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It’s a big leap for any chef to step away from the line and in to the role of restaurant owner. For chef John Stephenson, who has cooked in and around Nashville for decades, it was a jump he was poised to land.
His newly opened restaurant Hathorne debuted in December, revealing a strong step forward in the seasoned pro’s career.
Stephenson’s career has taken him from The Corner Market in Belle Meade, to culinary school in London, and back to Nashville, where he set a new standard for stellar comfort food at Fido (his award-winning burger is still on the menu there), and later cooked at The Family Wash before it closed. When friends Dan and Brenda Cook purchased a former Methodist church on Charlotte Avenue to open an event venue called Clementine, and saw that the accompanying fellowship hall might make a nice restaurant space, Stephenson knew he’d found his place.
The hall’s former purpose plays a big role in the design, as well as the overall concept.
“It’s all about fellowship,” Stephenson says. “We wanted to honor the church potlucks and gatherings, and all of the outreach that’s been done in this space. The menu is all meant to be shared, like a Thanksgiving meal.”
Remnants of the neighboring church are focal points in the design, including the prayer rail, which runs down the length of the dining room, and several pews, which act as banquettes. There’s even a hymnal board behind the bar for daily specials. Each of those details set a subtle tone for a communal meal experience.
Cheekier nods come in other forms, like the cocktail menu, designed to look like a church directory. The drinks are simply named, based on their inspiration. There’s the Norman, short for Normandy, because of its Calvados base, which is mixed with cognac, banana, and chai; and the herbal Michelle, built on gin, which is named for the First Lady, since that’s her spirit of choice.
The restaurant serves dinner Monday through Saturday and brunch on Sundays. (If you’re looking for a Stephenson burger, you’ll find it during brunch, along with a French-style omelette, pancakes, and granola.) The dinner menu is a list of American-inspired, vegetable-forward dishes that all come out family style. And while Stephenson provides the construct of Hathorne and inspired many of its dishes, he’s handed the tongs to executive chef Joey Molteni (Deacon’s New South, Otaku Ramen), who shapes and adds nuance to each plate.
WHAT TO ORDER:
- Crispy goat cheese, $13
- Roasted heirloom carrot, $10
- Frites, $10
- Spicy lamb, beef, and pork meatballs, $24
- Hathorne burger (brunch only), $13
Molteni’s influence can be seen in the details, like a crispy goat cheese appetizer set with fresh herbs and radishes over a bed of honey that’s been fermented in house. The shaved brussels are jumbled with apples and feta for a crisp, refreshing salad. And he amps up roasted heirloom carrots with mayu, a black garlic oil, as well as puffed grains and Greek yogurt for a sweet-sour-bitter effect. To fry cauliflower, the kitchen first dredges the florets in potato starch, making the dish gluten-free. (It can also be vegan on request.) And frites go beyond potatoes, with parsnip and yucca wedges, served with a cranberry mostarda that offers tang and bite, as well as a little heat from the Dijon.
You’ll find more proteins in the larger plates. Seared annatto pork pierogis are a solid choice, packed in a toothsome dough and set over shredded cabbage, and so, too, are the spicy meatballs—blended with lamb, pork, and beef; the orbs pack a tiny but mighty pepper in the center and are served over mint pistou. Hathorne’s version of fried chicken is more like a schnitzel, so it’s a flattened breast set atop a pile of mashed sweet potatoes, which get a kick of lime and citrus. There’s also a generous New York strip to be shared, served with a pile of frites.
Overall, the menu hits a wide range of notes, while keeping things approachable. And for this particular spot on Charlotte Avenue, that’s just what was needed: an upscale dining room and well-appointed cocktail bar—without a whiff of pretention. Much like Stephenson himself, Hathorne is community minded and well positioned to develop deep roots here.
4708 Charlotte Ave, 629-888-4917; hathornenashville.com