A traditional Japanese izakaya takes its name from three words: stay, drink and place. So, you get the idea. Stay and drink enough saké, shōchū and beer ‘til you’ve got the munchies. Then you’re in the right place for shared plates of small bites.
“Izakaya is to Japan what a pub is to England, bistro is to France or tapas is to Spain,” says Sarah Gavigan, owner of Otaku Ramen East Izakaya, where she serves a grill-forward menu of izakaya-style snacks, along with the ramen that made her Otaku nameplates in East Nashville, Franklin, Charlotte Pike and the Gulch synonymous with Asian comfort food.
With so many izakayas popping up in Nashville, the question is no longer, “What does it mean?” The question is, “Where’s the closest stay-drink place?”
East Nashville
For more than a decade, Chef Jessica Benefield has been incorporating Southern ingredients into an innovative repertoire of ramen, yakitori, sushi and hand-crafted cocktails—including an intriguing and extensive roster of alcohol-free drinks—that has made the storefront in the Walden Phase II a local landmark for global fare. @twotenjack
Wedgewood-Houston
Home of a rare six-seat omakase bar with a 14-or-so-course tasting menu, Present Tense offers an à la carte menu of izakaya-style small plates, with dazzling items such as tuna on grilled seaweed sourdough, uni hand roll, grilled wagyu and blueberry-and-saké-lees soft serve. Chef Ryan Costanza’s thoughtful layering of flavors and techniques—blending Japanese tradition with a hint of Italian influence—is as complex as a Present Tense cocktail of matcha, alfalfa syrup, lime, gin, egg white and mint. @presenttensenashville
Kosho by Tabu
Downtown
This new izakaya and shabu restaurant features Japanese small bites, yakitori, and shabu-shabu, a simmering hot pot of a broth of your choice to dunk meat and vegetables and noodles in.