B1281: Fantastic Fare at a Venue with Vibe

By / Photography By | September 03, 2019
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An outdoor venue with a food truck, canopies, reggae music and a well stocked bar makes B1281 a place to go.

In case you haven’t noticed, a swell of Hawaiian-themed places has arrived from the Pacific and is now making big waves all over Nashville. If you want to catch a particularly good one, you can do no better than to surf on over to B1281, an ideal neighborhood hangout spot. Named both for its adjacent BentoLiving hotel-apartments and for its Chestnut Hill address, 1281 Third Ave. S., B1281 provides fantastic fare in a setting of bohemian elegance. All is outdoors, with canopies shading the well-stocked bar and the nearby tables, and plants, fans and misters keeping everyone as cool as the chill reggae music. 

The dishes come fresh from the food truck permanently parked in place and colorfully painted with the words: ‘Aloha Nashville.’ The menu is a tour of the Pacific Rim: bento bowls, ahi poke, and Hawaiian-style yakitori. We tried the ahi poke and were blown away by its freshness and its flavor, the shoyu, tobiko and kukui nuts perfectly pairing with green onion and cubes of raw tuna. We also loved the accompanying lotus chips both for their subtle flavor and for the fact that they’re ideal vectors for scooping up ahi poke and moving the morsels to one’s mouth.  

Shishito Pepper Skewers

We also tried the shishito peppers and the shiitake mushrooms. The former is served with pink sea salt and bonito flakes. The latter is a vegan dish with simple garlic and balsamic for flavor. Vegans may also enjoy the furikake sweet potato fries and the grilled corn.

As for the drinks, we enjoyed the Mai Tai, but fell in love with the Royal Hawaiian, a liquid work of art with gin, orgeat, pineapple and lemon.  So aloha right back at you, B1281.  We’ll definitely be back for more! 

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