As you enter the Delta Atrium at Gaylord Opryland Hotel, look for the antebellum mansion. Modeled after Evergreen Plantation in Baton Rouge Louisiana, it is the home of the Old Hickory Steakhouse. On the way, notice the fountains, which put on quite a show. We had dinner in the Coral Room. You will have an amazing view of the fountain with its changing colors.
Southern hospitality at its best is what you will be treated to, along with some of the finest food available in Nashville—or any city, for that matter. Sit back and relax; this is going to be a dining experience. Old Hickory Steakhouse has won the Distinguished Restaurants of North America (DiRoNA) Award—one of the most prestigious awards for fine dining.
The selection of appetizers is small, but packed with punch. The jumbo prawn cocktail is a beautiful presentation, with the lemon wrapped in mesh to keep the seeds from squirting out. If you’re looking for something more exotic, consider choosing the crispy goat-cheese–stuffed artichoke. It’s not the heart, but rather the inner, very tender leaves. The crab cakes are huge, and if there is any filler, it is invisible. The clincher, however, is the steakhouse chips with Gorgonzola. Served in a pretty wire basket, they are addictive.
I can’t recommend the lobster bisque highly enough. Your plate comes with a mound of lobster in the center, and then the waiter pours your bisque over it. The pink color was appealing and the taste is divine. If they serve lobster bisque in heaven, this is where they get it.
There are multiple salad choices, but I had the seasonal crunch salad. It is a salad of field greens with Bibb lettuce, dried cranberries, pumpkinseeds, and cranberry vinaigrette. The tangy dressing mixes well with the sweet cranberries and the crunch of the seeds.
This is a steakhouse, so beef reigns supreme, but you can also choose veal, chicken, lamb, salmon, or shrimp. I had the filet mignon; there was a choice of sauces, from which I chose the horseradish crème fraiche. One bite and I was hooked. The meat was soft as butter and the sauce was so good I wanted to bury my face in the bowl. The vegetables are served family style, and the asparagus with hollandaise was flawless. I didn’t try the balsamic-roasted portobello mushrooms, the creamed spinach, or the roasted-garlic mashed potatoes, but they all looked and smelled delicious.
Dessert seemed anticlimactic until I tasted it. The crème brulee had a spun-sugar atrium top with fresh berries. The taste was so delicate and the texture so creamy that I wanted to be able to eat the whole thing, but I was too full. Not so full that I didn’t take a mouthful of the fabulous cheesecake shaped like a snowball or the chocolate volcano. If you can, save room for dessert; if you can’t, then order it to go.