Rochelle Koff| Tallahassee Table
I had a chance to take a peek inside The Huntsman before it opened on July 11.
Located in the former home of Cypress, the restaurateurs behind the 82-seat The Huntsman have done a lot of revisions. The front room has a handsome bar with mirrored tiles behind shelves of spirits and there’s also a standing bar and a small seating area.
The main dining room features mostly booths with some tables with accents of blue-green tiles, which could be reminiscent of sea and forest. A dark wood wall offsets the room.
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There’s a 12-seat space for a private dining area and they’re working on an outdoor patio area. The decor is a mix of rustic chicness, if you can imagine that. Among the elegant highlights are the vibrant works by Tallahassee-based artistPaul Tamanian.
And then there’s the menu. If you’ve been complaining about too many pizza, burger or taco spots in Tallahassee, take a look.
From venison to cauliflower steak
If you think a meal of South Texas antelope sirloin, a venison backstrap or elk tenderloin would be intriguing, you can satisfy your craving at The Huntsman.
The much-anticipated restaurant features several choices of game animals, including antelope, black buck elk, wild boar, red deer, Axis deer and sitka deer, primarily sourced from the Broken Arrow Ranch in Texas. The ranch touts “high quality, free-range venison, antelope, and wild boar meat from truly wild animals.”
“We wanted to do something a little different,” said Danny Renninger, owner of The Huntsman with Ben Williamson and executive chef Skylar Stafford, who all worked together at the fine dining restaurants Sage and Il Lusso. “We came at it from a variety of angles. I like finer foods and wine pairings and my two partners grew up in Tallahassee and come from hunter families.”
“We found that game animals have lower cholesterol, lower fat and higher protein than chicken,” said Renninger. “You can eat quality, clean meat that you don’t have to feel bad about eating. It’s better for the environment and better for humans.”
The theme is “field and stream to table,” but yes, they do feature fish and seafood from the Gulf and work with local businesses like Southern Seafood among their sources.
Despite its name, there’s a lot more to The Huntsman than its game menu items. In fact, those represent a small portion of the menu at this point. Their other specialties include wagyu short rib, duck breast, iron seared redfish and seaside pot pie. Vegans and vegetarians will find choices such as spring vegetable Pad Thai and wood-fired cauliflower steak.
Guided tasting menus
Each evening there are Guided Explorations – five course tasting menus. Pick the Hunter, with chef’s seasonal fare (game and other items) or the Gatherer with chef’s seasonal vegan fare. One option on the table: Doing “an entire vegan and vegetarian dinner series based on a particular vegetable,” said Renninger. The tasting menus can be matched with a beverage pairing.
They’ve been visiting farms and working on obtaining seasonal, local fare. One farm is Legacy Greens, which grows microgreens, owned by brothers Daniel and Jordan Miranda. They are sourcing some vegetables from Apalachee Farms and their fresh flowers from Goats & Hoes Farm.
“We’re looking forward to doing more locally, as much as possible.”
Aside from entrees, which include side dishes, diners can also order a la carte options such as a 12-ounce bison ribeye, Scottish salmon filet or Black Buck antelope leg filet. These items can be ordered nigiri style, so you don’t have to experiment with a large portion. With nigiri style, a piece of meat, served seared or raw (depending on what it is) is served atop seasoned sushi rice with wasabi and ginger.
“You can create an appetizer out of some of these cuts,” said Renninger. “If you’ve never had antelope and you don’t want to commit to an entrée, you can have it as an appetizer.”
Menu changes weekly
The menu, which changes weekly, features another varied appetizer list called Preparations,with items such as fire roasted oysters, lobster toast, seared scallops and a charcuterie board. There are also menus for dessert plus an early and late-night happy hour.
The three partners have spent a lot of time sourcing ingredients.
“The Broken Arrow Ranch is a huge wildlife preserve where they have a USDA inspector on site who goes out with the hunter,” said Renninger.
To complement this far-ranging menu, there’s an extensive, but not overwhelming, list of spirits.
You’ll find a list of co*cktails, sake, draft beer (primarily from local breweries Deep, Southern Fields and Lake Tribe). Half bottles are available half-price during late-night service.
“We’ll have wines from all over,” said Renninger.
Look for selections from England, Tasmania, Portugal, India. There are traditional German, Spanish and French white varietals.
“Reds sprawl all over the world, from new world to old world to obscure to fun projects from prolific producers who may only produce a little bit of this one individual wine but it’s a good wine to show off.”
“If you’re in the mood for something fun (on the wine list) from an obscure part of the world, we probably have something for you,” Renninger said.
The idea, said Renninger, is to offer “something for everybody.”
If you go
What: The Huntsman is at 320 E. Tennessee St.; 850-765-1887. The dining room is reservation only. The bar area accepts walk-ins and they offer full service there.
Menu: For a glimpse of the menu, visitHuntsmanTallahassee.com
Hours: Happy Hourwill run from 5 to 6 p.m. Monday to Saturday in the bar and bistro area.Dinnerwill be served from 5 to 9 p.m. Monday to Thursday and 5 to 10 p.m. Friday to Saturday.Late Night Happy Houris 9 to 11 p.m. Monday to Thursday and 10 to midnight Friday to Saturday.
Parking:Due to tight space in the lot outside the restaurant, there will be complimentary valet parking.
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