Tavern at the Bobby, Printer's Alley

There's a crop of boutique hotels coming up all around Printer's Alley in downtown Nashville and they are really killing it in the restaurant and bar department (see my recent post about  the hotel Noelle). 

We are just getting to know the Bobby. Their restaurant, Tavern, wasn't officially opened when we went so there were a few snags but I feel pretty confident in what we experienced to recommend it on the blog.

The decor is very interesting.  Not sure what genre it falls under, maybe rustic flea market meets new money and a dash of Vegas.

The Tavern is through the lobby in the back past the bar. The bar is very small and would probably get crowded pretty quickly on a busy weekend.

Our server was great but was held captive after putting in our drink orders. While the table of 6 in front of us asked her a million questions and did the thing that drives me nuts, started placing orders before everyone was ready, all I could think of was our drinks sitting at the bar getting watered down.  A drink runner would be helpful or a manager that could tell she was held up.  I know they sat there at least 10 minutes (pay attention, people).  The server was very apologetic but it wasn't her fault.

The food finally arrived (they did have a food runner thank goodness). We started with the recommended Pilsner Steamed Mussels and a butter lettuce salad.

Both were good and I would order them again. The braised rabbit had a good flavor but the pasta was a bit undercooked.

The star of the show was the Milk Stout Braised Short Ribs with grits and greens. This dish had perfectly balanced flavors: rich, creamy, and a tang from the greens. The greens were especially good. I grew up eating greens so I am very picky. Not because I had really great ones growing up but because my grandma would cook them all day until they were gray and didn't resemble anything close to "green".  I would go back to Tavern just to have this dish.

We didn't try any desserts. We'd already been there half the night and we had a show to get to and a rooftop bar to check out.

The rooftop at the Bobby is one of my favorites in Nashville but is plagued by the same problem I've had at every rooftop I've ever graced with very few exceptions. First the positives, the decor and the amount of sheer space.

Having a huge bus on the roof is novel and adds to the Instagramable fun.

There is plenty of space to spread out and take a look around the city. This brings me to why I don't go to a rooftop bar very often.  Even with all the room in the world, people are still 5 deep at the bar and are camping out. There is no way to get a drink. There also wasn't a server working the floor even though it was a Saturday night.  This is not unique to the Bobby. I have, however, found a rooftop where you can actually sit and enjoy a drink without having to push your way through a throng of bachelorettes. Stay tuned!  

I think the Bobby will just get better with time. Soft openings are hard and I took that into consideration. It's a great location surrounded by popular sights and stuff to do. I don't think you could go wrong staying here.

For reservations, Tavern is on Open Table. Here's the menu.