Deception. It’s a cruel word packed with untruthfulness, and disappointment. It has absolutely no place at brunch—the most cheerful, loving meal of the week.
Unfortunately, deception seeped through the cracks in the floor at the Garden Brunch Café, turning our pleasant Sunday outing into a frustrating waste of time.
Garden Brunch Café – March 28
Pierce: Fruit Tea ($2.99)
Kristen: Mimosa ($5.50)
Shared: “Deacon’s Bench” – Steak and Eggs, Pancakes, Potatoes (?) ($16.99)
First Impression – The GBC is located in a cute little house just north of downtown Nashville off of Jefferson Street. The place is lauded for its cozy interior that features cool local art on the walls and a jazz duo. So, at first glance, it seemed like our kind of place—but things only went downhill from there.
When we walked in, the little lobby was pretty crowded and the host told us it would an at least 30-minute wait. He was right…it was at least 30, but more like 45. Granted, their website advises that you make reservations on Sundays—so that was on us. Not a biggie. We entertained ourselves with funny/disturbing stories from The Tennessean about “prom proposals” and tweeting during labor.
The Main Event – We read online that the Garden Brunch was relatively cheap—it only received one “$” from the Nashville Scene and Urban Spoon. Unfortunately, their extensive breakfast menu we saw online was actually a highly priced strictly brunch menu. We decided to share a (perceivably) hearty steak and eggs meal. Our drinks arrived pretty promptly and were overall satisfying.
But the food took much longer—another 45 minutes. Pierce was so famished he started to eat Jelly Beans out of a plastic display Easter egg. Other diners were looking around like hungry puppies.
When the goods finally came, the steak was flimsy and some of it was simply inedible due to the redness. The eggs and pancakes were smallish and nothing to rave about. Oh, and the potatoes? Yeah, they never showed.
The Aftermath – We had enough. After expressing our dissatisfaction, our waiter did his job and tried to make things right by only charging us for the drinks. We kindly accepted and left—after more than 2 hours.
The Garden Brunch Café has a nice vibe, but behind the art and bellowing jazz singer is a vastly understaffed, mismanaged and overrated brunch experience.
1/5 Syrup Crocks
Belt Buckle Brunch 