A very quaint little house feet from Nashville’s famous farmers market downtown, Garden Brunch Cafe is a popular place for people to go for breakfast. You can enjoy a light meal by a fireplace or listen to some live music by a local artist on the modest stage, but one thing is clear: this place is popular enough that you’ll likely have to wait for a table. People seem to love the place for its cute interior and artisan take on everyday breakfast fare.
The food consists entirely of some of the long-time favorites as comfort breakfast food goes, with menus devoted to pancakes, omelets, eggs Benedict and the like. But these dishes aren’t made in the everyday way you’re thinking of them, the fancy factor has been turned up a notch. The first dish I tried was the salmon cakes, and it epitomized the entire experience; they’re great, and definitely fresh, made in-house and stuffed with a few veggies and other things that do nothing to diminish the taste of the salmon. They needed a little more seasoning, though, or something. It would be nice to have some kind of sauce, too. I had them with grits which were good, and toast which was classic as you might imagine.
I also liked the french toast, it too was simple and served alongside some fruit which really brought out the taste nicely, as opposed to just syrup. They serve eggs with a lot of the dishes, on two orders of over-easy eggs, I had to send one back on being undercooked. They’re good with salt and pepper, and basic enough. That’s the real strength of the place, everything is a notch up from the average breakfast meal, and the flavors are simple.
I like the interior, as I said the restaurant is made from a former house, and though the tables are a little close-in, and parking space is at a premium, it’s to be expected. You should also expect to wait a little; people do like the place so there was a line when I went in, and they don’t take reservations. The kitchen is likely a little smaller than what works for a full-service restaurant, and food takes a little time to come out. It’s absolutely the pretty kind of place where you don’t mind waiting. In all, this is a great place to get a breakfast in before going about your day in downtown Nashville.
Recommendations
- There are no reservations, everything is first-come, first served.
- If you like live music, you’ll enjoy this place. Some weekend afternoons there are live performers singing or on guitar, and there is a series of jazz nights to enjoy, too.
- I liked the salmon cakes, though a number of the dishes could use a little seasoning.
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