Tailor Restaurant

Tailor Supper Club in Germantown has always served up some of the best tasting food, no matter where they were doing so — even from the back of another restaurant. Tailor is the brainchild and culmination of almost 10 years of cooking for Vivek Surti (and partner Heather Southerland), who started in his parent’s kitchen. Vivek is not the product of culinary school, but a self-taught chef passionate and dedicated to his Indian Gujarati roots and the desire to bring that culture and cooking to Nashville.  

As a result, the kitchen of Tailor (referred to as a dinner party-style restaurant) is like no other restaurant kitchen. It’s more like a dream home kitchen, designed to bring the diner into the entire culinary experience. 

Sharing his South Indian culture is tantamount to Tailor, which is why the first thing you may notice is a spectacular chandelier from Vivek’s childhood home, which hangs above the original butcher’s block from the Mop and Broom Mess Hall, where Surti and Tailor first set up shop. This is where the interaction occurs as the butcher block acts as the pass from the chef to the guest, but behind this area lies the heart of the kitchen. 

A large stainless steel workspace is the only prep area in the kitchen. It’s big enough for Vivek and his staff of three to work together simultaneously which is the point of this concept. Being able to work with your staff face-to-face around a large prep area is something that chef dreams are made of. It’s a small team that produces very consistent work, and I believe this is Tailor’s most unique element.  

Another feat is that there is no walk-in cooler in this kitchen, something rarely seen in modern restaurants. Tailor only serves Thursday through Sunday, which allows the team to cut back on inventory, stay on top of produce, and serve truly fresh food every time. 

Tailor has been a treasure in Nashville for more than a decade, and now it encompasses flawless dining in a gorgeous setting — perhaps one of the best the southeast has to offer. Cheers to Tailor and to many more years of excellence to come.