miel restaurant

atrocious service, jarring ambiance. with its decor as dull and comfortless as a disused bus station, its dining room placed inches from the non-foyered entry door and fronting the half-walled kitchen from which crashes and bangs thunder regularly every few seconds, and its vistas of a suburban strip-mall, miel's ambiance rates lower that of than many chain restaurants, much less what one would expect for haute cuisine. the service, too, is shockingly bad; non-existent much of the time (no offer to refillwineor coffee -- actually, no initial offer to servewineor coffee!; although we were only one of three couples in his section, our waiter left our entrees dallying on the counter so long, the hostess finally served them; our bottle ofwinearrived ten minutes after the entrees), punctuated by disruptive bouts of rudeness (interrupting a romantic toast; offering to let the escorted married lady taste thewineher husband had ordered, not the gentleman, as is proper; commenting derisively on the gentleman's request for additional service). the food is divine, although portions may be somewhat meager. if this boit had someone as devoted to ensuring its good service and ambiance as the chef evidently devotes himself to its cuisine, miel would be a sweet treat indeed. as it stands now, however, the experience is simply too bitter to endure. too bad they don't offer take away.

great flavors. i took some clients to miel for dinner. our reservation was for 6 and the restaurant was mostly empty. as some others have noted, the decor is nothing to write home about, but i like being able to watch the chef's work and the food come out. while we drank some champagne and cocktails, i was able to see many of the dishes going by and it helped me decide.

we shared 4 appetizers, the charcuterie plate, the olives, the mussels, and the cheese plate. all of it was excellent. given that i am a pate' lover, the charcuterie plate was my favorite, the duck pate' with some fresh berry jam was one of the best bites of food i have ever had.

the entree choices were excellent and there was something for everyone. i had the lamb loin served on grits with some caramelized baby onions and tomatoes. it was absolutely delicious. my dining companions all loved their choices. one had the risotto with vegetables and scallops, another the bouliabase (s?), another the filet, and finally the duck special. the entrees are not huge, but they were more than enough food and the quality of the ingredients was exceptional.

we had several different desserts. i had the creme brûlée. it was very good, but i am somewhat of a creme brûlée fanatic and it was not the best i have had. they serve it in a bowl made of sugar, which is a twist on the classic caramelized sugar on top. i like the classic better. i tasted the profiteroles. i wish i had ordered these. they were exquisite. two others had the chocolate chess pie with ice cream (although i wish restaurants would stop using a melon baller to scoop ice cream). i didn't get to try that because it disappeared too quickly.

i am not awinedrinker, but i generally pay a lot of attention towinelists when entertaining clients. i was a little disappointed in the champagne selection. about half the selections are half bottles and they had some pretty low end stuff and some pretty high end stuff. there was nothing in the middle. we had the taittinger brut which was good, but i have had many less expensive champagnes that were better. for dinner, we ordered a couple of bottles of the one syrah on the list. everyone seemed to enjoy it. a lot of the bottles on the list were in the 30 to 40 range which makes ordering a couple of bottles a lot easier. the list also had about every varietal (i think that is the right word) but usually only one choice in each.

our server was not the best. she was unobtrusive, but she seemed somewhat awkward. i had to hail her to bring a second bottle ofwinewhen i saw everyone's glasses running low and she did a couple of other things before she brought it out (bringing another bottle of water and bringing the silverware for our meals) before she brought the wine. by that time, everyone had an empty glass and had been waiting for a refill. it is a small thing, but i like a waiter to let me know that the bottle is empty and ask fi we need another so that it is ready when diners need it.

they also added the tip to a party of five. i realize it was an expensive meal, but i hate this practice. she did circle the tip on the receipt so i would be sure to know it was included. but if they had not put the 18% on there, i would have tipped 20%. i could have added the extra, but considering the service, i thought 18% was right.

the total cost of the meal for five, including tax and tip was $700. of that $300 waswineand liquor (before tax and tip). i think this was excellent value. i did not consider this restaurant high priced for the quality as some other reviewers have suggested. comparable food in new orleans (where i am from) would be about 20% higher.

i will definitely be back when i am in nashville.

one honey of a find: miel ["honey" à la française; "mêl" in welsh] is the much-recommended but, until last night (18 june 2011), never-yet-visited west nashville foodie spot that won the dart-toss for a 28th wedding anniversary celebration. a bull's-eye pitch, to be sure. graciousness and cheer, complemented bywine& beer and feats gastronomical. in summary: chilled corn bisque and veal sweetbreads for starters irrigated by champagne & oban single malt. then butterflied north carolina mountain trout for her, with a pali pinot noir against his perfect ingot of a razor-cut pork shoulder paired with duck confit and washed with the butternut-hints of ukraine's slavutich lager. the splurge for tokaji hétszóló (tokay) in lieu of dessert out-sauterned sauterne and nearly made a sweetie of a certain still-married codger. miel sur petites cuillères ["honey on tiny spoons"] with pollen-grains was a curious but ingenious finale. the miel menu is a delightful adventure that beckons a return-trip. for a parting shot, let it merely be said that the fine-print scoldings and directives at the menu's bottom margin read like behavior-manual policies at an overwrought private prep school and should be taken with a grain of sel de mer ["sea salt"] by all but the most incorrigible of patrons.

loved it at the west nashville farmers market. so we tried the restaurant. thewinewas great and the food was terrible. i do not recommend this over priced dining experience. go to tin angel instead, never had a bad experience there!

juxtaposition. we were greeted upon arrively and seated promptly. we ordered appetizers (salmon and escargot), entrees (lamb and trout), wine, and dessert. the taste of the food was impeccable! the staff was very professional and knowledgable of menu items. we really loved everything we ate and you can tell that they take pride in their dishes.

the restaurant would be better suited if located in a business area of town considering the high-end clientele they are attempting to attract. the cost of some of thewinewas steep! $42 for half a bottle (one glass per person). the restaurant's website said it allows casual attire, which doesn't match it's "formal" menu prices. as a couple, we spent over $150. great experience but the cost will prevent us from returning.

we had brunch at miel yesterday and i was stunned at how good this place is. i started with a mushroom soup and my wife had the salad. both were delicious. the salad was butter lettuce with a light vinaigrette thatw as perfect. my wife had the corvi a with root vegetables and it was incredible. i had the braised short ribs over sauteed potations with two poached eggs. wonderfully prepared. oh, and they make a great bloody mary and have a nicewineselection, although not a lot by the glass. only chink in the armor was a bit of a wait between soup and salad and the meal but not enough to keep me away. i will be back soon.