Adele’s

We caught the first iteration of the Sunday Brunch Buffet at Adeles. I would say the selections lean more toward lunch then breakfast, but the food was still very good. There was a cauliflower salad with golden raisins that was particularly interesting and tasty. There was bacon although I found it a bit underdone for my taste and if wished there was a sausage link or patty option as well. No waffles or pancakes or French toast casserole to be found either, which I think would have made the buffet a bit more well rounded. The JW chicken was very good, the roast beef needed a bit more seasoning, and the potatoes I didn’t think we’re anything terribly special. The salumi and smoked salmon, and mimosas were all good. Nothing crazy or exceptional about any of them.
Honestly my favorite thing on the buffet was the homemade peanut butter which I could have eaten by the jarful with the TOE jam!

Food we ordered: bruschetta, burger, egg bake, chicken salad sandwich, roast sandwich. All of this food seemed as though we could have made it (perhaps better or at least equally well) at home. Given that I’m no chef, I use this measure to show that the food was unremarkable, but good.
Service: When we arrived, we parked out front (at 2pm), and at the door, the valet informed us that it was valet only. We looked awkwardly at the many open parking spaces and asked him if he’d like to turn the engine? He then permitted us to just go inside. Upon walking out, the valet teens told us we had to move our cars quickly for them to begin the night shift. Although we had been curious about returning another day for the Sunday brunch, that treatment from the valet right outside the door pretty much turned us off to the idea of returning (not sure if the valets are hired by Adele’s or an independent company).

Adele’s is Jonathan Waxman’s, the venerable restauranteur, homage to his Mother who loved the city of Nashville. Located in the chic neighborhood known as the Gulch, Adele’s menu shows many of the Italian specialties from Waxman’s New York restaurant. The food is tasty, but certainly not memorable. The large portions help make the meal quite reasonable price wise. The highlight of Adele’s was the bar where Kelly holds serve. He knows his liquors, his wines, and his patrons. Kelly reminds me of an old school bartender who cares about what he serves and who he serves. He makes Adele’s a «must» when in Nashville. Bravo!

I was incredibly disappointed by my experience here.
First of all, their brunch menu is sorely lacking in breakfasty options. Everything was typical lunch food other than french toast and an egg/​sausage dish. Our waiter was very slow and it took a while for him to come take our order.
When my french toast arrived, I wasn’t pleased with it. Too crusty on the outside, lacking flavor on the inside. You know it’s not a good french toast when it’s not worth eating unless drenched in syrup. When the waiter checked in I told him I wasn’t happy with the dish. He brought the manager over, who offered me the menu again.
I then tried the fried egg and sausage dish — my only other breakfast food-​type option. When it arrived, the manager never came back over to check on it. The only bright side there was that I was saved the awkwardness of telling him that I didn’t like the second dish either. Totally lacking in flavor, again, and the sausage was the consistency of ground beef — not a good texture for the meal.
When the check arrived, I saw I had been charged for the second dish — the more expensive of the two.
For a place that tells you upon seating that it’s run by a celebrity chef, it was overpriced, provided poor service, and served bland food. I will not be back.

All around, this was a phenomenal dining experience! We went with some friends and had a great time and enjoyed wonderful food.
I had the burger and it was everything I was told and more. The highlight was the dessert (a blondie) and was exquisite! Definitely worth the price and will be back.
The only bad thing I will say is there isn’t much parking and they do offer valet so be prepared to pay for parking.

Loved adeles! Very spacious, nice atmosphere, knowledgable waiter, and delicious! I’m sure I’ll be back soon to try the monkfish!

A true treat for anyone looking to have an amazing dining experience. The ambiance and vibe of this place is very chill and chic but not pretentious. There was a great mix of people from formal parties to friends just meeting up for the holidays. The food is unprecedented. You can tell a top chef when you see and taste the passion they put into their food. Foodies will love the unique offerings but the drinks are just as unique and amazing in their own right. Milk punch… Try it! It’s like nectar of the gods.
Thanks to my bartender, Kelly, for making my night even better. Such a sweetheart and very attentive. He made me feel right at home on my Christmas vacation away from my family.
I will definitely be treating myself to Adele’s the next time I’m in Nashville!

We were not leaving town until the day after Thanksgiving so we needed somewhere to eat Thanksgiving Dinner since neither one of us were excited about cooking it ourselves.
After a search, we found Adele’s. They seemed to have what we would want in a Thanksgiving meal and it was a reasonable price compared to other restaurants that were open for Thanksgiving dinner.
We arrived for our reservation and were seated immediately. The atmosphere was trendy. The restaurant was once an automobile repair garage. It still has the doors. It was nice.
They had a buffet that started with Kale Salad and Endive Salad. It then went to the Turkey, dressing, mashed potatoes, wilted greens, and the Brussels sprouts. I enjoyed all. However, I didn’t like the buffet presentation and the dressing was not up to par of what I normally have. It for sure didn’t come close to my wife’s dressing! After the main course, I had a cookie for desert and it was good.
Overall, I left feeling that I had not gotten my money’s worth. I would not return to this restaurant, especially for Thanksgiving dinner!

We had a decent dinner here but were overcharged by 2 entrees and the server“accidentally «added $ 100 to our tip. When we called this to managements attention they fixed the bill but did nothing to get us back. We’ll never eat here again and will do everything we can to tell our friends to do likewise.
Update– kudos to Adeles managers for reaching out to us and making this right despite the time that passed between the meal and my post. I appreciate a business that is willing to make a wrong right.

Phenomenal food. The kale salad is a MUST! The brussel sprouts are perfection. We also enjoyed the monkfish with lentils, and the calamari salad. Finished it off with the coconut cake. The staff is knowledgeable and so kind. Fun vibe with a great mix of people.

TL; DR: overpriced, NOT vegetarian friendly (only the gnocchi and salads), excellent dessert and big portions. –1 for paid valet parking only.
Food: I ordered the gnocchi, my friend had the JW chicken and we shared the JW Potatoes. The potatoes were delicious — huge chunks of potato that were very hot and crisp on the outside while soft on the inside. It was the highlight of my meal. My entrée, though, was overwhelming. While the gnocchi was creamy and pillowy — it’s seared in brown butter, which made it lighter than any other gnocchi I’ve typically had. However, because it was so light and came with acorn squash and potatoes that lacked variety in flavor, it was overall rather heavy and bland. I only made it through a third before I started feeling nauseous due to the overwhelming amount of potato and starch. I don’t understand why adding more potato and carbs to potato dumplings would seem like a good flavor combination…
My friend also found her chicken disappointing. While it was juicy, she felt it lacked flavor — it was just salt and pepper and lacked the crisp exterior as some excellent roast chickens have. There wasn’t anything else particularly creative on the menu, though, and nothing else substantial that was vegetarian. All entrees ran $ 20+, but since both ours were really big, I guess they’re more generous than most upscale spots. Despite this, given the potato on potato on potato theme of my vegetarian dinner, I went home unsatisfied. The flavors in both of our dishes just didn’t stand out.
Dessert — we both LOVED our desserts. Coconut cake was delicate, moist and not cloyingly sweet and HUGE portion. Like the gnocchi, it was much too big for one person and I also started to feel a little sick towards the end. My friend’s blondie sundae was a little too sugary when I tried it but she loved it.
Environment: refurbished warehouse. Very typical gulch industrial feel. Dirty bathrooms and there’s zero street parking so we had to pay for valet.
Overall, I paid $ 45 for a dinner that was very mediocre and saved only by the dessert, which I’d rather go to Dolce Desserts and get a $ 3, manageable cupcake. Would not return.

Really nice and cute place. I enjoyed the service and ambiance. Really roomy and would be a good place to have dinner with a group of friends.
Now for the food itself was just ok. We ordered the pork loin, steak, and JW potatoes. Steak was excellent, potatoes were good, pork loin was ok. Nothing memorable. As a foodie I’d try other places before coming back.

While looking for a place to eat on Thanksgiving Day, we found Adele’s had a buffet and it was the most economical price of the places we found listed as open on T-​Day.
We arrived on time, quickly seated, and given water and told to go to the buffet when we were ready. The ambiance was industrial chic, I guess… cement floors, very tall ceilings, large rolling garage doors that were up when we were there. It was okay… nothing to write home about.
The food on the buffet was okay… kale salad that was really good, endive salad that was okay. I prefer dark meat turkey but all they had was pulled – I wanted «chunks». But the breast was fire roasted and it was moist and tender, so it was okay. The stuffing was boring – nothing special. I didn’t have the mashed potatoes but Hubby said they were good. I had wilted greens and the Brussels sprout side and both were better than average. Did not have the butternut squash soup. The desserts were sparse but really liked the apple crisp… it was a bit doughy but the apple filling part saved it. Hubby had the cookies and raved!
All in all, though it was one of the lesser expensive Thanksgiving Day offerings in N’ville, it was still overpriced for what was served – I know it was a buffet, but sometimes it’s not about the quantity.

One word: OVERPRICED.
We took friends to Adele’s recently. Because we were early for our reservations, we sat at the bar for a drink. We waited and waited for a bartender who was busy servicing the waiter drinks. (Note to Adele’s: Hire an additional bartender. Booze is where you make your money, right?)
The food wasn’t bad — but it wasn’t great either.
What is was? OVERPRICED.
Oh, and if you like that feel of eating inside an old garage, then Adele’s is for you.
As for me, I won’t be rushing back to Adele’s any time soon.

Have been eating here for just about a year now. Half of the menu is really delicious and dependable the other half is hit or miss.
I always enjoy the gnocchi, the side if Mexican street corn, and the kale salad. We also had great peach prosciutto and burrata dish that was awesome whereas the tomatoes and burrata was less impressive. The pizza is small but classic, wish it were a little more interesting.
Skip dessert here. I’ve now tried three different ones and have been disappointed every time. The theme in common is that they are all on the dry side instead of moist and luscious.

Adeles is one of my favorite places for brunch! I’ve been several times and I am never disappointed. They have a seasonal menu so it doesn’t stay the same but in the fall and winter get the funnel cake French toast. And no matter what always get a side of jw potatoes! Staff is always awesome and drinks are great.
Dinner was great too but I still prefer brunch!

Perhaps, as a testimony to the excellent talent in Nashville, when the foodie media hyped a JW restaurant in Nashville we thought this should be great. But it was so far below average compared to other similar restaurants that I was stunned. We started with the spicy shrimp bruschetta, which was neither spicy nor particularly good. Bland would be the best descriptor.
For my entrée I had the hangar steak with pole beans, roasted potatoes, and horseradish. More bland and tough. I’ve had great hangar steak and this was not one of them. It was tough, against the grain, with the grain, thin or thick. No matter how I cut it, it was tough. And bland. I would have expected a little kick from the shaved horsradish but I could barely taste it. A single pole bean, one under cooked carrot and a handful of roasted fingerlings lay under the steak.
The gnocchi that my wife had, was on the other hand, delicious. Layers of robust flavor, sweet, nutty, caramelized goodness. i finished her plate and was glad I did.
We decided to try the dessert. After all, the southern banana pudding was said to be the best dessert in Nashville for 2014. And it did redeem the meal to some degree. But My neighbor Holly’s banana pudding is much better, so I can’t really say that Adele’s deserves the hype for it either.
Maybe I’ve just been spoiled by places like Fly South, Saffire, Kayne Prime, Watermark, and Arnold’s. Nashville is lucky to have such great homegrown talent.

We finally made it to Adele’s for a Sunday brunch after having it on my list of «must try’s for many months. We arrived 5 min. Late for a 12:45 reservation and they were just setting up our table… no big deal, but the place was not crowded. The look of the place was great, very cool vibe, as is expected in the current restaurant trend in Nashville, there were large garage doors that opened to an expansive outdoor area. Great space when the weather is nice! With temperatures in the mid 90’s we were glad for the air conditioning! Our server Moria was very pleasant and quick with water and our drinks! Hubby got a a Black Abby Rose, which at $ 6 was great! I chose their Summer Sangria, an excellent choice, but at $ 12 it was an indulgence!
Moria informed us that their brunch menu was a combination of some popular dinner items as well as some upscale breakfast items, (baked egg w/​polenta, funnel cake french toast, etc). We opted for lunch items with hubby choosing the Pizetta with roasted tomato, mozzarella and basil (think little 6 inch pizza) @$ 13 and I chose the Roast Beef Sandwich with horseradish, onions (omitted the buttermilk cheese) $ 12. We each ordered a Kale salad with anchovy dressing — menu noted price was $ 8 (more on that later).
Food was served promptly, but it went downhill from there. The Kale salad was large and quite savory. I bit different from the typical sweeter side of those I have had at other establishments. Both hubby and I said that for that large of a portion, it would have been better to split, as the flavor became a bit overwhelming by the second half. Hubby said the «Pizetta» was OK, but nothing fantastic. It was a bit on the small side and had so a compliments on the plate.
My Roast Beef Sandwich was a bit of a disappointment as well (kinda hard to mess up a good roast beef sandwich) First of all, it was served on what looked like two large pieces of Texas Toast! I guess I expected some type of nice grain bread or roll, next time I will ask as I rarely, eat any type of white bread! The roast beef, was a bit fatty, again, not what I expected. The onion, while flavorful, tasted like they had been sitting warmed stove for awhile. The arugula accompaniment was very nice, but no mention of it was on the menu. If I had know it came with the sandwich I would have skipped the Kale Salad.
We both agreed we would like to come back for an evening meal before crossing it off our list, mainly because the space, drinks and server were so great! We asked for and paid our bill, then then noticed that one Kale salad was charged at $ 8 and the other at $ 9. When we pointed this put to Moria, she took it to check, and returned telling us that the Kale at $ 8 was their dinner price and the brunch price was $ 9… We were not going to argue over $ 1, but I had taken a photo of their menu and it was noted at $ 8. Total bill for an OK lunch with one drink each was $ 65. I am willing to pay for great food, this just wasn’t it!
We will give it another try for dinner, but with so many other great brunch places in the area, we won’t be back for brunch/​lunch!

Disappointing!
We were told to try the signature dish, the JW Chicken.
So we did. We also got potatoes as the side.
I got the kale salad, which was tasty… I would have liked more flavor but it was nice.
My daughter got a cheese pizza, and I believe $ 10 is quite high for a small sauce and cheese pizza. It was tasty, though.
Lovely atmosphere, but it was quite dark at night. Hard to see the menu.
The sever never told us specials, left us alone for long periods of time, didn’t ask if we wanted more drinks.
The chicken was on the bone, hard to eat, a big portion that we should have shared.
It was just. Ok.
The potatoes were hard to eat. No flavor. We regret not sending then back. So dry! Needed a sauce to dip them in to. The other images on Unilocal looked pretty good, so we tried it, but in our first try it wasn’t a winner.

This food is SO good. This atmosphere is SO right. This service is so attentive without being intrusive.
I absolutely LOVE everything about Adele’s. I happened upon it by mistake. What a treat!
The menu changes with what’s fresh right now. I will tell you that the Banana Pudding is incredible. This is a place for the adult cool. Leave your kids at home and prepare for a great night out.