The Bunganut Pig–Experience an English Pub During Restaurant Week

One of the several Williamson County restaurants participating in Nashville Originals Restaurant Week is The Bunganut Pig. Just slightly off the beaten path at 1143 Columbia Ave in Franklin, this two-floor English Pub style bar, grill and lounge sits tucked away, a short walk south of downtown Franklin.

It is more than worth the walk.

Its slight hidden-away quality only adds to the charm. Like a true English Pub, as you go down the stairs and through the heavy wooden door, the atmosphere of the place puts its hand on your shoulder and asks to take your coat, as the subtle lighting, darkened mirrors and fire-grilled aroma warm you up and lead you to your table.

The restaurant hosts live music on its lower floor every week night from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m., except for Tuesday which is reserved for team trivia starting at 7 p.m. The performer, usually a local artist, sings with just a guitar, a stool and a microphone atop a handwoven Oriental rug in front of what used to be the building’s hearth. It is very intimate, and a very good place to seek refuge from the cold and warm up over a pint with friends.

Its food is like its tables and décor. Nothing fancy or new, but good and something that you know has stood the test of time (and maybe a bit of spilled Guinness), such as Shepherd’s Pie or Beer Battered Fish and Chips.

Sitting at the smooth and clean but worn and sturdy tables, it feels like the perfect place to get away from it all for an hour or evening during the week. They stand strongly by their statement that their handmade half-pound cheeseburgers, flavored with a secret seasoning known only to the owner, are the best in town, and after eating it with a side of hand-cut steak fries and washed down with a Black and Tan off the tap, many a patron gladly would stand with them- but just let them sit back for a minute and sigh, conent with a smile.

Though, like any good pub, things can get rocking and rolling as the night wears on and the weekend comes.

For three and a half hours or so, starting at 9 p.m. on Friday and Saturday nights, a full band comes to play and, with the lights dimmed down just right, you somehow always hear that one cover song that has you starting to dance before you even stood all the way up.

The lounge and billiards room is located upstairs, with a long bar and two tables, has a lot of space to stretch out, which you enter through a high-railed porch that runs the length of the lounge and billiards room on the outside. The Lanai, as it is called, is enclosed and heated so that even in the cold of January everyone at the Pig, as its many regulars call it, can enjoy looking at the night from a warm, comfortable place.

During Restaurant Week (through January 26th), The Pig is offering:

$21 Burgers for Two

-Two 1/2 lb. Black Angus bacon cheeseburgers cooked to order with choice of two sides and two soft drinks;

$31 Dinner for One

-16 oz. Choice cut Black Angus ribeye steak with choice of side and dessert