Do the Continental

Written by Dave Mahanes / Photos by Emily Dorio

On the corner of 10th Avenue and Broadway, on the ground floor of the Grand Hyatt Nashville, is The Continental, chef Sean Brock’s most recent culinary project. The cuisine of The Continental is inspired by fine American hotel dining of the 19th century and early 20th century infused with a contemporary twist. Diners will experience a unique, well-paced multi-course three-hour dinner that will absolutely fly by. You will leave the dining room highly satisfied and feel that you have been treated like royalty.

Sean Brock is no stranger to Nashville and is a bona fide culinary superstar. In May of 2013, Brock brought his low country concept, Husk, to Nashville, which kicked off the current Nashville dining renaissance. Brock is an award-winning chef who is the recipient of the 2015 James Beard Award for Best Chef, Southeast; a four-time finalist for Outstanding Chef, and a three-time finalist for Rising Star Chef. Chef Brock’s first cookbook, Heritage, was a New York Times bestseller and won the 2015 James Beard Award for American Cooking. He has hosted two seasons of Mind of a Chef and is currently featured on Netflix’s Chef’s Table. Sean Brock owns 15 restaurants in Charleston and Atlanta, including three in Nashville—The Continental, Husk, and Joyland. He will soon be opening a fourth in Nashville, Audrey, named after his grandmother.

Having grown up in rural Virginia, Chef Sean has been reviving Southern cuisine for 20 years. His team is exceptional as well. Chef de Cuisine Colin Shane is a two-time semi-finalist for the James Beard Foundation’s Rising Chef Award and an alumnus of the three-Michelin-starred Single-Thread. Pastry Chefs Keaton Vasek and Michael Werrek were formerly the lead pastry chefs at New York’s Eleven Madison Park and owners of Trēt Baking Co. in Nashville’s Farmer’s Market. Last but not least, is Sarah Hong, Hospitality Director, who was ever-present overseeing our dining experience, eagerly answering our questions about the food and making us feel at home.

As previously mentioned, The Continental’s concept is an American hotel fine dining experience reminiscent of the 18th century and early 19th century. To accomplish this, The Continental incorporates several tenets from this period. First, Sean Brock reinterprets classic dishes of this era with a nouvelle approach. Another tenet is gueridon service (table-side cart service) provided with grace, engendering an atmosphere of old-school hospitality. The menu changes regularly, offering seasonal dishes. In addition, plating is of paramount importance to the concept offering a powerful visual aesthetic.

The space is expansive with ambient amber light to set the mood. The room is lined with plush banquets, two bars, and large booths. Sean Brock’s love of art is reflected in the beautiful paintings adorning the walls for The Continental. The menu is Prix Fixe which includes five courses. We had the pleasure of recently dining at The Continental and had a delectable and distinguished epicurean experience. Diners select from one of four entrees (beef, chicken, venison, or fish) and one of two desserts. After this tough decision, The Continental’s attentive staff are in the driver’s seat.

For our first course, we were served a trio of offerings: Oysters Continental–raw oysters served with California white sturgeon caviar, a Pernod glacé, spinach and finger lime. Next was Hawaiian Ahi Tuna Tartare with rhubarb, black lime and roasted strawberry followed by a bowl of delicious Chanterelle Bisque with French sorrel and saffron. What a wonderful way to begin our dining adventure.

We were then treated to the Pâte en Croute Cart—rabbit and venison pâte with port wine gelée, onion compote, and rhubarb catsup. The pâte did not have the strong flavor of liver but a sweet, tart, and soft essence, and the pastry was buttery and light. Next was The Continental Salad that came with pickled spring onion, alligator pear, fine herbs and buttermilk dressing. For the entrée, we all chose The Continental Prime Rib Cart, medium rare, which was carved tableside and served with a fluffy whipped horseradish cream and natural jus. The beef was cooked perfectly and melted in your mouth. This was accompanied by black pepper and honey parker rolls and a timbale of Asparagus Chartreuse with grilled olives and Meyer lemon hollandaise that was personally topped with hollandaise sauce at our table by none other than Chef Brock. Now that’s gracious hospitality! To cleanse our palate for the dessert course, we were given a citrus shaved ice.

We closed the night by sharing one of each of the two desserts—we couldn’t resist. The Peaches and Elderflower dessert (from the The Peach Truck) was composed of mini beignets, and orbs of peach sherbet, vanilla mousse and bathed in milk punch. The other dessert was the Chocolate Mousse with nutty sunflower oil ice cream and crémeux. This was a truly decadent and heavenly way to end an epic dining experience.

The Continental is truly a one-of-a-kind delicious multicourse feast featuring dishes from the Gilded Age of hotel dining updated for the 21st century. Make reservations a least two months in advance; you won’t regret it!