10/07/09

Bad food

by westtn

While on a business trip, three of us dined here and ordered prime rib. Bad Mistake!! This was not like any prime rib I had ever eaten. All the orders had a great deal of fat and lots of gristle. Don't know if the knives were dull or if the meat was just tough but we all had trouble cutting our meat and they weren't overcooked so that wasn't it. We told the waiter and when he brought our bills he said that he was going to bring us a surprise. He brought a plate with several desserts that were one bite servings. So if this was supposed to make up for the poor food it didn't work. Everything greatly overpriced. If the prices were cheap it would have been ok to have inferior food.

• Pros: Nice atmosphere
• Cons: Terrible food

07/15/09

eh.

by murphy361

i've been there once.it was for my stepfathers birthday. he wanted to try their sunday brunch so we went. the service was really good. my husband is a vegetarian so the waitress helped us pick something off the menu for him and he enjoyed it. i had the brunch buffet that i have heard mixed things about and i was not impressed at all. i hate to say that because i really like the atmosphere but the food was just eh.

05/11/09

Don't waste your time or money!

by pat32145

Had Mother's Day reservations for 2:30. We weren't seated promptly.

They had overbooked to the point that they ran out of some food. One of which was the smoked salmon. At $28.00 a piece, this item was one of the reasons we chose to eat there in the first place.

During our meal, a lizard ran across the floor (inside)...not very sanitary. With the brunch a buffet, I had to wonder where else that lizard had been.

If you want brunch, go to Cracker Barrel.

• Pros: Finally got seated
• Cons: Ran out of food, overpriced, lizard in the dining area

04/14/09

Great All Around Restaurant

by lindseykgreene

This is such a great restaurant. I only wish I lived closer so I could go more often. They have great buffets with lots of delicious choices. The pasta bar is so good! I hear they have a mimosa bar also ... I will definitely need to come back for a Sunday brunch. They have very friendly employees that make you feel right at home. I would definitely recommend this place!!!

• Pros: Beautiful restaurant, great service & amazing food
• Cons: I wish I lived closer so I could go there more often

04/02/09

best thai food in nashville

by shosho23

i went to ellendales last week. it was the best food that i had on my trip i loved how the server spoke in japenese and pretended to not know english. the food was a wonderful asian canadian fusion. and the entire staff singing and dancing at the end was wonderful. they even had a clown making ballons for my grandparents and a ferris wheel out back

• Pros: authentic oriental feel
• Cons: not enough real chienese people

03/05/09

Great local charm

by CSMobileUser2

I have always found ellendales to stand out from the ordinary. The service is friendly and the food is well prepared.

03/02/09

WORST DINING EXPERIENCE I'VE HAD IN A WHILE

by lolobug4

My husband and I usually eat at Darfons, which is really good, but they were on an hour an a half wait so we went to Ellendale's because their parking lot was empty. We probably hadn't been there for maybe 2 years because last time we went the food was really cold and we had really bad service.I guess nothings changed. After we sat down at out table the hostess poured us water. After that we didn't see our waiter and get any drinks ordered for prbably at least 5 minutes, maybe more.

When our waiter finally showed up he was gross. He smelled like a big cigarette and had his face pierced and just looked really dirty. He didn't seem to care that we waited so long and spent all of his time up front talking with the hostess. After being in the restaurant for 20 or 25 minutes we finally got to order dinner. It took about 30 minutes after that to come out, and when it did, my hisband's filet was almost burnt instead of medium, and my chicken was really cold. The girl that brought us our food to looked like she was homeless. Her hair was matted and dirty and she also had a bunch of weird earrings in her face. Their staff looks really messy. It made me lose my appetite. Our waiter didn't come check on us for like 5 minutes after that, and when he did he smelled like a big cigarette again. He seemed to get offended that we sent back our food. We waited another 15 minutes to get our food with nothing but stale bread rolls to eat. When it came out the second time, my husbands steak was pretty much raw this time. My chicken was hot, but it seemed like microwave hot because the middle was really really hot. Super gross. We just ate our meals because by this time we were starving, and obviously they weren't going to get it right. We got a piece of cheesecake bought for us at the end of the meal. But the coffee both of us ordered never came out. We should have just went on a wait over at Darfon's. It would have been cheaper and their staff always looks nice and neat.

• Pros: no wait for a table
• Cons: long wait for food, steak cooked wrong, chicken cold, DIRTY WAITSTAFF(cigarettes)

02/27/09

Nice place for a Saturday brunch

by blueskadoo

I've only ever been to Ellendales for the brunch on Saturday, so I'm not sure how the rest of the menu is. But the five times I've been for the brunch I've been really pleased with the food. I've been with a group of about 7 people and we were taken care of by our waiter. I've also been with just my husband and we've enjoyed the food. We've only had a bad waiter once. The food at the buffet has been pretty varied every time so it's given me a good opportunity to try different things and I've enjoyed most everything I've had. The buffet is really good and I definitely will be back for that.

• Pros: Tasty food, nice variety to their brunch
• Cons: Seating can end up being weird

02/15/09

Valentine Dinner Strikes Out

by monkley

As fans of Ellendale's in the past few years, we made a 7:45 dinner reservation on Valentine's Day. We arrived about 15 minutes prior to the time and the entry foyer was crowded with people who appeared to have been there for a while. We were told to visit the bar and found it to be equally as crowded. I found a spot in between several other couples against the stairway, and my date went to the bar to get us a drink. While I awaited his return, a waiter made his way through the foyer lined with customers and dropped the tray of entrees. Some of the customers were splattered with food, but no one seemed to care or offer to help them. Food stains were left on the carpet. My date returned from the bar after an extended period of time and told me it had taken so long because someone else got our drinks. To make up for it, the bartender did give my date a double instead of the single he had paid for. About 30 minutes past our reservation time, we were taken upstairs and seated by a friendly waiter, who was "going to take good care of us". He took our order promptly and quickly returned with a prawn salad with two prawns and a little bit of lettuce on which you could not see and barely taste the dressing. The soup, sherry and wild mushrooms, came out next and was actually very good, in fact the best part of the meal. After the sorbet was served, it took a while to get the prime rib entree. The first several bites of mine was all fat and no meat. Both mine and my date's were barely warm but did have a good flavor. The waiter became less and less scarce as our water glasses were empty and we had not received our dessert. He was bringing our check when he discovered he had not served our dessert. After about 15 minutes, we finally got it but were so disgusted that we could not enjoy it. What was to have been a romantic and enjoyable dinner turned into a night of frustration. It will be awhile, if ever, before we return to Ellendale's..

• Pros: Near home
• Cons: Overbooked, not enough help

01/15/09

FAKE REVIEWS AHEAD!!!

by smartypants2

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!!!

• Pros: dwindling by the minute
• Cons: lying/fake review posting, cold food, poor service, weird smell in dining room