Hearts 12 South

Hearts is a true neighborhood gem. There’s an undeniable sense of community. You can tell it’s a place locals love and return to often. The food was phenomenal. Every dish that hit the table was beautifully presented and flavorful. The staff was attentive and made thoughtful recommendations. It’s rare to find a place where both the kitchen and the front-of-house team operate at such a high level. I’ll be recommending it to anyone looking for an exceptional meal in Nashville.

Let's start this off with the splitting of our party. After waiting about 40 minutes to sit down (they told our party it would be 30 min) we walk in and they tell us that they only have room for 6 of our party of 12.... So 6 lucky ones of our party had to find a different location or suffer another half hour wait (estimated time they told us). When the server comes they took only our drink orders, I tried to order my food but was swiftly cut off by the server and told "we don't do that here. I'm only taking drinks right now and I'll take your food order after I bring that. I just want to get the groups drinks right now." I and some members of the table ordered orange juice. They brought it with ice. Which is obviously disgusting. But the we realized why they do this. When I asked for my orange juice to come without ice and they bring it in a cup half the size of the original cup (see photos). The matcha was undrinkable. It was the worst I've ever had. After 1 sip I had to leave it. My hat was on a chair that was not being used but was given to our table and then was taken away from us. I honestly don't know how this place has any good reviews. It sickens me. I would not recommend this place AT ALL. They are not attentive, hunting down the server is difficult, but then again when a 20% tip is mandatory for a party of 6 or more why would you care about providing good service. You'll get your money one way or another. It's been 40 minutes since we sat down as I write this review and our food still has not arrived. After about an hour our food finally arrived. Due to this lackadasical approach to service, I asked for the check as soon as the food arrived. The food was absolutely delicious. It's unfortunate that the experience was so bad. Also the matcha that we took back was exchanged for an orange juice but was left on the ticket because "the 20% tip comes from this and they have to leave it on" which is a pretty sub par excuse. Charge me for the lesser orange juice not the matcha that I took one sip of just to fatten your pocket. They did not deserve the 20% so be aware and split your party up to be under 6 people so that maybe they actually try since they have to actually work for the money.

I really didn't know what to expect. You never can tell about the food though. It seemed that the menu was a bit on the healthy side of things. That might mean that the taste of the food is lacking. It turned out that the food, although the portions can be a little smaller, was really good. I had the eggs Benny and was served with a side of rocket. I had to ask what rocket was. It is arugula. It was all good. Another person I was with ordered the pancakes with ricotta. It was a pretty hefty portion loaded with syrup. Menu isn't huge but what we had was good.

Stopped by on Labor Day for a post-hike brunch. Ambiance was not too busy but they still estimated a longer wait than I expected so I opted to sit at the bar. Food and drinks were good came out timely and service was kind. Only comment is portions were smaller than I expected (especially for the price) so if you’re really hungry (like I was) I would opt to go elsewhere.

We had to wait but man was this place worth it! Like a lot of places in Nashville, you get brought a bottle of water to your table to self-serve. The seating was a little cramped, and it was busy, but the food, in my opinion, made up for that. The staff was really nice. There wasn't one person that I interacted with there that wasn't an absolutely pleasant human. if you don't want to fully commit to a pancake breakfast, please try the single pancake a la carte. We did, and honestly, I am so glad we didn't miss out on it. Delicious!