Nashville's Best Bites

Discover our fav crave-worthy dishes from some of Music City's newest noshes.

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Nashville’s food future is bright, and as more chefs bring their fresh ideas and equally fresh ingredients to town, there are more and more crave-worthy dishes to discover.

This year, we’re celebrating Nashville’s ever-evolving food culture by toasting some of our favorites from the past year. We considered the array of new restaurants we’ve dined in and picked out a few of our “best bites” from them: Dishes that were creative in concept, beautiful in presentation, and so utterly delicious as to be unforgettable.

Cauliflower Soup with Butter-Poached Lobster @ Bestia Mare

Executive chef Frank Pullara has followed his wildly successful Franklin favorite, Culaccino’s, with a sibling restaurant, Bestia Mare. (That’s Italian for beasts of the sea.) His Italian coastal cuisine is replete with fresh fish and seafood preparations, such as grilled whole branzino, snapper and vegetables cooked in parchment, and clams linguine with white wine sauce. We’re especially taken with his Cauliflower Soup. It has all the right elements to enhance the morsels of lobster meat nestled in the bowl of creamy puree: crispy bits of guanciale, chive oil, and onion ash. (99 E. Main St., Ste. 190, Franklin, 615-905-4966; bestiamaretn.com)

Tantan Ramen @ Kisser

Leina Horii and her husband Brian Lea opened Kisser in Highland Yards to much-deserved fanfare. Their scrumptious preparations of the Japanese comforts Leina grew up eating have expanded Nashville’s experience of Japanese cuisine and beckoned many returns. While they rotate their menus, and this dish may not be on it at a given time, their Tantan Ramen remains a potent memory. Squiggles of brothless ramen are mounded with house-made chicken sausage, scallions, cucumber batons, chili crisp, and onsen tamago (a perfectly poached egg). It is no surprise that Kisser is a semi-finalist this year for Best New Restaurant, an honor bestowed by the James Beard Foundation. (747 Douglas Ave., kisserrestaurant.com)

Aged Tuna Toast @ Present Tense

When ownership of the boutique hotel on Hart Street changed, Ryan Costanza and Rick Margaritov got the chance to re-envision the existing restaurant to be truly their own. Present Tense is a modern Japanese izakaya that reflects Costanza’s global cooking expertise and Magaritov’s hospitality. So many elegant, flavorful dishes: Kakuni pork belly bao; grilled wedges of Japanese sweet potato in miso butter and bonito flakes; Hokkaido sea scallop hand roll. One that blew us away is Costanza’s Aged Tuna Toast. He places deft cuts of the fish cloaked in wagyu fat on a slice of grilled seaweed sourdough, spread with sesame aioli. Umami heaven. (301 Hart St., 629-231-4006; liveinthepresenttense.com)

Potato Sfincione @ St. Vito Focacceria

During the pandemic, Nashvillians first got to taste sfincione, a Sicilian form of pizza, at the hands of Chef Michael Hanna. Through pop-ups and residencies, he was resourceful in purveying the light, spongy focaccia-like squares folded and baked with bits of Fontina—some topped in milled tomato and oregano, some in rich besciamella. St. Vito Focacceria came into being and, at last, found its bricks-and-mortar home in the Gulch. Hanna’s menu rotates, but his varieties of sfincione are ever-present. And the best of the batch is the potato: lush, lemony potato cream sauce ladled over the focaccia. (605 Mansion St., 615-880-6561; stvitonashville.com)

Kimchi Caesar @ Noko

Partners Murray, Braddock, and Vo conceived this neighborhood-driven restaurant with an Asian-inspired wood-fired grill as its centerpiece. Folks regularly gather for smoke-kissed wagyu brisket, Korean bacon, beef-belly burnt ends, and the like. That said, don’t sleep on their salad! Chef Vo’s reimagination of a traditional Caesar has the romaine tossed in kimchi vinaigrette, along with panko (substituting for croutons), and a dusting of parmesan. The result is a salad that is tangy, bright, and fresh. A brilliant dish to complement the rich, wood-fired fare. (701 Porter Rd., 615-712-6894; nokonashville.com)

Butternut Squash Caramele @ Iggy’s

Last August, the Poli brothers launched Iggy’s, an Italian-inspired restaurant in Wedgewood-Houston that highlights chef Ryan’s soulful house-made pastas. Any of the classic or seasonal offerings, such as Spaghetti Aglio e Olio, P.E.I. Mussels Linguine, and Cacio e Pepe Garganelli, provide pure dining pleasure, but what stands out in this moment is the plate of Butternut Squash Caramele. A silken brown butter reduction enhanced with maple sherry, laced with bits of crisp guanciale and curls of fresh sage, coats pasta plumped with butternut squash purée. Have mercy. (609 Merritt Ave., 615-645-9949; iggysnashville.com)

Scallop-Filled Crepe @ Bad Idea

When Colby Rasavong joined Alex Burch as chef for Bad Idea, it was his mission to create a compelling menu, complementary to the advanced sommelier’s selection of wines. In so doing, the first-generation Laotian American decided to look at his own history. What emerged is very personal: dishes that take on the Laotian flavors of his heritage, the French techniques in which he was trained, and the fresh ingredients he can access in Middle Tennessee. His scallop-stuffed crepe is astonishing in both its concept and luscious execution: the sweet mollusk mousseline tucked in a rice flour pancake, served with Nam Prik blanquette: coconut milk white sauce sparked with Thai chili. (1021 Russell St.; badideanashville.com)

Bistec @ The Iberian Pig

Several of chef and culinary director John Castellucci’s dishes vied for the position of best bite at this Spanish tapas- style restaurant in the Gulch, the Castellucci family’s first foray outside the Atlanta area. The Bikini—an elevated grilled cheese with Iberico ham, truffle, and a melt of Manchego—is a contender. So are the Costillas, pimentón- glazed grilled pork ribs. We settled on the simply named Bistec: cuts of rare, juicy wagyu sirloin accompanied by two complex sauces: a swathe of romesco on the bottom and spoonfuls of chimichurri over the top. (607 Overton St., 615-844-4242; iberianpig.com/nashville)

Gai Tod @ SS Gai

Chris and Emma Biard’s quest to replicate the extraordinary chicken they fell in love with in Thailand became an obsession, and, in due time, the heart and soul of their eatery in Bay #3 of The Wash, SS Gai. The name means same- same but different chicken: one is marinated and chargrilled, the other is fried to a crackle in rice flour scented with cumin and coriander, then strewn with crispy shallots. It’s a tough call—both preparations are so delicious—but being here in the South, we pick Biard’s Gai Tod, street-style Thai fried chicken. (1101 McKennie Ave., Bay 3, 615-301-8465; ssgainash.com)

Lobster Pot Pie @ Joe Muer Seafood

Restaurateur Joe Vicari knew if he were ever to expand Joe Muer Seafood outside its Detroit home, Nashville was the place. He was charmed by our city’s hospitable nature and saw room for an elegant, seafood-driven restaurant. Housed in the Capitol View neighborhood, Joe Muer Seafood is posh and swanky. With almost 100 years in the biz, they know their fish and shellfish. Excellent choices include Dover Sole and Scallops in Green Goddess butter, but for an over-the-top celebration, indulge in the Lobster Pot Pie. The pastry brims with hunks of succulent Maine lobster meat and mirepoix cooked in a velvety sauce américaine. (500 11th Ave. N, 615-433-6837; joemuer.com)

Bratkartoffeln @ Streetcar Taps and Garden

In creating Streetcar, chef and founder Carter Hach draws on the history of the space as a former grocery along the Charlotte Pike streetcar line; his family history as the grandson of Phila Hach, Grand Dame of Country Cooking; and his German heritage. Also, his Southern roots—he’s got a big smoker in the back that touches most every dish in some way. So, get a cold brew and a sizzling plate of Bratkartoffeln, German-style home fries, which Carter spruces up with pulls of his specially “Hach- spiced” smoked chicken, bleu cheese aioli, pickled red onion, fresh dill, and a drizzle of sourwood honey. (4916 Charlotte Pike, 615-622-6264; streetcartaps.com)

Sourdough Cinnamon Roll @ Spread Market & Larder

While not a restaurant, Alex and Chad Kelly’s charming Germantown market boasts a bakery alongside its pantry goods and bottle shop. You’ll find crusty loaves and baguettes they bake using Kentucky whole wheat and natural sourdough fermentation for leavening. It’s wonderful for sandwiches or spread with Chad’s cultured butter. But the piece de resistance is their sourdough cinnamon roll, available Wednesday through Sunday. It’s a gorgeous spin, glazed in cream cheese icing, with pastry that unrolls in tender, ultra-thin layers—a craveable work of art. (1330 5th Ave. N; spreadthings.com)

Big Fat Cream Puff @ Ophelia’s Pizza + Bar

Chef Jamie Lynch enjoys creating dishes that are familiar yet possess something that’s a little different. It speaks to his playful nature. At Ophelia’s Pizza + Bar in downtown Nashville, he honors the classics, such as the Neapolitan way of making pizza, while infusing a surprise element (think Nashville hot honey, ghost pepper salt, and Calabrian chilis). His desserts have similar magic. Tiramisu with black cocoa. Ricotta ice cream sundae with cannolis. Our fave is his Big Fat Cream Puff. Filled with vanilla cheesecake mousse, the pastry arrives unadorned until your server pours dark chocolate ganache over it, along with a shower of orange zests. (401 Church St., 615-505-1562; opheliasnashville.com)