On a Thursday night this summer, a pulsing bassline filled the already buzzing room inside Santo in Green Hills. Friends got up from tables to greet each other, catching up in the middle of the dining room. The restaurant felt clubby and warm, the mod-deco tables and chairs and concrete walls setting the backdrop for a social scene.
Nathan Zucker
It’s no surprise considering its sister restaurant, Epice, often feels the same. Opened by members of the team behind Epice, including Andrew Fawaz and Gabe Reyes, Santo opens the doors to the broad expanse of the Mediterranean and all of the regions the sea touches. Set in the new Vertis building on Hillsboro Pike, Santo is washed in natural elements—mahogany, concrete, tile, brass—making it feel like a coastal Mediterranean escape. And it fits right in to what is becoming a new Green Hills—energetic yet urbane, warm and transportive. It’s perfect for those craving a dressy night out with friends.
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Nathan Zucker
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Nathan Zucker
From the entrance, you’ll spot the small bar framed by white walls, polished wood and pendant lights. You could stop there, sliding onto one of the sexy Brazilian wooden stools for a burger and glass of sparkling rosé. Or, look deeper into the main dining room, for intimate two-tops or a larger table for groups.
Along with the design, the food and wine creates a cohesive experience. There’s an extensive beverage menu of tequila and whiskey cocktails, and a wine list that pulls strongly from the Old World and Mediterranean regions; the reserve list is robust with verticals of Chateau de Beaucastel and bottles of Bollinger champagne. By the glass, the Danish Sektellerei Ohlig rosé is just one example of wine director and general manager Doss Posey’s deep reach into interesting territory.
What to order:
Merguez, $12
Panisse, $8
Crab Galette, $28
Ricotta Gnudi, $25
Duck Cassoulet, $31
In Latin, the word santo means health and hums as an undercurrent throughout the menu. Dishes are light in both the selection of ingredients and the portion sizes. As a server described: “Not too much to make you uncomfortable.” They change frequently at the hands of chef Jason Heiman, who came to Nashville by way of Chicago and is classically trained in French cuisine. Some dishes, like the Moroccan chicken napped with a feta cheese Mornay, have an obvious point of origin. Others pull together French technique with other Mediterranean influences, like a buoyant, soufflé-like crab galette layered with roasted leeks and a mustard sauce.
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Nathan Zucker
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Nathan Zucker
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Nathan Zucker
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Nathan Zucker
At lunch, there are a few sandwiches, like the stacked-up merquez sausage piled on a French roll with garlic puree, as well as light entrées. For dinner, the plates are sized so that you’ll get the most out of the experience by ordering three courses.
To start, try mussels pimenton, flecked with earthy pepper and served with a harissa-laced butter on the side. Panisse, or a foursome of chickpea fries, gets two dollops of sauces, Romesco and roasted garlic—dip into one or the other, or dredge a fry through both since they play so well together. There’s a caper-laden lamb tartare as well as a white bean puree for snacking. You’ll still have room for a salad, like the composed shaved vegetables, dotted with quinoa and set over a yogurt dressing.
The balanced list of entrees has something for everyone. Steak and marrow for the meat and potato lover, or the delicate, gamey flavor of quail wrapped in pancetta and a grape leaf. Duck cassoulet here is not overbearingly rich but rather a tender, succulent leg over white beans and sausage, with a thin sauce rich sauce cradling the dish. Ricotta gnudi is a crowd pleaser—the base of the dish might change with the seasons, but a recent version served in saffron broth felt like a taste of the Italian countryside.
The show-stopping dessert to order is the red velvet cheesecake, a deconstructed swirl filling served with a thin cracker of red velvet crust and chocolate nibs to add crunch. But what looks like a heavy finish won’t leave you feeling that way. Like the rest of the Santo experience, it’s a refreshing change of pace for dining out in Nashville.
Santo, 4000 Hillsboro Pk., 615-336-3426; Santonashville.com