Two Fun New Private Dining Options Are Now Available

I’m often asked about private dining options in Nashville, and most of the suggestions I can make are for smaller groups in rooms that are cordoned off from the main dining areas at local restaurants. Often these rooms are set up for the typical medical sales luncheon, and the primary amenity is a television monitor on the wall you can use to show a PowerPoint. Yawn.

So it’s nice to see two new options for people looking to host a gathering of people in the 20- to 80-person range that feature fun environments and some really good food. If you find yourself in need of a little privacy, check out these opportunities.

The first is a new venture called The Rose Room from the team behind Butcher & Bee. The owners of Butcher & Bee built out the back portion of the space that once housed Fat Bottom Brewing, splitting the end of the building at 902 Main St. in East Nashville, with Gully Boyz occupying the front half.

The lavish remodeled indoor space can host parties from 10 to 40 guests for receptions or dinner parties, and if renters contract to take over the outdoor patio, capacity expands to 80 to 90 guests. The space has its own private bar, a separate entrance and, of course, the ubiquitous projector and screen.

Best of all, guests will have access to customizable menus from the kitchen at Butcher & Bee, with packages that can mix and match the restaurant’s beloved mezze plates, dips and entrees for a fixed price. Desserts and bar packages are also available as add-ons. It’ll be a couple of years before I have another birthday that ends in a zero, but I’ll sure check out The Rose Room whenever I want to throw a party for myself in the future!

The second new option is a little less casual, but just as much fun! Germantown Pub has become an important neighborhood gathering spot, and owner Naima Walker Fierce and her team have worked hard to turn the watering hole into an indispensable part of the community. From excellent happy hour deals to elevated pub grub and some of the best wings in town, GTP is a mainstay for residents of Germantown and Salemtown.

One part of their menu that GTP has wanted to showcase is their smoked meat offerings, courtesy of a talented pitmaster named JDee who puts out some great barbecue from a small parking lot smoker. With the limited capacity, JDee’s talents have usually only manifested themselves as part of daily specials or as part of the restaurant’s catering menu when they have advanced notice of how much to cook.

Looking for a way to expand opportunities to serve more smoked meats, Walker and business partner/chef Gino looked to a small storage area of their parking lot as a solution. It was previously used to store random equipment; the staff cleared the area, applied to Codes for expansion, and added a nice little covered beer garden. Believe me, adding to a building in the historic Germantown neighborhood can be an ordeal of red tape, so congrats to them for pulling it off!

The private area is still undergoing rebranding efforts, but the most current moniker is The BBQ Beer Garden. Groups that rent the space will have access to private catering and a fun little annex bar that is built around a smoker that has been converted into a cooler. The casual decor befits a beer garden with greenery on the walls, plenty of high-top tables for seating, and room for a buffet. A cheeky mural of chicken wings on the far wall is a great spot for a selfie (and fun parody of the angel wings in the Gulch). A separate sound system will allow for private parties without having to listen to the ball game, trivia game or music playing over the inside speakers.

I was lucky enough to attend a menu tasting for the space and was really impressed. I still marvel at the amount and quality of chicken wings, ribs and pulled pork that came off of that smoker. The side dishes were another highlight: The creamy coleslaw had a nice kick of spice, and the house-made spinach dip would be a perfect accompaniment to an evening of drinking beer and watching sports. The real standout was something that will probably surprise anyone who knows me: the vegan mac-and-cheese.

I should have known it would be good when I discovered that Walker had reached out to Charity Morgan, the vegan chef who has literally changed the lives of NFL players, celebrities and anyone who has seen her speak or read her cookbook. Anyone who can convert a room of burly NFL defensive linemen to veganism as she did when her husband played for the Titans has definitely got something special going on.

Her addition to the Germantown Pub menu is a delicious version of mac-and-cheese that substitutes cashews for the dairy and features barbecue jackfruit to add to the flavor and texture. Consider me another convert. (Not all the way to veganism, though. Just to this dish!)

If you’re interested in renting out the BBQBG, contact Germantown Pub via their website.