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Conrad Nashville

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Luxurious Hotel Conrad Nashville Announces a Trio of Dining Options From a Renowned Las Vegas Restaurateur/Chef Duo

Las Vegas-based James Beard Award-nominated hospitality veterans Elizabeth Blau and chef Kim Canteenwalla will oversee the luxury hotel’s dining offerings

The currently-under-construction Conrad Nashville, set to open this May near the bustling West End/Broadway split, has just announced its upcoming trio of food and beverage options — and they all come from a couple more big names for the booming Nashville restaurant scene. A pair of Las Vegas-based James Beard Award-nominated hospitality veterans, married business partners restaurateur Elizabeth Blau and chef Kim Canteenwalla, will oversee them.

Blau is the founder and CEO of restaurant development company Blau + Associates, and is often credited with blossoming Las Vegas into its current status as a world-class culinary destination, transforming the way the city saw food and beverage with her impressive restaurant portfolios at both Bellagio and Wynn.

Chef Canteenwalla has more than 30 years under his belt leading restaurants and resorts around the world, from Raffles in Singapore, Le Royal in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Grand Mirage in Bali, and Le Meridian in Dubai to the Royal Garden Group in Bangkok. Along with Blau, he is the chef-owner of the acclaimed Las Vegas restaurant Honey Salt and managing partner of Buddy V’s Ristorante at the Venetian.

Blau and Canteenwalla met while he was executive chef of the Beau Rivage Resort & Casino in Biloxi, Mississippi, and from there, the duo spent time touring the region and say they developed a shared love for the south, its flavors and traditions.

The hotel’s main restaurant, Blue Aster, named after the star-shaped native Tennessee wildflower, will focus on seafood. The menu will be a mix of American classics and Southern flavors, with dishes such as hot stone Ahi tuna, root vegetable wellington, Maine lobster pot pie, savory macaroni and cheese waffles, and local steaks. It will source most of its ingredients from regional purveyors and farms and will be open for breakfast, lunch, weekend brunch, and dinner.

The Lounge at Blue Aster, Conrad Nashville’s lobby bar, will serve classic and Southern cocktails, wine, and small plates alongside a luxurious tea service. They’ll serve a variety of international brews, scones, pastries, and tea sandwiches.

Thistle & Rye, the Conrad Nashville’s third-floor beverage-focused spot, will offer live music, an indoor-outdoor bar, a spacious patio, and small plates — all with plenty of views overlooking downtown Nashville. The menu here draws inspiration from Blau and Canteenwalla’s extensive travels, offering international street market foods like sugar cane shrimp skewers, bao buns, and pomegranate-glazed lamb kofta, plus some classics like lobster rolls, and of course, Nashville hot chicken sliders. Hotel guests can visit the Pool Deck at Conrad Nashville, which draws from the menu at Thistle & Rye and will have gelato, boozy ice pops, and batched cocktails.

Conrad Hotels & Resorts currently operates 40+ properties spanning five continents. Located at 1620 West End Avenue, Conrad Nashville is a 13-story hotel located at the city’s newest mixed-use development, Broadwest. The hotel and its restaurants are expected to open in May 2022. See below for a few renderings of the hotel and the upcoming dining and beverage options.

A tall, glass building several stories higher than the surrounding buildings.
Conrad Nashville hotel exterior rendering.
Conrad Nashville

Conrad Nashville introduces three restaurant and lounge concepts in partnership with James Beard Award-nominated industry veterans and husband-wife business partners, Elizabeth Blau and chef Kim Canteenwalla.
Conrad Nashville

Conrad Nashville Lobby Bar.
Conrad Nashville

Conrad Nashville Lounge
Conrad Nashville

Conrad Nashville restaurant rendering.
Conrad Nashville

Conrad Nashville Pool Deck
Conrad Nashville