GREAT SOUTHERN FOOD
SERVED FAMILY STYLE
IN HISTORIC NASHVILLE SETTINGS
Meat and Three? That’s just the start. At Monell’s, you’ll feast on plates of Southern classics and comfort foods, piled high on serving plates and shared family-style with your neighbors. Our menu changes each day. Enjoy Skillet Fried Chicken, Green Beans, Cheese Grits, Cornbread, Biscuits and Gravy, Pork Chops, and Pot Roast. Come on in, grab a seat at large tables and start passing the bowls to your left. Our set price includes meats, vegetables and salads of the day, plus drink and dessert.
WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING
Monell’s is consistently one of the best reviewed and rated restaurants in Nashville.
We take great pride serving our customers the very best in Southern comfort food, and topping it off with a heaping dose of Nashville hospitality. When our customers speak, we listen! We’re delighted to receive such positive feedback and we regularly these comments with our staff. We are also grateful for our dedicated and hard-working staff, their effort makes the “Monell’s Experience” possible. Take a look at some of our guest comments below, and be sure to also visit our Awards & Recognition page.
“Keep up the Great Work Monell’s!”
“Both times everything tasted good and I love the family atmosphere where you may get to enjoy and share a meal with another family!”
“You might sit with people you don’t know but it’s really cool to get to know them. A couple of things to keep in mind.”
“Family style dining. Better come hungry! Feels like a Sunday dinner, awesome homemade dishes.”
“A must stop for breakfast if you are in Nashville.”
CATERING
Whether you are having a large party, a small luncheon, or a snack break.. or breakfast, lunch, or dinner, we cater it all at Monell’s. Choose from several options including drop-off or onsite catering, box lunches or just buy Monell’s famous fried chicken by the pound. Serving South to your Mouth since 1995!
REHEARSAL DINNERS
For a different and unique experience, book your rehearsal dinner with us. Prepare the bride and groom for marital bliss with the help of Monell’s. A great way to introduce both families to a true southern dining experience. Enjoy the friendly atmosphere at Monell’s with your new future family.
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A WORD FROM THE OWNER
Monell’s Restaurant found me one day in April 1995, when I was driving around lost. The house was zoned commercial in a residential, historic neighborhood that had seen better days. Meeting with a realtor, I walked through the door and knew I would make it a restaurant. The first smell was Lily of the Valley. The next was of old clothes and gasoline, as a rock band was renting the home and every room was filled with clothes, band equipment, dirty dishes and a disassembled motorcycle engine. It was a realtor’s nightmare, but it was a dream about to come true for me.
Thirty days later, sitting across the closing table from the current owner, Mr.Winston, I asked about the Lily of the Valley smell, which was present during every visit I made to the property. Ms. Lilly Winston had died in the house on Christmas Day, 10 years previous. She was a fabulous cook, had eight children of her own, and adopted four more. Everyone came to Miss Lily’s to eat. Funny thing was I knew I would make my restaurant an old-fashioned, family-style boarding house restaurant. A Yankee in a Southern Kitchen. It was at this point I knew this was going to be bigger than me- which was a good thing, since I was unemployed, and my financing consisted of five gold credit cards and no savings.
Monell’s was born on Thanksgiving Day, 1995. Had I opened one day later, I would have been bankrupt. We served 80 people our first day. Where those people came from, I do not know; we had not advertised. To this day, Thanksgiving remains our busiest day of the year; we serve over 650 people in our cozy 72-seat restaurant. How thankful we were then! And we still are, to this day.
The name Monell’s came from my business partner, Bill Monell, who hails from Kentucky. Bill stayed at the restaurant for two years before deciding to move on. The restaurant has been mine ever since. Now with multiple locations, Monell’s has become a Nashville institution (and yes, I have the t-shirt to show for it).
– Michael King