Eating Nashville: Is the new Sinatra Bar and Lounge downtown worth the money?

Eating Nashville is The Tennessean's food column, featuring takes on local food and hot new restaurants from reporters Mackensy Lunsford and Brad Schmitt.

Mack: Themed restaurants, in general, make me skeptical. That's particularly the case with celebrity-themed spots, which tend to beat you over the head with their central focus. Because of that, I expected a good time from the recently opened Sinatra Bar and Lounge but not much more than that.

The restaurant, set in the historic Southern Turf building, is gorgeous, no doubt. The dining room is moodily lit, with plenty of oiled wood paneling, leather banquettes, art pieces and photographs of the Chairman of the Board himself. With a long, curving dark bar and plenty of art deco details, the place looks very much like "Manhattan meets Palm Springs," as described in a news release from Icon Entertainment Group, which partnered with Frank Sinatra Enterprises to launch the restaurant.

First thoughts on the menu, Brad?

Brad: Classic no-frills Italian restaurant fare: calamari, meatballs, caprese and Caesar salad, eggplant parm, pasta carbonara, veal piccata, steaks and, of course, tiramisu, cannoli and gelato. There were, however, a few surprises, like Iberico pork (isn't that Spanish?), a poached pear and slow-braised rabbit. (I got a kick outta that last one.)

Here's the thing — most folks really love Italian food, so if it's done well, it's a great meal! And I think we had a terrific meal, start to finish, beginning with succulent meatballs ($24) in a rich, tangy tomato sauce. For me, the shrimp cocktail was inconsistent, and the grilled octopus ($28) was so heavily seasoned and sauced that you couldn't taste the tender octopus.

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Mack: The menu's description of the octopus dish clues you in that it's going to be full of flavor, with its spicy nduja and saffron aioli. The octopus was cooked perfectly, and overall the dish was successful. I agree that one out of the three shrimp I ate was overcooked. Somehow the winner of the three appetizers we ordered was a dish of meatballs that I almost vetoed in the first place. They exploded with flavor. With a Caesar salad ($16) on the side, you could make these meatballs a meal and stop there. But you should keep going.

It would be a shame to miss that Iberico secreto ($67), my favorite cut of pork and fairly hard to find. If you're wondering what the heck I'm talking about, an Iberico pig is one of the world's oldest heritage breeds, and it carries a ton of fat and flavor in its musculature. The secreto is a prized butcher's cut near the shoulder. Prepared correctly, it can be phenomenal. And in this case, the kitchen hit it out of the park. They also nailed that bone-in ribeye ($90).

Brad: Yes and yes! Both protein dishes were mouth-wateringly delicioso. Not just excellent cuts of meat, but both were perfectly seasoned, and the salsa verde on the pork slapped, as the kids say. The ragu pappardelle ($36) wide-noodle pasta dish also excelled, punctuated by salty, super-tender bites of short rib.

I even loved the sides, especially the crispy duck-fat potatoes. Mack, those desserts?

Mack: The tiramisu was very good, especially with its perfect little coffee macaron. I missed the bitter punch of rum that helps keep this classic dessert from being too sweet. My espresso martini helped add the bitter note I craved. We also had some ridiculously decadent chocolate cake, which was very good but ultimately unremarkable. That cheesecake? So good the person next to me offered a bite of hers. She thought I needed to try it, and she wasn't wrong.

Speaking of cocktails, my New York, New York, which was basically a perfect Manhattan, was the perfect boozy start I wanted from a restaurant that aims to seem like the perfect hang for Old Blue Eyes. Returning to the theme for a minute, it's executed in a classy way. The live Sinatra music was audible, yet still quiet enough that you could have a normal conversation over the table.

I could find very few complaints about this spot, and I'd recommend it as a place to entertain visitors from out of town. It's just a stone's throw from the insane bustle of Broadway, but it feels more like a shelter from the crazy than part of the madness. That's in part, I'm guessing, because of the not-too-strict dress code.

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But be forewarned: It's not cheap. Our table of three managed to rack up $500 before the tip, though we did eat somewhat extravagantly.

Brad: I'm really high on this place and would definitely bring friends from in town and out-of-town here, especially if they were older and/or Sinatra fans. In fact, it's one of the few top-to-bottom excellent dining experiences I've had in town, and I'll definitely be considering it for our top 25 restaurants list coming out in the fall.

If you go

What: Sinatra Bar and Lounge

Where: 222 Fourth Ave. N.

More info: sinatranashville.com.

Have a place you'd like Mackensy and Brad to review? Do you agree with them on this one? Find Mackensy at mlunsford@tennessean.com and Brad at brad@tennessean.com.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Nashville restaurant Sinatra Lounge is now open but is it worth it?