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Vivek Surti’s Tailor was one of the first restaurants in Nashville to close to protect staff during the COVID-19 pandemic. This weekend, starting Thursday August 8, Tailor is reopening for the first time since March 15. To start, Surti’s dinner party-style restaurant will offer just one seating per night, a 7 p.m. reservation available on Thursday through Sunday. Reservations are capped at 50-percent capacity to allow proper social distancing between parties.
Tailor is a partner in the LEE Initiative’s Restaurant Reboot Relief Program, which committed a million dollars to the purchase of food from sustainable farmers in 16 regions to give directly to restaurants in their areas. In Nashville, Tailor was chosen, alongside City House and Henrietta Red as the program’s partner restaurants. Locally sourced items on the summer menu include duck from Wedge Oak Farm plus vegetables from Farmer Dave’s as well as Pig + Leaf Farm.
The summer menu kicks off with crunchy savory corn chevdo, a cucumber and watermelon salad with cilatntro chutney, and beets with cashew butter. Ora King Salmon sees a summer squash, turmeric, and coconut preparation followed by duck two-ways (duck breast and a duck biryani). Surti’s summer menu finishes with a Falooda panna cotta with rose, yogurt, tukmaria, and pistachio. As always, many of his dishes are representative of the Gujarati meals he grew up eating as a child, dishes that are American, as well as dishes inspired by travel. Really all of the details at Tailor are reflections of Surti’s heritage — as the name Tailor is a family name representing the occupation of his ancestors for many generations.