The Nashville Restaurant Nestled In A Jaw-Dropping, 120-Year-Old Train Station

There are ordinary restaurants, and then there are holders of history with stories to tell. When dining and drinking in those deeply historic places, get ready for an experience like no other. In this case, it's the dramatically ornate, Richardsonian Romanesque architecture of Union Station in Nashville, where diners dig deep into the food, drink, and astounding ambiance of days gone by. Since its opening in 1900, the once-bustling train station served as a major intersection for the nation's unfolding events. Trains which stopped there transported tens of thousands of young soldiers bound for World War II service on foreign soil.

Now a hotel, the station once served as a center for eight railroads connecting America, and hosted the likes of Al Capone, Mae West, President Franklin D. Roosevelt, and countless other name-fame travelers. The enormous limestone fireplace in the lobby now crackles and glows as a cozy backdrop and gathering spot for dining or imbibing at Stationary restaurant and The Bar Car cocktail lounge, which spills out into the grand lobby.

On my sojourn inside the Union Station Nashville Yards hotel, I joined fellow time-struck travelers in the early evening, sipping on the iconic Azalean cocktail made with carefully curated single-barrel whiskey from Jack Daniels, whose famous Lynchburg distillery sits less than two hours away. It's impossible not to marvel at the 65-foot barrel-vaulted ceiling, original bas-relief panels, limestone arches, century-old Tiffany-style stained glass, carved mythological creatures, and gold-accented "angels of commerce" depicting travel across the centuries, from chariots to locomotives.

As an evening at the former Union Station evolves, enormous crystal chandeliers glimmer overhead as live music brings the lobby alive. It's all part of The Bar Car, which is the most direct way to bathe in the glory of the station's timeless architecture and multifaceted history. It stands as its own venue for more casual noshing and sipping. There are handmade cocktails and plenty of small-plate eating, including handmade burrata, fried tandoori cauliflower, and Nashville hot chicken bites.

For full dining, the Stationary restaurant perches just steps away. Housed in the original lobby entrance, it's sandwiched between the former elegant waiting parlors for elite travelers. I cozied up to the limestone-clad fireplace in one of the parlors while waiting my turn at the dining table. Though not always open to guests, it's worth popping in just to see the additional fireplaces and inlaid marble and tiles.

Entering Stationary for dinner is impressive in its own right, with original 22-foot ceilings, stone walls, and enormous arched windows. There's a brunch menu with items like the Toasted Elvis sandwich or poached oishii shrimp with stone-ground grits and andouille-tomato gravy. Dinner gets more classic but still local; I chose the restaurant's specialty, the Company Cut Tennessee-raised beef with duck-fat potatoes. Per custom, I topped off the evening at The Bar Cart with an Abigail cocktail, a nod to the station's resident ghost who reportedly threw herself onto the tracks when her lover didn't return from the French battlegrounds of World War II.