After months of anxious anticipation, the bistro called Once Upon a Time in France has finally opened in East Nashville at 1102 Gallatin Ave. Parisian Melvil Arnt moved to Nashville to work as a musician and sound engineer in 2016, but he and his father Laurent Champonnois had always shared culinary dreams and decided to make the leap into opening their wine bar/bistro in the former home of Steak & Pizza near West Greenwood. The duo enlisted Melvil’s mother Valérie to join the team and set about to create the restaurant of their dreams.
Their opening hours will be Wednesday through Sunday from 4:30 to 9 p.m., with the intention to stay open a little later on Friday and Saturday once they get their feet under them. Be patient with them, because they don’t accept reservations or offer a wait list, but that’s OK because you can wait at their cozy bar and enjoy selections from a list of more than 75 French wines plus European beers, cocktails and spirits. The food menu is a tight list of quintessential bistro dishes such as escargot, boeuf bourguignon, steak tartare, steak frites, and crevette a la Marseillaise, a creamy tomato sauce and shrimp pasta dish popular in the South of France.
Based on their Instagram feed, the dining space looks stunning, with gorgeous black-and-white tile floors, cane chairs and hammered tin ceilings. Aiming to become a real neighborhood hang, Once Upon a Time in France could easily evolve in to a place you’ll want to visit time and time again. If you get the chance to taste through the menu before we do, feel free to share your impressions in the comments below.
