. I used to LOVE Ellendale's... it was my very favorite place to go eat lunch (the buffet) for years. But in the past 3 years or so it has really, really gone down hill.

The prices went up about 3 times in the past couple of years, which I can totally understand because everything has gone up in price... but the quality of the food has really gone down 10 fold. The entrees have become boring/simple/common/cheap. The food is either over cooked, under seasoned or over seasoned. Very sad.

They used to have a really unique and/or elegant choice of lunch entrees, something everyone looked forward to every week. Where did the real Chefs go??? Now they offer really cheap, simple ordinary entrees. I could go to KFC or Shoney's for the same food and spent less. I really don't mind paying more if the food is really good. I miss the old Ellendale's. :-*(

Recommends

mrspopeye

Joined 5 years ago

Jusk okay- will probably not be back. We had our first exerience at Ellendale's last night, and is was just okay. I was surprised how very few people there were in the dining rooms at 6 pm, some were even empty. The waitress was pleasant and attentive, no complaints there. We had the fried mozzearella, which had only 4 small pieces. I had the Romeo and Juliet steaks (one was tender and one was not) and my mom had the Stuffed Shrimp with Crab, which she said she did not really like. My entree was lukewarm at best and it seemed that it had been sitting out a while. We liked the bread variety and herbed butter. I would have expected better salad dressing if it was homemade, and it seemed very watered down to me. Overall, for the price we paid, there are much better places in Nashville than this.

Recommends

jayb3447

Joined 5 years ago

Great Friday Evening Dining. My friend had made a reservation for 7:45 p.m. I arrived shortly before he arrived (at about 7:35), and I was treated very kindly by the hostess, offered seating in the restaurant until he arrived. He arrived promptly, and we were seated immediately. The table was near the live music, and the ambience was elegant, spacious, yet intimate. We were attended to right away, and our appetizer and the main course were presented to us in a very timely manner, as well as the dessert. The food was delicious, presented beautifully, nice size servings. He had seafood, I had chicken. He had dined there several times and commented that everything is good there; I do know that our selections were good indeed.

I highly recommend it for ambience, price, service, music, prompt seating, etc.

Recommends

gemsales2

Joined 5 years ago

Favorite restaurant comes through again. Ellendale's is my favorite restaurant in the Nashville area, and I eat there every time I visit. In fact, on my second to last trip I left the airport, dropped my luggage off, and went straight there for the happy hour, finishing up with dinner.

On my most recent trip to the area, I ate at the restaurant three different nights in a week and a half, and was pleased each time. I found the wait staff friendly and competent, and the food was excellent as always. I really enjoyed the new salad offerings and menu choices. The brandy sauce on the Seafood Cleopatra was to die for, and the portobello fries were an excellent appetizer, though my favorite entree was probably the prime rib with the white truffle butter - nice new options on an old favorite.

Ellendale's is hands down one of the best dining experiences I have ever had - the atmosphere is great, I love the quaint set-up of the old house, and the food is just fantastic. It's clear that no corners are cut in the food preparation, as I have seen in other fine dining establishments. Makes me glad for the opportunity to travel! I will definitely return.

Doesn't Recommend

lwelch

Joined 6 years ago

Difficulty with reservations. Before Christmas, I made reservations at Ellendale's for a group of 40+ women from where I work. I contacted them two weeks before the lunch date to make the reservations, and I called the day before to give the manager a more specific headcount, which, in fairness, was a smaller group than originally anticipated. The next day when our group showed up, the restaurant didn't have any record of the reservation! It was very embarrassing for everyone. They ended up putting us in an upstairs room (stuffy and inconvenient) but at least the servers tried to accomodate us. Unfortunately, the buffet ran low of food, but eventually they restocked it, and no one left hungry. One other glitch: One woman from my group had called earlier that morning and been told that she would be able to order from the menu, but when she asked the server about that, she was told that she couldn't. I like Ellendale's, but I will definitely think twice before booking a large group there again.

Recommends

jon01suz

Joined 6 years ago

inconsistant in quality of food. had a wonderful dinner about 6 months ago. went there for thanksgiving. it was awful. the food was horrible. the pies were frozen in the middle.they forgot to put the liquid in the dressing. my husband made me come home and cook thanksgiving for our christmas dinner. pretty sad when i can cook better than a professional.