Aquarium Restaurant

So nearly a 3-​star, yet could be a 5-​star.
Incredible place with a fabulous aquarium. Possibly the most beautiful restaurant I have ever been in. Service was a bit assertive (some may say aggressive), but I was okay with that. But the food… not good enough!
Fish tacos… luke warm (rice undercooked).
Coconut shrimps… luke warm.
Fish and chips… luke warm chips (fish was fine).
We complained and the tacos were replaced but that meant eating our main courses 15 minutes apart. But the manager came over and dealt with it which was better than leaving it to the waiter who has no control of this. He then removed the tacos from the check unprompted.
So, room for improvement on the food but maybe we were unlucky and the manager’s involvement and striking the tacos from the bill softened the blow.
I will go again because it is such a cool place.

This place is cool. Great atmosphere and neat concept. Food was good, but takes a while. Service is a little slow and that would be my only complaint.
Dishes were hot and delicious.

At some point when you are traversing the Opry Mills Mall, you are going to become «hangry»… a lethal combination of angry and hungry that will make you snap at even the politest mall kiosk worker. (No, I do not need another cell phone case!) The Aquarium restaurant will no doubt have already caught your eye upon entry, and you will make a mental note that you will, in fact, be eating there.
The food, while a tad pricey for what was offered (think $ 17-​$ 25 burgers, chicken tenders, and pasta) was delicious. I had the bacon cheeseburger which was done perfectly and served with a side of homemade kettle chips. (The chips were still hot and crackly from being fried when they were brought out.)
The ambience was incredible! I did not mind the prices once I saw the décor, which stretched far beyond the dining area and every fixture was adorned to look like coral or aquatic rock. We got to sit right up against the main aquarium and watch the divers interact with us and the sharks through the glass. I would definitely return. Just keep in mind that the pricier costs go towards the maintenance and care for the aquatic life so that many can enjoy this attraction in the future.

Amazing décor of some pretty exotic fish. The aquarium in the middle of the restaurant is a nice touch. Our waiter Steve was very knowledgable and provided some pretty awesome food recommendations. The presentation and food was on point. Would def come again! :-)

The atmosphere is awesome and the kids love it! The reason for the bad rating is the awful service and the fact that the food is mediocre at best. Bring the kids and look around but eat somewhere else. It’s really expensive for a meal that isn’t top notch.

I love Aquarium! The fish tank in the middle is the coolest form of dinner entertainment! Though I’m still not entirely convinced they didn’t make up the name «Guitar Fish», I love watching the amazing array of sea life they have floating around (especially Flotsam and Getsam).
The food is excellent. I’m not a fan of seafood, but the options are wide enough that I’m not stuck ordering something super fishy, and even the fish dishes I have tried are amazing. Great variety of drinks as well, super friendly staff, no complaints. I’ve been here twice already, and I will definitely return again.

Well worth the money… food was top notch… fish tacos were amazing… fish and chip delish! Awesome atmosphere and the server was amazing

What do you say to water filled fun spot restaurants? Food was Fish but not sure I would say fresh. We are land locked remember? Good to take other land locked friends and family to a weird seafood experience, yet don’t have extra special high hopes about the food being spectacular and cheap. You will be for the ambience. That said, we had Grilled Mahi Mahi and the Seafood Platter. There were 3 of us we split everything. The food was OK, the prices are high. The fish tanks were fun and it was nice to see it come back after the flood. Drinks were also expensive. I think over 10 + for a martini and the wine was also not worth it. The shop and the servers and the bathrooms were fine. Some reviews were not happy with the servers. I did not experience this. They seemed decent and helpful. No complaints. We would go more if it was cheaper and tasted better.

I had been walking all morning. I was hungry, thirsty, and my feet hurt so despite the so-​so reviews I decided to given Aquarium a shot.
The ambiance is so cool! They have a 200,000 gallon aquarium full with fish, sting rays, and some type of shark. It’s a lot of fun to watch the critters interact and swim past. It’s even more so to watch little ones watch the fish!
In regards to the food, I really expected more from a Landry’s restaurant. While the menu is extensive, the quality of the food (at least what I had) wasn’t all that great. They have a large menu of appetizers, salads, sandwiches, burgers, pasta dishes, soups, and of course a large array of fish and seafood. I ended up having the fried shrimp tacos. There were two tacos served with a side of black beans, white rice and a small dish of jalapeño ranch. The shrimp had an odd taste to me. Not very good at all. There was a large amount of shredded cabbage that came on the tacos. The rice was bland, It needed some flavor. Cilantro or something. The beans were fantastic. The best thing was the jalapeño ranch. It was a little spicy (not overly) and tasted great. It saved the meal.
The waitress was nice enough, but service was SLOW. Really slow. Maybe they want you to enjoy the view of the fish? A lot?
If you are a Landry’s member you get priority seating.
While it was a neat experience, I wouldn’t visit again. If anything, have a drink and/​or appetizer so you can enjoy the scenery. There are plenty of other places to eat at the mall…

I think the best thing about this place is the aquarium itself. The food was all very frozen, straight off the truck with what seemed like a very uninspired menu with the lack of a chef in the kitchen. We had the app sampler, best thing on it was the bruschetta. I had the «Natural Burger» which was a frozen patty and the menu description was very deceptive of that. It had some spinach and mushrooms on it which were decent, but nothing to brag about. My entire table of 4 were unsatisfied their meals. Probably won’t be back, unless the kid wants to stop in to see the fish. I will have to say our server was very knowledgable about the tank and gave us good information, and the hostess was super friendly which made the beginning of the experience very pleasant, but if you’re a restaurant, the food has to be a huge focus as well, especially after you draw in crowds with the tank.

I would give this place a 3.5…5 for ambiance and 2 for food.
Let’s start with the positive first. This place is unlike any other restaurant in Nashville. Though it is a national chain, I felt like it was extremely unique. The restaurant is dimly lit and in the center of it is a huge aquarium with all sorts of sea creatures. If you go at the right time, you can see the scuba divers feeding them! Even as an adult I enjoyed sipping my martini and watching a shark haha but I can imagine that younger children would LOVE this. All the booths are the round type that face the aquarium so everyone had a chance to see it! Also the servers were wonderful. Overall everything except the food was five stars.
For the negative… the food was disgusting. Like seriously horrible. Maybe my mistake was not ordering seafood? But my sister and I both ordered the chicken fettuccine pasta. The chicken was ok, but the noodles were overcooked. You know that gross pastey ragu fettuccine sauce? I remember from my broke college years. I swear that is what they used. The Alfredo sauce wasn’t creamy and parmesany, it was pastey and tasted fake. It was served with what tasted like microwaved bread. We had the sampler appetizer… it was mediocre. Everything is relatively expensive. I think my pasta was like 25 bucks.
I might come back for a cocktail or two, but I will never eat here again.

Great place to take kids, as the aquarium is amazing and sure keeps their attention (as well as adults!). Went there as a family (8 total) and made a reservation first… strongly recommended. The restaurant is really cool because of the aquarium, but it gets average pretty quick from there. The food was okay, but is way over priced. Guess that’s how they pay for the aquarium and the 5 biologists on staff to take care of it. Service was okay. While our waiter was good when he was at the table… he wasn’t at the table very often. The most telling thing to me that this is an average restaurant was when my son-​in-​law, who is an eating machine, didn’t even finish his Captain’s platter.

Aquarium Restaurant Nashville, TN
Trip Advisor Submittal on 9÷27÷2015
Stopped in for lunch & had blackened fish tacos and my wife grilled tilapia & it was a great meal. Our waitress was very helpful & the 200,000 gallon fish tank filled with 600+ fish was a great show to watch during our meal. Lunch with tip was about $ 50
Highly recommended… Especially if you are staying at the Opreyland hotel & want to get out a while.

Great place to chill your little ones if they are not excited about grand olé Opry as much as you are.
Great fish tank. And great service.
We stopped by in early afternoon for deserts. Their desert sample plate was so accurate and they are actual size model
And wait to go into their gift shop till after the dinner because they may give you 10% off gift certificate.

What a treat! Ok, sure, it’s a little touristy — with a side of awesome! First, you walk through an amazing aquarium tunnel. When you enter the actual restaurant, you seriously feel like you are under the sea. It’s so neat. There is a huge (200,000 gallon!) fish tank in the middle. Super peaceful to watch. I sat at the bar and the bartender was very knowledgeable about the tank. The bar top itself is super cool looking and a stunning mosaic tops the whole thing. The food was surprisingly good! I didn’t have high hopes, I thought it would be typical tourist fare, but went with the bartenders rec and so glad I did. It. Was. Fab. Dining with the fishes is much better than sleeping with the fishes… just sayin’.

Hello Unilocalers! I was here dinner time and I had a great experience. The food and service was good. I have to mention the aquarium was fascinating! Yes it was pricey, but it was reasonable. Every person that wants to experience the aquarium restaurant should expect it.
I ordered the shrimp platter as well as the lobster and steak. It was mouth watering! I am a fan of spinach artichoke dip but this time I got their shrimp and lobster dip. You can’t say no to it after you take a bite. It’s very pleasing to your mouth.
I recommend ordering an appetizer first specially on weekends cause the food will take a lil long to serve, so that you will not wait with an empty stomach and will still enjoy the view.
If you have kids! Make sure to bring them they will enjoy.

We’ve been here a couple of times prior to going to the movie theater in the mall. The food and service have both been great, though it feels a little weird to be eating fish in an aquarium.
I tried their burger and SO had their chicken last time and both were delicious. We never have room for dessert after eating here, which is a shame because it all looks so good.
Ambiance is not usually a factor in my dining choices, but this place is just so cool! It is on the pricey side or we would probably eat here much more frequently.
Be prepared to wait for an hour or more, especially during peak times.

Such a fun place to take the kids! So much better than I expected! Our 2 year old grandson loved it so much! The food was just fine & our server was The Best! Tyler I think … We cannot wait to go back next time in Nashville!
Shrimp tacos were very, very good & the rice & black beans were so tasty! Great kids menu too!!!
See you soon fishy’s!

I’ve always loved fish. Eat them, caring for them in fish tanks, fishing for them, love it all. I’ve never thought to eat at Aquarium until my sister told me she was coming down to visit us with her 3 year old son, Eli. I thought about Rainforest Café and this place. I’ve been to Rainforest before, however it’s been probably 10 – 15 years but I remember I wasn’t impressed with the overpriced food and that dusty animatronics. We decided on lunch at 1pm on a Sunday at Aquarium.
You’re able to make a reservation up to 2 hours before your selected reservation time. We made a reservation at 1pm. My sister arrived first and they said the whole part of 4 had to be present. I think that’s a little silly, maybe a party of 8, but if you’re going to sit someone at a 4 top, just sit them. I don’t think we would’ve needed the reservation because they weren’t very busy at all. Anyway, we arrived and Eli was so excited to go into the «fish tunnel». The whole restaurant is a large circle, with the center being this huge, 220,000 gallon fish tank with all types of fish. Sharks, leopard sting rays, big fish, little fish, skinny fish, fat fish. You get the idea.
They’ve got a sign near the tank that says «please do not touch the glass» which is very hard to get a 3 year old to follow. We looked at the fish for a little and then sat down to look at the menu. I’d actually had a late breakfast so I wasn’t the most hungry. I also didn’t want to spend 30 bucks on a fish dish at a themed restaurant. I ordered the mushroom burger for $ 13.99, and added fries for $ 1.99. Eli ordered the fish off the kids menu, my sister got the stuffed flounder or something and Phillip ordered the chicken wrap with their chips.
Our server was friendly and competent. I read a lot of reviews on here that said the service was bad but I didn’t have that experience. I’d say it took about 15 to 20 minutes for our food to arrive, which was okay because we let Eli look around at the fish.
Our food arrived and the burger looked good. I’d ordered it a medium and it was. The fries were your normal restaurant fries. The burger had a good taste, the mushrooms tasted like they were from a can. It was good, not a great burger. I tried the chips and they tasted like they were fried in old oil. I tried the fish from Eli’s kids meal and it was good. I actually liked it better than my burger. A moist fish with a crispy breading. I wished I was under ten so I could order the fish and chips meal for $ 5.99!
Overall this is a good place to take a kid for their entertainment. My nephew enjoyed the fish. I wouldn’t come here to go on a date or with friends. They have a bar but it looks pretty small. On the way out I was trying to show Eli a sting ray and he was already over the fish and wanted to leave, so I don’t think it’s a place to bring kids all the time.

The good:
Fish!
The actual aquarium is pretty incredible. It’s large and diverse.
The fish look happy.
Clean.
The food is really good (Ahi tuna salad).
Server (Kayla) was very knowledgeable, friendly and efficient. Awesome job Kayla!
The bad:
This place can get really crowded.
Servers do double duty with busing tables.
I’ve seen previous reviews that bashed the service, that may be due to the nature of the place (attracts large groups and birthday parties).
The bottom line:
If you take your kids to Dave & Busters instead of here, you’re a bad parent and have no taste in food.