Cool Cafe

I tried this place today for the first time and was happy I did. I wanted to try a bit of everything. The portions are large and I had enough for lunch, dinner and lunch for work tomorrow! The fried chicken was very good, juicy and well seasoned. The potato salad was good, not amazing but definitely good. The mashed potatoes and gravy… smack yo mamma good. I did not care for the Mac and cheese. There was a gloopyness to it and it had a jalapeño flavor or something to it that I wasn’t expecting. The pasta salad I could have eaten all day long. YUM! Now the real show stopper was the banana pudding. Oh. My. Word. I will crave their banana pudding forever now! Can’t wait to go back– I really could just make a meal out of sides. Delicious. Go try it out!

The Hot Chicken was chicken, and it had some good heat to it. It was good, but I’m not a connoisseur of Nashville’s Hot Chicken scene. The sides though, that’s where this place shines. You can tell everything is home-​made, and not from the Sysco truck. There’s something magically different about the potato salad. I could eat a lot of that, which is good because the portion sizes are huge. The mac & cheese is thick and cheesy. I could just sit with a spoon and the home-​made ranch dressing, too. Skipped dessert tonight because I didn’t plan ahead and had too much of everything else, but I plan on saving a bit of room next time for the famous banana pudding.

Everything was cold. Fried chicken brussle sprouts and cornbread. Ice cold. My son had the prok chop and mashed potatoes that were piping hot.

This place is a great stop for home cooking. Excellent fried chicken and mashed potatoes with gravy. The fried okra is legit, not something that came out of a frozen bag.
I think their line needs help, though. It takes too long to get through the buffet because it’s like the workers don’t understand the concept of an assembly line. One server would follow a customer down the line and then roll back to the front of the line again… or not. Sometimes a worker would walk away from the assembly line and go stock something or switch out a pan. It just didn’t make sense that they wouldn’t stay in place and pass the plates down the line.
Anyway. I always enjoy coming to Cool Café because I know the food will be delicious. I try not to think about how much trash they are throwing away since they only use disposable plates, cups and silverware.

Meat & Veggies available here!
I’ve tried this place three times because I love meat and vegetables for lunch and I really wanted to find something I loved. This place has been voted best meat n three in Franklin but I just can’t agree with that.
I tried the pot roast on my first visit and the barbecue on my second visit. I couldn’t believe how dry they were. I like tender juicy meat. Maybe it dries out sitting in the cafeteria style line but I always visit close to opening time. The mashed potatoes were dry both visits also. My coworkers said you are just ordering the wrong food because they are known for their fried chicken. So my third visit I get the fried chicken with mashed potatoes and fried corn. That is not even close to the best fried chicken I’ve had. It was OK at best. However the mashed potatoes were creamy and yummy and I love the fried corn. Just be careful with the corn as it is always hot and you don’t want to burn your taste buds.
The service was good and the staff does a good job. Maybe the cashier on my first visit could complain a little less about how bad her job sucks but in her defense it was almost her last day. The food server on my second visit was having a bad day also. It might make me feel better about eating average tasting meats if the staff were a bit happier.

Amazing place! If you haven’t tried it you must! Great food!

excellent food, terrific service, and fair prices. Can’t say enough good things about this great find.

Avoid the hot chicken until they can figure out the right spice combination. It taste like a spice combination more for fish than hot chicken. Besides as long as you Big Shakes in Franklin I’m not sure why anyone would eat hot chicken anywhere else. Other than that, Cool Café is usually good quality southern meat and three with generous portions. Unfortunately is pretty much the only meat and three in Franklin anymore anyway.

Cool café has delicious food made with love! Every time I go in I am greeted with a smile and quickly served my food. Lunch is always busy, but even the customers are just happy to be there which gives it a homey atmosphere. My favorite day is Tuesday because they do the southern fried pork chop, and oh my god, it’s awesome! I always pair it with the homemade mashed potatoes, fried corn, and green beans which ends up being about three meals for me. They have a little bucket of sliced white onions next to the drink station, which I love and makes me feel right at home. Give it a try, and I am sure you’ll be glad you did!

Stop by on a Monday afternoon bout 5 had their meatloaf and 3 sides, will be back soon for their Fried Chicken, friendly people ta boot’

Best Meat and three in Franklin and the surrounding Nashville area. Super good food! Very large portions, so go hungry.

This is a great local Meat & Three in the Franklin area. I actually like it better than Bishop’s in Cool Springs. The portions are hefty, and it tastes like home cooking. They have more side dish options than most similar restaurants. When I went in today, I had to choose from almost a dozen! I chose the meatloaf, mac ‘n’ cheese, and apple cobbler dessert. All were tasty. Fiancé chose fried chicken (he loves their chicken), corn, and mashed potatoes. They give you a roll too. With drinks, our total came to about $ 22. Not bad at all! The place was packed, but we found a table.
I’d definitely come back, though that heavy lunch put me in a big of a food coma afterwards!

Been lunching here for several years. Cool Café is the very best meat & three I have ever experienced — all fresh, home-​made, excellent choises and owner told me he goes through about 72 lbs. of butter a week — the real deal ! Any day I’ve been there has been excellent, but if you have limited occasions, go on Hub-​CapTuesday (the pork chops are as big as hub-​caps) or Friday for the fried catfish… or any day — the fried chicken is outstanding.

A great meat and 3! While the fried chicken is great, I put the Nashville twist on it and have the hot chicken. The medium heat has great flavor, then have them add some of the medium sauce to the potatoes and Mac and cheese, that is what puts it over the top. The owners are very nice and courteous.

Meat and 3 type restaurant. Food was fresh and delicious. Ample food provided for the dollar. Will definitely visit again.
I had fried catfish with hush puppies, green beans, and fried corn (meat and 2), with a hot roll. Excellent all the way around.

Size doesn’t matter.
How many permutations of that phrase do we hear each day? In the case of Cool Café, it rings true inasmuch as big portions do not equal big flavors or delectable delights.
The Good: really generous portions. Congenial and friendly counter staff. This is a traditional meat and three (1−2-or-3 as you like) so no restaurant-​style wait staff; carry your own tray and bus your own table. Ample lot parking. Large selection of daily specials and regular sides. Friendly atmosphere all around.
Low-​Down: Very good Fried Chicken, simple crispy flour coating, lightly seasoned with a very tender and very moist interior. Well-​flavored Broccoli Salad with broccoli florets, raisins, onions, and a rather runny, sweet dressing. Darn good Creamed Spinach with a slight hint of heat for a back of the throat finish. Just okay Creamy Mac and (not very) Cheese (y).
Bottom Rung: Run-​of-​the-​mill Baked Tilapia with no discernible flavor profile… just a tad muddy. Cucumber and Onion Salad with a hint of cinnamon? (Not for my tastes.)
Out of Bounds for a Southern Restaurant (and not Guy Fieri’s kinda OOB)…a half-​inch slab of something the color of over-​baked cornbread: Dry, Greasy, and … well, it ain’t my Grandma’s cornbread by a long stretch.
As noted earlier, there are a lot of offerings and on the serving line and they look very appetizing. I’d love to go back and try the Deviled Eggs and a few of the other Cold Salads or perhaps the Fried Okra, Lemon-​Basil Pasta, Beer Boiled Cabbage, or Turnip Greens. But am feeling a little shy about a return trip.
The desserts looked very appealing… but I didn’t try. Maybe I’ll go for salad and dessert sometime.
All-​in-​all a bit of a disappointment.

Enjoyed this local stop on August 12 for the first time and it was fantastic! I had fried chicken, potato salad, mac and cheese and, for dessert, cherry cobbler. I also tried a bite of the banana pudding from my friend’s plate and it was completely fabulous. Portions are really large — could not finish everything on our plates. They also had hot chicken sauce for the fried chicken and the additional meats for the day were a mexican chicken casserole and a lightly fried pork chop, both of which looked great. My friends raved about the brussels sprouts and mashed potatoes too. The restaurant is much larger than it appears from the outside, but it was very loud and PACKED full of people. We will definitely be back for more!

Good food in good portions. Seating is packed and it’s noisy due to all the people who love to eat here. I would grab it to go in the future if I am going during the lunch rush.
Tables did need to be wiped off and the trash needed to be emptied. The line started getting pretty long as we ate. I think they were just short staffed that day. The owner was out there cleaning up the dining room as we were finishing our meal.
I would absolutely go back Try the broccoli salad it’s awesome!

Brought my wife here for lunch and we. Both had the hot chicken. I asked for mild, but I have to assume they gave me medium because if it was mild, holy moly! It was very tasty even still, and the sides were amazing. We will come here again for lunch and I aim to try the pork chop next time.

one of the better meat and three places in the brentwood/​franklin area.
get like a bazillion of the deviled eggs – they are glorious!
i’m giving 4 stars as an «in comparison to» thing related to the other meat and threes.
the bbq chicken was really tender and moist, the macaroni was creamy and delicious (not too thick), and… well, that’s all i had, but the banana pudding looked life-​changing.