This restaurant was great. Service was outstanding and the food was very good. My husband had a pork chop that we agreed was the best either one of us has ever had. I had the trout which was also very good and flavorful. Atmosphere also gets 5 stars because of the great outdoor rooftop seating. We will be going back. read more

Excellent Excellent Excellent.. Food Service Ambience! A wonderful diamond in a sea of others! read more

This place was amazing. The lump crab cakes were Devine. The service was immaculate. Made this place feel like a restaurant I've been coming to for years. The food was so fresh. I'll be bringing my friends and family back here for years to come! A must! read more

From the food to the service it's an experience. Hidden gem in an over saturated city.

Bless their hearts. When I walked into the restaurant, I was immediately taken in by the 1970s vibe. I felt like I had just walked into an episode of Dallas, and I loved it! I quickly noticed that although it was prime time brunch time on a Sunday, there were only two staff members working the entire dining room. There was no bartender nor any hostess, just two poor souls trying to run the entire operation. The staff members were super-friendly, albeit frazzled (how could you blame them?). Many pieces of our order were messed up and everything just generally took entirely too long. In short, the space is lovely, the servers are friendly, the food is pretty okay, and I hope they get it together to so my next visit is better. There's definite potential here, be we're not quite there yet. read more

Great place downtown. Food was good and so was the atmosphere. We liked the drinks as well.

This is my first time in Nashville and I lucky enough to stumble into a reservation at Ellington's.... The food was incredible, the service was truly an experience and the drinks topped the night off. If you are looking for a relaxing night and incredible food this is the place for you. We planned on leaving after our meal, but our server alone sold us staying for desert and more drinks. Great food, but our waiter really made the difference in staying or leaving. An Absolutely fantastic server named big daddy. read more

Stopped in for a light dinner. Most of the item on the menu looked too large. I reluctantly ordered the shrimp and grits because it appeared to be one of the lighter items. After having shrimp & grits in Charleston SC, I've found no one to ever get close. To my surprise this was one of the best, if not the best S&G's I've ever had. Service was great and prices are equal to the quality. Actually the prices are very reasonable. I would recommend. read more

Jack and Ruby's across the street was booked up so the hostess sent us here. This was truly one of the worst meals of my life. Especially for the price. It's hard to mess up a Caesar salad with salmon but somehow they managed to do it. I like salmon medium rare but this was so undercooked it was slimy and had a slight fishy taste and left me nauseated. The homemade "croutons" were soft pieces of oil soaked bread you could squeeze between your fingers. My friends crabcakes were equally as bad. The only redeeming quality about this restaurant was that the staff was decently nice and the bartender made a good martini. If you want to drink this is the place, if you want to eat a good meal go anywhere but here. read more

I love this restaurant! Ellington's is on the fourth floor of the Fairlane Hotel...food was amazing...service was excellent...the ambiance was superlative and they offer free valet parking. I highly recommend it! GO NOW! read more

My friends and I decided to get dinner before going out downtown and decided on Ellington's, We were instantly put off by how formal the restaurant comes off as versus the actual experience. I'll keep it short by saying when a menu doesn't have much to choose from, the options should definitely be worthy of the price point this establishment serves them at and they most definitely are not. Still enjoyed the location and ambience. read more

Nice ambiance, warm, welcoming, not too fancy shmancy, and they have the most delicious burger I've ever had in my life (it may be the sauce). read more

I had friends that ate here during their soft opening and they loved it. My son is a foodie and I was excited to take him to a new place for his birthday. First the good stuff: location is great. Valet parking makes it easy to park. Service was great. They don't officially open until tomorrow night so we were expecting some awkwardness with servers etc. We got our sides 5 minutes after the entrees. No big problem there. My son ordered the 16 oz NY strip. I had the roasted chicken and the other member of our party had shrimp n grits. My chicken was cooked perfectly and was delicious. Shrimp n grits got high marks. My sons steak looked so weird when served. The plate was swimming in olive oil. It had chimichurri sauce on it which was fine but the entire plate was covered in olive oil. When you cut a bite olive oil dripped off the steak. It was so disappointing for an expensive steak. The olive oil was overpowering and so i say pass on a steak. If you want steak go across the street to Jeff Ruby's. There are some great restaurants downtown and I'm not sure they will be able to compete. read more

We've lived in Nashville for several years and Ellington's is one of my top recommendations to visitors. It is high class but approachable. There is never a crowd so it's intimate and inviting. Cocktails and recipes are unique but recognizable. The portions are massive which makes the hotel price completely worth it. We ordered their Thanksgiving to-go box for the holiday. Even reheated the food was outstanding. Ordering again for Christmas! read more

Matt and Kelly gave such great service. Steak was cooked to perfection. Strong cocktail knowledge. Amazing soup. Only gripe is the oysters needed to be shucked a little cleaner, but they were good oysters. read more

Went for a business lunch, the atmosphere was like you were sitting on the set of Mad Men and Don Draper would walk up any second. The food was amazing, MUST TRY THE CHEESE CURDS, they will change your life! Service was unbelievable, our waiter was also our bar tender and the drinks were phenomenal, his name was Scott. Go, take your friends, get some cheese curds, have a drink (or 5) and enjoy the views of this 4th floor restaurant overlooking downtown Nashville. read more

My wife and I came here for the opening week and loved it. It's located on the fourth floor of the Fairlane Hotel where there is a large wraparound terrace overlooking the street below. The interior was very chic with cool midcentury elements. Makes you feel like your own private dining experience. The food was A+ with a contemporary nod to classic dishes. Price was fair and the desserts were outstanding. Certainly being the first week some points that need to be addressed, but I think this is going to be a classic in town and a great new addition to the Nashville restaurant scene. read more

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This place was just amazing! Best food I have ever had in my life. My husband and I both had the ribeye with smashed Yukon potatoes and broccoli. We could not get enough of it! The drinks were amazing, dessert was out of this world good, service was great, lovely atmosphere... I have absolutely nothing bad to say! Beautiful hotel as well!! read more

This is the first time I have ever written a restaurant review but feel it is important to tell about our experience with Ellington's. We reserved a table for 10 for a party for my daughter's 21st birthday over the Easter holiday weekend. I made the reservation several days in advance knowing how hard it is to seat a large group in Nashville especially on a Saturday night and a holiday weekend. I spoke directly to someone at the restaurant to reserve the table. He even asked me if it was a special occasion and said they would take good care of our party. Four days later (just 2 days before our party plans) someone from the restaurant called me to say that they had basically cancelled our reservation and could not seat us. No real explanation was given other than to say a waiter took our reservation and did not know what he was doing. They offered us a table 3 hours later but that, of course, did not work with our schedule since we had planned our whole day around a 5:30 dinner time. They did not try to accommodate us in any way or offer any type of compensation for their mistake. We were left scrambling to find a table for 10 at another restaurant downtown. It is hard to believe that with all the competition from other restaurants in Nashville, Ellington's would provide such unprofessional service and turn away a party of 10. We are locals who eat out a lot and are always looking for quality restaurants to give our business to and to recommend to friend and guests from out of town. It seems that the Ellingtons staff should be trained to prevent this type of thing from happening and to handle it much better if it does happen. I would beware when making any plans to dine at the Ellington since they are obviously not dependable. read more

Ellington's? More like HELLington's. We only had one night in Nashville and had really high hopes for this restaurant based on the website and chic decor. Even though the restaurant only had a few tables when we arrived, the service was extremely slow. Once we did get to order our drinks, they weren't brought out for close to 15 minutes and didn't even include all of the ingredients listed on the menu. We were ready to order and sat with our menus closed for another 15 minutes trying to make eye contact with our waitress. After ordering a dozen oysters, we waited a long time again only to receive half a dozen oysters. The wait staff was inattentive, and it was very difficult to communicate our needs with them. We explained our problems with what had arrived to an employee that seemed like the manager and we were met with awkward stares and an overall uncomfortable vibe. Our waitress finally took our order and discovered they had run out of menu items we wanted to order such as the truffle soup. Our waitress then told us the restaurant had "86'd" the bread that night right before our main courses arrived, which felt strange as we never asked for bread. As far as the food, the oysters were good. The vegetable lasagna was tasty, but the cacio e pepe was the worst pasta I've ever had. It was crispy, dried out, and had very little flavor. I understand this dish is supposed to be simple, but it was a struggle to find anything positive about the meal. To make matters worse, the manager awkwardly stared at us and came over to the table to tell us that this pasta was her favorite dish. We didn't know how to react to this because we were so disappointed by the dish. The saving grace was the simple watermelon with feta starter, which was easily the most basic thing on the menu in terms of preparation. To wash down the awful pasta, I decided to get a second glass of the excellent Pinot Grigio. However, I was brought out a Chardonnay and just asked the waitress for the check out of frustration. By that point, everything we ordered had an issue, and I just wanted to leave. Overall, the food was not great and very overpriced for what it was. The staff made us feel very uncomfortable and seemed confused by our simple requests. The whole experience with the staff felt like a weird twilight zone with the awkwardness, staring, and overall unsureness. Ellington's left us with a bad taste in our mouths considering it was our only night in Nashville. I realize that this is a new restaurant, but I hope that this review will help the owners reevaluate their food quality and service. read more

Great bar out of the way of the insane Broadway crowds. Happy hour is on point, cocktails are generous, the bartenders are friendly, and the food hits the spot. Great addition to the neighborhood. read more

Atmosphere is a 5. Awesome music, lighting and decor. Food is mediocre at best tho unfortunately. Go for happy hour or a drink.

Great atmosphere/decor. Good service, food was good too, not great. Cocktails were interring & priced below a lot of other places downtown. Will definitely go back next time we're in Nashville. read more

I went here for the first time with my theater group, as Ellington's is a supporter of TPAC and offer free parking for shows. While the bar service was abysmal, the hostess and wait staff were excellent. A very limited menu for ladies wanting a small, quick dinner before a show, but the food was good. And again, the staff very helpful in getting us all out the door on time. read more

Went for the convenience of it being in our hotel, the Fairlane, and so pleasantly surprised! Prime filet was delicious, the scallops were excellent. All of the extras were superb. Service top notch. Highly recommend. read more

Great lunch today! The Chicken Schnitzel sandwich was one of the best sandwiches I've ever had. The banana pudding dessert was also exceptional- it was mixed with meringue which was a great pairing. The oysters and bibb salad were also good. The service was strong as well. Definitely a hidden gem downtown. read more

The patio and terrace were stunning! Went for brunch and loved the 60s mod vibe-totally chill....the Pacific princess champagne cocktail was...oh my gosh... delicious as well as beautiful! This place is my new go-to brunch spot. Highly recommended. read more

The slowest service ever. Had a business party of 15 which I understand is a lot. Got in at 630 on the dot and did not eat until 9. Took over an hour for 3 desserts orders and the restaurant was empty. Not planning an event here again. The wait staff was amazing but the food service was slower than I have ever experienced. read more

Called a few weeks ahead after trying 5 different restaurants in nashville who would take a group of 10 on Valentines Day. No one would even entertain the idea but the host or whoever I spoke with at Ellington's was immediately helpful. She booked us for their private room and even obliged when I called back a few days before to expand our party to 12. We arrived and were so understanding when I told them we would only have 8 people(flaky coworkers.) The service was incredible. Great views in the private room. The food, outstanding. I got the scallops special with risotto, some others the shrimp and grits and we were all blown away. Oysters were some of the best I've had in Nashville. This place is a hidden gem in the Fairmont Hotel. Our client we were entertaining was in from Pittsburgh and he said he wanted to bring his wife back to town, just to eat here. Would give it 10 stars if I could. From someone who usually HATES being in charge of picking restaurants(bc I'm bad at it,) thanks for making me look like a rock Star! read more

I went with a big group and we had the fried cheese curds and cauliflower appetizers. I finished that up with Siloin steak. Person next to me had the rib-eye. The portions are huge and the taste is excellent. I will definitely come back when in town read more

First time visit - they opened about 3 months ago in the Fairlane Hotel. The hotel and restaurant are styled in a retro look, which I happen to like if done well, which this is. The restaurant is on the darker side in terms of lighting, which makes it somewhat more intimate than the large open room should imply. There is a small bar in the restaurant (no TV) and a patio for drinks or dining. The drink menu is solid - wine list is small, but with appealing choices (albeit pricey). Here is the really exciting part - the food is the bomb. Their steaks and chops are outrageously good and the pastas are large and quite decadent. We had several apps, all of which were great (they were out of truffle soup so we need to go back for that!). The cauliflower and feta/watermelon were delicious. The service was enthusiastic, but not overbearing (shout out to Jordan). Definitely will go back again to try some other items. read more

Decided to try a few of the high rated happy hours with cocktails, not just beer and house wine. The spring appetizer was excellent if you like spice which I do. The cocktails were a good mix of traditional and inventive. The outside space on a sunny day is a lovely thing. read more

By far the worst service I've ever had. We went here to celebrate a friend's birthday. Our server ANTHONY was very unprofessional by cursing in the initial conversation. We hadn't been before, so we got basics a salad and a burger. We got the drinks he suggested and everything seemed fine. Not only was the burger burnt even the bun was burnt. Our friends sent back the asparagus because it was flavorless, after asking the waiter if it was seasoned. The food wasn't worth it. We couldn't even finish it. Our friends ordered shots, but brought my boyfriend a shot too.... He took it since ANTHONY brought it. He asked for a coke to chase it. ANTHONY literally said "No, y'all are good. I just need y'all to pay and get out." I'm 39 weeks pregnant just to put this into perspective. I look inside and I see the waiter speaking to other employees looking at our table. He comes back with the check. Didn't split it between the two couples. We asked for the ticket to be split he said "I'll split it with your cards at the register," but he never asked who's card was for which couple. I go to the register to ask how he knew which card belonged to who, and he said he was going to split the check down the middle.... I asked for the check to be split by the two parties and he said "No, I'm going to split in down the middle," not once but twice. It took for another lady to split the tickets for us to be charged for our separate orders. I will be calling to speak with a manager in the morning. I spent $90 on burnt food and bad customer service. I wish I had taken a picture of the food. Very disappointed and still hungry honestly. If it wasn't for me being 10 months pregnant, and not trying to go into labor I definitely wouldn't have paid for the food, and wouldn't have left without speaking to a manager. I'm never the type to scream racism, but something definitely was off for absolutely no reason. Now that I'm reading the other reviews, it all makes so much more sense. If you see this, don't even waste your time or money. read more

Terrible service, overpriced. It was relatively quiet for the happy hour, and I stood in front of the bar waiting while two workers finished their conversation before they bothered to talk to me. Then it was $14 for a very mediocre cocktail. And the worst part was that it took me 45 minutes to leave after I tried. After the waitress finally bothered to come to my table and I asked for the check, it took her 30 minutes to bring me my check, and then another 10 to process it. read more

Food was great, service was great. We don't usually get shrimp as an app but that was really well done. My wife particularly loved the pepper pasta. Took home what she couldn't eat. read more

I went with a group of girls for an engagement celebration. I hate to provide a poor review but the overall experience was so dissatisfying that I would hate for anyone else to make the same mistake! As for the hotel, they are clearly understaffed as there were maybe three employees in the whole building including valet- on a Friday night. There was also no staff monitoring or regulating for covid safety. For instance, several people were in line to the rooftop bar without masks on at all. If that makes you uncomfortable, I would wait to come here until after the pandemic. As for the restaurant, I would say there is breadth of choice in menu options, however everything is so fried and greasy that it's basically overpriced bar food. We ordered the brie (mozzarella sticks) and I had the crab cakes (over battered and fried). The service was terrible. We had to flag down our waiter several times, and he clearly thought wearing his mask was optional as he pulled it down and squatted at the table to get close to review the menu. We also made it up to the rooftop spring popup for a quick drink after dinner. It was so underwhelming, I couldn't believe people had been waiting in line for it. They must have a wonderful marketing team because it looked great on Instagram. It was decorated fine but I failed to see the appeal of waiting for over an hour to get a picture in a poorly lit room with plastic flowers. Most importantly, the $13 cocktails are served in plasticware and so poorly concocted, that we did not drink them. We took a few pictures outside on the rooftop and abruptly left. Altogether, save your effort and money and go somewhere else- especially if you are celebrating a special occasion! read more

So, this is my first time in Nashville an I got really lucky finding this place. The bartender, Chris, was absolutely amazing. He made me the best drink (which wasn't on the menu btw) so feel free to have him mix you up something.. read more

I went to a business dinner with 4 other colleagues recently during mid-week. Highly anticipating a wonderful time, I was extremely disappointed in almost every aspect of the restaurant. Although not very busy, the wait time for our happy hour drinks was 15 minutes with 2 bartenders working. Our appetizer never arrived by the time we went to the table 45 minutes later. When we reminded our table waitress, we hadn't gotten the olives appetizer (with orange zest) she brought us a bar glass with martini olives. We got a good laugh. 20 minutes later, the bartender came over with the correct appetizer she had forgotten. Our reserved table was set right next to the kitchen entrance in an almost empty restaurant and was a distraction to us with all the ins and outs of the staff. Our dinner entrees also took a long time for our group to receive and while it looked as if we were the only diners in the restaurant, our service was not good and we questioned if it was the first week our waitress had ever waited tables. Overpriced entrees for portion size and quality. Medium rare filet came out almost raw and cold. Sent back, but not much better when returned and half was left on plate. The saving quality of our night, and thus the 2-star rating, were the happy hour cocktails and the quality of the white wines ordered at dinner. Will I be back? Maybe. But only for Happy Hour and the Mad Man vibe there. read more