Hip spot in a great space that is doing some interesting vegetable cookery along with plays on the staples.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 3
Gretchen
What a fantastic experience! Service was amazing, dinner was fabulous! This was our BEST idea for dinner this week in Nashville.
Janet L
Dom was a delight - an incredible depth of knowledge about the wines, and a wonderful help in interpreting the menu - which was Amazing! On his suggestion, we got the pimiento cheese - so luscious and the prefect foil for the butter-baked saltines. Other stand-outs were the bacon and eggs, unctuous!, and the pork pate - everyone's favorite. There were 5 of us so we ordered all 5 entrees. Every single dish was an adventure - extraordinary. The pork with black walnut just was a big hit with our table. My favorite was the "Nashville Strip Steak" - a cut that was near the ribeye portion of a strip steak, I think? perfectly cooked, juicy, beefy,. The potato blinis were delicate and very tasty. Cannot wait to go back. I'm a foodie, and enjoy wine, but am not proficient. The AT ROca sparkling wine was delicious.
Andrew Scrugham
Lindsey was a fantastic server, with excellent knowledge of the menu. She was very attentive and helpful. The food was well prepared and delicious.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Red Snapper Tartare, Sausage Roll
Braden
Very great experience but kinda expensive for what you're getting. I'd recommend for a special occasion but maybe not a regular date night
Jeff Hardaway
Was a bit disappointed. We arrived for a 9:45 reservation and still had to wait about 20 minutes. Once seated, we were told we needed to order quickly before the kitchen closed. If that’s the case, reservations probably shouldn’t be offered at that time — it didn’t allow us to browse the menu properly or enjoy the experience.
We went with wines selected by our server, which were fairly basic and felt overpriced. After rushing to order, we were then told two of the items we wanted were sold out.
Food was mixed. The crackers with chili jam were tasty. The steak was cooked a perfect medium rare and paired nicely with the potatoes. However, the crab noodles were just okay — pretty basic and ultimately disappointing.
With 20% gratuity already included, the total came to $366. For the overall experience, I found Bad Idea too expensive for what it is. Unfortunately, I can’t say I’d recommend it.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 3
Clark
Very nice evening and a very good restaurant. The owner Alex was very kind and gave us a free drink. Greg our server was great. Shared plates and Apps were execellent. Will be back.
Steve
Our waiter was terrific. He helped guide through the very sparse menu. We had the egg appetizer which was spectacular and the crab appetizer which was delicious. The entrees sadly were good but not memorable. We discovered that the menu was so different because the previous chef had left. The menu needs more tweaking. Defining not worth the price we paid. Our waiter felt bad we didn't love our entrees he gave us a complimentary dessert which was very good. What a nice guy!
J Marie
Important note for anyone considering a visit: the menu and concept at Bad Idea have completely changed. None of the previous Lao/Laotian dishes are still on the menu, so older reviews no longer reflect the current experience. That would have been helpful to know ahead of time.
Our waiter was friendly and helpful, but the overall experience didn’t justify the price. Happy hour now only applies to drinks (no small plates, which is why we went), portions were very small for the cost, and several dishes felt overly simple or unbalanced. One dish stood out, but not enough to justify a $270+ bill for small plates.
Overall, this feels like an entirely new restaurant still finding its footing, and the value didn’t align with expectations—especially given the Michelin recognition. We were hopeful that the new menu would have been worth the try, but we left a bit disappointed.
Justin Wong
First time and it was a great experience. Fun idea with a small group to experience all the different things on the menu.
Let me just say atmosphere is good, service is ok, food is bad. First it expensive. The Lao infuse with French cooking in my experience as Asian where my country was colonised by French, it was confusing. Pan kra pao on pancake, barely any meats on a small slap or pancake cost almost 30$. Two piece of scallop for around 30$ is expensive. If you have had Asian cooking, you know that this is not the place to be. Sure if you never taste Asian food, this could be good for you. But for 160 for 4 small dishes is outrageous
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 1
Service: 3
Robin
What a great experience! We didn't know what to expect, given that this restaurant was focused on being a wine bar, but everything was outstanding. We loved the 2.5 oz wine pours so we could try more wines. This allowed us to try higher end wines we wouldn't normally get to try. We would definitely go back.
Chelsy
All the food and wine we ordered was absolutely delicious, and 5 items was about right for our group of 3. I wish our server had offered a little more information about what we were eating when each course was delivered, and next time I would ask to be seated downstairs. We were upstairs, which was quiet but not as interesting visually.
Sarah Sparks
The atmosphere of the venue was beautiful- very modern wine bar aesthetic.
We struggled with the food as our waiter did not seem knowledgeable on the ingredients or preparation method, even after the dish was delivered or we had questions. We sat upstairs which felt to further separate us from the wine bar vibe below and we're not visited by the wine sommelier on staff, also I believe due to the seating location.
The food was done well but often overpowered by 1-2 strong ingredients and when we didn't like those, did struggle with the overall dish.
Although there was a sharing plates vibe, there were no rhyme or reason on the order of the dishes, no clean plates brought out between courses, and nothing to separate the courses. We also thankfully kept a menu as we were given very little information when a plate was brought out.
It felt like a $20 a plate tapas restaurant versus the high class wine bar that the prices and atmosphere seems to reflect.
Decent food, beautiful setting but I unfortunately don't think we will be back.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 3
Service: 2
Scott
Best restaurant in Nashville! In a city where all the "nice" restaurants are "American", this place was refreshingly unique and superb. Thoughtfully curated foods and wines with international twist. Can't wait to go back and tell all my friends about this.
Hip spot in a great space that is doing some interesting vegetable cookery along with plays on the staples.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 3
What a fantastic experience! Service was amazing, dinner was fabulous! This was our BEST idea for dinner this week in Nashville.
Dom was a delight - an incredible depth of knowledge about the wines, and a wonderful help in interpreting the menu - which was Amazing! On his suggestion, we got the pimiento cheese - so luscious and the prefect foil for the butter-baked saltines. Other stand-outs were the bacon and eggs, unctuous!, and the pork pate - everyone's favorite. There were 5 of us so we ordered all 5 entrees. Every single dish was an adventure - extraordinary. The pork with black walnut just was a big hit with our table. My favorite was the "Nashville Strip Steak" - a cut that was near the ribeye portion of a strip steak, I think? perfectly cooked, juicy, beefy,. The potato blinis were delicate and very tasty. Cannot wait to go back. I'm a foodie, and enjoy wine, but am not proficient. The AT ROca sparkling wine was delicious.
Lindsey was a fantastic server, with excellent knowledge of the menu. She was very attentive and helpful. The food was well prepared and delicious.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Red Snapper Tartare, Sausage Roll
Very great experience but kinda expensive for what you're getting. I'd recommend for a special occasion but maybe not a regular date night
Was a bit disappointed. We arrived for a 9:45 reservation and still had to wait about 20 minutes. Once seated, we were told we needed to order quickly before the kitchen closed. If that’s the case, reservations probably shouldn’t be offered at that time — it didn’t allow us to browse the menu properly or enjoy the experience.
We went with wines selected by our server, which were fairly basic and felt overpriced. After rushing to order, we were then told two of the items we wanted were sold out.
Food was mixed. The crackers with chili jam were tasty. The steak was cooked a perfect medium rare and paired nicely with the potatoes. However, the crab noodles were just okay — pretty basic and ultimately disappointing.
With 20% gratuity already included, the total came to $366. For the overall experience, I found Bad Idea too expensive for what it is. Unfortunately, I can’t say I’d recommend it.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 3
Very nice evening and a very good restaurant. The owner Alex was very kind and gave us a free drink. Greg our server was great. Shared plates and Apps were execellent. Will be back.
Our waiter was terrific. He helped guide through the very sparse menu. We had the egg appetizer which was spectacular and the crab appetizer which was delicious. The entrees sadly were good but not memorable. We discovered that the menu was so different because the previous chef had left. The menu needs more tweaking. Defining not worth the price we paid. Our waiter felt bad we didn't love our entrees he gave us a complimentary dessert which was very good. What a nice guy!
Important note for anyone considering a visit: the menu and concept at Bad Idea have completely changed. None of the previous Lao/Laotian dishes are still on the menu, so older reviews no longer reflect the current experience. That would have been helpful to know ahead of time.
Our waiter was friendly and helpful, but the overall experience didn’t justify the price. Happy hour now only applies to drinks (no small plates, which is why we went), portions were very small for the cost, and several dishes felt overly simple or unbalanced. One dish stood out, but not enough to justify a $270+ bill for small plates.
Overall, this feels like an entirely new restaurant still finding its footing, and the value didn’t align with expectations—especially given the Michelin recognition. We were hopeful that the new menu would have been worth the try, but we left a bit disappointed.
First time and it was a great experience. Fun idea with a small group to experience all the different things on the menu.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 5
Restaurantji Recommends
Let me just say atmosphere is good, service is ok, food is bad. First it expensive. The Lao infuse with French cooking in my experience as Asian where my country was colonised by French, it was confusing. Pan kra pao on pancake, barely any meats on a small slap or pancake cost almost 30$. Two piece of scallop for around 30$ is expensive. If you have had Asian cooking, you know that this is not the place to be. Sure if you never taste Asian food, this could be good for you. But for 160 for 4 small dishes is outrageous
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 1
Service: 3
What a great experience! We didn't know what to expect, given that this restaurant was focused on being a wine bar, but everything was outstanding. We loved the 2.5 oz wine pours so we could try more wines. This allowed us to try higher end wines we wouldn't normally get to try. We would definitely go back.
All the food and wine we ordered was absolutely delicious, and 5 items was about right for our group of 3. I wish our server had offered a little more information about what we were eating when each course was delivered, and next time I would ask to be seated downstairs. We were upstairs, which was quiet but not as interesting visually.
The atmosphere of the venue was beautiful- very modern wine bar aesthetic.
We struggled with the food as our waiter did not seem knowledgeable on the ingredients or preparation method, even after the dish was delivered or we had questions. We sat upstairs which felt to further separate us from the wine bar vibe below and we're not visited by the wine sommelier on staff, also I believe due to the seating location.
The food was done well but often overpowered by 1-2 strong ingredients and when we didn't like those, did struggle with the overall dish.
Although there was a sharing plates vibe, there were no rhyme or reason on the order of the dishes, no clean plates brought out between courses, and nothing to separate the courses. We also thankfully kept a menu as we were given very little information when a plate was brought out.
It felt like a $20 a plate tapas restaurant versus the high class wine bar that the prices and atmosphere seems to reflect.
Decent food, beautiful setting but I unfortunately don't think we will be back.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 3
Service: 2
Best restaurant in Nashville! In a city where all the "nice" restaurants are "American", this place was refreshingly unique and superb. Thoughtfully curated foods and wines with international twist. Can't wait to go back and tell all my friends about this.
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