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(Photo by: Stephanie Breijo)
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Endive salad with golden (turmeric) milk, roasted beets, blueberries and citronette(Photo by: Stephanie Breijo)
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Spanish Mackerel with braised chard, gooseberry escabeche and a polenta, uni and coconut mousse (Photo by: Stephanie Breijo)
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(Photo by: Stephanie Breijo)
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(Photo by: Stephanie Breijo)
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Fried Quail atop strawberry barbecue sauce, potato pancake and shishito peppers (Photo by: Stephanie Breijo)
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(Photo by: Stephanie Breijo)
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Flourless chocolate cake topped with kalamansi lime juice and cured egg, with peanut brittle and textural pop rocks (Photo by: Stephanie Breijo)
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Steve the Taxidermied Deer, warden of the back booth (Photo by: Stephanie Breijo)
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(Photo by: Stephanie Breijo)
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Lamb agnolotti with cured egg yolk, black-eyed peas, asparagus and Border Springs Farm lamb (Photo by: Stephanie Breijo)
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Mushroom velouté with cremini mushrooms, salt-cured radish and crème fraîche (Photo by: Stephanie Breijo)
[7/7/16 Update: Antler & Fin will close on Sunday, July 17, after its regular brunch and dinner services. Shortly thereafter it will become Boka Tavern.]
Jackson Ward's newest restaurant is rugged, refined.
"We are focusing on game and seafood, kind of thinking about Virginia heritage but with a modern upgrade, so a little bit of a fresh twist on things," says Kristel Poole, Antler & Fin's general manager. The menu you'll find at 506 W. Broad St. weaves Southern ingredients like black-eyed peas and chard with locally purveyed Border Springs Farm lamb, pickled ramps or freshly foraged red sorrel, be they wrapped in agnolotti, tossed into a springy salad or used to brighten a plate of fried quail. You'll see all of this on the restaurant's abbreviated menu, launched just last night, with even more on the way Monday when Antler & Fin presents its full menu (though grand opening is not slated until next Wednesday, May 25).
The new concept from Boka Tako restaurateur and chef Patrick Harris is bright and airy, perking up the former darkly hued Belvidere at Broad space with a fresh coat of white paint, greenery from living walls and ferns, and gold and wood accents. It brings the outdoors into the comfy dining room, which seats roughly 50 in its around-1,000-square-foot setting. "We're trying to have a nice restaurant, 'fine dining' in quotes, but we want it to be accessible and do nice food, nice drinks, nice wine, but without being stuffy or bourgie or all that. There's nothing wrong with that necessarily, those places are great, but we want a place that kind of bridges the gap," says Poole, who also functions as Antler & Fin's beverage director, resident sommelier and de facto designer. "I've been busy," she laughs.
Behind the bar and in the kitchen are a few familiar faces from Richmond's dining scene: The chef de cuisine and creative force behind the menu is Ian Merryman, formerly of Millie's Diner and The Jackdaw pop-up series; the restaurant's sous is Michael Crowley, recently of Belle & James; and those at the bar may recognize Shaun Loughran of The Rogue Gentlemen, who's now also working as the assistant beverage director at Antler & Fin.
"It's forward-thinking, Modern-American," says Merrymen. "I'm stepping out of my comfort zone a little bit. Normally a lot of my food is Southeast Asian-influenced, a lot of Chinese food. There's a little bit of that here though; it's very subtle." Try, for instance, his White Stone Oysters with smoked nori and a Yuzukoshō mignonette, or the venison leg with sour cherry Nuoc cham.
Due to its partnership with a number of smaller, regional farms, the restaurant's menu will change frequently, as often as daily, all dependent on what is available. "That goes along with our focus on being as natural as possible," Poole says, sharing that this focus on local and also organic extends to the restaurant's wine program — a collection that includes a number of biodynamic and organic wines. (If you're looking to sample something intriguing and quite probably new to you, keep your eyes on Antler & Fin's "Somm Select" chalkboard for alluring by-the-glass wine specials.) That's not to say the menu isn't playful; there are unflavored pop rocks that add surprising and lively texture to the flourless chocolate cake dessert, and the culinary-inspired cocktail program provides cheeky spins on everything from Cinnamon Toast Crunch cereal (see: Uncle Bob's Breakfast with cinnamon cereal milk, aged rum, lemon, egg white, and orange blossom water) to Richmond's 2016 mayoral race (see: Local Politics, a tart take on a Roffignac, a classic cocktail named after a former mayor of New Orleans).
Sometime within the next two months, Antler & Fin expects to launch brunch service, most likely just on Sundays, and even further down the line, a lunch menu. Though the restaurant's hours extend to as late as 11 p.m., the bar, Poole says, will remain open later with small plates and drinks, depending on the neighborhood's evening events such as First Fridays.
Antler & Fin is located at 506 W. Broad St., and is now open from 4 to 10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and from 4 to 11 p.m. on Friday and Saturday. Its full menu launches on Monday, May 23, and its grand opening is set for Wednesday, May 25.