These are our honest reviews of us going to the pop-up bars around town as consumers not on a VIP preview night. If you have a better or worst experience please comment and/or let me know so I can add it. I know it could of been a busy vs not busy time, staffing issues, etc. to make it terrible or wonderful time. I will get photos and videos loaded as soon as possible on the ones we have already visited but wanted to get the core content up for everyone. We will continue to update this list and add more to this list as we hit the rest of them.
Downtown Nashville Area
Dream: The Cocktail Candy Factory
Mon-Thur: 4:00pm -12:00am
Friday: 9:00am -1:00am
Saturday: 10:00am -1:00am
Sunday: 10:00am -12:00am
Date & time we went: Saturday, December 2nd @ 4:30PM
Wait: We went on a Saturday afternoon around 4:30PM and it wasn’t crazy, and we were able to immediately get one spot at the bar (Corey prefers to stand sometimes). While there for roughly an hour, the room sort of turned over once, but they had the Bama game on and there were people there to watch the game, so your mileage may vary.
Decor: Beautiful in a Wonka way. Couple of nice photo op spots. One TV with football on behind the bar.
Service: Friendly. When we were there were no waiters, you had to wait in a line to get cocktails, unless you sat at the bar. Sitting at the bar is good and bad as bartenders get busy with and tend to forget about people seated at the bar.
Cocktails: Semi batched but made well with attention to detail. Only real knock here is that one of the drinks we had was called Caramel Turtle Dove, but it was ultimately a rip on a margarita. No caramel, nut or chocolate.
The Pear Tree – Excellent. Well balanced.
Peppermint Swans – Dessert Deliciousness.
Gold Rings – Just ok. The lime and sugar rim helped the drink a lot.
Caramel Turtle Dove – Good if you like margaritas, but not desserty as the name would imply.
Food: N/A
Final Thoughts: One of our favorites overall, but a pretty small place.
Ralphie’s Christmas,
Hidden Bar at Noelle | Open through Monday, Jan. 8 We triple-dog-dare-ya to visit this bar inspired by “A Christmas Story.” No reservations are required, so stop by anytime for themed drinks like “Pink Nightmare” and “Drink Your Ovaltine
Monday – Thursday: 5 pm – 12 am
Fridays: 5 pm – 1 am
Saturdays: 4 pm – 1 am
Sundays: 4 pm – 12 am
(Private events may be scheduled on Mondays)
Date & time we went: Saturday, December 2nd @ 5:30PM (after putting name on list at 4:30)
Wait: You must check in with the hostess and they will take your phone number and text you when space is available in the bar. Much better way of doing things because who likes to wait in line for over an hour? We were told 1.5 hour wait, but it ended up being only an hour which gave us an optioned to visit the Dream popup next door. Note: Once inside it was very crowded and seating was limited, however it seemed to turn over rather quickly to where we found a seat within 5 minutes.
Decor: Great. A Christmas Story theme with Raphie stuck to a pole, Raphie in the pink rabbit suite, Leg Lamps and Chinese Takeout. Photo ops were a little rough due to how dark it was.
Service: What you would expect from a busy bar with no waiters, however lines at the bar were typically only 1-2 people deep.
Cocktails: Semi-batched, but well made. All drinks we had were great.
You’ll Shoot Your Eye Out – Coffee and chocolate. You can’t go wrong.
Drink Your Ovaltime – Hard chocolate milk with a sugar wafer straw. Yum!
Nada-finga – Well balanced with a lot of holiday favors.
Triple Dog Dare – Mezcal Old Fashioned. Did not disappoint.
Food: Crispy Duck Fried Rice – We are a fan of duck, so this was great. (If only Michelle knew how to use chopsticks. Hahaha)
Final Thoughts: Crowded and long wait, but totally worth it.
Santa Baby: A Mrs. Claus Pop-Up,
Layer Cake | FCFS Friday, November 24-Friday, Jan. 5 Cherry Lounge, Layer Cake’s swanky underground bar, is putting the spotlight on Mrs. Claus this season with holiday-themed cocktails and lots of photo ops.
Monday – Thursday: 6 pm – 12 am
Friday – Saturday: 1 pm – 2 am
Sunday: 1pm – 12am
Date & time we went: Saturday, December 2nd @ 2:00PM
Wait: This was our first stop of the day, so there was no wait.
Decor: The theme was Mrs. Claus, which pretty much meant anything Christmas. Decorated well with cool Photo Booth however people tended to use the area as seating, so we weren’t able to get a photo.
Service: We sat at the bar, and the service was great. That said it was 2PM, so they weren’t very busy. Hard to say how service would be if the place was packed.
Cocktails: Most of the cocktails were made to order which was a nice touch compared to other popups.
Peppermint Espresso Martini – Delicious and decadent, what you would expect from the description. We decided to “Make It Naughty” which meant it was topped with a chocolate Whipshot (flavored vodka whipped cream), though good it definitely was not worth the $4 up charge. The star of that drink was definitely the frosting covered rim with crushed soft peppermint candy. Yum!
Snowflake Martini – Basically a White Chocolate martini rimmed with coconut. Michelle loved the frosting so much on the previous drink she requested this drink also be rimmed with it with the added coconut. Only knock on the drink (which is a pet peeve of ours) is that the bartender didn’t double strain the drink so there were little pieces of ice floating on top of the drink That said, it was still a great cocktail. (Did I mention the frosting rim
Rudolphs Mug – Kind of your typical rum added eggnog holiday drink. Nothing to really write home about.
Poinsettia Martini – Nicely balanced cocktail with great flavors that blended well.
Food: They offered food, but we didn’t try anything as we had just come from lunch.
Final Thoughts: We had a great experience, and the cocktails were pretty good, our only concern is how would the bar staff do making scratch cocktails if the place was packed. There is something to be said about semi-batched cocktails for speed and consistency.
Frosted Fairlane,
Fairlane Hotel | Open through TBD The penthouse bar boasts frosty drinks, holiday snacks, and wintry backdrops around every turn.
WEDNESDAY & THURSDAY | 4PM – 10PM
FRIDAY | 4PM – 11PM
SATURDAY | 2PM – 11PM
SUNDAY | 2PM – 10PM
Date & time we went: Saturday, December 2nd @ 3:30PM
Wait: There was no wait to get in, however figuring out how to get in is the trick as we had to go to the front desk to get someone to let us in. Once inside, there was a decent wait for the reasons I will outlined below.
Decor: Excellent. No real theme, but great holiday vibe. Only real negative here is that the place is fairly small as it looks to be a converted penthouse room. I’m sure on a non-rainy day you could go outside which would provide much more room.
Service: When we were there, we only saw one staff person for the whole place and that was the “bartender”. It seemed to me the person wasn’t very experienced as the drinks were completely batched and they made one drink at a time, which meant the drink line was long and slow. There were empty glasses all over the place which supports our impression of only one person for the whole place.
Cocktails: Very small drink menu (4 cocktails). Completely batched but made properly.
Christmas in July – As you can tell for the name, it is a summer coconut vodka drink, but then they added Lemon and Lavender for that holiday feel. The drink idea was great, and the cocktail was good, however there was a bite/bitterness which we assumed was from the lemon. Our guess is that the lemon juice that was used was either from a bottle (fresh juice is key to any cocktail) or the juice was just old because fresh juice only lasts a few days before it starts to bitter.
Naughty ‘Nana – Basically a chocolate and banana old fashioned. Not bad, but not great either.
Food: They offered food, but we didn’t stay long enough to try anything.
Final Thoughts: This pop-up was a little hard to get to as there is no signage for the popup in the lobby of the hotel and you can’t get to the rooftop penthouse without help from hotel staff to badge the elevator. Once there the first impressions of the decor makes you think you are in for a real treat, but when you get your bearings you then realize the place is small and there is no real staff. Candidly this popup kind of felt more like a money grab by the hotel as the place wasn’t really a “bar”, just a space they converted to sell batched, overpriced drinks. That said, they did do a great job decorating but that is pretty much the only thing they put much effort into.
Buddy’s Bar,
Pancake Pantry | Open through Saturday, Jan. 6 There’s room for everyone on the nice list at Pancake Pantry’s “Elf”-themed pop-up. Guests can order breakfast dishes like Spaghetti & Syrup (pancakes served “spaghetti style”) and 14 special drinks.
THURSDAY – SATURDAY 6PM – 11PM
220 MOLLOY, NASHILLE TN
Date & time we went: Saturday, December 2nd @ 8:45PM (after 1.5 hr. wait)
Wait: Roughly 1.5 hours standing in a line outside.
Decor: Elf is always a great theme and really fits well with a breakfast restaurant, however execution was just ok. The place was very dark which we think was on purpose to hide the lack of effort on the decor. That said, it is a breakfast restaurant in the morning, so we get that you can’t really go all out.
Service: The place was crazy busy, and service was slow. From the time we were seated to the time we got our drinks it was roughly 30 minutes and food was 45 minutes. Everyone was friendly, they just couldn’t keep up with the demand.
Cocktails: Semi-batched but made properly.
French Toast Crunch – As the menu says, it did taste a good as it sounds. Clearly Old Forge must make a pretty good French toast moonshine as the cocktail was great. Little pieces of French Toast as garnish was a great touch as if helped give you that smell of French toast while you were drinking it.
New Year New Fashioned – A little sweet, but not a bad take on a holiday “new” fashioned.
World’s Best Cup of Coffee – A great take on an espresso martini and was one of Corey’s favorites of the night (to be fair that was after a long day of visits to multiple cocktail bars, so you may have to take that with a grain of salt).
Food: Corey was so looking forward to Spaghetti and Syrup, only to find out that they that weren’t actually serving pasta noodles but pancake noodles. Not deterred, he was like, “I haven’t had pancakes in a while, that still sounds great”. What came to the table was disappointing, especially for the price. It was more like those little drips of pancake batter that get left in the pan when cooking multiple batches of pancakes. Now we get that get were trying to mimic spaghetti, but it definitely didn’t meet our expectations. Additionally, we ordered smash burger sliders and those were pretty good so not all was lost.
Final Thoughts: Between standing outside in the cold for an hour and a half, another 45 minutes to get food and drink, basic decor, and spaghetti and syrup that didn’t meet expectations, it was hard to recommend this one which is sad because this one was one of the ones Corey was most excited to try.
Franklin
Hard Candy Christmas,
Americana Taphouse | Open through Sunday, Dec. 31 You’ll be surrounded by nutcrackers, candy canes, lollipops, and gumdrops as you sip on seasonal beverages and enjoy s’mores served tableside.
Date & time we went: Thursday, November 30th @ 5:00PM
Wait: Roughly 30 minutes but could have been 10 minutes if empty tables were bussed in a timely fashion. Note: online reservations are only for the restaurant, not the pop-up bar. You must visit the hostess of the restaurant to sit at the tables in the pop-up bar. Seats at the bar top are first come first serve with no wait list.
Decor: Candy themed and nicely decorated. No real photo op spots as the place is pretty small. Note: only the bar area is decorated, not the whole restaurant.
Service: Where to begin… Long story short, this pop-up was poorly planned, managed and staffed. Staffing in the pop-up area was pretty much one person, the bartender. The same person who was also expected to provide drinks to the entire restaurant and clean all the bar glassware. We felt extremely sorry for him as he was genuinely trying to do a good job, however, was completely setup to fail. When he would ask for help from the GM, he was provided only limited and brief assistance. How a company would expect one person to make all the bar drinks for the entire restaurant (not just the pop-up bar area), take food and drink orders for the ~28 seats in the pop-up bar area and clean all bar glassware, is just ridiculous. In the end service was terrible, but not due the effort of the single bar staff.
Cocktails: Due to the service reasons above, the cocktails suffered greatly. All drinks were prepared in the glassware in which it was served which meant drinks that should have been shaken, weren’t. Half of the cocktails were batched, but even then, pours varied and weren’t measured. Martini drinks ended up being served in coup glasses that were only 25% full because all the martini glasses were dirty.
Snickerdoodle – We were looking forward to this cocktail when we first looked at the menu earlier in the day, however they were missing the vanilla bean vodka, so it wasn’t available. ?
Hot Buttered Bourbon – ok, Powder packet with hot water and whiskey.
Candy Cane Martini – ok, the peppermint was way overpowering.
Caramel Apple – ok, another powder packet with hot water and spirit cocktail.
Santa’s Little Helper – Good, the best drink out of the ones we tried though not as balanced as I would have expected (too sweet).
Food: The bad and good.
Appetizer: (from the pop-up menu)
Stuffed mushrooms – Not sure how you stuff mushrooms the size of a nickel and apparently neither does the kitchen as 8 tiny mushrooms were served on a sizzling cast iron skillet covered in what should have been inside the mushrooms. An interesting fact about cast iron, if you get it too hot, it stays hot for a long time and any food left on the skillet for a period of time will likely burn and get stuck to the skillet. That happened!
Entrees: (from the main res
Carnivore Mac & Cheese – This was the highlight of the evening. Good portion, good flavor.
Mama’s Delicious Pot Roast – The portion and flavor of the pot roast was pretty good, though the lean pieces were a bit dry. Thankfully there was enough of the delicious, caramelized onion gravy to cover that up. I would probably order it again.
Final Thoughts: I feel like this was one of those situations where ownership of the restaurant said to themselves “hey let’s do a holiday pop-up to increase business”, however what they failed to recognize that you have to staff accordingly. I feel like all that would have been needed to give this place a chance at success is a good bar back that could pour the wine and beer and clean the glassware, and increase the table count for the waiters in the other parts of the restaurant to include the popup tables (many times the restaurant wait staff just stood around waiting on drinks anyway), that way the bartender can focus on what should be the focus of a good holiday popup bar, THE DRINKS! After that experience, we will not be going back for drinks or food, even after the popup is gone.
Worlds best cup of coffee we went to on a VIP night which is a very different experience. We had a wonderful experience obviously so now we need to go back just to make sure! This is what prompted us to do these reviews after having such a terrible experience at Americana Taphouse. I will share my photos and videos from that night.
- Worlds best cup of coffee-Christmas pop up @harpeth Hotel Franklin
Decor:
Service:
Cocktails:
Food:
Wait:
Final Thoughts:
On our list to visit
- JW Starlight, BOOKED 1/7/24 JW Marriott Nashville | Open through Sunday, Jan. 7 All aboard the hotel’s immersive holiday train ride. The 60-minute expedition uses spatial audio, lighting displays, 3D animation software, and 4K HD panels to create a window into picturesque winter scenes.
- Home Alone: Lost at Moxy Christmas Pop-Up Bar!
Our full food menu and specialty snack menu will be available during this time
We are located on the fifth floor of the Moxy Hotel in Downtown Nashville! ??
Bar Hours:
Monday – Thursday & Sunday 4PM – 11PM
Friday and Saturday 4PM– 1AM
- The Rink Above Broadway, Grand Hyatt | Open through Sunday, Dec. 31 Take the elevator to the fifth floor for ice skating, seasonal drinks and eats + special events like cookie decorating classes and breakfast with Santa
- Chalet 27, L27 Rooftop Lounge at Westin Nashville | Open through Monday, Feb. 20 Relax and unwind 27 floors above downtown at the hotel’s annual après-ski-inspired pop-up. Try this: Beer & Gruyere Fondue served with pretzel bites, bratwurst, and grilled sourdough.
- Camp Bobby, Bobby Hotel | Open through Sunday, Feb. 18 Step into this 1970s-inspired rooftop with fire pits (first come, first served), igloos, and a holiday lounge tucked inside a 1956 retrofitted Greyhound bus.
CAMP BOBBY HOURS
Sunday – Thursday: 11am – 9pm (last seating)
Friday and Saturday: 11am – 10pm (last seating)
- Disco Chalet, Thistle & Rye at Conrad Nashville | Friday, Dec. 1-mid-February Groove your way into this winter disco wonderland with outdoor curling, disco beats, and cozy cocktails.
- Rudy’s Rooftop Retreat, Virgin Hotels Nashville | Open through end of December No need to stay indoors. Experience the hotel’s new heated outdoor pool, along with campsite-inspired dinners, warm cocktails, and festive cookies
- Après Ski, PROOF at W NAshville | Open until JanuaryThe terrace has been transformed into a winter village with a groovy twist — cozy up by the bar or reserve a translucent cabin for up to eight guests.
- 9 ¾, HOLIDAY POP-UP AT THE UNION STATION NASHVILLE YARDS Wed Nov 1 1:00PM – Fri Dec 29 10:00PM
- Nashville’s Best Delightfully Tacky Christmas Pop-up
- Honky Tonk Party Bar
- Thursday-Sunday 5pm-everyone leaves 11/29-1/20
East Nashville
- Candy Cane Jane’s, Jane’s Hideaway | BOOKED 12/16/23 Tuesday, Nov. 28-Monday, Jan. 1 The East Nashville bar and restaurant is spreading cheer with holiday lights and decor, festive cocktails, and a new music lineup
- Miracle Bar, Pearl Diver | Open through TBD It’s a Miracle on Gallatin Avenue. Similar to years past, expect themed cocktails and over-the-top decorations at the East Nashville cocktail bar
- Island X-Mas, Chopper |
- MONDAY | CLOSED
- TUE-THURS | 4PM – 11PM
- FRIDAY | 4PM – 1AM
- SATURDAY | 12PM – 1AM
- SUNDAY | 12PM – 11PM
- Boozing with Buddy, Donut Distillery
- Mon-Fri: 7am-6pm
- Sat: 7am-8pm
- Sun: 8am-5pm
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