Well before Germantown became a bonafide restaurant hotspot, the legendary Rolf and Daughters in Nashville was among the places setting the groundwork for all the stellar restaurants that would follow.
“I remember when we first opened, the landscape of the dining culture was so different than it is now,” the restaurant’s director of operations Shane O’Brien says. “You picked your pasta and then your sauce and protein, but it took some time to get people to trust us and what we do. Now the landscape has changed so dramatically, and I think it’s because of folks like us.”
In the years since its debut in 2012, the restaurant has racked up numerous accolades and become a go-to destination for exceptional bread and pasta and for the way the kitchen transforms seasonal vegetables. Rolf and Daughters was named one of the best new restaurants in America by both Bon Appétit and Esquire the year after it opened. Chef and owner Philip Krajeck scored a James Beard nomination and was also recognized by Eater Nashville as chef of the year in 2018.
Restaurants in Germantown have since boomed with the neighborhood welcoming other heavyhitters like Butchertown Hall and seafood-centric The Optimist in the years after Rolf and Daughters opened. Krajeck has also gone on to open his second local restaurant, East Nashville’s Folk.
Today—more than a decade after it opened—Rolf and Daughters remains one of the city’s most popular destinations. Nashvillians keep coming back for the bread and noodles made fresh daily, the local meats, and the next-level service.
Read on for how to have the best time at Rolf and Daughters in Nashville, and secure your seat on OpenTable.
This interview has been edited for length.
What do you think Rolf and Daughters’ X factor is?
Shane O’Brien: I think it’s trust. While the restaurant has evolved a lot over time, it’s stayed true to what it is. We’ve stayed consistent, and I think that consistency helps you build trust. Over time, people know that when they come they’re not only getting great food and great service, but that we care about those things.
What’s the one dish you’ll never remove from the menu?
Outside of our sourdough bread with seaweed butter, there are a couple of dishes that have been on the menu since we opened. Our pastured chicken is a half chicken, seared in cast iron, finished in the oven, then dressed in butter, herbs, and confit garlic.
There’s one pasta we started doing about seven years ago, a hand-rolled noodle [cecamariti] we make with our sourdough starter. It falls into an adult mac and cheese vibe. There’s no cheese, but it’s got cultured butter, and we hit it with black pepper. It’s a stalwart of the menu.
What’s the underdog of the menu?
One of the things that you see a lot at restaurants is beef tartare. It’s a popular item, but we use Bear Creek Farm beef. It’s such a sleeper because you’re getting such an incredible value for this quality of meat.
Sleepers, too, are things like underrated vegetables, but because of where we’re sourcing, they’re incredible. With a carrot dish, we might take carrots, ferment them, grill them, dehydrate the carrot tops, and blitz them for seasoning.
Who’s your longest regular?
We have so many people that have been day-one regulars. We have two regulars that come every day; Mike comes every single day and orders basically the same thing. It goes back to the X factor, people knowing they can trust us.
Who’s your longest-serving staff member?
We have quite a few who were with us pre-pandemic, which is definitely a demarcation line. We have one employee who has been with us since we opened. Joseph Crenshaw—he’s a food runner and has been [here] since day one.
What’s the most memorable request you’ve received from a customer?
I was bartending years back, and a guest asked for a cocktail with olive oil in it. We didn’t have anything in our Rolodex of drinks, but the server came to me with the request, and I was like, ‘let’s try.’ At first attempt, I made this cocktail that I really loved and the guest loved [it]. It became a cocktail we all liked so much, we put it on the dessert menu. It’s an Old Tom gin cocktail with olive oil, meletti anisette, and a little bit of simple syrup and lemon. It’s called Just a Bit Outside. [It’s not officially on the menu, so request it the next time you’re there]
When is the best time to find a reservation?
We release reservations three months out on a rolling basis. The best time to grab a reservation is as soon as possible. As soon as you even think about it, go ahead and snag one.
What’s been the biggest change at the restaurant since the opening?
The pandemic was a massive shift for everybody. The way we had to force ourselves to be creative and think outside the box led to changing so many things about how we run the day-to-day. Before, we relegated most of the responsibility in the restaurant to a handful of people. Now we have a pretty large management team of 12 and everyone has more of a specialized role. It’s only increased our ability to be effective.
The landscape of Nashville dining has changed so much. Having a more educated diner—people that know what they’re getting into—has made it so much more fun. We do have an opinion about what we make and offer, and it’s so much more fun when people are open to that and we can lead them through this experience instead of being order-takers.
What’s your favorite award you’ve won?
Honestly, at the end of the day, that’s just not what we do it for. We are pretty confident in what we’re doing, and we know that the people who come to eat with us trust us. The biggest reward is that we’re busier now than we’ve ever been.
Kellie Walton is a food, drink, and travel writer based outside of Nashville.
