loveless cafe

wonderful food.worththe wait!!

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 to wait the 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 notworthit. 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 to wait the 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 notworthit. we will not go back. i did buy a coffee mug in the gift shop.

the food at loveless is that of the old southern cafe that you ate at as a child. their breakfast is wonderful, and their biscuits could be a meal themselves. however, the letdown to me was the commercialization of the whole experience. between the kitschy nick nacks sold at their own general store to the loveless t-shirts it really killed the environment for me.  on food alone, it'swortha visit. but if you're like me and could use a little less shameless self-promotion, this may just be a one and done.

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 to wait an 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 wasworthit. 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 half wait forgotten, we had a nice home cooked meal in a nice southern diner. took some lemon pie and banana pudding to go.

this place was absolutely fantastic. the wait was long but it wasworthit. 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. almostworthdriving 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.

long wait but was definitelyworthit. 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'!

little stop south of nashville. tourist place but definitelyworthit. some of the best pulled pork i've ever had! get ye some real country biscuits!

this restaurant was not what i expected. after reading a lot of great reviews, i expected more. first, the wait was ridiculous (1.5 hrs) which is fine if the food isworthit. 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 notworththe drive or the wait !! 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

very dry fried chicken!. i should have known not to order white meat fried chicken. it was barely edible. i thought though at this famous cafe it had to be good. wrong! the biscuits are wonderful but i don't think i would pay for a meal there though just to get the biscuits. it is unfortunate as the loveless isworthstopping at for its "historic" buildings and nice shops. the antique shop has some great finds!

lovin' loveless. this was our third trip to nashville and we finally made it to loveless cafe! get there early on the weekend cause there will be a wait, but soooooworthit. not to worry though all the old motel rooms, it use to be a motel back in the day, have now been turned into shops so you have a way to kill time. everyone was super friendly, and our server lauren was so sweet and super attentive! they somehow managed to keep the old school southern charm feel while updating it and making it a destination spot.worththe drive out!

eh it was ok. notworththe wait for 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.

oh my biscuits!. when i heard i was going to have to wait 1 1/2 hrs for a table, i almost left but i figured with all of the activities around and people waiting, it had to beworthit. such a charming place that caters to it's patrons with free drinks (coffee and peach tea, yum), shops, bean bag toss and good ole front porch sitting. when we finally sat, our server was top notch! i wish i remembered his name but he was the best i've had in a long time (and that's coming from a 15 yr veteran in the service industry). my country girl taste buds can honestly say that they have my favorite fried green tomatoes an the country ham is the best i've tasted! the biscuits were delish and who can resist the sorghum molasses! i wish i lived closer so i could revisit and try the dinner items. next time i'm in the area, i will gladly wait another 1 1/2!

my grandma's biscuits!. loved our visit and meal at the loveless café. the staff was super friendly and efficient. the old smoke smell when you enter the front door brought nostalgic feelings of visiting relatives that lived on country farms. and the biscuits, i haven't had biscuits like that since my grandmother died. i've told everyone if you want to know what real country biscuits are like, go to the loveless café. sturdy crust on the outside of the biscuits allowed farmer workers to carry a few wrapped in a napkin out to the fields...but don't let the outside fool you...tender and light on the inside! but which topping to choose? blackberry, strawberry, peach, molasses?!? don't worry, just have one of each while you wait for your entrée...and then one just with butter, and then save room (if you can stop) to eat some more with your meal. i finally decided on country ham, grits and scrambled eggs. meal was excellent...especially the country ham. coming from a girl with trigg co. ky roots, that's saying a lot! my sister took a risk choosing the bbq with fried eggs and corn cakes...she is still talking about how good it was. we all sampled a precious bite of our friend's hashbrown casserole (which he orders everywhere) and declared it delicious! our detour out to the loveless was wellworthit, and we will be back...with more friends and family in tow!

i'd like to share the cutest little place we stopped at a few weeks ago heading back to memphis from nashville, the loveless cafe. it's named for the husband and wife that opened the cafe back in 1951, lon and annie loveless. they actually still use many of annie's original recipes today, including their amazing biscuits. let me tell you. these biscuits alone areworththe drive from memphis. they're mini, served hot out of the oven, and are paired with homemade jams and jellies. seriously, i could have eaten my weight in these biscuits! in addition to their delicious breakfast food that's served daily, the loveless atmosphere is something truly unique. it was once a motel that still holds