"What were your first impressions when you arrived? For more than century, the Hermitage Hotel has been downtown Nashville’s address for refined elegance, even as that aesthetic has changed. Drusie & Darr, the hotel’s signature restaurant, is located on its lower floor. As you descend the steps, walking past the uniformed doormen, you might not expect to find barrel-vaulted ceilings and mother-of-pearl pendant light fixtures in what might be a windowless basement gym in another hotel. Drusie & Darr went through an extensive renovation before opening in 2021. The space shows off the hotel’s historic character, while the paint and textiles bring in a more modern feel. The chefs at work are visible in the open kitchen. What’s the crowd like? Drusie & Darr and its Hermitage Hotel are some of the few places where you regularly spot people wearing business suits in Nashville these days. Diners are there is appreciate a leisurely fine-dining meal, either as a big night out in Music City or before heading across the street to a show at the Tennessee Performing Arts Center. Drusie & Darr is one of those restaurants where people speak in hushed tones, something about the reverence for the food and the coziness of the space encourages restraint. What should we be drinking? Drusie & Darr might not have the longest wine list in Nashville—no one is handing you a giant binder here—but what is on the menu is intentional and well-selected. Ask the sommelier for a wine or Champagne (yes, actual Champagne, not “sparkling) to pair with your meal. The cocktails and mocktails are inventive twists on standards, such as the jasmine cucumber gimlet or a green bell pepper soda. Main event: the food. Give us the lowdown—especially what not to miss. When Celebrity Chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten announced he was going to helm a restaurant at the Hermitage Hotel, it was his first project in the South and reinforcement for anyone who still doubted it that Nashville’s culinary scene had arrived. The menu includes Vongerichten classics such as warm shrimp salad and crispy sushi. But that doesn’t mean you’ve seen and eaten at all even if you have dined at other Vongerichten restaurants. Executive Chef Kelsi Armijo continues Vongerichten’s traditions of combining Asian and European tastes with local ingredients. Try the smoked salmon hash with caviar or the mushroom Bolognese pasta. And how did the front-of-house folks treat you? The Hermitage prides itself on good service, this is somewhere hotel staff greets you by name and holds the door open, so it should be no surprise that the staff at Drusie & Darr is attentive, engaged and knowledgeable. Ask away about any of the dishes; there’s no question they can’t answer (and if you stump them, they’d find the answer somewhere else). And, if you spill your wine or drop your fork? It’ll be picked up before you realize what’s happened. What’s the real-real on why we’re coming here? Because Drusie & Darr is in the hotel, it is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner. The meals at all three are good, but dinner is the standout, the place to go to take a prospective employer, business partner or spouse to impress them." - Margaret Littman
