Nero’s Grill

nero’s closed on jan. 6, 2014

We had the steak & biscuits (to die for!!!) and ribs, (fell right of the bone)! The corn cakes are wicked good and addictive so be careful.
Wonderful wine selection.
We will definitely go back.

We stopped by here by chance, really, needing to grab something only the Green Hills Pier One had. My wife was starving, and as I turned down this street just cruising for something different on a Friday night that wouldn’t have a ridiculous Green Hills wait, she told me she was going to gnaw her arm off… or mine… if I didn’t feed her, this popped into view, and I pulled in. Parking sucks, you’ll have to Valet. No upcharge, just tip the guy, no big deal.
It looks swankier on the outside than it is inside. The bar tables by the fire are AWESOME in the Fall or Winter. The rest are simply OK, not enough booths, but that’s alright.
Our server was excellent, greeted us promptly, suggested a wine that was at the higher end of the price list ($ 11) but was as good as promised. People whine about the prices… when’s the last time you had a look at the prices at everything else in Green Hills such as Cheesecake Factory or The Palm or up the road at Bricktops or J. Alexanders? Yes, it’s $ 4 – 6 more than Ruby Tuesday’s, but it’s better food and a nicer restaurant.
We opted for the spinach artichoke dip, great crostini, neat twist on the dip with Tarragon. Very nice. My wife had the crab cakes, they were full of crab and done perfectly. I had the spiced pear salad with Salmon and blue cheese instead of feta, blackened Salmon ordered medium and arrived cooked perfectly.
The meal with tip and valet was $ 100 bucks for two including one glass of wine each. Is it pricey? Sure. What would we have spent at another equivalent Green Hills restaurant? At least $ 20 – 50 more for the same food. A few notable items their menu is missing, a Ribeye (they have Prime Rib instead, I like grilled food, not slow cooked), and a fresh fish item like a Grouper or Mahi. The deserts looked good, but since we had an appetizer and wine, we opted to wait until next time, and we will be back, this time requesting seats by the fireplace in the lounge. Nice accidental find.

After a great Sunday afternoon, we were hungry and found ourselves around the corner from Nero’s Grill so we thought we try it out for the first time. We were seated right away and we were glad to see the restaurant wasn’t as busy at it could have been at 5:30 … it meant we’d get even better service, right? Unfortunately, I was wrong. We waited for 10 minutes and never saw our waiter/​waitress. We were never even served water. We figured if things were starting out this way, it was likely to continue to go in that direction. Our hunger got the better of us, so we walked out. The hostess did, however, wish us a good night.

Great relaxed spot. The bar is nice lodge feel with fireplace. The chicken pot pie is glorious.

I’ve been here probably about a half dozen times in the past three years, half the time I was paying the bill and the other half on someone else’s dime.
Do I like Nero’s Grill? Sure. It’s a different choice, and not the same old, same old from the multitudes of chains in the area. Do I love it? Hmmm… not really.
The food is good, maybe a tad overpriced, and they tend to rack up the «incidentals» more than I prefer. When I’ve paid the bill here, I’ve been wayyyyy overcharged for selecting the Caprese Salad instead of the side salad that came with my entrée, (without warning! a full price $ 10 upcharge for seriously four slices of tomato and four slices of fresh mozarella, basically ignoring the fact that I would have gotten a side salad with entrée selected); and I’ve been charged a $ 1.00 per person «slicing fee» for a brought in birthday cake when I was totally fine with slicing myself, the waiter insisted. Really insisted.
Small things, yes, but why mess up and otherwise nice evening with such small annoyances… and again, without warning me?
They have two nice private dining rooms, a smaller one in the front and larger one in the back. I’ve attended dinner meetings in each of them, and the server (s) for those 16 – 30 person settings struggle to keep up, but perform fairly. It would be tough to not have drinks run dry with groups such at that — but still off putting if you are the bone dry coffee and water glass both and speaking often… And on the last such instance, I had to ask for coffee twice, never cool in my book.
They offer valet parking, which is funny at night since the adjacent Noshville is closed, but you give your car to the valet who often drives it like six spaces away. Oh, well.
I’ve never had an entrée here I didn’t enjoy, I’ve also never had an entrée here that was so memorable I can recall details now to share with you. I’m sure you have places like that, too.
This location has morphed four different times to my native Nashvillian memory, and while I enjoy Nero’s, really, I predict that in ten years it will have morphed again. It’s just not special enough to make it long term in Green Hills, but maybe I’m wrong. Go visit and see for yourself.

The chopped salad was very tasty, and the peppermint snowballs were great (note, one order has four tennis ball size servings… our table of four each got one and we were very satisfied). But overall, the décor, service, and ambiance was just sort of… ordinary. I had a great time, but that was because I was with fun people who would have had a great time in a McDonald’s. Just sayin.

We went to Nero’s Grill at the suggestion of Scoutmob, eager to experience a local out of our usual favorites. Outside, we questioned the appropriateness of our summer garb (shorts, flip-​flops), as the valet parking system and grand façade set a tone of class that we weren’t expecting, given the name and some superficial research beforehand.
Other diners appeared to be retirees, regulars who knew the host by name. We were promptly led to a table in one of several near-​empty dining rooms, despite the peak dinner hour during which we visited. Our server was aggressive in asking about beverages; our choice of water seemed to disappoint her.
The menu was more expensive than expected, with mediocre options listed noticeably higher than necessary. Steaks were reasonably in the 20s, but a salad with protein should not be verging on $ 20.
Now, the Scoutmob deal was 50% off, at a maximum of $ 10 per table. This narrowed our ordering choices, as only one entrée was listed at $ 10. Although happy to be using the coupon at all, I couldn’t help but think business might be more lively if Nero’s unclenched its fist a little and adjusted their prices and/​or deals accordingly.
All told, it ended up being a meal replete with red meat, as I ordered a burger, my fiancé got the garlic herb NY strip, and my brother had the elk steak (market price = $ 35). The sides were oddly brought out in two waves, and the scent of garlic was overwhelming. My burger was well cooked; the fries were well portioned but tiny. Mashed potatoes were well seasoned and light in texture.
Our server was friendly, eager to accommodate, and refilled our glasses often. Maybe the experience would seem more enjoyable if more people had been in the restaurant with us.

This is a 1.5−2 star kinda place. I rounded up because I hate giving out the dreaded 1 star, and I like to reserve it for truly awful places. Nero’s is a small step up from there.
To start, I think Nero’s has a complete identity crisis. I thought I was going into an Italian joint similar to Amerigo or Nona because of the name, and because of the building architecture and design. Yet, when I walked in, I saw a *Cowboy* sitting in front of the silhouette of Nashville’s skyline.
The décor inside isn’t great, it isn’t terrible. Pretty ordinary.
Food was barely average, and expensive for what you get. Every entrée at my table was overpriced by at least $ 4. Doesn’t sound like much, but when you are paying $ 14.99 for steak and biscuits that are better at Goldrush, and $ 17 for a pasta dish that was a cayenne bomb, it’s irritating.
My total bill was $ 85, and I felt like the value was somewhere around $ 50.
Service was ok. She was very nice, just got a bit overwhelmed and there were 5 – 10 minute periods where we didn’t see her and needed something.
Great location, just a blah restaurant.

Beautiful Historic building with lots of history.
The atmosphere was quiet and romantic. There were pictures on the walls of how things looked in the area many years ago. Our waitress was very friendly and the service was excellent. We were here for Restaurant Week.
We started with cornbread and then the soup of the day which was a beef vegetable soup. It was fantastic and I’ve been craving more since the night we dined here. I ordered the Burgundy Beef Medallions for the entrée. The meat was cooked perfectly with a delicious burgundy sauce on top of creamy mashed potatoes with broccoli on the side.
As yummy as dinner was the true star of the evening was the dessert. I had the peppermint snowball which was peppermint ice cream rolled in crushed oreos with chocolate sauce on top. This dessert alone was worth the drive.

Nero’s had me at Tomato Basil Soup. It was fantastic, and they served these amazing little corn medallion-​biscuits on the side. It was a very tasty way to start my lunch date with a friend. The club sandwich was my meal of choice — and it was absolutely delicious & fresh! The french fries on the side were skinny and delicious.
Now for the good stuff — DESSERT. Peppermint ice cream rolled in crushed oreos. OHHH MY. If I had to create my last meal on this planet, I would include this dessert in it without a doubt!!!
Our server was great, very personable & not too serious. He gave good recommendations & made a personal connection with us. I really enjoy that in a dining experience.

Since we live on the other side of Nashville, we were not familiar with Nero’s Grill. As we were planning our wedding, the coordinator at Scarritt-​Bennett Center suggested we check out Nero’s as the venue for our reception. I’m so happy she did!
From the minute we first set foot in the restaurant about one month before the wedding until the last dance the night of the reception, everything was almost effortless. Jenny Embrey, the restaurant’s events coordinator is fantastic in every way. The Cactus Room was just the right size for our group and it was also very affordable compared to many other restaurants in the area. Everyone enjoyed their dinner so much that most vowed to return to the restaurant on their own for another meal. Service was excellent — attentive, coordinated, efficient.
I also have to mention Teri Reid who plays live music in the bar several nights a week. She kept the fun going well past normal closing time and made sure to play some of our favorite songs on request.
Thanks to everyone who made our night so perfect!

So, the first time I went to this restaurant, I enjoyed it and the food. I tried
it at happy hour, but the crowd was a little older.
I made the mistake of taking my grandparents there and now for every occasion, this is the ONLY place they want to go. It might be okay, if they would change their menu! It seems like I’ve had everything-​even their specials are already on the menu.
If that isn’t enough, both my dad and granddad are hard of hearing, both of them asked our server to speak up. Each time, he did not. Plus, there was a table of 3 older women being extremely loud, not once did the waiter ask them to tone it down.
Their drinks are good and if you get their before 5, you don’t have to deal with valet. Because their menu is stale, it’s rarely full.
This place is good if you go every once and awhile. If you go more often than that, you will have had everything on the menu.

Y’ever eat at a place and you’re talking to your (wife/​husband/​girlfriend/​golden retriever/​3^rd grade teacher-​fill in the blank) and you can’t wait to get the check and never return? Well it was a lot like that except we hadn’t ordered yet.
I know they spent a boatload on all the remodeling but what they clearly spent the most bucks on was that sweet DeLorean that took them back to 1982 to get their menu. Awesome, keep it up.

So the Dallas BF came into town and I wanted to go to a nice restaurant that was pretty close to my house. Nero’s fit the bill so we made reservations for a Friday night.
When we showed up we were seated in a dining room that was maybe half full… so maybe those reservations not that necessary? The ambiance was kind of a dark, swanky steakhouse feel.
So we ordered a bottle of Malbec that was not too unreasonably priced and made our food choices. Our waiter was amiable enough but he did forget what the BF ordered and had to come back and ask after a while. Maybe a little off his A game, but pretty good overall.
So we nibbled on the corn cakes while we waited for our appetizers. I love corn bread so figured these were going to be awesome. They were pretty good but I wasn’t expecting the mushy center. If it had maybe had actual nuggets of corn in the soft center or at least was a little sweet like corn is then I probably would have stuffed my face with hundreds of them. As it was though, just ok. The crab cake appetizer was a different story — really liked the crab cake! Plenty of actual crab meat instead of all breading. Then we got to the entrees. Mine was the potato-​crusted halibut with vegetables and the BF got the peppered elk steak. So, there was just something about my entrée. The BF said the fish was slightly overcooked. I just didn’t find it knock my socks off tasty. I didn’t think it was bad though, just OK. But the elk was a super star! I had a couple of bites and I have to say it was delish! Definitely a different tasting meat, more gamey, but still like a steak and perfectly cooked medium rare. Next time I think I know what to order. Sadly after all this I was too stuffed to get the snowball dessert that I really wanted to try. And while we ate a lil’ older man with a cigar in his mouth came around to check on us and I can only imagine it was part of the family that owns the joint — maybe Nero himself? Anyway, he was cute. And the best part is that this place isn’t outrageously priced so you won’t faint when you see the bill.
While nearing the end of our dining experience, we kept hearing music and some pretty loud ‘yeehaws” and maybe some hootin’n’hollerin. So we had to go to the bar after dinner and check it out. What we found there made us stay for a drink. There were some ladies playing music. There were various people at the bar, the best being an older man (maybe in his 70s) that was straight cutting a rug! He was hilarious and entertaining. Everyone in that bar was probably above the normal age bracket you think about at a bar, but they were all happy and getting pretty festive. Fun vibe (and gives me hope that I can still party at bars well into my older years! Ha!).
So give Nero’s a shot — family owned places deserve the chance and may surprise you with some of their offerings!

Just went to Nero’s for Restaurant Week 2011. As soon as we walked in, we got the vibe that it was going to be a fancy restaurant. The host who sat us treated us like we were first-​class customers. But as soon as he left and we were seated, things went downhill from there.
First of all, our server seemed annoyed we were ordering from the Restaurant Week menu. Then when asked questions about the menu, the server implied the food wasn’t all that good. HIs attitude soured the mood quickly. He may just be an odd man out, as others we saw appeared to be more pleasant.
As for the food, my friend and I ordered the salad and chips for appetizers. The Caesar salad tasted like no dressing was on it. I had to add a ton of salt and pepper, or there was no flavor to the salad. The chips with blue cheese were good.
For our entrees, we ordered the Chicken Picatta and the Beef Medallions. The Chicken PIcatta was good. The Beef Medallions were cooked really well, but the sauce was quite strange.
The desserts were ok, too.
Would I come here again? Probably not, especially not for $ 20 a person.

So I came here for restaurant week with four of my new found Nashville friends. Being new to the area, we thought this would be a great way to get a taste of some local flavors.
We were seated at a very large round booth in the corner with very low lighting. My first complaint is that I could hardly see my friends. Is this a romantic restaurant? Definitely not but I guess it could pass for that if you wanted a good date night.
We ordered dinner which I’ll talk about later and received a bowl of the house corncakes. To quote Padma from Top Chef, «UNDERSEASONED» I thought they were very bland and need a kick of salty and sweet. Perhaps a corncake dipping sauce?
I was excited to receive my entrée: Blackened tilapia with strawberry salsa. The tilapia was well cooked and the asparagus it was served with was delicious, but the strawberry salsa completely ruined the whole dish. I’m an incredibly curious eater which put me in a terrible situation and neros. I think had the kick of jalapeño not been in the salsa it would have been awesome, but that stupid bit of spicyness killed the flavor balance for the dish. I had to push it off to the side to keep from gagging. The fish was fine without it. Many of my friends ordered the beef medallions and said they were amazing, so I’m sure there are other good entrees, I just didn’t personally experience it.
The end of my restaurant week meal was the key lime pie. I’m usually not a fan of the key lime pie, but this one had just the right texture, although had a little too much whip for my taste.
There were some good moments and some awful moments but overall it was a fine experience. Just avoid that strawberry salsa.

Quite a romantic evening!
My guy and I chose Nero’s Grill out of the dozen plus restaurants featured for this year’s «Nashville Restaurant Week 2010» because honestly, who could beat a three course meal for $ 20.10 per person. We weren’t quite sure what to expect but with a few ideas from previous Unilocalers we made a reservation for 7:30p.m.
True, the location isn’t obvious but the comment made about parking was found to be completely false. There is a little parking lot as well as street options. They also have a valet service as a third option.
The exterior was very welcoming as it mimicked a very fancy stone-​lodge. Inside the aromas of delicious food complimented the dimly lit candles placed at the center of each table. A live three piece jazz band provided excellent ambiance. The service was fantastic and Wayne, our waiter, treated us like we were ordering hundreds of dollars worth of food, not the $ 20.10 order that we were partaking in.
Their wine list was good providing a few different options I had not tried before. For appetizers I ordered the White Bean Soup (per the recommendation of a previous post) and he ordered the House Chips with a bleu cheese sauce (which we overheard someone was requesting solo to take home). I enjoyed the white bean soup however the initial taste of each spoonful was the best part. Also, Nero’s serves their famous corn bread cakes which I had never seen before and thought they were quite interesting. The house chips were classic if you are fan of bleu cheese.
For the second course I ordered the Penne Pasta Primavera while he ordered Burgondy Beef Medallions. I was disappointed with my pasta dish for a lack of vegetables and a slight peppery aftertaste. Although I took the rest of the pasta home and added my own vegetables for my lunch today. The beef medallions were phenomenal! They tasted like velvet. Smooth, sentual, perfectly seasoned. I would highly recommend them even though they don’t appear on the either the lunch or dinner menu.
For the third course we ordered one of each: the Heath Bar Snowball and the Key Lime Pie. Both were excellent.
I feel that Nero’s was a wonderful experience for a special night because their mission states, «Here at Nero’s we believe that every single guest is like family so we strive to provide excellent service, consistently delicious dishes, and a happy and comfortable atmosphere.» I can not phrase it more succinctly.

I would never gone to Nero’s, partially due to its location and lack of novelty, if it weren’t for a friend’s suggestion. We went to participate in Nashville Originals week, where local restaurants offer a several course meal for a bargain price.
Though I didn’t get to take a look at the menu in its entirety because the Originals menu was only a few select items, Nero’s Grill seems to me to be an old-​fashioned, organic (not in the hippie way, but the homegrown way), more authentic version of Longhorn and Outback Steakhouses are. The stars of the menu are the meats — several beef cuts, and even elk and bison. There are plenty of chicken and seafood dishes, and on the special menu we ordered off of I had a pasta primavera, so even vegetarians still have options. Just about everything we had was really good. Here’s what we had…
The corn cakes: fried 3″ in diameter cakes. Made of corn. Enough said.
Their famous bean soup: yummy… I’ve written in other reviews how I love
beans, and this was a great soup. It was yummy to dip the corn cake in
the soup.
Homemade chips with warm bleu cheese sauce: REALLY good.
Tilapia with strawberry salsa: this was interesting. The spiciness and
sweetness of the salsa threw us off a little bit. The asparagus on the
dish were nicely prepared.
Past primavera: I really enjoyed this. The penne was awesome, tossed in a parmesan cream sauce and the veggies in the dish were sliced extremely thin and were quite al dente. This was a surprisingly peppery dish, though it must have been white pepper as no black specs could be detected!
Ice cream snowball in Heath: ya know… enjoyable. Though I would have REALLY preferred to try the peppermint ice cream snowball rolled in Oreo.
Both entrees were a little salty, but I was really surprised at how much I enjoyed what I ate here and I’d recommend it. This is of course being said without sampling Nero’s staples — their meat!

When I dine out alone I usually sit at the bar and try to watch sports and people watch around me. The service is usually better and that is where the more talkative types are. The bartender was awesome, a good looking man with a southern accent. Food was really good the atmosphere was fun.
I little of a drawback, parking sucks here. Being from out of town I really dont know where else to park other than the parking lot. Seriously.