The times they definitely are a-changing. When The Patterson House first opened more than a decade ago, ushering in the advent of a classic cocktail renaissance in Nashville, admission was one of the hottest tickets in town. The stylish cocktail bar never accepted reservations, and potential patrons lined up behind the velvet rope in an anteroom out of view of the main bar, expectant of the chance to discover the magic therein.
This wasn’t because the staff at The Patterson House was being pretentious or trying to conjure some faux speakeasy vibe. The concept of service at The Patterson House revolved (and still does) around individual service: proper cocktails mixed by trained professionals, interacting face-to-face with bar patrons or presented to intimate tables by well-trained servers. The reason that the capacity was constrained long before COVID-19 protocols is that the restaurant is meant to be a place where you’d never have to worry about someone standing over your shoulder trying to get the bartender’s attention for another drink. And it was special.
It still is, but the bar/restaurant has changed with changing times. Hell, there are four vodka drinks on the latest cocktail menu! Where once it would have been inconceivable to expect any sort of discounted pricing on the meticulously-made cocktails made using premium ingredients, The Patterson House now offers a happy hour Sunday through Thursday from 4-6 p.m. I strongly encourage you to hit that up for a selection of $10 cocktails and snacks concocted by the supremely talented chef of Patterson House neighbors at The Catbird Seat, Brian Baxter.
The latest nod to the new business environment is the addition of a Sunday brunch service from 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Baxter has come up with a fantastic menu of cocktail-friendly savory and sweet dishes to compete in the crowded Nashville brunch scene. While some of the à la carte items might look mundane, like a fried bologna sandwich, biscuits and gravy, deviled eggs and wings, in the hands of Baxter, you know that they’ll be elevated above your typical brunch fare.
That bologna sando? It’s topped with tonkatsu barbecue sauce, smoked kewpie mayo and sweet onion. The sausage in that white gravy? It’s made with Conecuh sausage, an Alabama specialty that if you know, you know. The wings are smoked, fried and glazed with white barbeque sauce, and those deviled eggs are spiced with 'nduja. Add in a perfectly poached 62-degree egg and a helping of roasted oysters served with calabrian chile butter, preserved lemon and saltines, and you’ve got the makings of an epic brunch spread. Finish off with an order cinnamon sugar doughnuts to make Sunday indeed a fun day. Make plans and reservations now!
