At The Table

Nashville Restaurants and Food
At The Table
907 12th Avenue South
Nashville
615-242-0077

It’s a tale of two neighborhoods. One is rising in a canyon wall of brick and glass, and the other is trying to maintain its place in the city. Robert Hudson says his restaurant, At The Table, is a bridge between the old and the new. The goal, he says, is to make a space where everyone is comfortable. So far, he’s off to a good start.

At The Table is a new meat and three on 12th Avenue, a couple of blocks south of the booming condo land in the gulch. The restaurant has been transformed from a market and that still shows in the exterior. Only a small red sign announces the place. Hudson says he hopes to have new signage up soon. Inside the Hudson family has done a fine job of turning the shopping aisles into a bright, sunny room accented by jazz playing softly in the background.

The At The Table menu is standard meat and three fare with daily specials such as liver and onions, beef tips, oxtail, baked and fried fish, fried chicken and the usual assortment of sides. Robert’s uncle Richard is the cook. You can tell there is attention to detail in the kitchen. Mashed potatoes have a few lumps and taste freshly mashed. The macaroni and cheese is peppery, with a delicate cheese sauce. Pork chops are breaded and lightly fried and then sent swimming in brown gravy with onions. The chops were moist, even at mid- afternoon, and while the breading may get a little gummy with the gravy, I was still picking up those bones to get every last bit of meat. The fried cornbread came hot and straight out of the fryer. The slightly sweet and crispy crust gives way to a dense and soft interior.

In short, At The Table serves up good, solid meat and three in a pleasant environment. Hudson says lunch business is still picking up. The Sunday dinner service though is apparently a big hit with the after-church crowd. It runs from 11am to 6pm. They are closed on Saturdays.

The idea of a restaurant bridging two neighborhoods is a pretty good one really. With the condo-fication of the downtown it would be nice to have more places that everyone, old and new, can enjoy together. Here’s hoping the Hudson family can succeed.

I paid $8.50 for meat and two with tax and a drink.