Owned by husband-and-wife pair Benjamin and Katie Rose Tyson and named for the many butter lamps the couple lit while honeymooning in Bhutan, Butterlamp is a new 42-seat wine and bread bar in the Eastwood Village development (also home to Switchyards and a great little bookstore, Novelette, among other retail).
The of-the-now yet also ancient concept feels nicely anchored in the old Hobson United Methodist Church building. Katie Vance at Powell was enlisted to make the interior match their intention.
The resulting space features 14-foot ceilings, a dusty purple (officially, the color is Pinot Noir) tiled bar curving around the small kitchen workspace, and multiple 32-frame windows nearly stretching from floor to ceiling. There’s also a walk-up wine window to serve the grassy courtyard. According to Katie Tyson, the desired goal is, “We want people to feel at home.”
A hospitality lifer, Benjamin moved to Nashville in 2020 to open Audrey with Sean Brock after having cooked in some of the world’s top kitchens, including Smyth, a three-Michelin star restaurant in Chicago, and at Amankora, a luxury resort in the Himalayas. Katie, who’s lived in Nashville for 14 years, spent the first half working for record labels, followed by hospitality marketing and FOH operations.
Bread and wine serve as the core of the offerings at Butterlamp. A simple concept on first look but also a bit of choose-your-adventure in that fans of Benjamin’s will notice and appreciate his ingredient sourcing and unexpected preparations, taking a familiar concept and subtly blowing your mind. Providing the other half of the equation is Katie’s wine list. Snappy descriptions help with decision-making, and most selections are associated with a specific travel memory. For example, the Bonnet-Cotton Gamay is described as “tasting like your last night in Paris.”
The paper menu’s highlights include deviled eggs with a skirt (a slurry of flour, cornstarch, and oil) and two topped-toast selections called “things on bread,” the latter being the most meal-like of their offerings. The mussels on toast is a layup, but the tomato option shouldn’t be ignored since an in-season tomato is always the right choice.
Then there’s a handwritten menu (as in, subject to change). When I was there, it featured Meadow Creek Mountain and Goat Lady Dairy Snowcap cheeses in the Cultured section, complemented by Smoking Goose Genoa and the Bresaola from the Cured section.
Make sure to check out the other handwritten options on the glass behind the bar where Love Point oysters from Maine and tinned smoked mackerel were located.
The menu will change seasonally or daily as the Tysons feel like it. Still, the premise is this: several different types of house-made bread by baker Allie Jantz, the pitch-perfect OG sourdough with butter, fermented sweet potato loaf, and a selection of wines with which the Tyson’s have a personal connection.
The joie de vivre of it all is intentional, for, as Benjamin says, “We are doing whatever we want and having a ton of fun.”
Butterlamp Bread and Beverage
1101 Chapel Avenue, 37206
Thursday through Monday, 2 – 10 p.m.
Instagram @butterlampnashville
