Valentino’s Ristorante

Ended up eating here on NYE because they were the only place that would accept a last minute reservation. I had reservations of my own after reading the reviews on here but decided to give it a try anyway.
PROS: The service was top notch. We had Will as our server and he was not only knowledgeable but also fun and definitely made our experience that much better. The atmosphere was also very romantic (not exactly the best for NYE but good for a date).
CONS: The food was just plain bad. Starting from the bread they bring out to the main entrees. It was all just plain, tasteless, and extremely overpriced. I had the special which consisted of shrimp, lobster, and scallops over a bed of risotto. I never knew that shrimp or scallops could taste bad, but somehow they were just very plain. The risotto was also not very creamy and taste like white rice to me. I tried to jazz it up with some lemon and salt and pepper, but it was all so overwhelmingly disappointing. We ordered the tiramisu and chocolate cake for dessert. Neither of which we finished due to the fact they were both so bad. One of my friends said the tiramisu tasted like something from the supermarket, or maybe even not that good.
I would recommend spending your money elsewhere because for the price, you can do better in Nashville.

Romantic Atmosphere!
The coolest thing about this establishment is the atmosphere. The brick walls with the Italian pictures and the candlelit tables provide a romantic scene for a great date night. The service was excellent. The servers stand by the door and are at your table the second you need anything.
I only wish the food would have been better especially for the price. I don’t mind paying more for great food but I’ve had better at chain Italian restaurants. We went during restaurant week. I ordered the Bucatini and my husband ordered the salmon. The bucatini was pasta with Italian sausage and pomodoro sauce. I didn’t love it so I convinced my husband to switch with me. I liked the salmon a little bit better. The spinach risotto that came with the salmon was delicious. Maybe some of their other dishes are better but it will be awhile before we dine here again.

Our first meal after my wife had a heart attack and completed rehabilitation was very special here. Service is impeccable and Italian food is amongst the best in the city. Going again for our anniversary. After dinner, go upstairs to list to john Jonethis at the piano bar over after dinner cocktails. Makes for a very special evening out.

My favorite restaurant in Nashville. The customer service is terrific and the food is magnificent!

For Nashville, Valentino’s is one of the best Italian options. The staff are fantastic and I highly recommend sitting in the wine cellar forget ambience. My special treat is their Bananas Foster — made to order and spectacular!

The food was fine. And then we got out bill. I ordered a $ 10 salad and asked if they could add chicken without mentioning it to me, it was a $ 15 up charge. Making it a $ 25 salad. Not worth it. I also asked if he had pasta with meat sauce and he said no, then everyone else got the pasta with meat sauce.

Ok lemme start with the things I liked: I really liked the ambiance of this restaurant. It is very romantic with tablecloths, candles, exposed brick, and dim lighting. I could see this being a nice place to visit for a special occasion. The service was excellent. However, when we first walked in they immediately asked if we had a reservation. When we replied we did not they offered a small table in the bar area. And then to our surprise offered a table downstairs moments later. I guess someone cancelled. So, as a heads up, make a reservation especially on a Friday or Saturday night. We went on a Sunday at 6pm so it was NOT busy. Now, on to the whomp whomp… The prices are steep for an entrée. The portion is a nice size though. However, $ 32 for some salmon, brussel sprouts, and beets… not worth it. We also had the appetizer that included fried calamari, shrimp, and other seafood. This being an Italian restaurant I thought they would REPRESENT on the calamari, but they did NOT. The calamari was too tough and the batter was ultra bland leaving my taste buds very disappointed. I wouldn’t be opposed to going back and trying different items. If I do and have a different experience, then I’ll definitely update my review.

Valentino’s used to be our go-​to for our anniversary dinner. It always felt like a special treat. However, after last night, we will go someplace else next year. First, I made reservations for two ahead of time, and requested the wine cellar. When we arrived, we were seated in the lower dining room, which is noisy, and not as romantic as the cellar. The food was very good, but there is no longer the attention to detail, especially in the service, that there used to be. For the prices they charge, we really expected more. Our waiter was friendly, but didn’t attend to details: didn’t get my chair for me, plates were left for ten minutes or more before being removed, wine glasses were never removed after we finished our wine, so sat there dirty for the entire last half the meal. Also, I can remember in the old days, the waiters would make sure there were no crumbs on the table after they removed plates — not so anymore. Breadcrumbs stayed on the white linen tablecloth between every service. Not a huge deal, but again, you expect the best when you are paying premium prices. The ladies restroom was clean, but not immaculate — the sink had a cheap soap dispenser on it, with green goo between the bottle and dispenser. Our meals were very good, but not perfect, as they used to be in the past. I got the salmon, nice size portion, and tasty, but a little overdone and dry. The roasted beets and brussel sprouts that came with it were delicious. For $ 37 I expected the salmon to be perfect, too. It used to be. My husband got the roasted chicken. The chicken skin was rubbery, and the sauce overly sweet. Again, for $ 32, you expect the chicken to be perfect. The most disappointing part was dessert. We always splurge on the bananas foster for two made tableside. The waiter did a nice job making it, but instead of putting it in one large glass dish like they usually do, he put it into two separate bowls. The amount of ice cream in one bowl just wasn’t sufficient to keep the hot topping from melting it too quickly, and after just a few (delicious) bites, we were both left with half a bowl of ice cream soup. I guess they ran out of the large bowls, because we had seen another table get one earlier. Instead of substituting, they should have just told us, and suggested something else. I mean, $ 22 for a bowl of ice cream soup, is not something I want to pay. Our total bill came to $ 160, which we expected — no surprised there. What we didn’t expect was the sloppy service.

Very nice restaurant and wait staff was superb. Salads were excellent. I had garden salad, wife had the Caprese. The meals were average, at best. I had he Bucatini. Pasta was cold, the waiter was very nice and sent it back. They nuked it and it was not very good. Only ate a couple of bites. Wife had Lobster Ravioli which was very good.
They did not charge for the Bucatini which was very gracious.
Just a disappointing experience. Meal with one of the lowest priced bottles of Chianti was still $ 120.

We had dinner there last night and it was great as always. The Caesar salad was great followed by the tuna special. Always a good local feel and never rushed is the best part. Great place to relax and enjoy a great meal.

Just completed Restaurant Week and this place was the last on my list, I wanted to go out with a Bang and it’s was all I thought it would be and more. The staff was very knowledgeable about the menu the waiter was well refined in his manners and went out of his way to make sure you felt at home. the food was Excellent, not over big portions just right a great atmosphere families were in attendance as well.

I really wanted to like this place and I’m feeling sad.
Made reservations for birthday dinner. Everyone was very friendly, great service and ambience… At first.
We ordered a bottle of wine and 2 appetizers the Fritto Misto and the Burrata. I wanted to take my time, have some wine and try the food before I selected an entrée. The appetizers were underwhelming to say the least. They were fine, we ate them… But I really wasn’t impressed. Nothing seemed fresh, and I was beginning to have a bad feeling about ordering an entrée.
Instead my guy ordered an entrée and I got a salad and I’m so glad I did. He ordered the Cioppino and it just wasn’t good. It wasn’t warm enough, the broth had no flavor, and the seafood wasn’t right. I HATE sending things back but it really wasn’t good. The server said he would talk to the «owner» to see what could be done. They offered to replace it with another entrée. I’m sorry but after two apps, a salad and an entrée all being sub-​par, I don’t want to waste any more of your food or my time.
Maybe we ordered the wrong things, or that was just an off dish. The problem came when for the rest of the meal we got sideways looks from the staff and the server gave us forced apologies. I even apologized and explained that we did not want to be insulting but genuinely did not enjoy the food. They didn’t charge us for the entrée, which was appreciated. But we still spent over $ 100, left hungry, and on my birthday I felt like an inconvenience instead of a guest.
We like to spend money on food… Just not mediocre food. We went somewhere else and had excellent food for less.

Just visiting from Atlanta and strolled down the street to Valentino’s and walked in to great service, great ambiance and a dish of Paccheri that rivals anything in New York or Chicago!

Not worth the price. Very pricy and the food was not. Service was ok but food was in need of heat.

Best. Italian. Food. In. Nashville.
I had the Gorgonzola peaches, caprese salad, and lasagna. Everything was excellent and huge portions. My family also loved the wild salmon and gnocchi.

Another one of those good not great places.
Food has some solid quality. Exactly what you would expect from a higher end Italian restaurant but nothing that really makes it stand out over the next expensive Italian restaurant. If it was at a little bit of a lower price point I might bump them up a star.
Service is good, but not 5 star good. Courteous but nothing really to set them above the rest.
The ambiance of the place can be hit or miss. If you get a table in the basement it can be very intimate; if you get sat in the upstairs it is just kinda of meh…

My first visit here brought a party of 15 to the first floor dining room fronting on West End Ave. All family for my son’s Vandy gtaduation dinner.
The intimate setting, great food and service made it seem like we were having a family dinner at home. Had a great time and highly recommend Valentino“s.

We came for after dinner drinks to meet with coworkers. My husband loved the cigar bar and I loved the live pianist. Service was terrible on the patio, it seemed we were very overlooked. We will be back to try dinner.

I came to the «smoking lounge» for a birthday party on a Thursday night, and once I was able to escape from the smoke, I had a lovely time! :)
The upstairs bar is beautiful! The romantic lighting reminded me of a different time period, and I loved that the bartender put on a random 90’s lite station on Pandora that had all of us singing along to Mariah Carey, Bryan Adams, and all the great horrible music of the 90’s. They also offered 3 appetizers for $ 21 and house wines that were delicious! The eggplant appetizer was outstanding, and I’d highly recommend it to anyone! A couple partygoers ordered off the menu, and they had a seafood linguine that looked amazing…
I tried Valentino’s quite a few years ago and wasn’t overly impressed, but after my lovely night out, I think I need to give it another go!

I was so pleased at my dinner here! I have to admit, I was a bit nervous as I am Italian and I’m from Chicago where there are 100’s (I think) of Italian restaurants to choose from.
The fiancé and I went here while in Nashville for the Bears game. We just got engaged the night before so we wanted to go out for a nice dinner to celebrate. This was a perfect choice. I highly recommend asking to be seated downstairs in the wine cellar area. It’s romantic, dark and quiet. It was perfect for us. We were seated among 2 other couples there on their anniversary. I have heard that they have an upstairs dance/​club area. I did not venture up that way.
Now, for the food. Oh wait, service, our server was fantastic. He knew what he was doing and so did his assistant (not sure his title). This is a more old school type of Italian restaurant and the server does the caesar salad tableside and also does bananas foster tableside.
Really onto the food: The soup and salad were pretty good. I had the caprese and the boy had the pasta fagioli soup. The most amazing appetizer was the Antipasto Toscano. Please order this. It has cheese, meat, and vegetables. The seasoning and dressings on all of these things are so fantastic. I fell in love, with a cold appetizer!
For main courses, I had the lobster ravioli which was delicious and the boy had the papardelle dish with Italian sausage which he liked a lot. The dessert was also to die for. Table side bananas foster. It is two huge servings of the most delicious dessert you will ever have… assuming you like bananas, ice cream and alcohol.
They also have a very nice wine selection.
Fantastic service, amazing food, nice ambiance and wine. What more do you want?! If you are in Nashville, go here. (A little pricey, but worth it)