How do the restaurants at Assembly Food Hall in Nashville stack up? We ranked them

Correction: An earlier version of this story had the wrong Tennessee town for the headquarters for Hattie Jane's Creamery of Columbia, Tenn.

Assembly Food Hall is usually packed and there's sometimes really loud live music being pumped throughout the place whether you want it or not. But it's also a really fun and fairly inexpensive choice for a quick bite if you're downtown.

For the purposes of this list, we stuck to the food hall proper. We left out the restaurants on 5th and Broadway, which include the solid Boqueria and a really nice coffee shop called Elixr, located next to Sephora. We skipped 60 Vines, which is its own entity (and also worth a visit). We also didn't rank the bars within the hall — just the food.

Here's our ranking of the 22 remaining kiosks at Assembly Food Hall at 5055 Broadway.

22. Han's Banh Mi and Pho

Mack: The pho here isn't what I would call blessed with a particularly deep well of flavor, but if you want soup at Assembly, this and Steam Boys are your best bets. The guy at the counter said the pulled pork banh mi was the best sandwich on the menu. I didn't agree.

Brad: Yeah, the food here is pretty bland. A bummer, for sure, because folks really like Han's Vietnamese Delis. This fits into my overall view of Assembly Food Hall — yes, as advertised, some of Nashville's best and best-known restaurants have outlets here. But they often are dumbed-down versions of the flagship restaurants. For me, DeSano pizza, Prince's hot chicken, Thai Esane and Han's Bahn Mi are the most striking offenders.

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21. Smokin' Chikin

Mack: My piri piri chicken was dry and tasted like there'd been a bit of a flare-up in the rotisserie and my sides were cold. However, I like the idea of this place. It's perhaps best when it's not super busy.

Brad: I know that it's tough to keep white meat moist, but yeah, the chicken breast was dry. And the mac and cheese came across as wet noodles. But I loved loved loved the piri piri sauce itself. Yummy!

20. Velvet Taco

Mack: I have tried just about every taco in this place, and prefer the Buffalo Chicken over any of the others. The rest seems universally overly creamy, but I'm a bit of a taco purist. Your mileage may vary. But you should order up a margarita which is, as advertised, kickass.

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Brad: "Your mileage may vary." Tee-hee! For all Velvet Taco places, I think there's too much effort put into creativity and not enough into the quality of the basics. All hat, no cattle.

19. Pharmacy Garden

Mack: If you want a great big salad, this is probably your place. The Impossible and black bean burgers were fine, but the Chick'n sandwich came out dry. Like, super dry.

Brad: I 100% agree with all a dat. ^^ Loved the super-fresh salads here, though.

18. Pharmacy Burger

Mack: While the East side location is a favorite haunt, I find this spot to be not as good. But it's still a decent burger, even if occasionally, as was the case with my kid's burger, the meat comes out pretty darn overcooked.

Brad: I freakin' love Pharmacy Burger. But not at Assembly Food Hall. Both of our burgers were hockey-puck overcooked. Those tots, though − crunchy, salted potato perfection! I almost didn't put ketchup on mine, I liked them so much.

17. The Liege Waffle Co.

Mack: I feel like the next three entries could just say, "My kid really loves this place." But it's true. The chicken and waffles are fine and the grilled cheese waffles are fun. But you should stop here for the sweet waffles, which you can top with all sorts of outrageous things, from Lucky Charms to bacon.

Brad: Yeah, the sweet waffles are fun and tasty. The savory waffles come with quality meats, cheeses and honey, but those ingredients all are overpowered by the waffle itself. Maybe try serving the savory sandwiches on thinner waffles?

16. Cotton and Snow

Mack: Right, again, I'm not coming here for me. But my little one gets pretty stoked about the idea of shaved ice topped with cotton candy, and what kid wouldn't? You can also get boozy shaved ice here, too.

Brad: Yeah, I'm definitely not the target audience for this one.

15. No Baked Cookie Dough

Mack: It's cookie dough, and there's not much else to say. It comes in jars and in milkshakes and in little sundaes that really are pretty good if you're into that kind of thing! And yes, it's perfectly safe. And really, really sweet.

Brad: Again, not my thing.

14. Thai Esane

Mack: Full disclosure: I love this restaurant everywhere else but at Assembly. At Assembly, all the dishes from the curry to the supposedly spicy drunken noodles are too bland and sweet.

Brad: I agree with all the above.

13. Saffron Kitchen

Mack: I want to like this place more than I do! In fact, the buttery naan is delicious, and the cheese-stuffed naan is too. But nearly everything else here is on the bland side, which is a shame because, darn it, I like my Indian food to have some teeth.

Brad: I disagree some with you here, Mack. Yes, the vegan yellow curry and rice was a big bowl o' bland. But I enjoyed the chicken tiki masala and the lamb biryani. I thought both had a nice kick at the end, and the meat in both was flavorful and tender.

12. Horu Sushi Kitchen

Mack: This sushi spot is fine! I've never disliked anything I've eaten here, but nothing sticks out in my mind particularly exceptional, either. The sushi is fresh. It gets the job done. The fact that you have to order right where the flow of traffic is entering from the breezeway? Especially in the winter, that can be a giant pain.

Brad: It's so much fun to fight with you, Mack, but here again, I totally agree with you. It's fine. It's solid if unextraordinary sushi.

11. Whisk Crepes Cafe

Mack: This is a perfectly serviceable little crepe cafe where you can grab a coffee and savory breakfast crepes — yep, it's open at 9 a.m. for breakfast, which makes it an outlier. The sweet crepes have all your standards: Nutella, strawberries, whipped cream. You know exactly what you're getting here.

Brad: The sweet crepes satisfy for sure. I think the savory lunch offerings are pretty inconsistent.

10. DeSano Pizzeria

Mack: This restaurant is generally good, especially elsewhere. But lately, it's felt as though the Assembly location is slipping. Recent pies I ordered were a bit too doughy, and another I ordered with hot honey (I shouldn't have done that in the first place, really) came out drenched in the sweet stuff.

Brad: I love love love DeSano pizza, especially at the shop near Music Row. Big wood-fired ovens kick out perfectly charred crusts and bubbly, flavorful pies. As Mack said, at Assembly Food Hall, though, the pizzas are doughy! 😭😭 So sad.

9. Donut Distillery

Mack: Even if this isn't exactly my cup of tea, it's really cute and the doughnuts are actually very good. You can get spiked milkshakes and boozy drinks with fruity pebbles. It's a great concept.

Brad: Well, this place is freakin' adorable, with tiny adorable donuts and adorable little decorations and flavors. And the donuts themselves are tasty! Love it.

8. Hattie Jane's Creamery

Mack: This place has so much personality. It's fun to take a kid here because it feels like a special treat — and it is! This well-designed kiosk has soda fountain vibes, an adorable unicorn parfait and boozy treats for adults, too. Plus, it's just good ice cream.

Brad: Yeah, I like the ice cream itself, and I like that it's a Columbia, Tenn.-based company. But the milkshakes for me were icy instead of milky. And the signature Unicorn Parfait here, while visually stunning, was meh.

7: Steam Boys

Mack: These dumplings are solid, though the hot dumpling bowl could stand more flavor to go along with that heat. Though I tend to stick with soup dumplings and the pan-seared pork dumplings, the bao buns and soups are good too.

Brad: Great dumplings, for sure. I might skip the rest.

6: Istanbul Shawarma

Mack: This would have been higher on the list if it wasn't for stale pita bread on the otherwise very good beef shawarma. All of that aside, the vegetarian bowl, with grape leaves and surprisingly delicious baba ganoush, is a must-order for vegetarians. The gozleme, or flaky spinach- and cheese-stuffed flatbread, is another great move. Yes, you do want to order dessert, especially the Turkish Delight.

Brad: I don't know, that stale pita bread really put me off this place. Imagine a crunchy bun at a burger joint. Yes, I also loved the gozleme, but the other offerings here, for me, were meh.

5: Prince's Hot Chicken

Mack: It's not the same as the big OG down South, but the service is fun (which is hard when you're this busy) and the hot chicken tenders and wings are perfectly spicy and you still need to order those fries with your spicy bird. Don't forget a cup of pickles.

Brad: Chicken tenders? Chicken tenders?? Prince's founders are rolling over in their graves, man! Kids food on the menu for an outlet of the world's first hot chicken shack? That's a bridge too far for me. However, yeah, Mack, you're right: the rest of the food is still good. And there's indeed a fun vibe here, one I haven't seen at other Prince's outlets.

4: The Philly Special

Mack: Is the bread authentic? Nope. It's too soft. But is this sandwich so delicious you'll crush it too fast after the gym and get Cheese Whiz on your clothes? (Yes, of course you need to order it wit' Whiz!) Yes, that's oddly specific, but yes, I did. Oh, and ordering the cheese fries is maybe a bridge too far.

Brad: Incorrect, my Whiz-wearing friend! The cheese fries are solid and, honestly, for me a bit better and more authentic than the tasty sandwiches. I don't want to play the I-went-to-college-in-Philly card, but, hey, I did. (Go, Temple Owls!) And the cheese fries are legit here at The Philly Special. If you really want an authentic cheesesteak experience in Nashville, though, go to It'z a Philly Thing in Bellevue.

3: Poke Nash

Mack: This is my go-to whenever I come to Assembly. I'm a poke girl, and this is a really solid, healthy bet. My order: The Heat Bowl with half brown rice, half mixed greens and salmon.

Brad: Solid and consistent for sure, and unique in Assembly Food Hall as one of the few places you can get something quasi-healthy. I of course like to ruin that by running to the Donut Distillery after. 🍩

2: Chilangos Tacos

Mack: Are these the best tacos in Nashville? Not by a long shot, but it's one of the best places to get a bite at Assembly Food Hall. There are quesabirria tacos, sure, but you should probably stick to the pastor, barbacoa and carne asada. The salsas are delicious and you can (and should) order up a frozen margarita here.

Brad: I don't know, Mack, I freakin' LOVE this place, one of only three outlets for a Dallas-based chain. And I do think it belongs on a list of Nashville's best taco shacks. The meats are super-flavorful and tender, and don't sleep on the quesadillas. If I found myself downtown for a meeting or a visit to the National Museum of African American Music, I'd stop here, something I probably wouldn't do for most other Assembly Food Hall outlets.

1: Dock Local

Mack: This is a hesitant No. 1 on my part, but only because the food is really expensive. But, as they say, you get what you pay for. Will you feel like you're sitting on the dock in Maine? Heck no, man, you're in Nashville. But I loved the Connecticut roll with its soft, buttery bun and surprisingly good claw meat. The medium-hot Cajun boil with snow crab legs and all the typical boil additions was the business, and I'm going back for those Nashville hot fish and chips.

Brad: I mean, a lobster roll in landlocked Nashville is tough to find, and a good one, harder still. Like you, I LOVED that Connecticut roll. (Yucky yuck yuck on all cold lobster rolls with mayo!) BTW, we got lobster fries, which I must say, way exceeded expectations. Yummy yum yum!

What do you think? What's your favorite place at Assembly Food Hall? Find Brad at brad@tennessean.com or Mackensy at mlunsford@tennessean.com.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: We ranked the restaurants at Assembly Food Hall in Nashville