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Categories: Bars, American (New)
Neighborhood: DowntownMon-Thu. 5:00 p.m. - 9:30 p.m.
Fri-Sat. 5:00 p.m. - 10:00 p.m.
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One of the best restaurants I've ever been to! We went to Nashville fr my birthday this year and went here to celebrate upon a recommendation from a friend.
They are all about the personal touches: when we arrived, I was handed a card wishing me a happy birthday!! We got a bottle of wine and the beef carpaccio for an app - amazing! One of the most delightful things I have ever put in my mouth, I was practically scraping the plate to get every last morsel.
For the main course, I had the fish special which was perfectly prepared and my boyfriend had the roasted chicken, which was really tender and not your average roasted chicken dish.
The next time we're in Nashville we will definitely be back here!!
I need to be fair and disclose that I am visiting from San Francisco (which in my opinion has the best variety and food quality in the world).
That being said, the food and service were both very good!! I was also impressed with the extensive wine list. My colleague and I surprisingly ordered the same dishes! Along with a delicious Russian River Valley Pinot Noir, we started out with the lobster salad, had the antelope for our entree, and finished off with the peach crisp for dessert. Yummy! I would definitely return. The portions were all on the smaller side, but the quality of the food made up for it. The antelope was cooked perfectly medium rare.
I love Watermark. It is always delicious, the servers are impeccable, and the interior and patio rooftop seating is awesome. Seriously, the people who work here were born to suggest wine pairings and help you choose the perfect meal. Watermark is classy but not stuffy and I always feel special when I eat there.
The menu changes almost daily but they always keep the grit souffle and fried green tomatoes with chevre on the list. These are my standard apps every time because they rock and make me close my eyes and stop breathing every time I take a bite. I normally go with a fish special, but they always have a tasty game meat option available like venison and rabbit. Rabbit yum!! The drink and wine menu is extensive and as I said before everyone who works here is like a mini-sommelier so just let them make the suggestions. Desserts...ohh lawdy lawdy the desserts. Always fresh, always spot-on, always just what I need to end my dining experience.
They grow their own herbs which you can see out on the patio, and they are committed to local, seasonal food of the highest quality. In my opinion this is one of the best restaurants that Nashville has to offer, period.
Watermark is consistently the best dining in Nashville. The food is very good, the menu changes often enough and the staff is perfect - not overly friendly or annoyingly hanging out trying to chat.
I do think the starters outrank the main course options in creativity, diversity and taste though. That's the one thing I will say negative about the place - the main courses are kind of eh. Not to say they aren't tasty - just nothing that sends my tastebuds into a tizzy. That is to say, it's things I have had before a million times. The difference is, of course, they are always done well.
I would also like to find one bar in Nashville that doesn't have a television, but that's another story.
A huge plus for Watermark is the patio. It's one of very few patios not right on the road and although it looks out over a busy intersection, you also get a bit of the downtown sparkle.
Anyone, especially those new to Nashville, who laments the lack of decent dining options can breathe a sigh of relief for there is Watermark.
Excellent upscale restaurant that was a welcome respite while traveling through the state. The Kobe beef was memorable and perfectly prepared.
This place comes a close 2nd to Highlands Bar and Grill in Birmingham, AL. Very trendy restaurant in the cutting edge part of Nashville. Grits souffle is a classic, but again, not as good as good old fashioned, Baked Grits in Highlands. It really needs the country ham and Parmesan cheese sauce. Jalapeno grits are excellent in Watermark, get them instead of potatoes with beef, fish.....or pretty much anything. Definately a new favorite....Definately going back again.
While rubbing elbows with record producers and the complete cast of a popular reality-competition show, I didn't have a single thing on my plate that wasn't fabulous.
My "pristine" (as the maitre d' stated) swordfish was flown in whole from Rhode Island that morning. The wine list had quite a few names that were new to me and wound up being surprisingly good. (specifically, the Don David Reserve, Torrontes)
Watermark oozes richness. I think this places has to be the most upscale feeling restaurant in Nashville. There are time and places for everything, and this place isn't your normal upscale restaurant; you'd feel out of place if you went in jeans... hahaha
The overall experience was good. The service, wine list, service, food were all good. I can't complain. I have to say that this place is pricey, maybe the most priciest place in Nashville? However, the overall dining experience is good. I really don't recall what I had, but I do remember enjoying the whole dining experience.
I wish I sat in the patio per I think the view is great; it overlooks downtown and has a nice skyline view. However, it was was in the middle of winter when I dined.
If you need to find a spot for a special occasion, look no farther, this is it; if you don't mind spending around $300 for two (including wine and tip)
My boss and I went to Watermark on a Saturday evening and we were pleased to get a reservation through Open Table there (Zola and Sambuca were both booked). The ambiance is modern minimalist with nice bathrooms. During the summer, I bet outdoor dining is great overlooking the Gulch. The service was fantastic and not pretentious at all. The menu was inventive and I was pleased to see their use of organic ingredients. We ordered the Truffle Pappardelle and the seared arctic char. Both were delicious. The beet salad is really large and should be shared by the whole table. We also ordered the salted caramel pot de creme and pumpkin bread pudding but I subbed out pumpkin seed ice cream for egg nog ice cream- perfect for the holidays. The caramel pot de creme was good, but not very caramely. It was much more like creme brulee (w/o the brulee). All in all, a great meal and all the food was served promptly. In fact too quickly based on the amount that we ate so we walked away stuffed. I would give it 4.5 stars just because of the high prices, but the rest of the experience was great. I am glad I don't live full time at the Terrazzo because then I'd spend a lot of $$ here!
I'm sure someone will disagree, but I think Watermark is the "nicest" restaurant in Nashville. By nice, I mean the place to go when you need to impress someone, or when you want to romance someone, or when someone else is paying and money is not an object. Everything about Watermark is top-notch. Everything from the food to the service to the decor to the view of downtown.
Everyone mentions it, for good reason... The grit souffle. It is truly amazing. If I wasn't worried about looking like a weirdo, I'd order the grit souffle for my meal. It's that good. But, I always talk myself into ordering a real meal, and it is always delicious. I typically order the beef filet, but always wonder what the antelope would taste like. I've been too full for dessert each time I've visited, so I can't comment on those. Be prepared to spend over $150 on dinner for two, and that's being modest with just one glass of wine per person and no dessert. But it's worth it for that special occasion when you want only best!
We went here for my husbands birthday a couple of years ago and there was some wow factor and some take it or leave it aspects of the evening. The wow is the ambiance. It's very lovely in there and there is this blue lighting that sort of rounds out the kind of surreal feeling you get.
One of my other favorite things is that the tables are spaced well and set up so that you feel almost alone in the place. The servers are incredible and they decant the wine table side. We brought our own because we had a really nice bottle we wanted to enjoy and they were fair about corkage.
I had the scallops and my husband and the veal osambuco and we both found it to just be OK. Our salads were really innovative, appetizers sublime but the entree was just OK.
With all that in mind, I think there is a lot of wow factor here that would definitely make it cool for a big date or occasion. It's definitely a dress up kind of place where as something like Tayste or Flyte can go either way.
Monday night I stopped at Watermark for dinner after a long travel day. A quality restaurant with upscale atmosphere and good food from menu creation to preparation and delivery. Nice, but just not superior.
Ordered a bottle of Hitching Post Pink--so far from home and something from many weekend get-aways, close to home. Nice! The bottle prices were average and they had a nice selection.
For an appetizer I tried the stone ground grit soufflé. Probable the most memorable taste on the menu with divine goat cheese/grit soufflé and that smoked bacon butter sauce drizzled on the bottom of the plate. Melts in your mouth with the nicest of textures and the smoky aromas of the plate lingering and enhancing the experience with each succulent bite...
At the encouragement of the adorable waitress from the Pacific Northwest, I ordered the Arctic Char and my friend ordered the beef fillet. Both very nice and on the entrees alone this would be a 3.5 rating. Good, but nothing to make us think WOW.
Had the entrees had the punch of the appetizer, this place with its hip atmosphere would get a 5-star rating, but a solid "4" is well earned.
Before seeing a show at The Station Inn, my boyfriend and I decided to stop by Watermark for a snack. Since we were both wearing jeans, we decided to eat at the bar. I'm happy we did. The bartender was fantastic. Many bartenders are kind of just blah when it comes to explaining food, but this bartender was much better than most waiters that I have had. He told us we would be crazy without ordering the bacon appetizer and the grit souffle. Yes, we would have been crazy for not ordering these dishes and not stopping at Watermark during our time in Nashville. Now my mom brings grits to a whole new level, so much so that people ask her what delicious inventive fancy dish she just used and she replies just plain ole grits. Ok but this grift souffle put my mom to task. It was light, fluffy, flavorful, but felt decadent. I give it props for creativity and the yum yum factor. My boyfriend seemed similarly happy with his bacon dish.
The bartender expertly recommended a dry Riesling that went perfectly with out appetizers. He was also nice enough to round off our glasses along with some good conversation.
The sweet potato pound cake was really good, but would have been brought to a whole new level if it was served warm. Watermark is an expensive place, even by some NY standards. But, I do recommend perhaps sitting at the bar and having the bartender hook you up with a few small plates.
Alright, here I go again with one of my favorite restaurants in Nashville. What can I say? I love to eat and eat well and thankfully Nashville has lots of great places to go.
I enjoyed Watermark with a friend of mine for dinner one night. It was expensive, but it was entirely worthwhile. I started with a nice Old Fashioned cocktail that was nice and strong. She had a glass of wine from the extensive wine list. The waiter was attentive and had great recommendations.
Watermark has some updated southern classics with outstanding fish, steak, and poultry choices. Honestly, I would go back to Watermark again and again if I had the money for it because everything on the menu sounded amazing and I wanted to try it all.
Definitely worth your time and money.
First off, the Watermark is one of the nicest restaurants that I have been to, and probably one of the most expensive (thirty dollars was the minimum price for any entrée). Fortunately, I was being taken out to dinner, because this place is pricy. Since someone was taking me out to dinner, I decided to go a little crazy and ordered the wood grilled antelope (yes, I said antelope). It was super good and came with some blackberries and polenta cheese sauce stuff. If you want to experience heaven on earth, try the fried green tomatoes. Hands down the best fried green tomatoes that I have ever had!
Second, The service was THE best that I have experienced in Nashville thus far. The server was well versed on all of the menu items and made sure to keep the wine flowing.
I would highly recommend taking a date to this place, as it is the best!
High marks for Watermark! I dined (cause it was better than just eatin') at Watermark on 2/12/08 and enjoyed one of the best meals I've had anywhere in the country in a very long time.
We started the meal sharing the crab legs flown directly from Alaska that day. They were cooked perfectly and then grilled at the end and probably the best crab I've ever tasted. the perfect marriage of sweet and briny dipped in butter. Effing succulent!
For my entree..The lamb shank was the best I've ever had. No exaggeration. Rich and soooo tender as a result of being braised for 24 hours. It came with a four cheese polenta that was flavorful and perfectly textured. It was just what the Dr. ordered on a cold (32 degrees in Nashville!) night.
Don't skip desert here as the pastry chef is a deserved award winner. The Rocky Road something or other (pardon my amnesia on the name) was out of this world- and I don't normally give a sh*t about deserts.
Finally, our server was a absolute super star. Her knowledge of food in general and specifically description of that night's menu items was excellent. Listening to her describe the dishes was as soothing as being sung to sleep in a rocking chair by your mama and somehow at the same time as arousing as a lover whispering something unexpected in your ear . Again with the amnesia- I think her name was Mary Lou. She was amazing.
Thank you Watermark for a delicious, memorable meal!
We stopped in for an early dinner before a show and had an absolutely amazing experience. The restaurant interior and decor is very modern and upscale. Our waiter was very knowledgeable about the menu, sources for ingredients, wine list, etc and made a few recommendations. We had the grit souffle and crawfish salad to start and both were fantastic. We decided to try something new and went for the cobia and antelope as our entrees. The cobia was on top of dirty rice with crawfish tails and was cooked to perfection. The antelope was served with kale and mash potatoes with a strawberry maceration. Everything was fantastic but I'm not sure strawberries were the right complement. For dessert we shared the strawberry shortcake.
This is a fabulous restaurant preparing innovative cuisine with a touch of southern flair. We will definitely be back!
I did notice the wines by the glass were primarily Californian wines and were very much overpriced. For example the Ridge is a $40 retail bottle but they're pouring $16 glasses. The specialty cocktails are also a bit expensive, at about $15. They've got a pretty good beer selection.
Want a really nice dinner in Nashville? Go to Watermark. Immediately. Well, after you call a day or two in advance for reservations. This place is so far the best in Nashville (in my opinion of course) for a delectable, fresh, mouth-watering menu. And pricey. I can't leave that part out. For dinner for 2, expect about $100 (I've gone over that). It's worth it though.
Service is impeccable; the waitstaff is completely knowledgeable about their seasonal--and sometimes daily changing--menu. I have been several times and each time have had something different. The goat cheese grits souffle is life-changing. I think I've had it every time I go. Pork chops are rich and buttery, fish (I've had several different types) is always scrumptious and, if fish can, "melts in your mouth". Seriously.
This is the type of place that you always get just enough food, though when you first look at it you think it's not going to fill you up. This is no Nashville meat and three people. These folks know what they are doing! If you end up having room for dessert, you can't go wrong with anything, but I've had this chocolate cake/pudding thing that I can't remember the name of (probably due to multiple glasses of wine by that point) but is outstanding.
Again, bring your high-limit credit card with you, but Watermark shouldn't be overlooked for a fabulous dinner. And hey, it's fun to get out of your jeans and dress up every once in a while!
I came here with my parents and fiancee and I had a bit of high expectations due to the restaurant's connections to Frank Stitts but ultimately I left disappointed.
This place is not without it's charms but there are several small problems with the place. While our entrees were good, the first courses we had were pretty weak. Overall the restaurant leans towards the sweet at the avoidance of savory or salty, the portions are biased towards meat rather than trying to establish a full meal. The wine menu is poorly balanced, having mostly only show off wines rather than good bottles that compliment the meal. Our server, who said she'd been there since it opened, was nice but didn't seem to move about effortlessly. The decor was lovely but the space did little to combat the noise.
Most of these were issues that I would happily let slide except that the restaurant sets very high expectations both with the dignity with which everyone acts as well the prices they set.
I fear that this restaurant is catering to some of the worst tendacy I find in Nashville dining, that good food at great food prices is enough to impress. This is a place for businessmen to bring their clients in an attempt to impress them at how much money they're willing to drop more than an actually be a great restaurant.
With the quality of the food, I have faith that this place will survive and even thrive. However, if this same restaurant was in Boston, New York, San Francisco or Chicago then it would be torn apart.
Watermark is nice . . . menu not too big. Food not too bad. Lamb is great, wine great, service a 7 1/2, size of restaurant not bad. Been here a couple of times and will probably go again. I like sitting outside upstairs, you get to see a nice view of downtown. I like it enough to go back.
Dinner for 2 can run $80-$115 depending on what you order.
We went to Watermark about a year ago and not only was the service fantastic, the food was the best we've had in a very long time! We started with the beef carpaccio and then had the she-crab soup and lettuce salad. For our entrees he had the lamb loin and I had the scallops. We have been back since for a corporate event that I planned and it was equally amazing! It's a little on the pricey side, so we don't get to go as often as we like but overall we love this place!! Can't wait to go back again and again!
Again, I wish Yelp had 1/2-star ratings ... it would be 4.5 stars. Anyhow....
We have been to the Watermark twice now. Once we sat at the bar and had several appetizers "tapas"-style with a few cocktails. After a couple of months we returned for dinner. Their signature appetizer is the bacon and grits souflee. We had it on both occasions. Excellent.
On both occasions the martinis were extraordinary, it would rival any Manhattan restaurant in it's quality and inventiveness.
The few dishes I have had were well presented and of very good quality. I never EVER order Duck, because even in pretty good restaurants Duck seems to be too fatty or tough. Our waiter, who was outstanding and honest (recommended the duck dish but was not "crazy about the sides of red cabbage and polenta), recommended several dishes.
Alas, the duck was incredible and the red cabbage was very very good (I like red cabbage) with a hint of smoke to cut through a slight tang to the cabbage. The polenta was cooked properly but somewhat bland.
***Which brings me to a criticism... of many restaurants.... I cannot stand it when restaurants are so pretentious as to not include salt and pepper on the table -- it's a Chef/ego thing. However, have enough trust in your clientle that your customers know how they like their food seasoned. So, with some added salt and pepper (after I asked for it) the polenta was just above O.K.
Wife had the Arctic Char and it was splendid. We both would order it again.
The dessert, for the price of the restaurant was good - not great. I ordered a Port, and the waiter advised for me to get one for half the price and he was spot-on. I like service and advice like that.
The environment is "modern" and strives for a downtown or Manhattan-type feel. There is not warmness to it, but I guess they executed what they set out for. A modern and sleek atmosphere. However, the entire staff is warm and friendly, which is what matters.
Definitely the best restaurant in TN! Freshest seafood that is flown in daily, local produce, herb garden on the patio, best wine list in the state, and the staff is very inviting and educated. Always try the grit souffle, tuna, rocky road, and signature cocktails! Of course I'm biased because I worked there for 2+ years during nursing school...and my fiance's family owns it..........but its amazing!
The food was bland and overpriced. The chicken I pan sear on my own skillet and finish in my oven was much better than the seemingly-microwaved fare I had at Watermark.
Yet the place is amazingly popular. What explains that?
We ate there at our friend's insistence. Our friend is into the "hip scene," and this is apparently the place people where people who do not have good taste like to eat.
One of the newer restaurants in Nashvegas...a treat. I was lucky enough to come when it first opened. They offer an amazing view of the city and its one of a kind. The lamb, seafood and steaks are all worth the visit. They also have a great wine selection to choose from in addition to the southern foods. If the weather is nice...go outside on the balcony and enjoy the weather. The parking is tricky but you can usually find great parking if you get there early. All in all...a great dinning experience.
Surprised how blank this place looks and feels and the prices are so high. I did expect much more and the black eyed peas were not done at all in the gumbo they bragged so much about.l I have eaten all over the country and this place is really a tragic setting for what they describe as some of the best food around. The osyters were too salty and so was the bread. Food was sure not the best I have had for the prices. Loud also and not romantic at all. This is chic??!! NO I won't be going back. We parked in front after I called to see where we parked and noone came out to park our car. We drove around the building and found a dard parking lo without attendants to walk from. Not fun!
Sweetbreads to start, Braised Boar for the entree, and Valhrona Chocolate Sampler as a perfect finish. Strong wine list. Excellent service. Gorgeous contemporary clean interior design and decorating.
Watermark is one of my favorite places in Nashville as thier food is consistently good and fresh, the location is great and up until recently they had one of the best bartenders in Nashville, Jimmy (who's now a manager at sister-restaurant Miro District, which is still working out the kinks by the way). For starters, the beef carpaccio is always a winner. Anyway, the food at Watermark is really quite good, although during my most recent visit we got a little frustrated as 2 of the courses we served with ingredients that were different that what the menu described (fried green tomatos with rock shrimp was served with little baby shrimp and the risotto appeared to be plain white rice). When the manager asked how our meal was we told him of the conflict and he basically just walked away. We'll be back for the food, but they need to be careful about the service slipping.
Neighborhood: Downtown
Category: Jazz & Blues
Neighborhood: Downtown
Category: Southern
Nashville, TN
Category: American (New)
Neighborhood: Germantown
Category: American (New)
Neighborhood: Downtown
Category: Steakhouses
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