Geist Bar + Restaurant

Top tier Nashville restaurant that I feel gets left out of many best of lists in favor of newer trendy places.
The location is a historic blacksmith shop and is tastefully appointed.
For the holidays especially Christmas its more like Christmas blew up inside with decorations everywhere. The patio bar and restaurant tables all offer excellent seating options for intimate dates or mid sized parties.
The food is creative with a menu that changes every six months or so.
We had an excellent halibut that was crispy outside and tender inside complemented with fennel and oranges in a lemon butter sauce.
Lamb house made gnocchi dumplings and butternut squash provided a warm savory textual sensation.
You must get the bread.
The house bread is 9 dollars but worth it.
This is the best bread of any restaurant in Nashville if you love a yeasty bread like me.
Reminds me of the old Quincy steak house rolls my grandmother used to squirrel away in her purse. Service is super friendly and they have a good cocktail program if a little less creative than other places.
I did particularly like the spicy rum concoction that the bartender was kind enough to ask about spice preferences on.
Prices are high though on par with other steak houses and upscale restaurants.
Parking is limited so recommend getting a ride if possible.

Had brunch here this past weekend and it was quite delicious.
The whole atmosphere of the restaurant was excellent.
They were decorated for Xmas.
I had the chicken and waffles.
It came with a slaw that was used to cut the sweetness of the honey syrup.

Wow, just wow.
First of all, saw their Christmas decor pop up on Instagram - was so impressed we made a reservation the same day! It was beyond worth it . This may be the longest review I've ever written.
In a nutshell, it's worth every penny, go and try everything. We tried pork belly, scallops, carrots, marble potatoes, and all three desserts.
Don't get the bread pudding - everything else amazing. Full breakdown below :) Started off with a lovely glass of champagne that was perfect and set the tone.
Our reservation was at 9pm and we were seated withing five minutes of that.
Our server Zachary was pleasant attentive and made excellent recommendations.
The decor went above and beyond- whoever staged this, can I hire you for my home! Each section was unique, eye-catching and Instagramable.
Delivered all the Christmas feels I needed. SMAll PLATES We ordered small plates as soon as we Sat down and they arrived very promptly and presented beautifully: pork belly and scallops.
O.M.G.
I have never had pork belly cooked to the level of perfection as that dish.
The flavors and textures were out of this world.
A light crust with a tender center and I literally scraped every last bit of the sauce and sprouts off the plate. The scallops followed and absolutely blew my mind.
Hands down the best scallops I've ever had.
Perfect crust with melt perfection in each bite, again the sauce and flavor pallette was exceptional.
Scraped the plate ;). ADDITIONAL SMALL PLATES These were so good we couldn't even look at entrees.
We ordered another pork belly, the carrots, and the marble potatoes.
The carrots had a tahini yogurt glaze that was to die for.
I am personally not a big potato person but these smelled amazing and had a great crunchy skin and soft inside , very tasty.
I ate a couple of them ( which is saying a lot for me ;)! All plates were cleaned . DESSERT We finished with dessert because, you must! Zachary gave an excellent rundown of each dessert that was spot on.
I hate chocolate so I was between the sweet potato bread pudding and the apple pie cheesecake.
We ordered the cheesecake, when it arrived, Zachary surprised us with the other desserts to try and absolutely made my night! Because every dish had been so spectacular I tried the hazelnut chocolate torte....
I was impressed with the layers and quality ( still not a chocolate fan but literally have not willingly tasted a chocolate dessert in over a decade so kudos chef!) For the record, it blew my partners mind! I watched the expression as he tasted each layer- he was so sho ked how decadent it was.
Gold star. Sweet potato Bread pudding is the only item I would not recommend.
The taste was fairly bland , especially against all the other amazing dishes.
Texture was good- like a moist cornbread, but it was bland overall and had sweet potato chips garnished on top that didn't blend with the flavor of the dish.
I was missing a stronger sweet potato flavor or maybe a sweet glaze/ maple or cinnamon perhaps? Apple pie cheesecake was excellent sweet but not a fake sweet.
The cheesecake was almost heavy mousse like- a perfect texture! The shortcake crust was the perfect amount of crumble and sweet .
The apple spices were infused into the cheesecake not just the apple pie filling .
And spices were warm and fall vibes- more than just cinnamon which I really appreciated.
Perfect sweet but not too sweet option. RECAP Beyond impressed from start to finish, ambiance,decor, menu, flavors, service.
This checks all the boxes and immediately made me want to schedule our next meal - I have to see how the chef interprets brunch !! Plus I need to try the pastas and entree options.
Hands down my favorite restaurant.
You gave me more than an amazing meal, this was an immersive experience that left me wanting more.