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| - Let's start with the positive. Mom always said, don't say nothin' if you don't have nothin' nice to say, after all. This is one of the most beautiful, tastefully decorated restaurants I've ever had the pleasure of visiting. I loved the light fixtures, especially the big cotton one above the bar and the bird chandeliers. The tables and chairs are gorgeous in whites and silvers. Even the cutlery is a unique design and color. And, they have what might be the coolest patio in the Southeast, upstairs and kinda caddy-corner to the restaurant, overlooking downtown Belmont.
There! Now that I've listed the positives, I feel better about what I'm going to say next... The food is really nothing special. From the menu's descriptions, we were excited! Sweet potato fries with maple honey butter, drunken collards, Sunday meatloaf... Oh, my! But in real life, everything fell flat. The pimento app was almost watery, definitely bland and the toast points were way too hard. The sweet potato fries desperately needed salt, as did my entree, the skirt steak. Others at the table ordered the meatloaf (ironically, that was way too salty - I blame the gravy) and fried chicken. All around, nothing knock-your-socks-off.
Service was hit or miss. We tried to flag our waiter down for 10+ minutes to order a beer when we first arrived to no avail. Oh! And, they were out of the beer I ordered but it took them another 10+ minutes to tell me that. Wait staff kept hopping on stage to sing, which was quirky and charming at first, until our waiter was up there singing while we were waiting for him to run our cards. The live music also made it pretty hard to talk with our friends and family.
All in all, Nellie's is fine. We didn't have anything bad, per say. I just wish their food and service lived up to the atmosphere they set with the beautiful decor.
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