Bishop’s Meat and Three

The original home of Hattie B’s. Great location right outside of the galleria area so it was a welcome break after running the American Girl Doll gauntlet.
Got the hot chicken, medium. Really good. The regular meat and three choices are good too. Kids had the fried chicken with beans, corn and potatoes. The restaurant was clean and the staff were very helpful.

Excellent! Great hot chicken, sweet potatoes and Mac and cheese. Excellent service and very clean place. Nice folks here and love we can have genuine Hattie B’s hot chicken right here in Franklin!

We wanted this place to be great but it just didn’t hit home.
We went during the dinner rush hoping for the freshest options.
The grilled chicken breasts were grilled hours ago and soaked in a gravy. It tasted more boiled then grilled. No flavor and surprisingly dry for being soaking in fluid.
Their sides weren’t fresh or appealing.
Doubt we’ll be back but if we do we’ll definitely stick with their fried chicken looks looks one of the only solid choices on the menu.

This is my favorite place to eat! Every thing they have is excellent. Love their Mac & Cheese. Chicken & dumplings (Thursday) is as good as grandma used to make. Try their hot Catfish in
Friday

Second time here. Excellent in many ways. The food is fresh! The dining area is very clean! It was extremely busy this one day. All tables were taken, outside seating, and there was a line out to the door.
They sell hot chicken! I recommend starting with mild. If you feel adventurous, go higher in spiciness. I had the medium-​WOW! It was fresh, hot, and very spicy. Enjoy.

Popped in on a Friday night at 7PM and the place was half full. The look and feel of the place has improved in the past few years from prison-​cafeteria vibe to small café but they play pop music really loudly overhead — so loud that we had trouble talking to one another during the meal. The cafeteria style line starts with piles of stryofoam plates and plastic cutlery. I hate eating off of styrofoam and if I’m going to pay $ 40 for an eat-​in meal, I’d really appreciate proper rigid cutlery. Watching my 77 year old mom wrestle with cold fried chicken using a plastic knife and fork did have some comedic value! :) That said, there were 5 entrée choices: out of roast beef at 7PM so the remaining choices were two fried entrees (fried chicken or fish), grilled chicken, or chicken broccoli casserole. The casserole was dry and looked like it had been there for some time. The grilled chicken looked pretty old also… we all ordered the fried items along with mashed potatoes, green beans, mac and cheese, and cornbread. The fried entrees were all cold. The sides were ok but the mashed potatoes are commercial not homemade — not sure about the others except to say it was all rather bland. The cornbread was dreadful — covered with oil and cold. The rolls were good. The staff are relatively efficient but don’t seem terribly happy to be there. No passion for the food or the customers — no welcome — no greeting — no warmth.
Felt like soul food with no soul… and I thought boxed mashed potatoes had been outlawed in the south! Cracker Barrel is one mile north — go there instead.

Bishop’s meat and three is a hidden gem in the Cool Springs area and WILL NOT disappoint but always delivers a SOLID southern food experience.
The owners of Bishop’s have over 50 combined years of experience AND are the proud parent of Hattie B’s Hot Chicken, which is the best «Nashville hot chicken» joint in town. This small meat and three not only created the Hattie B’s brand but they serve «Nashville» hot chicken daily. BOOM!
Too make things even more impressive, Bishop’s make all items from scratch using local and organic whenever possible.
And the carrot soufflé is AMAZING!!!

After a year of working in Cool Springs and driving by this place at least once a week, I finally decided to try it out. I am usually disappointed in meat and threes because the food still tastes mass produced and sub-par…so I am surprised at how delicious my lunch — so good that I am writing this review while eating!
What brought me in: the turky and dressing. It’s yucky outside and I needed some comfort food. The T&D did NOT disappoint and along with the mac & cheese and sweet potatoes, I would say it’s grandma-​caliber food.
#nom

The food was delicious! The cafeteria style ordering system allows for a quick flow through the ordering process.
A wide variety of food options that included flavors from other local greats such as Hattie B’s.

Long Line:
I went in Saturday afternoon and this huge family was in front of us in line. At least 15 people. It took probably 20 mins of waiting on 1 employee to work on them while another was out back (cooking?) and a third was doing menial crap like taking the trash out. From any common sense, maybe ask that employee to hop on serving the line? No, didn’t happen.
I didn’t mind the wait too much, but the ironic thing was it was just after lunch time and I didn’t want to wait for the Chick-​fil-​A line next door. I wasn’t bothered, but definitely don’t count on this place if you are in a hurry.
Food:
The food was good but I had the feeling I could make everything (besides the hot chicken) at my house, just as tasty. That’s kind of the point of soul foo) but it doesn’t make it easy for someone to pay extra for.
My meal was pretty great tasting, Hot Chicken was great, Mac-​N-​Cheese was good but my mashed potatoes were very mediocre and my corn bread sucked.
Atmosphere:
You walk in and you grab a grade school lunch tray and plastic utensils, read information printed on a sheet of printer paper or written on the chalk board behind the serving line. Then you go down this buffet (chipotle-​style) line while the server loads you up. Then you sit down enjoy your food and then… I broke my plastic fork trying to cut my chicken. Plastic utensils for a $ 10 meal? That’s off.
Music:
Also as mentioned by other reviews the music was top 40 pop and no one there was the age group that would enjoy that. Most people sitting down were closer to listening to Soft Alt Rock than anything. Atmosphere is a lot about a business, here it just seemed off.
Good food, acceptable pricing, but not an enjoyable experience.

I came in on Saturday afternoon (around 2 pm). I wanted chicken and was headed to good olé Chickfila when I remembered that Bishop’s served hot chicken so I thought I would give it a try.
The atmosphere is a little confusing. Bishop’s is an establishment that serves southern food — mac and cheese, chicken, green beans, mash potatoes, etc. and yet the first thing I noticed was today’s pop hits playing loudly. I didn’t find it fitting.
I waited in line for 15 – 20 minutes for my food as there was only one employee serving the line as well as working the register. One poor man and 12 people in line. There was another employee who I saw going in and out of the back after picking up used trays from above the trash can. I use to work in food and bev, I was always told to take care of the line of customers first and worry about everything else later. But I’m guessing that’s not the case at Bishop’s…
Food was average. Chicken was just okay. I got broccoli casserole, mac and cheese and mash potatoes all of which were also, just okay.
Bishop’s wasn’t worth the wait or the money. Cracker Barrel has better quality food.

When it comes to the top Meat and Three restaurants in Middle TN, Bishop’s is certainly near the top of the list; I’d say it handily takes the top spot when restricting the geography to the Franklin/​Cool Springs area.
The place is relatively small, but people tend to move on through and eat quickly, so tables have a way of opening up just as they’re needed. The food is awesome — the fried chicken is especially tasty. All the sides are legitimately scratch-​made, down to the small lumps of un-​mashed potatoes in the mashed potatoes.
For you hot chicken aficionados, Bishop’s serves Hattie B’s branded hot chicken — I assume there’s some sort of arrangement between the establishments, but it saves you a drive to Midtown or West Nashville when you’re craving your Hattie B’s fix. They only had Mild through Damn Hot, so you Shut the Cluck Up masochists will still have to make the trek to one of Hattie’s locations.
The only reason I subtract a star is the plastic silverware and Styrofoam plates and cups — I get it, but it doesn’t mean I have to like it.

I was NOT impressed. In fact I was disappointed. We wanted catfish and some good olé meat + 3 side dishes. I should’ve stopped when I saw how empty the place was at the height of lunchtime. I kept on anyway. While place was very clean and the counter of food inviting; the food experience didn’t match up. 1) The portions were just okay 2) The food was «fresh» and they shuttled out more pans as folks did come to order but…3) There was NO FLAVOR whatsoever to anything. I mean, can you please use seasoning? 4) The mashed potatoes were boxed made, not homemade 5) There was a salad with broccoli, cauliflower and raisins that sat in a watery sauce 6) The cabbage was plain no flavor at all 7) And the carrot soufflé was too over sweet.
So what DID I like, the hot sauce that I slathered in order to add flavor. I’m sure the desserts were great but I didn’t want to go any further than I went. Two meals, plus drinks totaled $ 26.31. I’ll pay for great food so that’s not an issue. But unfortunately, never again here. Meat + 3’s should have that down home flavor and «ooooh you’ve got to go to this place» type of review. This placed missed those marks.

We stopped here after my sister raved about it. Pretty crowded inside. There were a lot of choices of food. After seeing a guy get what looked like sweet bbq chicken to go, I asked for that as well. I was informed it was hot sauce/​buffalo. I got the hot chicken in mild but seemed sort of like medium. The chicken breast was big. I also got Mac and cheese after reading the reviews. I also wanted to try the jalapeño cornbread (okay) and the stuffing was gritty. The Mac & cheese was pretty good when I added some salt. The meal held me over for a long time.

I’m rarely down in Franklin so when I’m there I usually don’t try many new places. We were actually parked in the Chick Fil A parking lot when I looked over and saw Bishop’s and thought, what the heck, might as well try something new! We walked in and almost walked back out. The restaurant is nothing to look at, it’s not decorated cute, it’s not vibey, it’s just a restaurant in a strip center with ready made items at the front.
My husband and I decided to stick it out because the reviews on Unilocal are so good, glad we did! They had pot roast, one of my favorite meals ever. I will stay anywhere for pot roast! I decided on the pot roast with mashed potatoes, mac and cheese and green beans. The pot roast was delicious! I could eat that every day. Now the sides, one of the reasons I gave this place a 3, some are good, some are really not great. The green beans taste like they were just dumped from a can, nothing special, nothing nutritious, just soggy green beans. The mashed potatoes were runny, couldn’t figure out if they are instant or just really thin. The mac and cheese, however, is pretty good!
Update — Since my first time I’ve been back a couple more times. Each time there are definitely good parts to the meal and then some sub par parts. Another drawback is sometimes they have really great employees and then sometimes, like this last time, they have some employees that couldn’t care less about helping out.

Honestly I was hesitant trying this place due to the mixed reviews but I am glad I gave it a chance. I’m a stickler on soul food since it plays a huge role in my childhood for a time period.
Service was quick, which was great for a to go order. Ordered hot chicken, carrot casserole, mac n cheese, and corn bread. The hot chicken had a crispy crunch and wonderful flavor with the heat expected of hot chicken and was all around delicious.
The other foods left me lacking by comparison. The casserole was overbearingly sweet (even for soul food), the mac n cheese was under seasoned, and the corn bread was dry. So while the service and meat was phenomenal… everything else brought me to calling this an «okay» joint. Maybe if I ate the sides first I would be singing a different tune… regardless. GET THE FRIED (HOT) CHICKEN. IT’LL MAKE YOUR DAY :)
Also it’s pretty cheap considering the amount of everything you get.

I wanted to get something quick and cheap… this was quick but not cheap. A meat and 2 is $ 8.49 and meat and 3 is $ 8.99. Then again, we are in Cool Springs. Today, I had the braised beef tips over rice with turnip greens and carrot soufflé. The braised beef tips over rice was okay — it had beef, celery and carrots in a gravy… the turnip greens, pretty standard. The carrot soufflé was buttery and was probably my favorite out of everything I had.
The server was nice and explained what everything was. There are probably about 10 – 12 two/​four seater tables.
Moe’s BBQ is similiar and nearby. I won’t be returnng to Bishop’s.

Went to Bishop’s at 3pm and the place was deader than a door nail. But was hungry and desperate for some hot chicken…
They had a sign saying they offered Hattie B’s hot chicken… Can they do that?
So I got it. The server girl pulled out 2 pieces of regular fried chicken under the foil from the warming pan at the counter, took it into the kitchen, and in 5 minutes came out with hot chicken. Can they do that and call it real hot chicken too?
I dunno. I feel I didn’t get the real McCoy. And it didn’t blow me away.

I just tried Bishop’s last night and am a huge fan already. My brother in law and I decided one of us would get the hot chicken and the other one would get the chicken fried chicken so we could share and have a little of both. It is a nondescript little restaurant in a strip mall.
When you walk in the food is set out cafeteria style and you just tell them what you want. You grab a tray, silverware and napkins as they prepare your plate. If you are dining in they put the food on a disposable plate. if you are taking it to go they put it in a to go box, obviously. The employees were friendly and offered their assistance if we needed anything.
The choices of meat are written on a chalkboard so they do change. I got the chicken fried chicken, which was a big piece, with mashed potatoes and macaroni and cheese. It takes really great flavor for me to really love macaroni and cheese and this delivered.
Everything was so flavorful. I didn’t need to add any salt and pepper to any of it. It was great all on its own. I tried my brother in laws hot chicken and it was great too. I believe he got medium as the flavor and it was just the right amount of heat. I would definitely order that next time. The food also comes with a roll or cornbread. I got the roll but since I am not a huge bread person I didn’t try it especially since I was enjoying my meat and vegetables instead.
This is a great find if I am in the area!

I think the original plan was to do Sunday brunch at J. Christopher’s, but there was already a 45-​minute wait by 10:30am. The Unilocal app said Bishop’s was across the street and ready to open, so we took a chance. Sometimes, it’s good to take a chance.
Classic Southern meat & three, and pour some more of that wacky sweet tea. Incidentally, Austinites get excited over fried chicken — they just opened a Gus’s here — but apparently y’all in Nashville have it everywhere and can take it for granted. I actually did the grilled tilapia to feel semi-​healthy, and what I thought were sweet potatoes may have been Bishop’s carrot soufflé specialty — whatever it was, it was great.
I’m not the biggest fan of styrofoam or cafeteria-​style service, but it’s no big deal. I’ll take quick & clean & cheap & good anytime — a win-​win combo no matter where you’re from. This place was just an all-​around pleasant bonus. I usually don’t say this about restaurants, but at Bishop’s, they had me at hello.