Pelato - Nashville
Italian restaurant · Germantown ·
Casual Italian small plates featuring pasta, broccolini, and cocktails
Casual Italian small plates featuring pasta, broccolini, and cocktails
"Currently one of the city's buzziest, most talked-about restaurants—considered the 'hot' place to try right now." - Erin Perkins
"Identified as the current 'hot' restaurant — the place generating the most buzz right now among local dining spots." - Erin Perkins
"Pelato is the scrappy little sister to the grown-up and sophisticated Luogo in the Gulch. And befitting of scrappy little sisters everywhere, this restaurant is feisty, utterly unpretentious, and a lot more fun than its sibling. Every dinner feels like Sunday gravy night, where you can pass around a cascade of generously portioned Italian plates, be loud, and let the kids pull stringy mozzarella to ungodly heights. This is probably not the place to plan a quiet date night. It can get loud in here, with groups of friends shouting as they sit around wooden tables toppling with rustic Italian dishes like smoky burnt broccolini and creamy polenta in a meaty bolognese sauce. A nice touch: most of the pasta served at Pelato can be subbed for a GF version. There’s also an outdoor patio that’s heated during colder months, which is a great option for a little less commotion. photo credit: Casey Irwin photo credit: Casey Irwin photo credit: Casey Irwin photo credit: Casey Irwin photo credit: Casey Irwin Pause Unmute Drinks are equally as fun as everything else, with sangria and a frozen espresso martini, as well as a few limoncello cocktails. And at the end of the week, they really do host a Sunday Sauce night with a platter of fusilli, tomato, ribs, braciola, sausage, and meatballs that can feed two. Food Rundown Fresh-Made House Mozzarella The pull on this warm, gooey pool of mozzarella is ridiculous. Seeing how high you can pull the string of cheese from the stoneware pot is almost as fun as eating it. Burnt Broccolini This is easily one of the best things at Pelato. Not only is there a perfect char, but a mix of black garlic, calabrian chili, and lemon on top gives the dish a pop of spice, acid, and a nice dimension. photo credit: Casey Irwin Chicken Parmigiana Even though this is a massive hunk of bird, it manages to remain evenly tender and moist throughout while maintaining a crisp, breaded exterior. When it comes to the mozzarella on top, Pelato isn’t playing any games. The melty layer overflows into the tomato sauce pooled at the bottom of the dish like a cheesy blanket tucking in the chicken for night-night. Radiatori Vodka All the pastas at Pelato are solid, but for us, it’s really all about the radiatori. Sitting in a creamy tomato sauce with calabrian chili and parmigiano reggiano, the pasta’s perfectly al dente, adding a nice study chew that stands up to the sauce. photo credit: Casey Irwin Frozen Espresso Martini Like your favorite iced coffee but all boozed up, and a perfect patio sipper during brunch. photo credit: Casey Irwin" - Jackie Gutierrez-Jones
"Vibey Germantown restaurant Pelato has a fun patio situation to match its brief small plate and drinks menu (and equally lively brunch scene). Diners can choose from stuffed cheesy breads, potato croquettes, macaroni arrabbiata, and meatballs al forno in a dimly lit patio area that works as well for ladies’ dinners as it does for date nights." - Kellie Walton
"Fashioned after an “old-school Italian trattoria,” Anthony Scotto’s second Nashville restaurant is a decidedly warmer, more casual space than Luogo in the Gulch, with both patio and bar seating and a focus on casual Italian comfort food. Dishes include arancini, crispy garlic potatoes, creamy polenta with bolognese sauce, and a chicken scarpiello using thighs and sausage. The drink menu focuses on classic aperitif-style cocktails such as the Pelato Palmer made with sweet tea and limoncello, and a frozen espresso martini combining vodka, coffee liqueur, demerara syrup, and nitro cold brew." - Ellen Fort
