Nashville Food Friday: Table 3

I'll be honest and say that Table 3 wasn't even on my radar. I rarely go to the Green Hills Mall, and I hit up the cinema there even less. Table 3 was never recommended to me and didn't really pop up as a "trendy" place to go. Therefore, I'm quite thankful that Steve picked Table 3 as our choice for restaurant week. What we got was a solid interpretation of standard French cuisine that was quite the value for restaurant week.

For a place I had never heard of, I was taken aback by Table 3's cavernous space. With a long bar and a massive dining room, Table 3 is quite the operation. And on a Friday night, the place was packed! The decor was an attempt to mimic a french bistro, which had some hits and misses. The colors were clean and the arch windows were a nice touch, I just think it's hard to force an intimate feel on a place so large.  But for France in Nashville, they did ok.

For my cocktail I chose The Perfect Pair, made with vodka, pear liquor and sparkling wine. This was a surprisingly deep and rich drink for something that had so much fruit in it. You can taste the liquor and get a little bit of the burn, but not too much. This was strong, and the way that this was mixed masked the huge amounts of liquor hidden inside. Steve thought that it tasted like a very rich fortified wine, which wasn't too far off the mark. Steve chose the Kilted-Carnie, made with scotch, taverna, and lemon. This drink went down very smooth and had a nice, warm carmel sweetness to it. 

Steve and I both ordered off the restaurant week menu which consisted of an appetizer and an entree for $24.14. I have had my fair share of restaurant week "deals" where I thought I wound up paying way more for less food. THIS IS NOT THE CASE AT TABLE 3. What we got was a huge amount of food at a good value. More restaurants should strive to do what Table 3 does.  

For his appetizer Steve chose the pork pate with house pickles, mustard and bread. The pate had a nice smooth flavor that complimented the grainy mustard. The house pickle was done well and really helped bring out the lighter flavors in the pate.

For my appetizer I chose the mussels in a white wine, shallot and garlic sauce which was served with a half loaf of bread. The smell from this dish was amazing! Plus, this was a crazy amount of mussels and could have been my main meal. The mussels themselves weren't the best quality; I had a few that were crunchy. But overall this was a satisfying dish. 

For his entree Steve chose the steak frites. The steak was good, but the butter really elevated the meat. The presentation was snoozy (we have all seen this dish done the same way before) but there isn't much you can do to fancy up meat and potatoes. Steve really enjoyed the frites and thought that they were deceptively simple but offered a lot of flavor, where I thought they were just a little too salty. Needles to say, his plate was cleaned.

If you have read my blog you know that I'm not the biggest chicken fan, but I took a gamble and ordered the coq a vin. I was a little bummed because it appeared that my dish was done and sitting around for a while since the gravy had time to congeal and form a viscous skim layer on top. But besides that, the flavor of the sauce was really good. The wine mixed with all the vegetables really screamed provincial farm house. The carrots really soaked up the sauce flavor and the mashed potatoes were delicious. As for the chicken itself, I really enjoyed it because they served me two pieces of dark meat, and it just fell off the bone!

I have to say that the wait staff was awesome. They were friendly, attentive and changed out the silverware after each course, making sure I had the correct tiny mussel fork. There was also a huge table of tourists that weren't the most polite, and they handled that situation with grace.

For dessert we decided to splurge and ordered the salted carmel mousse. This was really salty, but when mixed with the heavy dark chocolate it worked. I liked how the salt was in large granules that made the overall texture exciting. The pastry that was served with it was kind of "meh." Perhaps they were a day old? Either way, the mousse was good.

Table 3 also has a small market attached where you can get sweets, coffee and snacks before a movie!

As far as restaurant week deals go, Table 3 kicked it out of the park. It wasn't the most inventive food or the coolest atmosphere, but this place is solid. If you are ever looking for a bite to eat before a movie, or after a long day of shopping- go here and totally forget that chain dining was ever a thing.