Just outside of Nashville, Tennessee, in a quaint little town called Brentwood, resides a contemporary and trendy gem of a restaurant called City Café.  On any given day, you may find yourself having lunch next to Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban or Brad Paisley and his wife Kimberly.  You see, they, like so many others in Brentwood and Nashville, have fallen in love with City Café, its history, its tradition and of course, it’s amazing traditional southern, comfort food!

City Café’s owners, Frank Reeves, Rob Day & Jason Burns, have masterfully blended the traditional southern “meat & three” cafeteria style restaurant with a chic & modern, country-classic café perfect for casual dining day or night.  The restaurant, decorated in comfortable shades of tan with brick accents here and there and black and white city-scape pictures scattered around the walls, was warm and homey.  Menu items and daily specials, handwritten on chalk boards lined the back wall, drawing attention to signature dishes.

The restaurant was alive with laughter, socializing and networking… an atmosphere that has become so attractive in today’s modern society. We couldn’t help but smile when just about everyone coming in or going out were greeted by one of the owners, a member of the service staff or other patrons.  It was reminiscent of a large boisterous family gathering at the holidays. Patrons ranged from families having lunch to business meetings being conducted to friends spending an afternoon together. Several lone diners were also among the hungry crowd, grabbing a quick bite while working on laptops.

At City Café, you’ll find amazing comfort food with menu choices sure to please every pallet and fast, friendly service with a smile that will make you feel like part of the family by the end of your visit.  The menu changes daily and offers sumptuous, southern classic menu items such as Turkey & Dressing, Country Fried Beef Steak, Beef Pot Roast and Meat Loaf.  And for those looking for something a little outside of the traditional southern “meat & three”, City Café offers elevated dishes such as Lemon Artichoke Chicken Breast, Salmon Croquette and Roasted Pork Loin.

Millennial Magazine- City Café Brentwood

City Café Specialities

MiLLENNiAL sat at a beautifully appointed round top table near the entrance of the restaurant to enjoy a sampling of the chef’s favorites, everyone of which was heavenly!

Appetizer of choice:  Macaroni & Cheese Eggrolls 

Yes, eggrolls!  They were delicious!  And exactly as they sounded… eggrolls filled with their house favorite, Macaroni & Cheese, then baked to golden perfection.  The appetizer, created by Rob’s nephew, comes with a light Cilantro-Jalapeño Ranch sauce artistically drizzled over the top and has quickly become a house favorite.

A Southern staple: Chicken & Waffles

The Chicken & Waffles is an item actually adapted from City Café owners, Frank, Rob & Jason’s, food truck called Banjo’s  (soon to have its own store front).   The chicken was tender, with a special blend of spices and seasoning forming a crunchy, outer crust.  The dish was presented stacked chicken & waffle in several layers with thick maple syrup drizzled over the top to create a towering masterpiece that was as much fun to look at as it was to eat.

Now serving: California Tri-Tip

The newest addition to the menu, California Tri-Tip, is destined to become an all-time favorite!  Slow Roasted with a special blend of seasonings, the beef was tender, succulent and so very juicy!  Served with the City Café customer favorites of macaroni & cheese and southern greens, it is understandable that they sell out every day!

City Café is in the process of adding musical entertainment a couple of nights a week at the Brentwood location, and  will be adding a second location soon with the same traditions in Spring Hill, Tennessee.

To learn more about City Café, visit their website.