Nàdair is an homage to Gillespie’s Scottish roots and will focus on what he refers to as “reimagined Scottish” cuisine rooted in wood-fire cooking. It marks a full-circle moment for Gillespie because it means a return to a similar style of cooking as when he joined the now defunct Woodfire Grill in the mid-2000s and, after a stint in Portland, became the restaurant’s executive chef and partner in 2009. Yet, it also builds on other places he has lived or visited — including Scotland for family reunions and the Maine of his summer childhoods with grandparents and adult respites with his wife, Valerie.
Open Wednesdays through Saturdays, Nàdair will offer multiple dining experiences: a four-course prix-fixe menu, a six-course tasting menu and an a la carte pub menu. The prix-fixe ($115/person) will include a starter, seafood course, meat course and pudding aka dessert course. Each course will have multiple options, with accommodation for dietary restrictions. The tasting menu will be a set menu without course options ($175/person with an option for wine pairings).
The prix-fixe and tasting menus will be served in the 70-seat main dining room and only available by reservation. Reservations will open one month in advance. A more informal pub menu will be available in the 15-seat bar area on a first-come, first-served basis.
Private dining options include a 16-seat room and a 50-seat room, available to book any day of the week.
“We are not simply regurgitating the tropes,” Gillespie said of his approach toward contemporary Scottish fare. “We are taking traditional family recipes of mine, we’re reimagining the essence of what makes them special, and I think we’re presenting them through the lens of a Scottish American family.”
One example of the kind of plates guests can expect is North Georgia rainbow trout encrusted with fried peanut crumbs over brown butter jus with grilled lemon and mustard greens. “That dish is just as Georgian as it is…
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