Sam Weinick
Sam Weinick
Sam Weinick
Sam Weinick
Sam Weinick
Patrick Whalen and Chef Jamie Lynch of The 5th Street Group have introduced a new restaurant to Nashville’s central business district, a sibling to their Church & Union, opened in 2021.
On the ground level of downtown’s iconic L&C Tower, Ophelia’s Pizza + Bar takes its design and culinary cues from Italian restaurants of the ’60s—and some philosophical inspiration from The Bard.
The first thing you notice is the outdoor terrace lined in greenery, with seating under white umbrellas. It provides a sheltered yet breezy view of the downtown hustle and bustle while you linger over plates of prosciutto, whipped ricotta, and spritzy Aperol quaffs. Inside is a charming dining room—set in a series of 2- and 4-tops, and lengths of leather banquettes. A montage of framed photographs, posters, mirrors and memorabilia covers the walls. Domed leaded glass light fixtures are suspended from the ceiling. En route to the kitchen is a 10-person bar where folks sit and sip heady Negronis and servers transport bubbled rounds of pizza, just pulled from the wood-fired oven. Over the sound system, songs of the late ’50s and early ’60s play, veering from Bobby Darin’s “Mack the Knife” to The Temptations’ “My Girl,” and Volaré, oh-oh.
Painted along the top of the walls are two phrases in Italian. Both are from Hamlet. (Indeed, The 5th Street Group has a literary bent; Sun Tzu’s The Art of War is painted on the ceilings of Church & Union.) The first, spoken by the restaurant’s namesake, Ophelia, translates to “We know what we are now; we don’t know what we could be.”
“The words from our muse spoke to us, as the unknown is one of the defining characteristics of being human,” says Whalen. “Beyond the certainty of death, no one knows what happens next, so how you face the world becomes a matter of choice. We choose to embrace the unknown, seeking passion and inspiration from our shared inevitability.”
The second phrase is better known: “Even if this is madness, there is method in it.”
“A well-run restaurant has an element of madness to it,” says Whalen, “typically a factor most operators try to control and eliminate. We focus on leaning into the chaos, sometimes encouraging a bit of method-driven mayhem.”
That mayhem may be what drives the chef and staff to infuse the menu with creativity and the dining experience with an upbeat vibe. Chef Lynch has taken some Italian classics and made them his own. He combines ground beef, veal, and pork in the meatballs for a complex flavor, the texture lightened with egg whites folded into the mix. His red sauce is straightforward: a puree of tomatoes, basil, and salt. His lasagna is a multi-layer wonder of marinara, bechamel, pasta, cheeses, and meat. The ultra-whipped ricotta dish is silken under a drizzle of olive oil and honey, flecked with chili flakes and fresh thyme, relished when spread over the house focaccia.
He’s designed nine different pizzas, all prepared in the Neapolitan manner, ranging from the traditional Margherita (yet elevated with fior di latte—the “flower of milk” mozzarella) to a modern 4-cheese truffle, distinctive with its truffle-oil crust, tomato-truffle sauce and fresh shavings of the earthy fungi. You can kick up any of the pies with the house Nashville Hot honey, laced with Calabrian chilis and ghost pepper salt.
There is a well-constructed Caesar, and you’ll appreciate the balance of bitter, salty and sweet in the Ophelia Salad, where chicories and endives are dressed in white balsamic vinaigrette and finished with crispy discs of pepperoni. Eight plump shrimp surround a mounded tangle of angel hair pasta in Lynch’s version of Scampi, all of the elements prepared with assertive amounts of garlic, white wine, parsley, and toasted breadcrumbs.
It proves difficult to choose a dessert. Beyond traditional: black cocoa, candied hazelnuts, and Frangelico liqueur enrich the Tiramisu. Your eyes will widen at the sight of the Cannoli Sundae; ricotta ice cream embellished with Amarena cherries, pistachios, and housemade pizzelle. And the tableside presentation of the Big Fat Cream Puff is a sure delight: The vanilla cheesecake mousse-filled pastry arrives unadorned. Your server pours dark chocolate ganache over the it, followed by a shower of candied orange zests.
Brunch (Friday through Sunday, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.) and lunch service are now served. Also offered is a by-reservation only After-Dinner Party experience on Friday and Saturday nights, where you can sip specialty cocktails at VIP tables during the wee hours, (11 p.m. to 3 a.m.) and head home with the Happy Ending: two boxed pizzas to go.
(401 Church St., 615-505-1562; opheliasnashville.com)