The November Hit List: Audrey, White Limozeen, The Dutch, and More

The second of Sean Brock’s highly-anticipated restaurants has opened, bringing the chef’s vision of Appalachian cuisine to East Nashville’s McFerrin Park neighborhood. The building is new construction, a sleek, modern hub of culinary experimentation and fine dining. The restaurant offers a five-course tasting menu downstairs, with cocktails from bar director Jonathan Howard and a deep wine list from sommelier Jodie Bronchtein. The menu is constantly changing, but diners can expect dishes like Appalachian grits with mushroom and bay laurel, and cobia poached in chicken fat and grilled over the embers in the wood-fired oven.

There’s never a dull moment at Nashville’s white-hot White Limozeen, the uber-pink, ultra-glamorous rooftop bar at the Graduate Hotel. The drinks are balanced and fun, with names like Queen of the Rodeo and Golden Hour (a nod to local country royalty, Kacey Musgraves?), while the menu is a high-low mix including oysters and caviar alongside a white bread burger topped with brie. It’s a great spot to mix and mingle with native Nashvillians and out-of-towners, too, while overlooking Nashville’s ever-expanding skyline. (Read more about a night out at White Limozeen here.)

Head over to Suzy Wong’s House of Yum for Nashville’s premier weekend drag brunch. “Drag’n brunch” includes seatings at noon on Friday to kick off the weekend, with two seatings on Saturday and Sunday at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. Chef Arnold Myint (the same Arnold Myint who just reopened International Market with his sister Anna) delivers signature Asian fusion dishes, like katsu chicken and waffles and AM fried rice as part of a set menu, which includes price of admission to the show (plus biscuits and scrambled eggs for the table). The show is suitable for all ages (including kids), so get your posse together and don’t forget to tip your entertainers! (They take cash and Venmo.)

For over thirty years, Darfons Restaurant and Lounge has operated as one of Donelson’s classiest restaurants. And its close proximity to the Nashville airport has ensured it is one of the best spots for high quality food aprés-plane (or before your flight, for that matter), with an extensive wine list, cocktails, and a deep menu of American and Mediterranean dishes to please any palate. Prime rib sandwiches, New Zealand rack of lamb, seafood linguine, and steaks topped with crabmeat are just a few of the offerings at Darfons, in addition to a refreshingly well-appointed kids’ menu. Don’t skip dessert, especially the warm butterscotch brownie.

In true homage to the cult favorite movie Big Night (starring a youthful Stanley Tucci), the crew at Mangia throws an Italian feast every Saturday, complete with dancing, singing, and seemingly endless plates of food. The menu changes seasonally and consists of courses of antipasti, focaccia, and mains like rigatoni with roasted butternut squash and porchetta-style pork loin with red onion agrodolce. Saturday’s prix fixe feast lasts from 7 p.m.- 10 p.m. by reservation only; pick up family meals and a la carte dishes to take out Wednesday-Saturday from 4 p.m.-6 p.m.

New York star chef Andrew Carmellini has made his debut in Music City, throwing open the doors to The Dutch at the beginning of October. It’s a Nashville-inspired version of his NYC restaurant of the same name, located on the ground floor of the also newly open W Hotel. The dining room is cozy, with sleek leather banquettes, light wood, and a gas fireplace in the center, with a bustling bar scene on one end. Unlike most modern restaurants, the kitchen is not open to the dining room, which gives it a serene, but lively atmosphere. Cocktails are top-notch, particularly the Big Trouble in Little Tromba, a Tequila-based drink that arrives in a tiki-style skull with a light-up ice cube inside. The food isn’t identical to its NYC sibling, but it is equally as excellent, and includes some of the same popular, and worthy, signature dishes like the fried chicken and honey biscuits, and hanger steak with kimchi rice.

Call 615-379-9000 for reservations.

Three years after the Myint family closed the doors to their original restaurant on Belmont, the restaurant is back in business, in a shiny new spot just down the street. Anthony and Anna Myint have brought back the legendary steam table lunch of Thai specialties, as well as a more curated, plated dinner menu. Anthony, a Top Chef alum and local restaurateur, is taking this opportunity to fine-tune some classics, like son-in-law eggs, eggplant curry, and Hat Yai crispy chicken. Together the siblings have brought back a very much-needed taste of Old Nashville in a modern setting. DM on Instagram for weekend evening reservations, or stop by for lunch from 11 a.m. – 4 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday.

Call 615-297-4453 for questions or reservations.

There’s another Top Chef in town, serving seasonal American fare on Fourth Avenue. Chef Jamie Lynch (who starred on Season 14 of Bravo’s hit tv show) has opened Church and Union as part of his expanding restaurant group, which boasts restaurants in Charlotte and Charleston. Nashville’s new spot is serving up luxurious seafood towers, Lowcountry shrimp and grits, and fine cuts of beef in a roomy, 124-seat space. Don’t forget to look up: the entirety of Sun Tzu’s The Art of War is inscribed on the ceiling.

Call (615) 864-0977 for reservations.

After it was destroyed in the tornadoes that ripped through East Nashville last year, Nashville Urban Winery has emerged from the ordeal as Love and Exile, a winery, restaurant, and event space. It’s named after owner Tyler Alkins’ wine label, which is served up with creative sushi rolls from Ricey & Co. catering every Monday. Cans and bottles of wine are available in the bottle shop for purchase.

There’s a little bit of everything on the menu at this new 12th South restaurant, which boasts a shiny new building on the former location of Royal Cleaners. It has a very modern look, with an 80-seat covered patio and an expansive bar in its 90-seat dining room. Order everything from duck liver mousse to a bagel pizza with cream cheese and lox, to miso grilled salmon with soba noodles. A hefty wine list and craft cocktails are also on offer here, the perfect pairing for watching the bachelorette crowds go by on 12th South.

Call 615-739-5813 for reservations.