Criallos Cafe and Bar

Not what it used to be prior to the new owners. Just to love this place, last time we went they were closed. Not sure if they went out of business or just changing things up.

I hear Criallo’s closed???

I had a disappointing experience here around August, 2010. I had heard great things, but it was just a train wreck. First of all, it was very difficult to find. Once I finally did find it (I was meeting friends, otherwise I would have just given up), I was surprised to see such a spartan crowd for lunch. Let me clarify… spartan means one table of 2 other than our large group of ladies. And, this is in Cool Springs, which is always busy! That was clue number two for me that there was a problem here.
Service was non-​existent. No one else was there! We ordered sandwiches and salads and it took 2 hours! People were giving up and leaving. When food was coming out, it was one plate at a time and then maybe another 5 minutes later. I swear, I think the man waiting on us could have been an owner… and I honestly felt bad for him because he seemed to be doing everything. Host, ‘server’…and considering it all, I think the poor man was running back in the kitchen to do the cooking too! I don’t know what was wrong, but something seriously was. I’ve never had such a pitiful dining experience in my life.
I don’t like to see any place go under, especially in Brentwood/​Franklin, so I genuinely hope they’ve gotten their act together since then.

The food is not bad, but is overpriced and the food presentation and service is sloppy at best. I had a reservation, was the third customer of the night and was offered a table stuffed into a corner. Timing of the courses were not considered, servers did not clear the previous course before entrees were presented. To sum things up, service was equal to «Cracker Barrel» and food was very similar in price and quality (temperature and taste) to room service menu at mid priced hotel. Forgetable and not at all worth the price, I would not call this upscale, the neon «open» sign is a dead giveaway

Not what it used to be. Showed up at 6pm on a Sat night, no reservation. Place was empty. Host wouldn’t seat us — had to sit at the bar. The place was still half empty an hour later. The host could have easily sat us at a table. My wife got a bad scallop in the seafood trio — tasted of ammonia.
I had the halibut — overcooked and the dish lacked flavor, but what do you expect for thirty bucks?

Overpriced, mediocre service, terrible food. My husband and I at there on a Saturday and although we were on time for our reservation, we asked to sit at the bar for 10 minutes while they cleared tables. Normally, I’d understand but there were not tables to be cleared and the restaurant was half empty. Apparently, this was a ploy to get people into their empty bar, with their overpriced wine list (think 3−4x markup on a bottle of wine) and a bartender with zero personality. After we were sat, we received only one menu and despite the hostess hearing me say that we’d have to share a menu to my husband, she made no effort to walk 2 feet to bring me an extra one. While our waitress was nice enough, the service certainly falls short in the hostess department. Not a great first impression but since I’d heard such good things, we were anxious to try the food. And that’s where the terrible part comes in. A strip mall in Franklin has no business charging 38.00 for what they call paella, which is basically undercooked white rice covered in some sort of salty brown sauce with frozen seafood and some awful chopped sausage. Maybe I’m spoiled since I’ve had some amazing paella while living in the NY/​NJ area and working near their Portuguese section but this did not even resemble paella. My husband’s mahi-​mahi was tasty but over seasoned and served over gumbo, which was basically undercooked white rice, cold okra and a non-​discriminant sauce. Thanks for trying, Criallo’s, but we’ll be taking our business back to the city for good where high prices are justified and the food is enjoyable.

Ate there on Saturday and my stomach still hurts on Monday. The jalepeno focaccia was the best thing we ate and gave me high hopes for the rest of the dinner. But then we had the lobster fondue ($ 12), which was thin, chalky, lukewarm and bland. High school football game nachos are better. I think it should’ve been served with bread instead of chips too. We also ordered the crab manicotti ($ 28), which was covered in tomato, pesto and alfredo sauce in three divided sections. The noodles were overcooked and the sauces were too oily. At least the crab meat wasn’t imitation, but it wasn’t very flavorful, as it would be if it were fresh. It was like a big gooey, oily, tasteless glob of mystery food. Gross!
The service was fine, although the waiter did bring my husband the wrong drink and sped off before we could let him know. He didn’t return to our table to check on us until he brought our food. If he’d had brought the right drink, this would’ve been great, b/​c our conversation wouldn’t have been interrupted. But he DID bring the wrong drink!
Basically, we felt ripped off. The prices were pretty high, but they seemed completely unreasonable based on the low quality of the food.

I been to this restaurant twice, the first time it was excellent but the 2^nd time was probably one of the worst food I had in a while. Yesterday was my mom’s birthday and i decided to be nice to take her out to Criallos for her birthday dinner. We order the lobster fondue, beef wellington and the paella (the most expensive items on the food menu) and we both were very excite about our food. First, the lobster fondue came out lukewarm tasting very much like velveeda cheese dip… The «lobster» that topped the fondue was nothing more than a few pieces of frozen claw meat (not at all the fresh tail meat in the described on the menu). Though I was disappointed with the appetizer, I was still looking forward to our main courses, little did I know, I was only wading further into a pool of regrets. Starting off with the paella, I don’t really know if the chef knows what a paella was but lump of rice and overcooked seafood did no even remotely resemble a paella. First of all, all the seafood was frozen and not fresh (if Outback Steak house can have fresh seafood I see no reason a restaurant at this price have any excuse not to have it). The seafood was not flavored correctly and was not cooked with the rice like it was suppose to. Once again, the lobster tail promised in the description was absent and I was left with a salty, stale tasting piece of claw meat… In total the seafood consisted of only 3 shrimps, 3 mussels and 3 clams and the lobster claw, there were also 3 pieces of dry cubed chicken breast they added that only made the dish worse. The saffron flavors were absent from the dish as well and there was a salty pool broth on the bottom of my dish (paella is not suppose to have broth, the seafood broth is suppose to be mixed with saffron and other spices and soaked up by the rice as the rice cooked). After my initial shock with the paella, i decided to try the beef wellington, the beef wellington looked delicious but that was about the only positive aspect to the dish. First of all, the foie gras pâté that topped the steak was completely raw (for those who doesn’t know what that is, essentially my dish had raw goose liver in it) and so was the pastry wrapping the steak. the steak in the middle was ok but it lacked character and flavor. imagine eating a flavorless piece of steak wrapped in raw dough and goose liver — not the best experience in the world.
After tasting our horrible meals, we waited for the manager to drop by our table to check on us, after about 15 minutes of waiting, i decided to go ask for the manager myself. I found a server only to find out that there is NO MANAGER on duty and the most they could do for me is give me a comment card. I did not send the food back for fear of the cooks messing with my food (since there is no manager in charge) and the fact that I was already sick to my stomache for eating raw liver. After tip and tax, i spent about 110 dollars there and it was by far the worst 110 dollars i have ever spent on food.
After further inquiry, I found that the owner made several racist comment towards Jose (the mastermind behind all of Criallos formerly wonderful dishes) and his family (something about how a mexican girl can’t be a host and belong in the back of the kitchen when talking to Jose’s daughter) then proceeded to fire the whole family. After the incident, the majority of the staff, including the manager at Criallos quit due to the new owner being rude and several inappropriately suggestive comments. My suggestion, stay away from Criollos!

Had a date night with my husband this evening and decided to dine at Criallo’s. We arrived around 9:30 and it was a quiet Wednesday night, but despite the late dinner everything was quite fresh including the jalapeño focaccia just from the oven. I ordered the parmesean crusted orange roughy and it was divine. It was served with a mélange of fresh sauteed vegetables and rice. My husband had the seafood trio (lobster tail, shrimp and scallop). I tried a scallop and it was huge and tender in a delicious semi sweet chili sauce. Overall it was a terrific meal and I would highly recommend their seafood dishes again. Also the Dirty Hairy martini was wonderful (dirty with blue cheese stuffed olives).

Criallo’s was very nice, and the food was well-​executed. It just didn’t blow me away. The tables are crammed in, and because we weren’t sitting in a booth, it felt like we were having dinner with the couple at the table next to us. I could hear every word that they said. The live jazz music is definitely a nice touch.
We started with the lobster fondue, which was smooth, cheesy, and delicious. This was probably the best part of the meal. My husband had the paella, which was good and full of seafood, but just didn’t have the flavor he was looking for. I got one of the fish specials, and it was also good but forgettable. We split the crème brûlée for dessert.
The service was attentive and knowledgeable. Our waitress was very friendly and steered us towards the better things on the menu.
Honestly, if I am going to drop that kind of money on a meal, I want to be wow-​ed. Also, they have a lot of seafood on the menu, so if you don’t do seafood (like the couple next to us), your options are going to be limited.

THE Seafood in Cool Springs
Beginning at the end: The bread pudding was amazing and changes every few weeks depending on what Chef Juan has in mind to temp you. The blackened tilapia with fresh salsa over rice was excellent, and light, for a warm afternoon lunch. We tried some of the seafood pasta with shrimp, oysters, tilapia and a well spiced Alfredo-​style sauce; prepared perfectly. Still, for a southern California kid who grew up under a commercial fisherman’s roof, the shrimp cocktail was what has been missing from a lot of the local choices. With apologies to some great Franklin, Brentwood, and Nashville eateries — these were the best quality shrimp in town (love that they are available in the heart of Cool Springs too).
Julie, thank you for taking the time to show us the ropes, tell us about the new ownership — just you’re your considerate service. Chef Juan: too kind. Thank you for the explanations, the invitations to return, and the creative dishes. See you both again soon.

LOVE Criallos! I have been multiple times with multiple different people and it is great each time I go. Whenever someone is looking for a new restaurant suggestion, this is one of the top 3 suggestions. The food is always great, the service is on top of its game and they have a great wine selection.

The wife an I went here for a few drinks and some appys. We sat at the bar so I can’t speak to the dining experience yet, but we do plan to give it a try.
It was a Sat night around 7pm the bar was full but not packed, they had a guy on a piano which was nice and not too loud. The staff was very friendly and attentive and once we got seats at the bar it got even better. They are so willing to let you try/​taste different wines, whisky whatever that we had a blast.
We had a crab dip appy which was decent but a little salty. The place is very nice inside kind of upscale contemporary? Not real bright a little on the loud side but not so loud you need to yell.
Overall we had a great time and will definitely be giving it a try for dinner.

Criallo’s was VERY classy. My wife and I went here for a date night and everything about the evening was extremely nice. Food was absolutely excellent. Between us we had the halibut and the fillet minion entrees and were roughly $ 30 each. Wine list was pretty good, but room for improvement there. For dessert we split a very nice fruit covered cheesecake. Wait staff was very pleasant. But the major plus was the live music that they apparently have there every night! We will definitely be coming back here for a nice evening out.