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Though The Capitol Grille is the fine-dining restaurant at the elegant Hermitage Hotel, and the dining room in which it’s housed is a white-linen table clothed affair, the food presentation at this Four-Star restaurant is far from fussy. Chef Tyler Brown has created a menu of updated Southern recipes, and he sticks to simple preparations that make the dishes feel homemade, only a bit dressier. Mini cast-iron pots and pans are used wherever possible, giving the dishes a straight-from-the-oven feel. Because many of the vegetables and herbs are sourced from the organic farm Brown maintains at the historic Farm at Glen Leven, each dish gets its color and texture from the simplicity of the just-picked ingredients incorporated into every recipe.

The menu at The Capitol Grille is essentially composed entirely of seasonal dishes. As the seasons change, so changes the menu, which is built around ingredients from the Four-Star restaurant’s nearby farm at Glen Leven. The Capitol Grill cultivates an organic vegetable garden through a parternship with the Land Trust of Tennessee. The restaurant’s executive chef, Tyler Brown, switches between his chef and farmer hats as he divides his daily duties between his two masterpieces: the farm and the restaurant. Brown uses sustainable farming practices to grow quality produce and create a farm-crafted menu from the fresher-than-fresh vegetables. In addition to the garden, the farm at Glen Leven includes cattle and several beehives. You’ll find a new menu each season, as Brown integrates his fresh vegetables into classically Southern dishes.

Prepare yourself for upscale takes on classic, homemade dessert recipes at the Four-Star The Capitol Grille, where the dessert course is every bit as hearty and satisfying as the rest of the Southern-influenced menu. Simplicity is the rule, with ingredients sourced from local, organic farms whenever possible. Choose from concoctions such as the chocolate pudding cake (made with chocolate provided by local chocolatier Olive and Sinclair) the Jack Daniel’s semifreddo, or the warm summer berry pie. If the profiteroles with dulce de leche ice cream make an appearance during your visit, take our word and snap them up.

Varied definitions of romance abound, and while The Capitol Grille might not fit with everyone’s definition, there is something romantic about the special occasion feel of the vaguely Victorian dining room. Tucked away on the lower level of the stunning Hermitage Hotel — the only Five-Star hotel in Tennessee — The Capitol Grille feels like a special place. Top-notch service from knowledgeable staff and a delectable menu showcasing fresh, seasonal ingredients add to the beauty of the setting. The servers are also well-trained in the many wines offered to complement the rich, hearty menu, and can guide you from bubbly to Bordeaux with ease.

The menu at The Capitol Grille is essentially composed entirely of seasonal dishes. As the seasons change, so changes the menu, which is built around ingredients from the Four-Star restaurant’s nearby farm at Glen Leven. The Capitol Grill cultivates an organic vegetable garden through a parternship with the Land Trust of Tennessee. The restaurant’s executive chef, Tyler Brown, switches between his chef and farmer hats as he divides his daily duties between his two masterpieces: the farm and the restaurant. Brown uses sustainable farming practices to grow quality produce and create a farm-crafted menu from the fresher-than-fresh vegetables. In addition to the garden, the farm at Glen Leven includes cattle and several beehives. You’ll find a new menu each season, as Brown integrates his fresh vegetables into classically Southern dishes.

Though The Capitol Grille is the fine-dining restaurant at the elegant Hermitage Hotel, and the dining room in which it’s housed is a white-linen table clothed affair, the food presentation at this Four-Star restaurant is far from fussy. Chef Tyler Brown has created a menu of updated Southern recipes, and he sticks to simple preparations that make the dishes feel homemade, only a bit dressier. Mini cast-iron pots and pans are used wherever possible, giving the dishes a straight-from-the-oven feel. Because many of the vegetables and herbs are sourced from the organic farm Brown maintains at the historic Farm at Glen Leven, each dish gets its color and texture from the simplicity of the just-picked ingredients incorporated into every recipe.

Prepare yourself for upscale takes on classic, homemade dessert recipes at the Four-Star The Capitol Grille, where the dessert course is every bit as hearty and satisfying as the rest of the Southern-influenced menu. Simplicity is the rule, with ingredients sourced from local, organic farms whenever possible. Choose from concoctions such as the chocolate pudding cake (made with chocolate provided by local chocolatier Olive and Sinclair) the Jack Daniel’s semifreddo, or the warm summer berry pie. If the profiteroles with dulce de leche ice cream make an appearance during your visit, take our word and snap them up.

While all of the desserts at The Capitol Grille are both beautiful and delicious, the Four-Star restaurant does have a few signature desserts that are worth saving room for. The famed chocolate pudding cake is rich, decadent and served with port-poached cherries and cherry ice cream. The dessert is made using chocolate by local beans-to-bar chocolate maker Olive and Sinclair, giving a true local flavor to the rich, classic dessert. This being Tennessee and home to one of the world’s most famous whiskey makers, Jack Daniel’s, one of the signature desserts served at The Capitol Grille is made using the potent spirit: The Jack Daniels semifreddo, served with a sweet-and-salty brownie and bourbon butterscotch sauce.

Chef Tyler Brown has crafted a bar menu for The Capitol Grille that draws on his love for classic Southern recipes. Witness his take on Granny’s deviled eggs with pickled ramps and guanciale, or fried green tomatoes with pimento cheese and pepper relish. Other menu options include The Capitol Grille burger, pimento grilled cheese sandwich and oysters on the half shell. Signature drinks served in the Oak Bar include any drinks made from Tennessee’s own Jack Daniel’s Single Barrel whiskey. Other favorites are selections from the “100 wines under $100” menu. The Oak Bar also has a happy hour menu of half-price items available between 4:30 p.m. and 6:30 p.m.

As the seasons change in Nashville, so changes the menu at The Capitol Grille. The Four-Star restaurant has a partnership with Land Trust of Tennessee that grants executive chef Tyler Brown the ability to wear two hats — chef and farmer — as he oversees an organic garden at the nearby Farm at Glen Leven. The menu features vegetables from the garden as well as beef also raised on the farm. You’ll find à la carte options with regionally and historically matched side dishes. Highlights include entrées such as braised Painted Hills beef short ribs with ratatouille and squash blossom as well as Sunburst Farms trout that can be paired with fried green tomatoes or truffle macaroni and cheese.

Chef Tyler Brown mans the stoves at the storied The Capitol Grille, where he brings his devotion to seasonal, locally sourced Southern cooking to life. Brown holds a degree in culinary arts from Johnson & Wales University and has worked in kitchens such as the Four-Star Peninsula Grill in Charleston, S.C. Brown also served as executive sous chef at the Five-Star Fearrington House in Chapel Hill, N.C. before becoming executive chef and partner of Southern Comforts BBQ & Soul, an upscale comfort food restaurant in Charlotte, N.C.

In 2003, Brown became chef de cuisine at The Capitol Grille before taking on the title of executive chef. He is a member of the Southern Foodways Alliance and is on the board of the Slow Food USA Nashville Chapter. In 2010 Brown was among the semi-finalists for the James Beard Award category of “Best Chef, Southeast.”

Brown also has the unofficial title of head farmer at the nearby Farm at Glen Leven, where he has built a period, organic garden through a partnership with the Land Trust of Tennessee. Food from the garden is featured in the seasonally shifting Capitol Grille menu Brown designed.

The Capitol Grille’s executive chef Tyler Brown has emerged as one of Nashville’s most talented chefs and has become a forerunner in the trend of chefs practicing cultural sustainability (in other words, preserving the recipes of the region in which he lives, the South). His farm-crafted menu displays that commitment to sustainability, both in ingredients and techniques. In addition to overseeing the kitchen at The Capitol Grille, Brown heads up the Farm at Glen Leven, a historic farm purchased by the Land Trust for Tennessee, where he uses organic farming practices to make sure the produce comes out of the ground as nature intended. The vegetables used in The Capitol Grille’s seasonally-planned dishes are cultivated at Glen Leven. The farm now includes a herd of cattle as well as several beehives. Brown strives to preserve the heritage of the South by paying homage to the great Southern dishes and cooking practices of the past. He even tweaks recipes that come from his grandmother’s recipe box.

The Oak Bar is located within The Capitol Grille and just so happens to be one of Nashville’s best bars. The warm, intimate space has been carefully restored and offers an extensive list of wines by the glass, a fully stocked bar and an excellent bar menu. The bar opens for casual dining and drinks at 11:30 a.m. Monday through Saturday and at noon on Sunday. Happy hour runs daily from 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. and features an appealing menu of southern favorites, including deviled eggs, barbecue sliders and an “FGT,” or fried green tomato with pimento cheese and pepper relish.

The Capitol Grille is open for breakfast between 6:30 a.m. and 11 a.m., and serves a menu of Southern-influenced classics. You’ll find everything from traditional eggs Benedict to steak and eggs alongside signature dishes such as the Tennessee “Jack” egg sandwich, a concoction of Jack Daniels-infused toast with a pan-fried egg, bacon, tomato gravy and grits.

Local politicos descend on the Grille from the nearby state house to have power lunches between 11:30 a.m. and 2 p.m. The menu changes seasonally, but usually includes sandwiches such as the pulled pork with coleslaw and pickles or the smoked sunburst trout with watercress, sunchoke and bacon. Or order one of the daily blue plate specials, which feature such fare as smoked pork loin served with jalapeno mac and cheese.

When The Capitol Grille opens for dinner between 5:30 p.m. and 10 p.m., you’ll have another chance to sample the restaurant’s seasonally changing menu, which features dishes filled with ingredients from the nearby farm at Glen Leven where The Capitol Grille maintains a period garden and herd of cattle in partnership with the Land Trust for Tennessee.

With its proximity to the Tennessee state capitol, the clubby, comfortable Capitol Grille is a local favorite for updated takes on Southern favorites. Before you book a reservation at this Four-Star restaurant, here are a few things you should know about The Capitol Grille:

1. Farmer/chef. Chef Tyler Brown divides his days between the duties of an executive chef and those of a farmer. That’s right; Farmer Brown oversees an organic vegetable and herb garden at the Farm at Glen Leven, a historic parcel of land purchased by the Land Trust for Tennessee, a local non-profit the hotel supports through voluntary guest donations.

2. Farm fresh. When the restaurant says it uses fresh ingredients in its seasonally planned dishes, it’s really true. Many of the seasonal vegetables, as well as heritage beef, served at the restaurant come from the farm located just five miles from the restaurant.

3. This room has history. The Capitol Grille is located in what was once The Hermitage Hotel’s main dining room, which was originally a private men’s club (back when women weren’t so free to mingle in public with men), and it still carries an aura of traditional ambience and refinement.

4. Southern fare. Chef Brown’s menu offers a distinguished take on Southern dishes. Brown is as committed to cultural sustainability as he is to using sustainable practices at the farm. That cultural sustainability is on display when you dig into dishes that began as ideas inspired by chef Brown’s grandmother’s recipe box.

5. Recognized. The final thing to know about The Capitol Grille (because our list must stop somewhere) is that it has been recognized by the James Beard Foundation. In 2010, Chef Brown was among the semi-finalists for the James Beard Award category of “Best Chef, Southeast.”

The Capitol Grille is located on the lower level of The Hermitage Hotel on Sixth Avenue in the heart of downtown Nashville. The best way to get to The Capitol Grille is by car, by taxi or by walking, depending on where you are coming from. The Capitol Grille is easy to reach by foot from most downtown locations or from other hotels located in downtown Nashville. If you arrive in your own car or a rental car, the valet attendants will happily park the car for you, since valet parking is complimentary for restaurant guests and street parking is limited around the restaurant.

The interior design of The Capitol Grille is, in short, comfortable, welcoming and luxurious. While windows abound throughout the rest of The Hermitage Hotel, The Capitol Grille is located on the hotel’s lower level, so instead of sporting a bright, sunny vibe, the restaurant is the epitome of relaxed, cozy finery. Punctuated by classic furnishings with warm, neutral wood tones, arched ceilings and center columns, the restaurant stretches across one large room, but is arranged to offer you a sense of warm intimacy. The restaurant walls feature large paintings of historic Nashville buildings as well as photographs from the restaurant’s nearby farm at Glen Leven, which just so happens to be the source of vegetables and heritage beef for The Capitol Grille’s seasonally planned menu.

The Capitol Grille seats 90 guests in its arch-ceilinged main dining room. Tables can be arranged in a number of different configurations. The restaurant reaches across one large room, but is arranged so that you experience a sense of cozy, friendly intimacy while you dig into the distinguished Southern cuisine featured on The Capitol Grille’s menu. Decorated in warm neutral tones with a vaguely Victorian feel, the restaurant’s white linen draped tables feel dressed up for the occasion, and are topped with candleabras and fine china.

The Capitol Grille is located on the lower level of Nashville’s The Hermitage Hotel, the only Five-Star hotel in Tennessee. The Capitol Grille can be found at 231 Sixth Avenue North and within easy walking distance of any of downtown Nashville’s major business and government buildings, which makes it a perfect location for business lunches or dinners.

For tourists visiting Nashville, The Capitol Grille is conveniently located within walking distance of Nashville’s major downtown entertainment venues, including the city’s famous honky tonks, including Robert’s Western World, Tootsie’s Orchid Lounge and Legends. It’s also located just a block from the Tennessee Performing Arts Center, making The Capitol Grille an ideal location for dinner before a show.

The noise level at The Capitol Grille is consistent with the personality on display throughout the restaurant and its host hotel, The Hermitage Hotel: The room has enough natural sound from the diners who come here to feel social and buzzing, but noises are never intrusive. The dining room isn’t completely hushed, but it is quiet enough that you can hear occasional bits of conversation from nearby tables when the restaurant isn’t full. Kitchen sounds are nearly non-existent and pleasant jazz plays in the background at a perfect level for filling gaps in conversation.

The Four-Star The Capitol Grille is a fine-dining restaurant inside the Hermitage Hotel, with white linen-draped tables, china and crystal on the tables. But don’t be put off by the formal appearance of the dining room; the service here is precise and attentive without being stuffy. Executive chef Tyler Brown makes it a point to visit the tables and talk about his devotion to Southern recipes and sustainable farming. When the chef isn’t available, the servers at The Capitol Grille are every bit as knowledgeable about the locally sourced vegetables, meats and herbs that appear on the menu. They clearly have a deep passion for the art of food and are knowledgeable about The Capitol Grille’s list of approachable wines.

Though the Capitol Grille is the fine-dining restaurant at the Five-Star The Hermitage Hotel, the menu at this Southern-influenced restaurant has dishes at a wide range of prices. Main courses served during dinner at this Nashville restaurant range from just over $20 for a dish such as root vegetable celebration or Ashley Farms chicken, to just under $35 for a plate such as short rib pot roast served with bacon brown sugar marmalade, potato rösti and braised red cabbage. The dinner menu also features “simply prepared” items, which allow guests to select an entrée a la carte and choose from regionally and historically matched side dishes. These items range from a Tennessee stack burger and fries for $13 to house dry aged beef for $65.

During lunch, sandwiches at The Capitol Grille average $12 and include unique options such as a catfish BLT or a grilled pimiento cheddar cheese sandwich. Main dishes on the lunch menu average $16 for selections such as halibut or Ashley Farms chicken. The Capitol Grille lunch menu also includes two business lunch combos with any main dish with soup or salad for $20 or any sandwich with soup or salad for $15. Blue plate lunch specials, with comfort food recipes like meatloaf and chicken and dumplings, are available each weekday for $14.

The Capitol Grille is located on the lower level of The Hermitage Hotel, the only Five-Star hotel in Tennessee, and has five spacious private dining rooms available for you and your group. You can host anywhere from 12 to 200 diners in the dining rooms at this Nashville restaurant. Though most of The Capitol Grille is without windows due to its lower-level location, one of the smaller private dining rooms showcases large windows that offer a street-level view of The Capitol Grille’s picturesque downtown Nashville surroundings.

The largest private dining room is The Hermitage Hotel’s historic Grand Ballroom, which has nearly 2,500 square feet of luxurious space. Paneled in dark Russian walnut, the ballroom features an exquisite hand-cast plaster ceiling, and is softened with rich drapery and the original glass-globe lights. Oil paintings of prominent Tennesseans give the room a regal feel.