Sperry’s

Fifty years in the restaurant business is not an accident. Sperry's has been at it since 1974, serving the same beef Wellington to the same loyal customers and their children, and it has outlasted every trend that has tried to make it feel irrelevant.

The beef Wellington is the reason to come. Properly wrapped, properly cooked, with a duxelles that does its job and a pastry crust that holds together the way pastry is supposed to. It's one of those dishes that sounds retro and tastes timeless, which is probably why it's still on the menu.

The room is old Nashville in the best sense — dark wood, booth seating, the kind of space that rewards a long dinner with people you actually want to spend the evening with. The service has the kind of experience that comes from staff who have been there for years and know how to run a room.

Sperry's doesn't care what's trending. That's the whole point, and it's one of the more refreshing things a restaurant can say.

Sperry's is a Nashville institution that doesn't need our input. Full review coming when we sit down properly.