Rolf and Daughters

"When Rolf first opened in 2012, the Germantown spot quickly became the “it” restaurant in Nashville. While it remains a hot reservation after all these years, the city’s restaurant scene has caught up, and recently, there have been a few more misses on the menu when they used to only churn out hits. But even if a dish is too salty one day or slightly overcomplicated another, Rolf still rarely disappoints when you want dinner to be the main event. They serve New American food, which is code for “we do whatever the hell we want.” And most of the dishes are good and inventive, like tonnarelli with crab and Jimmy Nardello peppers, or beef tongue with squid and coriander. The menu rotates regularly, but there are some classics—like the salty seaweed butter and sourdough, pork ragu, and roast chicken—that are done so well they should be enshrined in the New American dish hall of fame. photo credit: Casey Irwin photo credit: Casey Irwin Those plates are on all the happy communal tables of friends or couples on dates. And that’s really what makes Rolf such a great choice for dinner: the energy of the space. It’s not unusual to see regulars roll through and barely bother with the menu because the waiter already knows their order. (We bet some people have even carved their initials into the wooden chairs.) Rolf deserves credit when it comes to their commitment to no waste and cross-utilization of ingredients, too. Making pasta from scraps of sourdough starter might not seem like an incredible concept today, but when Rolf debuted, it was pretty groundbreaking. (You can still find that pasta available seasonally.) Plus, they were pretty early to the now-ubiquitous trend of whole animal cooking and making delicious dishes out of parts that might otherwise see the trash. Some ingredients even end up in both your drink and your meal, like a cut of pork, smoked and soaked in bourbon for a cocktail, before getting roasted for dinner. Food Rundown photo credit: Casey Irwin Sourdough Bread With Seaweed Butter The impressively baked 40% whole wheat half-loaf is a staple. It arrives warm and fresh to your table like something from medieval times when people actually broke bread. Equally as famous is the accompanying perfectly salty and umami seaweed butter. A must-order. Dry-Aged Beef Tartare With Spring Onion, Parmesan, And Kobocha Rolf usually has some kind of beef tartare on the menu, and it's usually worth ordering. This warm version is living in our memories like the old Mentos jingle. Crispy tempura-like pieces of kobocha squash provide a hint of sweetness and a sturdy yet creamy base for the perfectly seasoned meat. Spring onion and generously shaved piles of parmesan cheese really bring everything home. There isn’t a single thing wrong or missing with this dish. photo credit: Casey Irwin Rigatoni With Heritage Pork Ragu, Tomato, And Parmesan A dish that never leaves the menu for good reason. The pasta shape might change in the pork ragu, but the sauce remains the same. It’s slow-cooked, it’s meaty, and it’s more comforting than reruns of The Golden Girls. Pastured Chicken With Preserved Lemon And Garlic Confit The chicken is part of the Rolf dinner formula (which is sourdough + pork ragu + chicken). It’s a beloved dish in this town for a reason. And that reason is the luscious and garlicky preserved lemon sauce it wears like a designer jacket. Chocolate Mousse With Hazelnut, Rosemary, Asian Pear, And Candy Cap Mushroom We love a dessert with textures. Here, you have smooth mousse, crunchy toasted nuts, Asian pear caramelized in rye maple syrup, and a little shaved mushroom. Bits of chopped rosemary play peek-a-boo as you eat it, and keep things lively in an otherwise sweet situation. photo credit: Casey Irwin Cocktails The cocktail list at Rolf has been exemplary since they opened. The seasonal drinks show that the people here really understand how to layer flavors. Take the La Curiosita for example, where tequila, sweet corn, and golden plum start out bold and end soft. Or the Whole Hog, where bourbon infused with smoked pork is finished with amber maple syrup, mustard seed bitters, and a spritz of scotch." - Ann Walczak

"Rolf & Daughters won’t readily admit that it’s an Italian restaurant, but if it looks like a duck, walks like a duck, and has spaghetti, ravioli, and rigatoni on the menu, well—quack, quack. Restaurant genres aside, they sure know how to throw down when it comes to Italian food. The sourdough with seaweed butter is always a mainstay (and for good reason), but you really can’t go wrong with any of the pastas on the rotating menu, especially the always-al dente mafalde iterations with a few bottles from the thought-provoking wine list. The vibe here, though, is utterly unpretentious and unaffected—brick walls, moody lighting, long wood tables—perfect for celebrating a birthday for that friend who always wants to “keep it small,” but deserves something special. " - jackie gutierrez jones 2

"Along with City House, Rolf & Daughters was another one of those places to put the city on people’s culinary radars. That’s because they served mind-bending riffs on Italian dishes and had an extensive wine list with lots of rare bottles. Twelve years after opening, it’s still holding it down as one of the city’s greats by keeping people on their toes with an ever-changing menu that also keeps some tried-and-true favorites (there will be riots if the sourdough with seaweed butter ever disappears). Share plates of sprightly greens like cucumber with peaches and pine nuts, hearty pastas like mafalde with zucchini, and that aforementioned sourdough to sop up any lingering sauce. Even though the menu switches things up frequently, the warm ambiance and service remain a constant.   " - jackie gutierrez jones 2

"Small. Fun. Focused. Seasonal. No, it’s not a Tinder bio. It’s Rolf & Daughters. Located in the Werthan Factory building, this industrial-chic hotspot is high-end in look, but in experience, it’s everything welcoming and down-to-earth. Pull up a seat at a family-style table and get cozy with a Good Old Fashioned Lover Boy (it’s one of their many inventive cocktails, duh). Up for a bite? Their New American fare is inspired by Italian and Mediterranean dishes and peppered with seasonal flavor. 10/10. Would swipe right." - redpepper

"While it technically doesn’t bill itself as an Italian restaurant, Philip Krajeck’s Rolf and Daughters has been consistently putting out some of the best pasta plates in the city for years. The award-winning Germantown spot is known for its perfectly chewy sourdough with seaweed butter and its seasonally rotating pasta menu that currently includes tonnarelli with octopus and rigatoni in a heritage pork ragu." - Jackie Gutierrez-Jones, Eater Staff