Frankies Spuntino in East Nashville: How it stacks up in the growing Italian food scene

Nashville is becoming a popular destination for out-of-state restaurants to launch their first satellite ventures.

That's been the case for Charleston-based Husk, long-time Detroit favorite Joe Muer Seafood, Dallas-based Harper's steakhouse and others.

The latest to arrive is Brooklyn-based Italian spot Frankies 925 Spuntino, so named for owners Frank Castronovo and Frank Falcinelli.

The restaurant duo, along with managing partner John Burns Paterson, first opened a pizza place serving excellent pies before launching the classic Italian concept next door.

The Italian restaurant scene is getting crowded locally, with upscale contenders like Yolan downtown, Luogo in The Gulch, Culaccino in Franklin and Pelato in Germantown opening in just the past few years.

Can Frankies break through? We visited just before Thanksgiving.

Brad: At the start, I was kind of surprised at how sparse the look was. Concrete floor, little on the walls, simple wooden tables and booths — I got the message that, hey, we're gonna let our food do the talking here, y'all. (I'm not sure Brooklyn Italians throw around the phrase "y'all" very often, but you get the point.).

I loved the cannellini bean soup, warm and tasty with just a bit of crunch still in the escarole swimming in that flavorful broth. The Caesar salad had a nice bite of garlic in it, though I thought it was overdressed.

Mackensy: The salad, crisp hearts of romaine simply dressed with Caesar and parmesan, was perfect. Not so much the case with the salad I tried here during the restaurant's first week open. The escarole salad was piled with so much sliced red onion it blew out my palate, though that's not the sole reason the eggplant marinara didn't hit for me. It was fairly bland, as were a few other dishes.

But a repeat visit proved to me that the restaurant has worked out its opening week jitters. I rarely gush over a bowl of soup, but that was the case here. The devil is in the details, and the fact that the kitchen developed such incredible depth of flavor in such a simple dish of bean soup speaks volumes.

Brad: And those pastas. Those pasta dishes! Ever go to a restaurant and scoff, "I coulda made that myself at home?" Definitely not the case here.

The perfectly al dente cavatelli had just the right amount of sumptuous brown butter sauce, with tasty, tender chunks of sausage that packed just a touch of heat.

And the pappardelle with lamb ragu? Wide, tender noodles with super-tender, delicious bites of lamb that all melted in my mouth. This rivals the gnocchi at Yolan for my personal favorite pasta dish in Nashville.

When I finished the leftover lamb pappardelle for lunch the next day, I wanted to weep, grateful for such a good dish, so sad that it was gone! (Maybe a little over the top, Mack? 😅)

Mackensy: Yes, you're getting a bit overly emotional over pasta, but even my 7-year-old shoved double fistfuls of that pasta in her mouth the next day. (I'm working on her table manners). But it's a major improvement over the first time she tried leftover Frankies — she wasn't incorrect when she called the meatballs bland. I think I have a fledgling food critic on my hands.

The tiramisu is the best I've tried in Nashville and the wine list is great, too. That stiff martini washed with a splash of Frankies house-label olive oil? You owe it to yourself to grab one.

All that is to say that, if you were a bit underwhelmed the first time you visited Frankies, you owe it to yourself to return.

And don't forget that pizza next door, either. It's a contender for some of the best pie in town.

Brad: Loved the desserts, though I thought I'd need a jackhammer to get through the too-thick carmelized sugar on top of the creme brulee. And I agree on the pizza, Mack! Dear editors: Can we please revisit our best-pizza-in-Nashville list? Please??

If you go

What: Frankies 925 Spuntino

Where: East Nashville, 625 Cherokee Ave.

Prices: Entrees are about $18-$30.

More: https://www.frankiesnashville.com

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Nashville restaurants: Frankie's serves another plate of Italian