I was in the lucky and well-fed crowd that ate at City House last weekend for their "faux" opening. And I've already planned my next meal there. It's got all the makings of a restaurant I'll eat at again and again--and never tire of. I had white bean/kale soup and trout--and I'd eat the same meal again, except that there's so much else to try. With open spaces, big and small tables, great bar space, and a food bar that's mere feet from the kitchen action, I can imagine going to City House for just about any eating occasion.

what are the prices like?

C'mon people! Where are the reviews?

I understand that the owner of a Nashville custom publishing outfit ate at City House yesterday (12/13/07). I think the guy considers himself one of Nashville's 'beautiful people'. heh, whatever. In any case, he claims the food & service were really good at City House. Cheers!

Talking to Anne alone is worth the trip...just sayin

Entrees averaged $25 I would guess with several options around $20...It really was quite good. Be careful on some of the items though, as they require a more adventurous eater.

Be careful on some of the items though, as they require a more adventurous eater...

PEOPLE...PLEASE!!! i just can't stand this whole "i'm afraid of food it has to be exactly as i know it" thing that happens in this fair city. it is precisely what holds us back - one of the major reasons why our restaurants tend towards mediocre. you do not have to "be careful". it's just food, man. juuuuust food. embrace it. enjoy. branch the hell out. live a little. at the very least be brave, you might just like it...

support the chefs ingenuity. let them spread their wings. in the end, it will be good for you and just wonderful for me - because all the cool stuff on the menu won't be replaced with the same ol', same ol'...

C:

I blame the lame it on Fishsticks!

ate there tonight and loved it. exactly what nashville needs- a real italian restaurant, with no mention of marinara or chicken/shrimp add-ons!
i had linguine with clams which was surprisingly spicy, salty, and filling without being rich. my fiance had orecchiette with duck which was fantastic (and it was probably the first time i had ever liked a duck dish). the food was really clean, fresh, and well-seasoned. i liked the cocktail menu, but wished that there were a few more affordable glasses of wine on the menu (less than $8). i think our bill was around $50, and damn well worth it to get to have a great dinner, close to home, in front of a wood-burning fire at the chefs bar.
the service was relaxed but very helpful and courteous. the chefs behind the bar were fun to watch. and the decor is simple and cool. my only complaint was that the (actual) menu was a little too minimalist and was pretty vague.
loved it, will be back very soon.

Sounds so promising! I'm all for minimalist in the early stages. I would guess that the menu will grow as time goes by. They've been open three nights, and it would be fiscally irresponsible, among other things, to open with a big menu or one set in stone. Offering reflections on one's experience with a fledgling restaurant is all well and good, but most published critics do not visit to review til at least six weeks in. A restaurant needs space and time to work out the kinks, test the water, breathe, assess, what works, what doesn't. You can't know until you've got a few weeeks of feeding people under your belt. Unless you're a PF Changs or California Pizza Kitchen, then you just refer to the company manual and follow the illustrated instructions.

Ate there last night and it really is terrific. I agree with the positive review of the linguine and clams, but I enjoyed stealing bites of the trout from across the table even more. The biggest raves at our table were for the homemade sausage and the broccoli side-dish (the exact quote was "just please bring me a bigass bowl of this broccoli") And when was the last time you said that about broccoli without there being any cheese involved?? Great room, friendly staff. They were a big help choosing from wines that were unfamiliar-- had a nice Austrian red. We'll be back soon.

boy - i am crossing all my fingers and toes. this sounds great. orecchiette is the perfect pasta for duck - and linguine in white clam is one of the things i live for.

we'll definitely give it a whirl next week - early or not. i'm not a reviewer - just a chick with a big opinion - and i can't wait! this feels pretty promising.

I've been trying to get a look at a menu. What do they offer for the vegetarian? The idea of real Italian is exciting...we'll be bummed out if they don't have decent veggie choices. If it really is Italian I would imagine there are....

sorry for the confusion: i didn't mean that the menu OFFERINGS were minimalist, but that the actual PHYSICAL menu was so minimalist that you couldnt really tell what dishes were what (i.e. appetizer, salad, pizza, entree?).

Having gone through the restaurant opening thing, I agree with Kay that the less "set in stone" you are about your menu when you start out, the better off you'll be in the long run. It's a brutal business, feeding the likes and dislikes of the public. I wish them so much luck and cannot wait to visit!

Had a great meal Saturday night. Best pizza I've had outside of Italy, and the cannellini bean soup was marvelous.

Moreover, there wasn't a stranger in the house. It was like old home week. Cindy Wall was there for meal No. 2 -- with husband Keith Miles -- and there were former Germantown residents Leo and Helen Waters, mayor and first lady of Germantown Ernest and Berdelle Campbell, arts maven Sandra Duncan with beau, David Briley's bride Jodie Bell, among many others. It was like having an impromptu holiday meal with friends. The folks in the kitchen even gave our teething critter a lemon to gum. We'll be back.

we had a blast. i dined with laura and rob from ombi. excellent - just excellent all around. bravo. loved it. i will be back soon...
we had 3 appetizers - in house salami's, calamari and tripe, the linguine and 2 of the pizza's. also tasted the duck from the table beside us. two desserts, the gingerbread and the lemon poundcake - all very good.

if you're looking for the nashville norm, this won't be it. but for innovative and delicious food that is cared for and well thought out - this is great italian.

which also goes with the great room and the gracious owner/chefs. hallelujah and thank you jesus. my kinda food. will be back soon...

Claudia, if you dug it, it must be better than Shoney's. I'll take The Italian Girl there Friday.

i think we're going thursday night. i want cary to check it out. lemme know your thoughts. there's a kick ass pizza with mustard greens and bacon with an egg yolk in the middle. totally friggin excellent. if they were open tonight i'd be going back for just that.

ummm, most restaurants in this town that i dislike intensely are most likely better than shoneys... wouldn't you think?

another wonderful dinner tonight. cary liked it too. had the pickled mustard greens with bacon and an egg on top pizza again - so so good...

i love this place!!!

I ate there last night and it was terrible. The problem isn't avoiding adventure its avoiding a wait staff that can't explain the menu, entrees that are geared toward the meat and 3 crowd, and meats that are way, way over salted. Also the lighting is atrocious, they went green but clearly didn't consult a lighting person, because its so bright and people keep complaining but they can't did the white flourescent. The place is imitating urban chic but they need to slow down, taste the food, and figure out how to do it right.

A mustard-green pizza with egg on top is geared toward the meat-and-three crowd? Please, take me to your local greasy spoon.

the lighting is bad. i agree. not good. ok - so it's not romantic.

BUT - it is very good and i am hoping it gets even better once they fall into step. nashville needs a place like this.

we went on sunday - my 4th visit - and tried a number of things. not everything was a winner, but i 'get' the food. there are rough edges - but it's just my kinda food...

i'm pulling for them.

and meta - what are you TALKING about with meat and three comment? couldn't be more off base...

As someone who has traveled extensivly in Italy and lived in Rome, I so looked forward to this opening. I had seen the space prior to their opening and thought it had great potential, esp. with that wood burning oven. It all looked so promising. I have only been once, sat at the bar, waited 20 min. to be greeted and given a drink, then ordered (I didn't find the menu too vague--if you know just a few things about real Italian food, it is not too minimalist-the only thing I would change would be the headings, i.e, add some). The food was all very good, esp. the pasta-tagliatelle with broccoli, tuna conserve, chili and olives. A very nice melding of flavors. The escarole side was good too, though a but heavy on the garlic oil. The pizza was less than I expected- a bit undercooked is all and needed something more to balance the anchovies. But the service was horrible. I expected someone to greet me, to seat me, to check on me, to at least appear to be interested. I don't think that's too much to ask. A restaurant is not built on food alone. Yes, I'll go back because the food is ultimately the most important thing. But am I going to make it my new favorite place and go there every chance I get? No. And I don't even mind the prices which are little high. I just wish that the people and the space were as warm and welcoming as the food itself.

i gotta say that i went 3x in one week and have been since and the owner, anne, who i am sure is very busy, has totally ignored me. not as much as a smile when walking by my table - almost as though if i didn't know any better you'd think i had insulted her somehow. it is a bit odd, in a way. but i don't really take it too personally nor do i care all that much. it just would have kind of been nice is all. and i am pretty easy to "recognize" - so that wasn't the issue. it's strange, at best. but i don't go there for the pat on the back and to make new friends - i go to eat.

i wondered if it was because the tennessean had offered me a food column, came out to take my hedshot (so i figured it was a done deal) and it was mentioned to her by my fellow dning companions and then after 3 months the Tennessean changed their mind. maybe they thought i was bullshitting them. although i did speak of my silly little food blog. but i don't review the more serious nashville restaurants as i feel there are enough bogus restaurant reviewers out there as it is. NOT kay, jim and carrington or any of the main players who truly know food and can write! anyway - whateva.

i too had some bad service - as in slow and inattentive. but i've also had some good service so - let's just chalk it all up to growing pains and cut them some slack. i'd want someone to do that for me.

and owners? if you're reading? do something about that lighting - it'll make a big difference, truly...

Lesson Number One in the restaurant business.
Customers come first. Because if they don't, they won't come back. Take care of them. They talk.
Sure it would help if you have great food. But even if you have mediocre food, you treat the customers right, they'll spend their last dime with you.

well, i know that's the way it goes for the most part. but unless they are outright rude to me which i am sure they never would be - i'll go for the food. when i want great food and the nicest people too - i'll go to OMBI !!!

claudia,

do you have some sort of a deformation on your face? maybe that's why she didn't want to look at you. or maybe you just feel the need to be babied. did daddy not give you enough attention? if you feel the need for a manager wearing suspenders and flashing flare on their shirt to come by and check on you every 5 minutes you could probably go to chili's. their managers are always around to make sure your chicken fingers are good and that your server is doing his or her job. also, at the end of the meal at chili's sometimes you can fill out a comment card. i think that is probably more your style.

city house is nothing short of excellent...the food being the best part which is why i will dine there over and over and over again. it's the best thing that has happened to nashville in quite some time.

if tandy fried a turd, i would eat it.

smooches.

I have to agree with Claudia! The servers were extremely rude. The meat was too tough to chew. The waitress rolled her eyes over and over again. However, the pizza was good, but you can get good pizza and good service almost anywhere. I would recommend never eating there!!! I know I will not go back!!!!!!!!