loveless cafe

less than wonderful. we were really looking forward to eating at the loveless café after reading all of the website and history of the food and heritage of the café. we thought we were going to eat such good food. unfortunately, we did not. the food was just average. the biscuits were under cooked and not individually cut - but cut in one large square pan. the flavor of the biscuits were just average. the fried chicken was over cooked and dull in flavor. the blackberry preserves had no flavor at all. the pancakes were very dry and hard on the exteriors. even though we knew it would be crazy busy, we were not willing towaitthe 2 hour delay for breakfast, so we ordered it to go and ate i outside on a picnic bench. about 50 percent of the customers did this. to us, it was not worth it. we will not go back. i did buy a coffee mug in the gift shop. to be honest, this is nothing more than a tourist trap. maybe when it was owned by just a couple who put genuine effort into the food, it was great. but now that a few high powered business owners have it, it seems to be just a marketing ploy to make "them" a lot of money at the expense of the customers and employees. sad.


-----04 may, 2015-----

less thqn wonderful. we were really looking forward to eating at the loveless café after reading all of the website and history of the food and heritage of the café. we thought we were going to eat such good food. unfortunately, we did not. the food was just average. the biscuits were under cooked and not individually cut - but cut in one large square pan. the flavor of the biscuits were just average. the fried chicken was over cooked and dull in flavor. the blackberry preserves had no flavor at all. the pancakes were very dry and hard on the exteriors. even though we knew it would be crazy busy, we were not willing towaitthe 2 hour delay for breakfast, so we ordered it to go and ate i outside on a picnic bench. about 50 percent of the customers did this. to us, it was not worth it. we will not go back. i did buy a coffee mug in the gift shop.

my family and i have been wanting to eat at loveless for years and we finally got the chance recently. we waited about 45 minutes for a table, but it didn't feel like long of awaitbecause we were occupied by the stores on the grounds. the food was all we had hoped it would be! all 3 of us ordered fried chicken, which was delicious. the assortment of sides were also good, although i didn't find the macaroni and cheese very impressive. and, of course, the biscuits and jam were wonderful! we tried the strawberry & rhubarb cobbler and chocolate fudge pie for dessert, both of which we really enjoyed. service was friendly and fairly attentive, also. we left with full bellies and happy hearts!

might be a tourist trap, but it's always a good one! food is always good and love that you can roam the property while youwaitfor your table which can take a while. try the creamed corn, you won't be sorry!

preserving a little history with biscuit, ham and fried chicken. the loveless cafe is one of those "places to see" that you have to check off your list. before i talk about my last visit, i'd like to comment to the posts of people who think its touristy and overrated. when i was a boy, most family trips included hours of state highways and back roads, as the interstate system wasn't complete. family run cafes and roadside diners were as common as mcdonalds and taco bells. some were built along with hotels, some were run out of the front rooms of someones converted house. when we talk about them now, it's in the past tense because most of them are gone, and the wonderful, warm people and delicious and unusual dishes along with them. a few years ago, some savvy investors decided to save the loveless cafe and to do that, they had to make it marketable. business is business. so when i see the crowds of tourists, i'm just thankful it will be open in another year when we come back for more ham and biscuits.

we had towaitan hour and a half on a sunday afternoon and though we killed sufficient time in the couple of shops that were open, it was long wait. the meal was worth it. we had a couple of the blueberry and moonshine cocktails (very strong wine, legally speaking, but an interesting twist, none the less). the fried chicken is washed in a light batter and fried very hot so its tender and juicy inside of a very hard crust. very home style. the ham is excellent. the green beans and hash brown casserole were as good as any and the grits were better than most. these aren't my grandmothers biscuits, but they are very good. as busy as they were, the waitress was very hospitable and we weren't rushed at all. the hour and a halfwaitforgotten, we had a nice home cooked meal in a nice southern diner. took some lemon pie and banana pudding to go.

where to eat instead of loveless cafe

feast.media/where-to-eat-instead-of-loveless-cafe
loveless cafe has been a staple of the nashville community and what i like to call the world wide community of soul food lovers, or the wwcofs for short. many people know this genre of food as soul food, meat and three, southern, or even comfort food. as a native of nashville, i have been coming to loveless since before i was born. for a while all the hype was true, loveless was the best place to go if you want real southern food. however, more than just management changed years ago, and it hasn't been able to restore the former quality that everyone from this town remembers. now loveless is busier than they ever have been and the food isn't even half as good. 

now, this next piece of information isn't something to go spreading around to everyone you know visiting or living in nashville. the reason this place is special is because there aren't herds of people being bussed in towait45 minutes in line for cheese grits slathered in a stack of kraft american singles to the point you feel like you're drinking processed cheese whiz with a sprinkle of grits. you won't feel like you are inside a chain restaurant owned by opryland. there isn't anyone trying to sell you merchandise while you are cooped up in the waiting area trying to decide whether or not you want towaitany longer for this food. 

where you want to go instead of loveless is a magical place on old hillsboro road right outside of the nashville city limits that goes by the name barbara's home cooking. if you have been to loveless and you first arrive at barbaras, you will be wondering where the line is? well, i have literally never seen a line there and they have open seating. once you walk into this home turned restaurant, the lovely women who run the place will greet you with authentic south african accents and the warmest, densest, fluffiest, roll that has ever melted in your mouth. the menu is written on a chalkboard on the wall and almost never changes. the benefit to not having tons of options is that they are able to make everything as fresh as possible.

this place is on the top of every tennessee foodie list, and it did not disappoint. since we were traveling with our furry friends, we placed a to go order using the app. the food was ready when we arrived, and we proceeded to one of several picnic tables. we avoided thewaitand crowds and enjoyed eating outside. the chicken fried steak and country ham platters were both delicious. this is must visit, and don't forget a selfie with the iconic sign.

this place was absolutely fantastic. thewaitwas long but it was worth it. i love coming to places where employee standards are high and every customer is treated so well. other than the service let's talk about biscuits. there are many places that claim to have the "best" biscuits but none i've ever had even compare to the loveless cafe. there's a reason they won best biscuits award on food network 2010. they are absolutely delightful. almost worth driving all the way to nashville just to eat them. the only thing stopping this place from getting a perfect 5 is some of the breakfast like the eggs my girlfriend ordered were bland and kinda fake. the chicken livers i had were pretty tasty and all the food was fresh. highly recommend coming here and pharmacy burger while in nashville.

fabulous corn, chicken tenders, bbq and jams! waittimes are avoidable if you go weeknights or off peak times. i always have had great servers, another reason i go back when i am in the area.

great biscuits barbecue was good got lucky not a longwait.it is a must eat restaurant when nearby. tha waiter was excellent took home some strawberry preserves.

unfortunately my loveless story is not a pleasant one. my family and i came to your café today at the request of my parents who came to visit me here in nashville from out of town. when we arrived and approached one of your hostesses for seating she looked right through me and assisted the customer behind me. as i stood there irritated and bewildered, i asked her should i request seating from the other hostess at the counter-am i in the wrong line?
her response was no, i am the one who will help you and began to explain why she assisted the customer behind me and over looked me and my family. overall her response was no excuse for her lack of customer service. she then gladly told me thewaittime was 2 and half hours. my family and i walked away and took our business elsewhere. i am well aware of the popularity of your establishment and believed it was a 2 hourwaitbased on the many customers outside. however, being an african american woman in 2015 i would have never thought i would be treated like it was 1950. yes, the gentleman behind was white. my father was so disappointed he thought your hostess lied about the 2 hourwaitto get us to leave because we are african american.

long story short, this was my first visit to your café and it will be my last.

this place checked almost every box. they had great biscuits and preserves. the setting was great, you could enjoy the shops while youwaitto be seated. the service was good. the only downside was i got the fried chicken and it was kind of dry and tough. i was pretty bummed because i was so excited to try it. but all in all i'll visit again.

longwaitbut was definitely worth it. best biscuits i've had, and the jams were tasty as well. fried chicken was awesome- tried the wife's pulled pork sandwich that was outstanding. sides were terrific too. overall this is darn good southern cookin'!

this restaurant was not what i expected. after reading a lot of great reviews, i expected more. first, thewaitwas ridiculous (1.5 hrs) which is fine if the food is worth it. and yes it is way over priced. initially, we started with the biscuits and preserves. the biscuits are really good and the preserves are out of this world. so, i had expected the food to be the same but all i can say was the rest of the meal was a huge let down. we ordered the family deal which comes with grits, hash brown casserole, bacon, ham, eggs, sausage gravy, and fruit. by the way, the family deal is enough to feed 6 people. to start, the grits were well grits, can't screw them up just taste like regular old grits. the hash brown casserole had way too much salt in it. the bacon was of poor quality, greasy, and tasted like it was dipped in salt. the ham was what you would expect, very salty country ham. the eggs tasted like someting you would get from mcdonalds. the sausage gravy which i've heard was good, tasted pretty bad. overall, the food tasted poorly and had poor quality with the exception of the biscuits and preserves. for me, i would have rather went to cracker barrel. very disappointed. if you've ever had traditional country cooking, you could definitely tell the difference. this place i guess would be ok if you've never had traditional country cooking but otherwise i do not recommend this place. it is definitely a tourist trap. the restaurant and the area around had a really nice ambiance. and i waiter was super nice. this is just my two cents.

not so good. the food was not worth the drive or thewait!! we visited last oct 2014 on recommendations from a friend . good lord ! the chicken special tasted like slovenian sausage ( smoked ) . it is chicken !!! and it was dry !! biscuits and server were excellent

eh it was ok. not worth thewaitfor a table. don't order the hash brown casserole if you don't like sour cream. biscuits were average. but in their defense i am a little spoiled by texas buiscuts. bacon was good but not the best.