Celebrating the lifeblood its namesake provides to crops, new area restaurant Silt adopts the farm-to-table trend.
Silt opens for dinner service from 5 to 10 p.m. today in the former Le Yaca spot at the Village Shops at Kingsmill on Pocahontas Trail.
The restaurant’s menu features a starters and salads section, small plates and main plates, all of which draw inspiration from Southern cuisine and Executive Chef Nelson Miller’s childhood favorites.
Diners can find dishes including a $14 salad composed of lobster, strawberries, bacon goat cheese and spinach; an $18 small plate with sweet Atlantic shrimp in peach barbeque sauce served with grits, lardons and seven-year cheddar; and a main course for $29 with a sweet-tea-brined pork chop with faux cheese grits, collards and pan sauce. Soups and salads are in the $6-$14 range, small plates range $14-$19 and main courses are $25.75-$36.50.
While the menu is set for Saturday, diners can expect it to change often.
“We really look forward to working with the growers,” said General Manager Amber Hatfield. Farmers — and their available crops — will drive the menu.
Owners Olivia Miller and husband Nelson are venturing into restaurant ownership for the first time, but both believe they are prepared to meet the challenge head on. Olivia earned a business degree from Mary Washington University and hoped to one day own a business; Silt fulfills her dream and supports her husband’s cooking career and appreciation of the area.
“It’s a very fulfilling career that I want to keep doing until I’m 70,” Nelson said. “Williamsburg is such a unique town. It has pizzazz.”
Nelson is no stranger to the kitchen. Now in his early 30s, he has been cooking since he was 8 years old. Nelson did not start his career in the kitchen, but was not far from it: He began working as a bag boy at a high-end grocery store, where he was afforded the opportunity to learn butchery.
“That wowed me,” Nelson said.
After graduating high school, Nelson moved to Charleston and landed his first kitchen job at a restaurant called Magnolia’s, which is where he became passionate about Southern cuisine and realized any kind of food could lend itself to a fine dining menu.
Nelson attended Scottsdale Culinary Institute and spent time working at a few different restaurants, including Blue Talon, before deciding to open his own restaurant. He credits Blue Talon for helping him “execute volume with consistency, which is huge.”
While food is certainly a focus at Silt, it was also important to Nelson and Hatfield to offer a unique bar menu. A former fireplace will be repurposed into an herb garden for an array of signature cocktails. Small-batch spirits, Virginia beers and sustainable wines will make the cut for the bar menu.
The restaurant is open 5 to 9 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday and 5 to 10 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays. Reservations can be made by calling 757-645-3760. For more information, visit the restaurant’s Facebook page.
