Aquarium Restaurant, 516 Opry Mills Drive – Nashville, TN
I should have know better.
A chain restaurant, by the Landry Group, located in Opry Shopping Mall. They claim to be an underwater dinning adventure.
Yup, not so much.
Lets see what are the positives? They have a gorgeous fish tank by the host stand and the waitress was very nice and super friendly…. and that is where the happy story ends.
Sorry to report: Service from the kitchen was super slooooowww. Even the gigantic floor to ceiling fish tank in the middle of the room was not enough to entertain us as we waited. Most of the fish were “schooling” fish. Which means they literally swam around and around the tank very quickly giving the illusion of a distraction that your food is missing.
Oh one more positive. I counted at least three stingrays. One very large one and two smaller. I don’t know about you, but I find them to be happy marine life. When you see their mouth I swear they are smiling! But I digress. Back to the review.
I ordered fish tacos. (Price tag $17.99) Grilled tilapia, roasted chile mayo, red cabbage, pineapple pico de gallo atop flour tortillas. It was served with basic black beans and rice (that was actually a hard sticky inedible ball). As I attempted to pick up a taco, it split causing all of the filling to drop onto my plate. Now you would have thought that a double layer of shell would have elevated this issue. No such luck here. One bite of the shell and I could tell they were nowhere near fresh. No wonder it fell apart.
My husband, Steve, ordered the grilled shrimp. (Price tag also $20.99) Described on the menu as “grilled shrimp, lime marinade, avocado pico de gallo, rice and seasonal vegetables”. The shrimp were so over cooked they were tough and chewy. Two words that should NEVER describe shrimp. The only thing on his plate that had any flavor was the rice. I thought it had a look of Chinese fried rice with peas and carrots sprinkled throughout.
Bottom Line: Avoid this overpriced, overhyped restaurant at all cost. Head to The Gulch neighborhood instead. That’s where I spent most of my wonderful dinning time here in Nashville.