The Best Restaurants in Nashville Right Now
With barbecue, haute Southern cooking, innovative Chinese cuisine, and even a revelatory fried fish shop, the food scene in Music City is as vibrant as it's ever been.
Wedgewood Houston STANDOUTS
Bastion
At Bastion, there are two sides to the coin: one, a boisterous drinking establishment with a laid-back vibe and impeccable cocktails, and the other, an intimate fine-dining restaurant with a multicourse tasting menu. On the fine dining side, overseen by chef Josh Habiger, a menu of imaginative dishes is prepared by chatty, enthusiastic chefs with eagle eyes and attention to detail. Succulent agnolotti filled with merguez spiced lamb rested in a pool of sherry brown butter sauce. One dish is an absolute bonanza of potato products featuring potato mochi bathed in whey sauce and showered with wavy bonito shavings, When dinner is done, stop by the "Big Bar", as the rowdy side is called, for a nightcap and a dose of cool.
iggy's
Iggy's is a pasta-centric Italian place whose most famous dish is garlic bread. How such a conventional-sounding restaurant could also rank among Nashville's best is easy to understand once you try the bread: a glistening brioche, baked pretzel-brown, with sweet, molten creamy cheese at its center. The co-owner, Ryan Poli, is a former executive chef at Catbird Seat, Nashville's standout tasting menu restaurant. That pedigree helps explain how a restaurant that serves you nothing you haven't seen before - fusilli alla vodka, rigatoni Bolognese, cacio e pepe - could also be unforgettable. It helps that the food is modest enough to share the stage with wines worthy of equal billing. Iggy's concise, worldly list was written by Mr. Poli's brother and partner, Matthew, a gifted sommelier.
Present Tense
For the grammar fans out there, it’s true: Present Tense encapsulates what’s
happening in Nashville right now. Which is to say, an influx of talent, including the
chef Ryan Costanza, who came to Nashville from San Diego. Along with his partner
and general manager, Rick Margaritov, Mr . Costanza has made a mark in the
burgeoning Wedgewood Houston neighborhood. An absolutely wild dish of squid
ink noodles with rings of tender squid lashed with spice from ’nduja and wasabi
proved impossible to resist. Other, more minimalist dishes also exceed
expectations, particularly roasted Japanese sweet potatoes adorned simply with
cream and sprigs of lovage. Drinks from Kenneth Vanhooser are lush and
balanced, showcasing more of Nashville’s continuously growing cocktail scene and
the interest in pairing craft drinks well with food.
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