I’m originally from Florida, where finding an excellent seafood restaurant is like finding an awesome honky tonk bar in downtown Nashville. They are literally everywhere. If you reverse the scenario, Florida is not known for its honky tonk bars. Nor is Tennessee known for its seafood restaurants.
What has made it challenging is this: I have a seafood-loving family landlocked in Middle Tennessee.
I’m not saying there aren’t any seafood restaurants here, I’m just saying that they are few and far between. (Plus I have high Florida standards.)
My relatives from Florida have been raving about their favorite seafood joint: Bonefish Grill.
Wouldn’t you know it… we have a Bonefish Grill in Franklin!
So now it’s just a short car ride for us to enjoy seafood, compared to driving all the way to Florida.
Here’s what our first time at the Bonefish Grill in Franklin was like…
About Bonefish Grill
Bonefish Grill was founded on January 15, 2000 in St. Petersburg, Florida. (Yep, Florida.)
Their aim was “to create a unique dining experience — one that would take the mystery out of fish for people who didn’t eat it very often, and yet provide further mystery for the truly adventurous”.
Sounds delicious to me.
They adhere to the rules and regulations of responsible fishing practices by such noted groups as NOAA and Ocean Trust, to name a few. I, for one, appreciate that.
They have also partnered with the Reef Ball Foundation to assemble, create, and release reef balls off Cape Fear. Cool. I like to eat at — and thus support — responsible restaurants. Bonefish Grill is just such a restaurant!
Bonefish Grill In Franklin
To beat the crowds, we decided to have a late lunch (2PM). It worked — no lines, no waiting, and we were seated right away.
Being the frugal lady that I am, I had signed up to be a Bonefish Grill Insider. (It’s FREE.) I got a coupon (during my birthday month) for either a free appetizer (bang, bang shrimp) or a free dessert (coconut pie). I’m not one for coconut, so I chose the bang, bang shrimp.
While waiting for our bang, bang shrimp, our complimentary bread arrived. It’s served with olive oil pesto.
The kids devoured it. So yes, it was good.
I enjoyed the ambiance of Bonefish Grill. It is nicely decorated, has wonderful natural light during the day, and I could just picture the lighting at night. I’m sure it has a nice romantic feel. It was, of course, tastefully decorated with ocean-themed decor.
The bang bang shrimp arrived and it was AMAZING! I’m not even kidding here.
The shrimp is breaded, lightly fried, topped with an awesome sauce (that has a slight kick to it, thus the name), on a bed of lettuce, and topped with chives. I would go back to Bonefish Grill just to have that again!
We placed our lunch orders with our wonderful server who, by the way, was very nice, efficient and knowledgeable. (Patient too. We have 3 kids.)
I got a tilapia sandwich. Two of my kids shared the fish and chips. Hubby got a Kobe beef burger. (Red meat is a rare treat — like seafood — so I let it slide.) And I had one rebel kid who ordered mac & cheese. (I know, right.)
I sampled everything except the mac & cheese, and it was all to die for. You can’t go wrong with any of it. I couldn’t finish my tilapia sandwich – so I brought home my leftovers. (Ate them the next day… yummy again!)
Most items on the Bonefish Grill menu are seafood, but if you are not the seafood type, they still have something for you — like different salads, chicken marsala, pork chops, and steak, to name a few.
We had a great dining experience at Bonefish Grill in Franklin.
My family agrees with our Florida relatives in highly recommending this seafood restaurant.
Good To Know Before You Go
- Bonefish Grill is located at 3010 Mallory Lane – Franklin, TN 37067 (615) 771-1025
- Bang Bang Shrimp is $5 all day on Wednesdays. (It’s normally $9.50!)
- Check out their Sunday Brunch Menu.
- They have Happy Hour from 4PM to 6:30PM Sunday through Thursday.
- Sign up to be a BFG Insider. (It’s totally worth the coupon!)
- You can see how delicious their dishes look on their Facebook page, Google+ page, and on Instagram.
I’m a happily married mom to 3 wonderful children: Taylor (13), Gavin (10) and Garrett (8). We recently relocated to the Nashville area from Florida and we’re enjoying exploring Middle Tennessee and all it has to offer. My hobbies are: writing, photography, digital scrapbooking, cooking, and all things parenting.