Picnic Cafe

I feel delightfully nostalgic for my mother and women like her while in this restaurant. The food is simple and tasty. What more could you ask for? The decor is as if a southern woman was turned into a building. Aka perfection. Takeout options are available in the shop corner. Pleasing all around.

Great place for a pit stop! They had great snacky foods and packaged snacks too. We got the street corn salsa, chips, and the pimento cheese dip. We got the 30 minutes before closing and they had already done away with the coffee which sucked since we went there specifically for coffee. We also didn't realize that it was a hit and not a cafe. No seating inside.

This place services the "country club " set. Many people from Belle meade have been coming here for years. The mostly blue and white signature decor is very nice in their new location, but not quite as cozy because of the size and openness of the building. One definite advantage of the new place is a separate area for to go orders. If you are in a rush it's quick to grab something from the coolers. The menu definitely stands out. I would say it is more geared to women and luncheons. There are lots of salad items and sandwiches. I have been 3 times. As far as sandwiches go,I would say they are packed and above ordinary, and probably the closest you could get to your best homemade healthy sandwich. The little sides like fruit salad and potato salads are made with care. The recipes and certain items have been designed by Kathy the owner. The fruit punch is loaded with sugar but a favorite. There are lots of little special touches like the blue and white napkins and doilies giving the restaurant an old timey feel.I always opt for the tuna salad. I once had the lemon artichoke soup. It was grand. I had to go to the store and make some more at home. Since I am Italian, I am still trying to figure out how lemon artichoke wound up being a southern favorite. On one of my visits I snapped a photo for my watercolor:

This place is such a gem! It shows just how good simple food can be when made fresh with great ingredients. They have a great breakfast quiche plate deal. Their sandwiches have something for everyone. The sides are very tasty. I cannot say enough good things about this place. True southern hospitality is served up here. With great dishes. Fresh ingredients. And the decor is just so homey and cute.I hope everyone gives this place a shot. Because it is so good. Can't wait to come back and try out more!

The Picnic is an adorable bistro type restaurant. Everything was meticulous. Unfortunately, their signature dish - chicken salad- I found tasteless! More mayonnaise tasting than anything g else. Sure could have used a bit of salt and pepper for a minimum.

I have been a customer of The Picnic since they were in the old Belle Meade drugstore location, 40 years ago. I stopped for the first time since they moved to their new location. I ordered one of my favorites creamed chicken on cornbread. It had absolutely no flavor at all! Next visit I ordered 1/2 chicken salad and 1/2 pimento cheese sandwich. Both were so dry, I added mayo. I sure hope they haven't fallen into the "bigger is better syndrome."I truly believe the quality of the food has gone down hill, but I will say the service and atmosphere were superb.

Such a fun little place! All the employees are sweet little granny's and the food tastes just like home. 10/10 recommend when in Nashville!

4.5Always on the lookout for a convenient place for a quick pick-up lunch after meetings in Nashville, I found this lovely spot....(thanks to fellow Yelpers!).And, still cautious about Covid, I parked and took a "look-see" what options were and if masks were being worn. Lots of foot traffic in and out and a busy, albeit almost hidden parking lot. (But there are signs...so good job, Picnic staff and/or management.Fairly mixed bag of cautious folks at this point...meaning about half of the customers entering were wearing masks and nearly all staff, save for a few. Plenty of outside seating with a cooling mist-fan in one area.Inside this bright and cheery, sweetly decorated place there are multiple safeguards in place...from curbside pick up to hand sanitizer available inside.But, we're here for the food. First glance and first tastes 4 and 5 star!Quiche of the day - creamy and savory with a few surprise bits of veggie (tomato for one) embedded. Yes, we'd buy it again.Lemon-Artichoke Soup...a bit of a surprise. Great if you are looking for balanced flavor -- a bit of a down-turn if you shun heavily textured cream soups. Mixed stars from wife and myself on this item.Boulevard sandwich....a two thumbs up and 5 stars for flavor, variety, freshness, savory qualities in a more-than adequate portion. (I ended up saving half of mine for later.)Bean soup - this is a tough call in a sense. Freshly made (I assume) flavorful but without the depth of a hearty, slow-simmered soup. This was more like made today, served right away. Yes, some diced veggies added to the flavor, bits of ham needed a boost, and beans were nicely done. But needs a bit more seasoning and simmering. Broccoli Salad - Pretty savory and not too much dressing or sweetness, nice herbal flavor.Devilled Eggs - (Uh, can I give 6 stars?) DELISH!Desserts - there's a bunch and our lemon tart was very nbice. I thought fantastic; my sife said not enough lemon...So you'll have to decide for yourself.Service - absolutely 5 shining stars for helpful, courteous, patient, and efficient servers.

This place is so cute! The food is great and you can tell the use quality ingredients. They're known for their chicken salad and I can confirm that it is really good. Also the lemon artichoke soup was delicious! Definitely recommend! :)

This was the worst experience in so long -Hope you're ready to eat $2 Cafeteria/Airport food and be charged $30 for it, some cold walmart bread and disguise it as "southern cuisine" in Nashville? Gross everything, from the bread to the dry sandwich, the weird mall atmosphere - we were so disappointed and upset we tried to leave our cafeteria plate on one of the 4 tiny doll tables and they had the audacity to ask us to clear it ? Average age of worker is 64 and the food tastes and smells that old! I'd rather make my own picnic lol- truly aghast at why people would choose to be so underwhelmed and disappointed . Worst food in Nashville by food served by Grandparents with bad attitudes !!!!