The 'Iz' Thing (Izakayas)

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?”

Otaku Ramen East Izakaya

East Nashville

At the East Side location of Sarah Gavigan’s four Otaku Ramen storefronts, steaming noodle soup headlines a roster of Japanese-style cocktails, grilled meat-and-vegetable skewers and snacks such as blue crab hand rolls and okonomiyaki, available indoors, on the patio and at the walk-up window. @otakuramen

Two Ten Jack Izakaya + Ramen House

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

Bay 6 Izakaya-ish Cocktail Bar

East Nashville

Located inside The Wash—alongside Leche de Tigre Peruvian Cuisine, Soy Cubano, SS Gai, Sweeza Super Quesadilla and East Side Pho—Bay 6 offers innovative, playful and fresh cocktails and snacks, which can be supplemented by meals from the neighboring bays of the car-wash-turned-food court. @bay6nashville

Present Tense

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

Fox Den Izakaya at St. Vito Focacceria

The Gulch

Check Instagram for evolving details of this roving izakaya pop-up, which has been in residence on Tuesday evenings at St. Vito Focacceria since 2023. Chef Tillman Gressitt, an alumnus of Black Dynasty Secret Ramen House, turned his passion for manga art into a Japanese-inspired culinary concept serving grilled meats and vegetables and made-from-scratch ramen. @foxdenizakaya