A spotlight from Germantown
Rolf and Daughters
Philip Krajeck's Germantown pasta house — modern peasant food inside the old Werthan factory
We consider ourselves to be a utilitarian democratic restaurant.
— Philip Krajeck, Chef & Owner
A brick-and-timber room in the Werthan factory
Philip Krajeck opened Rolf and Daughters inside Germantown's historic Werthan factory in late 2012, laying claim to a warm brick-and-timber room that would soon feel inseparable from Nashville's new dining identity.
Within a year Bon Appétit and Esquire had named it one of America's Best New Restaurants, and a communal-table pasta house became a national talking point.
Modern peasant food
Krajeck's cooking is often shorthanded as modern peasant food — whole-animal butchery, house-milled grain, hand-cut pasta, and a natural wine list that reads as intently as the menu.
He was a James Beard Award finalist for Best Chef: Southeast in 2022, and has since grown a small family of restaurants around it, including Folk and Junior.
Germantown's walkable food district
Germantown sits just north of downtown, a leafy grid of restored 19th-century townhouses and warehouses that has become one of Nashville's most walkable food districts.
Rolf and Daughters anchors the corner of Taylor and Monroe, a short stroll from Monell's, City House, and the Farmers' Market.
Order this
The dishes that made Rolf and Daughters
Garganelli Verde with pork ragù
Hand-rolled green garganelli under a slow-braised ragù of Tennessee-raised pork — the dish Krajeck has said he'll never take off the menu.
Chitarrini with sea urchin & chile
Guitar-cut spaghetti tossed with uni butter, calabrian chile, and sea-salt breadcrumbs. The room's most-requested seasonal special.
Beef tartare
Hand-chopped, dressed with cured yolk and pickled shallot — a fixture on the opening pages of the menu since year one.
Good to know
Rolf and Daughters, answered
How far ahead should I book?
Reservations open a month out on Resy and go fast on weekends — try a Monday or Tuesday for the friendliest same-week odds.
What should I order?
At least two pastas for the table. Portions are share-forward and the kitchen paces courses to match.
How's the wine list?
Deep and idiosyncratic — heavy on natural producers. Tell your server what you drank last that you loved and let them steer.